So, I've hit a point in my story where the action is supposed to be at its peak. My rogue space marines have stolen all the technology they need to get to the front lines--the super-AI, the hydrogen fuel tanks, and the Faster-than-light travel engines--and have taken the fight to the aliens. They've dealt with the loss of a teammate and subsequent survival guilt, they've built interpersonal rivalries, they've started trends in armor painting, and they're all-in-all pretty well-fleshed out characters.
Problem is, I don't know what to do with them now. Sure, they fight aliens, but every scenario I plan feels either forced or stupid in the sense that the aliens should be able to thwart them, what with the aliens being technologically superior to humans and all. I'm at a wall and having trouble constructing scenes that feel important, not just filler. I know it's just a first draft and all but I'd like to write something I feel passionate about, something I feel is worth writing.
I have a vague scene (currently set in space on an alien satellite array) that re-introduces a character injured back in their first combat encounter, (thanks again to everyone who made suggestions in that thread.) It's... not terrible, but I need more ideas like that one, where the physical action has a character-related drama associated with it. I also have a scene where two of the characters realize they have deeper feelings for one another and fall in love, so I don't need any more romantic subplots.
I briefly toyed with the idea of giving the AI a robot body, but I've not established that such technology existed, and if it did, then I would have to deal with whether or not the AI is making a copy of itself. If it does, that breaks the narrative of AIs being super rare and smart. I mean, if it can just copy itself, why doesn't it do that all the time like a computer virus, and why haven't super AIs already destroyed/enslaved the human race? It'd take me down a direction the story wasn't really designed to follow. (This is supposed to be about humans reclaiming their individuality, not man vs. machine.)
So sorry that was long and rambly, but if anyone has ideas, I'd appreciate if you would share. If you want to know more, I'll certainly answer any questions you might have.
Maybe it's timeto up the stakes. If the story's about reclaiming individuality, maybe something could happen that puts that individuality at stake and forces them to make sacrifices on that front? Maybe the organization they've been defying catches up with them and they have to try to make a case for themselves. They could regain whatever they've lost by the end, but maybe it's time for them to lose some part of what they've been fighting for all this time. If the characters think all their work has been for nothing, it could also reinvigorate their survivor guilt, too, if you want to go that route, because then their teammate's deathcould seem even more needless and upsetting.
Or since it's about regaining individuality, maybe someone on the team takes that concept too far.They still need to work as a team, but maybe someonethinks it's better to work completely alone and ends up sabotaging their efforts in order to advance himself / herself?
If the aliens should be winning due to superior technology, maybe theydo win at first, and things seem really bad, but if this is the first opportunity the team has had to see their technology up close, then that could give them new ideas. Perhaps they suffer some kind of loss (maybe not another character, but maybe one of the technologies they've worked hard to get, like the FTL engine or something, gets damaged or malfunctions and gets them stuck somewhere or they have to fix it or something), but thenafter the smoke clears, they think about how they can replicate / modify the alien tech and use it for themselves to win against the aliens, or gives them an opportunity to think outside the box.
Anyway, since it seems like they've gotten the things they set out to get in order to get to the front lines,things are going pretty well overall, even though someone died. So it's probably time for something to go wrong again. There are many options.
David Brin in his Uplift seriesaddresses how humans with their few allies manage to win over technologically superior (but surprisingly unimaginative and hidebound) aliens. Any technology, sufficiently advanced, begins to be indistinguishable from magic. Humans, on the other hand, are driven by scientific curiosity to find out how and why things work. They can combine concepts and innovate where, perhaps, your technologically superior aliens depend too heavily upon their technology. They may no longer innovate and there may even be flaws in how their technology is designed.
Gregory Benford in his Galactic Center series foretells a different situation where human civilization is utterly destroyed by AIs and mechs, with only small roving bands of humans managing to survive in the fringes, raiding outposts and re-purposing alien technology.
Just a few quick thoughts.
Another thought: when everything is going well, that's when disaster could strike, leading your characters to their nadir moment before they figure things out and turn everything around. Or, if you've already had that point before where you are now, then maybe what you're looking for is the denouement, something like this.
Or you could have your team discover somehow that the aliens are not really the enemy/have legitimate claims/common goals, etc. They may even end up allying against another enemy.
Haha! Actually, that's essentially how I planned the book to end. The aliens realize the splinter group are also enemies of the human government, and they team up to take down the oppressive government.
Yes, something needs to go wrong, I just can't decide on what. :-) Maybe the government finally catches up to them just as they think they're winning. That could be intense.
This is just an update. For those of you who graciously spent time on the forums, giving me suggestions instead of writing your own stories, I'd like to say thank you. I've figured out how to proceed. Yes, I will be upping the stakes and adding tension.
So, to recap, my team of rebel space marines have stolen the necessary equipment to reach the front lines against the alien invaders. Then what? Someone gets the bright idea to steal one of their satellites and let the ship's super-AI use a brute-force, trial-and-error method to decode the alien programming language so they can hopefully intercept alien transmissions. After the AI succeeds, they uncover some coordinates that are very important to the aliens, and decide to go there to find out what it is. This leads to another confrontation with the aliens, where the rebel space marines emerge victorious.
Probably shortly following that victory, there is another confrontation, this time a 3-way brawl between the aliens, my rebels, and the non-rebel human military. The aliens back off to see who wins the fight between the humans. The rebel team holds off against the humans, but are out of ammo and at the aliens' mercy afterwards. They prepare to go down swinging, but are taken hostage instead.
