quote:There are many things to consider when contemplating the possibilities of colonization. Just how habitable is the environment in which your story takes place? Certain extreme environments such as; deep space, Luna (Our Moon), Titan etc… would require ALS (Advanced Life Support Systems) in order to sustain any sort of long-term human colony. In other words, a closed ecological system that is completely un-reliant upon outside exchange. The most popular example of such a long-term system is the Biosphere 2 located in Arizona. Although the project was cut short by a management catastrophe, it produced valuable data on closed system ecology. But what if the conditions were not as hostile? Afterall, we do seek Earth-like planets where terra forming is...
This is a blog I have just started. I would like to see if it develops into something. I am working on a few projects related to this. I hope to publish some writing resource material and turn this into an actual website with an interactive forum as it progresses. I am looking for someone with web design experience to partner with on this endeavor also. Non fiction reference experience would also be a benifit. If anyone is interested let me know via email.
Otherwise, I hope this helps. Each day I will post something. Whether it be an essay, prompt, or other reference material. I look forward to any feedback so if you like it leave a comment on the blog and spread the word.
[This message has been edited by Bent Tree (edited February 23, 2010).]
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Cool, Bent! Sounds awesome. Best of luck with the project. I'm a big fan of these kinds of views into what living in space might actually be like...or living on other planets some day.
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Good question. Right now I'm working on a story that takes place on what's sometimes called a "ribbon world," one side always facing its sun so that the only habitable portion is a strip in the twilight area of the planet "like a ribbon."
How realistic, how possible is that? I really haven't a clue. I need a permanently-cold area for plot purposes, and have been drawn to a number of SF stories that feature one.
I try to avoid getting into the nitty-gritty of things like that...I fudge some details and avoid others. I'm not drawn to the technical explanations you find in some SF...nor am I drawn to the "do an awesome amount of research for a note that disappears into one sentence of your MS" kind of writing. I like things to be right, but I don't want to go that far.
quote:Is this like a "how full is the glass" type question?
I am not entirely sure what you mean.
This was prompted by the "Call of Earth" series by OSC. I had the flu this weekend and read the five novels while in bed and was reminded by how strong his millieus are and the amount of time he must have dedicated to his world building. I find that besides his narrative style( which is second to know in regard to comfortable reading) His world building and attention to detail really sets his worlds apart. It shows in all his stories. I hadn't read any of his stuff in years and the re reading of this series reminded me.
Not only that, but one of my biggest turn off's as a reader is blatent logistical errors andd lack of detail in world building. While I am not a diehard "Hard SF" reader and I don't double check all the math and physics in every story, I do feel SF should have a very real Science element and plausibility. I am not entirely sure how important this is to others but, to me it is essential. I have always had an analytical view of the world anyway. I look at the world through a hand lense and still stop to look at insect appendages and still do research indepenently. To me it is more interesting than TV for the most part. To me the only thing more fun than learning about how the world works is to dream and write about how it may be in the future.
quote:Off the topic, but did you ever get the e-mail?
Negative. I will double check though to make sure that I didn't accidently delete it. If I don't respond in the next few minutes it means not.
quote:Please don't throw things at me
Gotcha! I have had the flu for a week which is compounded because I have no spleen so I am under the weather and my head feels as though it is full of cotton. Sorry it didn't register.
Oh I liken myself to monkeys so if I threw anything at you it would be poo and It wasn't that bad so I will give you a bananna instead.
quote:Good question. Right now I'm working on a story that takes place on what's sometimes called a "ribbon world," one side always facing its sun so that the only habitable portion is a strip in the twilight area of the planet "like a ribbon."
So it is a planet in a tidally locked orbit of its star? Does it have any natural satelites? are they also tidally locked?
quote:So it is a planet in a tidally locked orbit of its star? Does it have any natural satelites? are they also tidally locked?
See? All these questions require all that research. I'm just making it up as I go along, and taking it out if I can't justify it. I never got as far as that, but my assumption on these questions is yes, it's tidally locked (if that's the phrase I'm looking for); no, there are no natural satellites---and, most importantly, less than one in a hundred of the inhabitants gives a thought to these matters.
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