Dreaming of Space Stations
Good morning from //Redacted// Station. Well, that's where I'm headed in today's Hard Way Home chapters, anyway. Yesterday Patrick and I did some brainstorming about space stations, and the notion of a space station as a frontier outpost, the last stop for fuel and supplies before heading into the unknown.
Seattle was once an outpost town. Starry-eyed rubes came here by the thousands to buy prospecting gear, all on the basis of a newspaper article that claimed there was gold up in Alaska. The provisioners got rich, and the rubes went broke.
//Redacted// Station is my little Seattle, I suppose. Actually, it's nothing like Seattle at all, but some of the same pioneer spirit applies. There's a little bit of my hometown in everything I write, one way or another. I can't help it.
I've been squirreling away ideas for months, getting ready to write my first space station scene. Have you seen Eric Wernquist's short animated film, One Revolution Per Minute? It's gorgeous, and while the space station in my head isn't nearly so luxurious, art like that inspires me. Music helps too. Today's soundtrack is Atlantis from Marvel 83.
Behind every paragraph and scene, there's so much that readers never see. The music and art that inspired me, various bits of research, the conversations I've had, and the weeks or months spent dreaming. I suppose that’s one reason to be happy about this blog. It gives me a chance to share some of those influences with you.
Last night, and the night before, I fell asleep thinking of Loretta and //Redacted// walking through //Redacted// Station. Am I ready to write this chapter? I think so.
Into the book I go!
Today's post is about The Hard Way Home.
Note: I redact certain details from these posts to avoid spoilers.