The Spinward Fringe Podcast Broadcast 22: That First Season Finale

This is the good stuff! Things start off with a Broadcast 7 update Sylvie and I (Randolph Lalonde), talk about finishing Broadcast 7 and some of the notes that typically get passed between a writer and their editor near the end of a project.

We also discuss some of Jacob Valance's journey from Broadcast 1 to Broadcast 7 (without spoiling anything in Broadcast 7). We shed a little light on which characters are largely focused on in this book, and discuss some of the benefits of writing a series, as well as final polishing required to finish Broadcast 7 off.

We take a moment to answer the question; "Do I need to read the Expendable Few to know what's going on in Broadcast 7?" and we continue on to talk about the language and style in that book.

The topic of the discarded draft of Broadcast 7 comes up right before we talk about National Novel Writing Month a little. There are a few nuggets in here, and some insider peeks at what writing this book was like.

The ending of this podcast is rounded out with a short discussion of hype, and what to expect from Spinward Fringe Broadcast 7: Framework.

Everything in this podcast is accomplished without dropping spoilers, which is something we're very proud of!

Thank you so much for listening, the new season of The Spinward Fringe Podcast will begin as soon as the release date for Broadcst 7 can be announced, so keep an eye on this feed!

RL

Direct Download Link (Right click and select ‘Save As’ or ‘Download Linked File As’)

RSS Feed

iTunes

The Spinward Fringe Podcast Broadcast 20: The One With Two Dateless Writers.

Sylvie and I dig into the nitty gritty of our work on The Expendable Few and Spinward Fringe Broadcast 7: Framework after I provide a fairly significant update on the progress. There's still no release date, but we're closer.

Next we get into questions from email and from the Facebook Page, where I answer questions about Alice, her role in Broadcast 7, and Sylvie answers questions about her own writing. There's new stuff you've never heard before in this episode, and the Spinward Fringe community played a big part in determining what content ended up in this broadcast.

This week we play Dragonfly by Universal Hall Pass, please check them out if you like what you hear.

Other links from this Broadcast include: Neil Gaiman's post about Entitlement Issues post, Iron Sky, the official Spinward Fringe Facebook Page, and the Goodreads Forum. 

Thank you for listening!

Direct Download Link (Right click and select ‘Save As’ or ‘Download Linked File As’)

RSS Feed

iTunes

Progress Report: The Expendable Few & Broadcast 7: Framework

Chapters of Spinward Fringe: Expendable Few stopped being sent to test readers weeks ago when the novel had to be re-developed. That sounds like a negative thing, like I'm saying that the book ran into big problems. That isn't the case here.

Everything the test readers and what people read on the leak thread remains the same. A very large chunk of the book is finished, and other than a last polish, it doesn't need any work. The rest is being written, things are coming together in more interesting ways than were originally planned.

That's what failed here, the original plan. Expendable Few could have been a nice, short trip that explained a few things about what has been going on in the background with Freeground as well as a few characters that have been running around between Broadcasts. At this point the story is gotten a little broader and, while it does fulfill the original goals, it also tells a better tale.

The connection the Expendable Few makes to Broadcasts 6-8 is much stronger than originally planned as well. At the same time, if someone were to forget to read this book and just read all the Broadcasts, then they wouldn't lack crucial information. Expendable Few is a side trip that pays dividends. That book is currently over 55,000 words long and will end up being a little over novella length.

That brings me to my next important update: The status of Spinward Fringe Broadcast 7: Framework. The development of this novel is ongoing, and I'm very happy with how things are turning out. The current manuscript is about 120,000 words long. I expect that there is about 30% - 40% left to write, and finishing Expendable Few will help a great deal in developing the last portion of the book properly. The ending is looking good so far, and so does the story behind Broadcast 8.

How closely are the books connected? I suggest everyone read Expendable Few before reading Broadcast 7. There will be some background there that will enrich the story. Will either book end in a cliffhanger? No.*

There are two other writing projects that are taking some time, but only a few minutes a day. One of them is directly connected to the Spinward Fringe series. I'm not ready to talk about it.

It's times like these that I really appreciate how difficult it is to be a regular reader, especially where series are concerned. Waiting for that next book is a pain. I especially feel that pain with George RR Martin's work. So, when someone asks; "When is Broadcast 7 coming out?" I have real sympathy, but I also work under the knowledge that writing a decent book takes time. Writing the last book in a series (or a major leg of a series), takes much more time. All I have to say about the big WHEN at the moment, is that I'll be able to offer a release date when my work on the final draft is done. I hope it's soon too. I've been working on these two books for a year now. That's a long time to hold in the details of Broadcast 7. Thank you for reading, and thank you for waiting.

RL

*Broadcast 7 will have a firm ending. It will also have the first chapter or two of Broadcast 8.

The Expendable Few Briefly Explained

The reason why I started writing Expendable Few was because I wanted to write (in short form), what's been going on with Freeground since our heroes left.

