After ALIEN: Manticore - Planned stories and in-progress works

'To me writing is like making a skyscraper, you build the foundation, then the frame, then you add the extra-stuff, then you go back over it and fix all the little construction-errors.'

I think I would do the same. :)

For  long, long time structuring plagued me, I could never keep things running properly, then I watched some old documentary about construction of the Empire State building, and (Lightbulb), so I began working from the same Idea/Principle as employed in construction, and it's worked out quite well for me.

It's also saved me a few times from some HUGE plot errors and continuity goofs. ;)

Professional writers do the same. :)

They know how many chapters are needed for the different segments of the novel, then they fill the gaps, etc. - if I know correctly. :D

Well, I guess I've been learning the slow, long, hard way. :D

When I start, I really have no idea how many chapters will be needed beyond a rough guess. I find the Chapter-Breaks later, during the editing process. I guess that's more of an 'organic' process, but it seems to work well enough.

One thing I do enjoy doing, and this comes from the days back playing Dungeons & Dragons (pen and paper) is I work up files on the characters. They get quite detailed, and again save me from some major errors while also allowing me to just 'forget' about that information as save 'brain-space' as it's always right there if I need to look something up. :)

I only wish and hope that someday technology for Art-making will evolve to the point where I can get some of the Visuals in my head out to be seen. I have VERY little graphical ability, and even that's mainly geared to technical things, like, say, a side-view cutaway of how a turbine engine works.

yay, can't wait to read them all :) 

that's hilarious, I do the exact same thing for working up character files. I like open-ended RPG's like Skyrim, Fallout etc. Though I do enjoy using morale-based games like Baldur's Gate, Dragon Age etc too 

IRaptus

Today I've been working on the following in a rotating manner:
ALIEN: Manticore
ALIEN: Manticore 'Paradise'
ALIEN: Screams In The Silent Dark 'LV-426' (My version of 'ALIENS' and set 5 years after the events of ALIEN: Manticore)

I do miss tabletop RPGs, but I did manage to incorporate some really useful tricks I learned from my gaming years into my writing career, so I call that a win. :D
Also, I enjoy working up the frameworks and such, it lends a greater sense of confidence about proceeding onward as then I Know where I'm going.

In due course, I'll be publishing all my works on Scribd, as it seems to work the best for everyone.
I'm quite time-conscious, but won't 'rush' on things because then errors creep in/get left in and I hate doing that to the audience.
Especially as I'm Dyslexic, so some errors are just gibberish to people, and leaving those errors uncorrected REALLY bothers me, and likely confuses readers.

Comp games, I do enjoy those, Killzone and Halo are my main faves. I like Killzone mainly as in many ways it's Close to the ALIENVerse. ;)
Also I love sneaking around in Killzone as Luger, the Shadow Marshal.
Halo, well, it's just damned funny when you stick a plasma grenade onto a Grunt's face, it freaks and runs back amongst it's own guys before BOOM :D
Moral of that story is sometimes the little bugger charges you in panic mode, and, well...Munitions-Related-Malfunction. :D

It has to be tough, writing. As a hobbyist song writer, it seems that you can always tinker to make things better especially when new ideas pop up. There comes a time when you need to be done though. As a musician once said, you never complete a project- you abandon it. But you take ideas to make the next one better. IDK if it works that way for writers.

dk

Well, it IS genuine work. It does require effort, thinking, planning, etc, etc..
And YES, the Circle-Trap-Of-Editing, I know it well, a guy my hubby knows has been editing a tabletop rpg he's developed for over 20 years now, by way of example.

For me, I have a stop-point where I know that it's time to stop, and things are as good as I can make them. Then I publish the piece, warts and all.

YES, it works the same for Literary writers as it does for Music writers, there's ALWAYS the ideas that come LATER, right? :D
And yeah, one can always store those late-ideas for future works, I have a LOT of notes of such, and little by little they find their way into future works and such.

Wow! Very nice indeed!

I'd print this out(self publish...Amazon..Diggypod..)and have it sitting on my coffee table! So cool to have a physical copy. Think I'll write my own book with my own cover...doesn't have to be good...just a work of art. 

I wish FOX would use one million out of the next Alien movies budget and direct it towards novels/novellas/short stories.

MonsterZero

Thank-you for saying and I'm glad you enjoyed it!!

I admit, I like your idea, and I just might do that, just to have my own hardcopies. That is a nice idea!!

From your mouth to the ears of FOX, that would be a GREAT way to keep the franchise alive and stimulate it's progress/development!!!
There's a LOT of people's works here I'd love to see done in film as-per your idea.

The 'Back Cover' synopsis for ALIEN: Manticore, inspired by the one on my ancient paperback copy of ALIEN, and it's a genuine 1979 issue. :)

Voyage Interrupted…

A routine voyage home sleeping in the cold embrace of hibernacula. However, in their cold slumber the six starfarers had left their universe behind. After encountering one ruined vessel in the depths of open space with a missing crew they come upon a strange and indecipherable signal. This one followed by another, recognizably Human distress signal. Now, on two worlds lit by a sun with sickly-yellow rays they set out to rescue their fellows. But they would carry weapons. For who could truly tell who and what it was that called to them? All they knew was that something mysterious and Alien was involved.

The Proof-Edit of ALIEN: Manticore is already over 1/10th of the way done, and proceeding smoothly.

ALIEN: LV-426 (Full-length Novel)
Is also coming along nicely, and while it's still just getting started, I'll post a small excerpt, possibly tonight, but very soon in any case.

ALIEN: Manticore 'Paradise' (Full-length Novel)
Is being structurally-edited before I continue with story-building, but is also coming along nicely.

ALIEN: Origins (Short story)
I now have the missing pieces I needed with which to continue it with, so I will be picking work on that back up immediately.

YES, I most often work on multiple works simultaneously.
I find that in doing so it prevents me from getting 'bogged down', as from switching between the various works it keeps the mind agile and working instead of 'settling' or feeling 'bored'. :D