help with a short story

Having written and published a novel and am working several ideas
through, I believe these might be helpful.

1. I suppose the easiest would be Colonial Seperatists.

It is the easiest. The Scenerio is Earth's government or governments
is getting heavy handed and mistreating colonists. Taxes could be
burdonsom. Perhaps the colonies are being used as a dumping ground
for unwanted criminals and people are getting hurt. Perhaps your
character may have suffered such an incident.

Otherwise, perhaps the terrorists are exiles and the old country is
having trouble that some earth nation is responcible for. The IRA
comes immediately to mind but there are others. Perhaps your
character had a bad encounter with security forces on earth.
Environmentalsts might be another group.

2. Is this something they did on earth or something they can do to
earth?

If it is something that they did to earth. Weapons engineers come
readily to mind. Otherwise the scenerio is said parents were part of
the energy program to create solar satallites that would beam cheap
solar energy down to earth but get their calculations wrong and burn
out a city or two.

If this is something they can do to earth, the above also applies.

Otherwise, I would sat if you want a terrorist threat to earth
Nuclear weapons are not necessary, just drop a big asteroid.

3. Any type of scientist and any type of person can get into a bad
situation and be redeemed.

4. On this I have not a clue. Best guess for advise for developing
your character is just look in the mirror. Having not read the book
you mention I can offer even less about the habitats.

Good luck.

--- In spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com, "janet_baker76"
wrote:
>
> Hi, space nuts,
>
> Would you help me with some questions so I can write a short story
> involving colonies?
>
> 1. The protagonist, a young woman, is tempted by and rejects
> cooperating with a terrorist initiative. I don't want a full blown
> terrorist event, I want them to be tempting her with an early kind
> of participation, like a political rally of some kind. What would
> their politics look like, in space? What would be an issue they'd
> take up?
>
> 2. What kind of scientists could her mom and dad be? I want to
> portray them as the kind of scientist that managed to leave Earth a
> smoking hulk before the colonies finally got built, those for whom
> material progress was always the single only factor. What branch
> would both be most needed on a space colony (think of the
economics)
> and also most easily suggest the kind of blindness I'm suggesting?
>
> 3. The protatgonist is save-able. She's a scientist, too. What
kind?
>
> 4. I want this protagonist to make a decision to overcome her
earth-
> trauma as a woman and actually let herself fall in love with a guy
> and go off with him to found the kind of family-trading dynasties
of