Creating the perfect ship and short story ideas.
- Thread starter surak-toc
- Start date
First, DON'T start by counting decks and numbering the crew. Too often trekfic writers worry about how big the ship is and what it looks like and then just start filling it with people and stuff. (Unfortunately, that seems to be the way people who get paid to write trek also seem to work.)
If you want your ship to be "ideal," you need to figure out the following in order:
-What do you need the ship to do?
-What equipment does it need to be filled with to do it?
-How many people does it take to make all of it work?
Unfortunately, this means you're going to have to come up with story ideas first, because the shape of the universe you're creating will help you shape the ship and crew at the center of it.
As for coming up with ideas...cheat.
There's plenty of fanfic tropes out there for somebody to steal, birth of the Federation, Fall of the Federation, Dominion war, four-years war, cargo ship, patrol ship, etc., etc., and like that. Just pick a premise and brainstorm.
If you want your ship to be "ideal," you need to figure out the following in order:
-What do you need the ship to do?
-What equipment does it need to be filled with to do it?
-How many people does it take to make all of it work?
Unfortunately, this means you're going to have to come up with story ideas first, because the shape of the universe you're creating will help you shape the ship and crew at the center of it.
As for coming up with ideas...cheat.
There's plenty of fanfic tropes out there for somebody to steal, birth of the Federation, Fall of the Federation, Dominion war, four-years war, cargo ship, patrol ship, etc., etc., and like that. Just pick a premise and brainstorm.
Doesn't matter at all. What stories do you want to tell? Does it require a small, tight-knit crew of 12-ish where everyone does multiple things and it's more loose, or do you need a floating city with tons of specialists? That's kinda the basis. If you start by describing the ship and the Mk. XXXIILOL Phasers, you've already missed the point. Weapons and strength are at the mercy of the plot anyway. if you want the battle to be easy, they are strong, if you need them to struggle, suddenly the bad guys have stronger weapons. Why bother worrying about them?
figure out what you're trying to say instead of what class of phaser to put on it, or what the perfect random mixture of alien races make the kewlest crew...
figure out what you're trying to say instead of what class of phaser to put on it, or what the perfect random mixture of alien races make the kewlest crew...
I would say start thinking about your characters first, the people you will write about and then decide what they would need. For example, it's unlikely a 32 year old, freshly promoted Captain would get a Galaxy-Class ship, more than likely he/she would command a Sabre or other smaller, more specialised craft.
Would you have a science officer for in-depth research missions, a counsellor for families onboard, a diplomatic officer for first contact assignments? Would one of your characters be non-humanoid and need special requirements? It doesn't have to be a ship either, why not a space station or planetary outpost?
You could always try a civilian ship instead, just to be a little different.
Would you have a science officer for in-depth research missions, a counsellor for families onboard, a diplomatic officer for first contact assignments? Would one of your characters be non-humanoid and need special requirements? It doesn't have to be a ship either, why not a space station or planetary outpost?
You could always try a civilian ship instead, just to be a little different.
Nonsense. Of course it matters. The original Starship Enterprise wouldn't be displayed in the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum if the ship didn't matter. There wouldn't be any such thing as a "Ships of the Line" Calendar or ship design contests for licensed book covers if the ship didn't matter. Two entire trek series, Voyager and Enterprise. wouldn't exist in their present form if ships didn't matter. (Whether you think either series should exist at all is an entirely different debate.)
The ship is your stage. It's going to be where your characters live and work, love and laugh, cry and console, and fight to survive. It's all well and good to say "who cares? It's about the story and the characters", but let's see how far you get with either without a defined setting. At some point, just for consistency's sake, you're going to have to sit down and decide some facts about your personal "Wagon train to the stars."
What's the mission?
Do you want a ship of explorers? Do you need a destroyer to protect the Federation from enemies? Is search-and-rescue your thing? Perhaps a casino barge run by Ferengi and Orions?
Answering those questions will lead you to a category of ships. Then, what era do you want to pursue . . . TOS, TNG, etc.? It may be easier to use a canon class of ship rather than inventing your own. I like older vessels with quirks and foibles just because they interest me. I think they have more character. Your mileage may vary.