After about 2,000 words of transcribing the timeline that's been in my head for a couple years, I decided that it made sense to write a novella instead of a document that no one would ever see as a whole. There are plans for an encyclopaedia to be released that should also serve as a tabletop role playing game setting book, but much of the timeline for Freeground wouldn't be useful to that kind of text.

Clark Patterson, Mary Reed and the others were born. The Expendable Few novella also serves as connective tissue between the Origins trilogy and the last book in this part of the series - Broadcast 7: Framework. It has become a challenge that, I believe, will affect all my future work, regardless of genre.

It is in first person perspective, and told in the present tense. Imagine you're reviewing a document put together by Freeground Intelligence that is made to explain certain events using forensic analysis, personal logs, and other data. The person central to this is Freeground Fleet Commander Clark Patterson, who happens to have a near obsession with the First Light crew. The book begins months after the last of the command team from that ship have gone, and a political body called the Puritan Party have taken control of Freeground. They see the adventures of the First Light as a warning, and are doing everything in their power to isolate and control the people of Freeground Nation. Clark Patterson finds himself thrust into the absolute centre of this political struggle while retracing the footsteps of the First Light Crew under the instruction of Fleet Intelligence. The Expendable Few fits before and during Broadcast 7 on the timeline.

The feedback from Test Readers has been good so far, and they've already made important suggestions for improvement that have been implemented. Expendable Few has been a great guinea pig.

In the end, the Expendable Few will be a stand alone Spinward Fringe novella that one doesn't have to read to understand Broadcast 7. Judging from the feedback, I don't think anyone who is already reading the series will want to miss it, however. Especially since it'll be available for free on Smashwords and for 99 cents on Amazon.com.

RL

[Thanks to Dorian for asking a question on the Facebook Page that became a blog post.]

A Return to Freeground In The Expendable Few Novella

The story in Broadcast 7 outgrowing the confines of one book has become a calling to tell a story that was left out of the Spinward Fringe series. Normally, when I cut a story out of a book it's because the book is already dense enough, or that story wasn't good enough to run as a sub-plot.

When I cut this recent story out of Broadcast 7: Framework, I did so knowing that I would still have to tell it. I still had to develop that plot line. More importantly, I had to tell it before the current Spinward Fringe series came to an end.

That plot line has become the upcoming free novella called The Expendable Few. If there was to be a fourth book in the old First Light Chronicles Series, this would be it. For all the readers wondering whatever happened to Freeground, here are your answers. As a further nod to the three novellas that started it all, Freeground, Limbo and Starfree Port, the new novella - Expendable Few - will be free.

There is a testing group already mostly in place, the novella is half finished, and if I've done everything well enough, someone could read this book without reading the rest of the Spinward Fringe series. It's far more interesting if you read it as part of the series, particularly as Broadcast 6.5, however. I'm offering it for free, AND it will be included with Broadcast 7 when it is released.

Here's a brief synopsis for The Expendable Few:

Freeground has changed since the return of the First Light. Instead of re-integrating with the rest of humanity, the Freeground Nation has become more xenophobic and Isolated. The Puritan Party has assumed control. Censorship, social engineering, and xenophobia are even more common, and thousands of citizens who have the means and opportunity to leave are doing so. The dream of living in a secure and free culture hasn't died entirely, however.

A few Freeground Citizens opposed to the Puritan Party put plans into motion that will either bring liberty back to the Freeground Nation or send the entire culture into a downward spiral. This tale is told from the perspective of a politically contrary Fleet Commander, Clark Patterson, who is obsessed with the adventures, intrigues and antics of the First Light crew. He knows everything one can about their short service aboard, and has every piece of contraband footage of them after they departed. He's even investigated the terrorist, Jacob Valance, whose very name is a curse according to the Puritan Party. His life, his world and those he holds most dear are shaken when he has a direct run in with a West Keeper - a spy working for a galactic cult called the Order of Eden that is bent on controlling industry and the natural wonders with their reach and beyond.

--- Synopsis Ends ---

The real thrill for me in writing the first half of the novella was writing Freeground as it was originally conceived. I honestly didn't have the patience to demonstrate the xenophobia and censorship that surrounded the Freeground culture before. I was too excited about telling the Jonas story, and I don't regret it. I don't regret it because in The Expendable Few the problems of censorship, control and xenophobia drive the story in the first half of this novella. A return to first person perspective after a million words or more of writing is also very interesting to me.

How far away is the release of The Expendable Few? We're talking weeks if the test group enjoys it. Only two members of the test group have read the Spinward Fringe series, the rest are new to it, so it's getting a trail by fire.

Work on Broadcast 7 continues, and that book will only be delayed for a couple of weeks because of The Expendable Few. I believe this is a necessary book to developing the final act in Broadcast 7, however. I'd much rather write the Expendable Few in its entirety rather than write it up as twenty pages of developmental notes and shut them away after Broadcast 7 is finished.

I hope you agree.

RL

[If you have no idea what I'm talking about in this post, then you should go download a copy of Spinward Fringe Broadcast 0: Origins. It's free, and the download links are on the right hand side of this page.]