So, I've hit a point in my story where the action is supposed to be at its peak. My rogue space marines have stolen all the technology they need to get to the front lines--the super-AI, the hydrogen fuel tanks, and the Faster-than-light travel engines--and have taken the fight to the aliens. They've dealt with the loss of a teammate and subsequent survival guilt, they've built interpersonal rivalries, they've started trends in armor painting, and they're all-in-all pretty well-fleshed out characters.
Problem is, I don't know what to do with them now. Sure, they fight aliens, but every scenario I plan feels either forced or stupid in the sense that the aliens should be able to thwart them, what with the aliens being technologically superior to humans and all. I'm at a wall and having trouble constructing scenes that feel important, not just filler. I know it's just a first draft and all but I'd like to write something I feel passionate about, something I feel is worth writing.
I have a vague scene (currently set in space on an alien satellite array) that re-introduces a character injured back in their first combat encounter, (thanks again to everyone who made suggestions in that thread.) It's... not terrible, but I need more ideas like that one, where the physical action has a character-related drama associated with it. I also have a scene where two of the characters realize they have deeper feelings for one another and fall in love, so I don't need any more romantic subplots.
I briefly toyed with the idea of giving the AI a robot body, but I've not established that such technology existed, and if it did, then I would have to deal with whether or not the AI is making a copy of itself. If it does, that breaks the narrative of AIs being super rare and smart. I mean, if it can just copy itself, why doesn't it do that all the time like a computer virus, and why haven't super AIs already destroyed/enslaved the human race? It'd take me down a direction the story wasn't really designed to follow. (This is supposed to be about humans reclaiming their individuality, not man vs. machine.)
So sorry that was long and rambly, but if anyone has ideas, I'd appreciate if you would share. If you want to know more, I'll certainly answer any questions you might have.
Thanks.
Maybe it's timeto up the stakes. If the story's about reclaiming individuality, maybe something could happen that puts that individuality at stake and forces them to make sacrifices on that front? Maybe the organization they've been defying catches up with them and they have to try to make a case for themselves. They could regain whatever they've lost by the end, but maybe it's time for them to lose some part of what they've been fighting for all this time. If the characters think all their work has been for nothing, it could also reinvigorate their survivor guilt, too, if you want to go that route, because then their teammate's deathcould seem even more needless and upsetting.
Or since it's about regaining individuality, maybe someone on the team takes that concept too far.They still need to work as a team, but maybe someonethinks it's better to work completely alone and ends up sabotaging their efforts in order to advance himself / herself?
If the aliens should be winning due to superior technology, maybe theydo win at first, and things seem really bad, but if this is the first opportunity the team has had to see their technology up close, then that could give them new ideas. Perhaps they suffer some kind of loss (maybe not another character, but maybe one of the technologies they've worked hard to get, like the FTL engine or something, gets damaged or malfunctions and gets them stuck somewhere or they have to fix it or something), but thenafter the smoke clears, they think about how they can replicate / modify the alien tech and use it for themselves to win against the aliens, or gives them an opportunity to think outside the box.
Anyway, since it seems like they've gotten the things they set out to get in order to get to the front lines,things are going pretty well overall, even though someone died. So it's probably time for something to go wrong again. There are many options.
Hope this helps! Good luck!!
David Brin in his Uplift seriesaddresses how humans with their few allies manage to win over technologically superior (but surprisingly unimaginative and hidebound) aliens. Any technology, sufficiently advanced, begins to be indistinguishable from magic. Humans, on the other hand, are driven by scientific curiosity to find out how and why things work. They can combine concepts and innovate where, perhaps, your technologically superior aliens depend too heavily upon their technology. They may no longer innovate and there may even be flaws in how their technology is designed.
Gregory Benford in his Galactic Center series foretells a different situation where human civilization is utterly destroyed by AIs and mechs, with only small roving bands of humans managing to survive in the fringes, raiding outposts and re-purposing alien technology.
Just a few quick thoughts.
Another thought: when everything is going well, that's when disaster could strike, leading your characters to their nadir moment before they figure things out and turn everything around. Or, if you've already had that point before where you are now, then maybe what you're looking for is the denouement, something like this.
Or you could have your team discover somehow that the aliens are not really the enemy/have legitimate claims/common goals, etc. They may even end up allying against another enemy.
Or is that cliche?
Haha! Actually, that's essentially how I planned the book to end. The aliens realize the splinter group are also enemies of the human government, and they team up to take down the oppressive government.
Yes, something needs to go wrong, I just can't decide on what. :-) Maybe the government finally catches up to them just as they think they're winning. That could be intense.
This is just an update. For those of you who graciously spent time on the forums, giving me suggestions instead of writing your own stories, I'd like to say thank you. I've figured out how to proceed. Yes, I will be upping the stakes and adding tension.
So, to recap, my team of rebel space marines have stolen the necessary equipment to reach the front lines against the alien invaders. Then what? Someone gets the bright idea to steal one of their satellites and let the ship's super-AI use a brute-force, trial-and-error method to decode the alien programming language so they can hopefully intercept alien transmissions. After the AI succeeds, they uncover some coordinates that are very important to the aliens, and decide to go there to find out what it is. This leads to another confrontation with the aliens, where the rebel space marines emerge victorious.
Probably shortly following that victory, there is another confrontation, this time a 3-way brawl between the aliens, my rebels, and the non-rebel human military. The aliens back off to see who wins the fight between the humans. The rebel team holds off against the humans, but are out of ammo and at the aliens' mercy afterwards. They prepare to go down swinging, but are taken hostage instead.