My stories tend to be heavily character-driven but it begins with a purpose. Why are these people on the ship? What skills, experiences, promotion (or demotion), political connections put them there? I generally start with the commanding officer and flesh out his/her/its character. I throw in weaknesses as well as strengths. Mary Sue characters tend to bore me and they aren't very realistic. By the same token, not every character requires enough baggage for their own personal cargo ship. Work out the inter-personal relationships. Not everyone is going to like everyone else. And not every ship will have a Kirk/Spock/McCoy triad. Still, the crew has to work together (unless you're doing a re-make of The Caine Mutiny) if the ship is to function.
My suggestion: start with a smaller ship and fewer crew members and flesh out your characters. Bry Sinclair did an awesome job with his Orion series - you should read that collection of short-stories for ideas.
Do you want a ship of explorers? Do you need a destroyer to protect the Federation from enemies? Is search-and-rescue your thing? Perhaps a casino barge run by Ferengi and Orions?
Answering those questions will lead you to a category of ships. Then, what era do you want to pursue . . . TOS, TNG, etc.? It may be easier to use a canon class of ship rather than inventing your own. I like older vessels with quirks and foibles just because they interest me. I think they have more character. Your mileage may vary.
My stories tend to be heavily character-driven but it begins with a purpose. Why are these people on the ship? What skills, experiences, promotion (or demotion), political connections put them there? I generally start with the commanding officer and flesh out his/her/its character. I throw in weaknesses as well as strengths. Mary Sue characters tend to bore me and they aren't very realistic. By the same token, not every character requires enough baggage for their own personal cargo ship. Work out the inter-personal relationships. Not everyone is going to like everyone else. And not every ship will have a Kirk/Spock/McCoy triad. Still, the crew has to work together (unless you're doing a re-make of The Caine Mutiny) if the ship is to function.
My suggestion: start with a smaller ship and fewer crew members and flesh out your characters. Bry Sinclair did an awesome job with his Orion series - you should read that collection of short-stories for ideas.
That kind of feels like a dig at my crowd-source project. I fully admit I did that backwards, and I did so intentionally.
As others have said, define the mission first. Form follows function. Figure out what the ship is supposed to do, and then you can define what the ship is, which in turn defines the size of the crew.
I just get annoyed when there's a 200-man crew but we only ever see the same people on the bridge. I can't remember seeing anyone other than Tom Paris or Mayweather at the helm. Don't they ever get to eat or sleep or even take a restroom break??? It's one thing to have the stories center around the main cast, but to never mention the night shift is just silly.
Well, no, because even if you conceived it backwards that's not the way you presented it. In the OP you laid out scenario, then ship, then crew, the right order.
Right. Like I said there, it's just that you don't need detailed background information on Boatswain Leibowitz just to give the XO a pee break.
I'll just add to what others have said.
First you need your main protagonists. Flesh out their characters, their conflicts, their motivations etc. Then you can place them into a short story. Ideas are everywhere, and will probably start to flow once you see what your characters are looking like.
Then you can start on the logistics; the ship. its supporting crew, its mission (that places the main characters into your story), etc.
Sgt_G's project is worthy in its own right, just to see how a ship would realistically run. I'm sure even the Sarge doesn't intend to write a story involving every single crew member as a star in his story! (But it would be cool to write lots of little stories involving different groups from the whole...)
Tribble Overlord Kuri (TOK)
First you need your main protagonists. Flesh out their characters, their conflicts, their motivations etc. Then you can place them into a short story. Ideas are everywhere, and will probably start to flow once you see what your characters are looking like.
Then you can start on the logistics; the ship. its supporting crew, its mission (that places the main characters into your story), etc.
Sgt_G's project is worthy in its own right, just to see how a ship would realistically run. I'm sure even the Sarge doesn't intend to write a story involving every single crew member as a star in his story! (But it would be cool to write lots of little stories involving different groups from the whole...)
Tribble Overlord Kuri (TOK)
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