For some books I started out with no plan at all, the problem is you can very effectively end up going nowhere. The minimum I prefer is a start point, a least a vague ending point and a reason for wanting to get there. From that you can add in various events that might happen along the way.

So I came up with a series of rough events that were supposed to happen as a sort of plan, a bit like stations on a railway line. Then it went off on a different track. Ive ditched the rest of the events I was going to use and have created some new ones, so ATM I know roughly where its going again. If you think about the many universes theories, this is exactly the same principle.

My problem was simply that one of the vital facts changed and the follow on scenes depended on it. To be honest this happens very often, sometimes it wipes out stuff you have already written as impossible or irrelevant.

To be specific the encounter with the Mechs was supposed to happen on a planets surface. That wasnt exactly easy as it turned out the planet was effectively dead and didnt have an atmosphere, this gave the aliens originally living there a reason to move home. So the encounter moved forward in time and onto a space station. Once that had happened all the other events after it either vanished or changed dramatically as they affected each other. This also meant my end point vanished, so I needed a new one.

As to Niven and pratchett. One of them is his best friend and it isnt Corvack...

EXI selected the external laser transmitter and pointed it at Simone’s returning combat shuttle. ‘Hi, I just thought I might message you to see how you are doing?’

‘I’m doing fine, journey time back is right on the button and no dark clouds in the sky here. How is it elsewhere?’

‘Well, I’ve just been handed a tiny cloud, although it might spoil your day a little.’ EXI paused for effect. ‘You see LIA has just told me Discovery Unlimited is doing an Aston, so they are abandoning ship. I need to keep close to Slade, just in case he needs help so someone else will have to take over and pick up LIA and her crew. I’m sending Defiance to meet you, try to take good care of it and pick us up when you are finished doing the rescue mission.’

‘Pesky little cloud. You sure we can’t just report that Ambassador Slade died while carrying out his duties?’

‘Well I didn’t jump into bed and bonk him senseless several times, so I thought you might not go for that option. I also think that it might end up a bit messy and, if he got out of the situation by himself you would never hear the end of it from him. Then again he might bang his head, or something, and remember everything. We need to keep him from doing that at all costs.’

‘Bummer, you’re right though. Him remembering or finding out what really happened would also really spoil our day. My having a good time with him has nothing to do with this, you are closer and transmitting the news to me might inform others of what is happening.’

‘I intend for that not to happen if at all possible. If it does I can take care of it.’

‘You taking a gun with you?’

I’m taking my battlesuit,’ EXI responded, ‘I don’t need a gun with one of those, although I will have some plasma rifles on board the shuttle too, if I need one.’

‘And if George Wallis asks about it?’

EXI shrugged mentally, ‘I don’t see a problem, you will be doing the reports. All I have to do is make myself scarce when he’s asking questions. I can get another IKal to stand in for me if necessary and she can claim no knowledge of what happened beyond what she knows, or rather, I tell her.’

‘Are you ready to go in and find if our Schrodinger’s cat is alive or dead?’ Corvack asked with concern. ‘It’s just that I’ve put twenty credits on with Simone on him surviving and you getting in there fast improves those odds.’

‘Seems everyone else has got there too,’ EXI disclosed. ‘my mail inbox has a load of offers for me to hurry up or take my time. Bah, she wouldn’t take my bet on it.’

‘It’s a bit much you betting,’ Corvack came back. ‘You are the one going in to rescue him.’

‘Exactly, if I could get a big enough offer it might influence my actions. I guess I’m just going to have to go and see what I can do.’

Most dont have any names at the moment, its one of the things I tend to be rather poor at, along with writing synopsis.

Still waiting for Baen to get back to me on the first book I sent them. It takes firkin ages to get anything published or even to find out if they are interested  

So you wont have any of read them but if Im lucky I might just manage to get one published this decade...

Sounds like any written work. Is there any written document out there which isnt a stress to make sure its too short or long...?

maybe its them diazepams youre on

Sounds confusing!

I guess its a bit like game walkthroughs and guides, if you have started playing a game, and for some reason read the guide for the end level, it always sounds mental and way beyond possible, but it all progresses there with baby steps etc.

88K words, it looks like there wont be too many big changes with what is left.

Ive read the first twenty pages of the trilogy, seems he writes in scenes like I do. Its also a bit shaky on physics, claims if you leaned against frozen gas it would explode like a grenade, I really doubt it. Even in a suit with a heat exchanger giving out a full 37C on the back the solid would turn to gas and push you away. Liquid nitrogen can be held because it boils and lifts itself off your skin. So more like a rocket push at worst, although depending on the gravity you might end up in orbit or taking a really big, and fatal, jump. That issue was far too damn obvious for me, but then I tend to know too much about these issues as I cover them in my own books. Otherwise Im just seeing where hes going.