David Lee Summers's Blog, page 120

Heirs of the New Earth

Heirs of the New Earth is the novel that concludes my Old Star/New Earth trilogy. The second novel of the series, Children of the Old Stars ended on a cliffhanger. The mysterious alien called the Cluster had been sighted over Earth and soon afterward, the Earth went silent. John Mark Ellis and Suki Firebrandt Ellis are sent off to find out what happened.

Arriving at Earth, they land and discover that the once overcrowded, polluted homeworld of humanity has become a paradise of sorts. The streets have been cleaned up. People are happy. Despite that, over half the population is dead or missing and the planet’s leaders don’t seem to care. As Ellis works to unravel the mystery, sudden gravitational shifts from the galaxy’s center indicate something even worse is in the offing.

My first inspiration for this novel came while working at Kitt Peak National Observatory in the mid-1990s. We were observing the center of our galaxy in the infrared and obtained one of the deepest images ever made of the galactic core. It made me wonder what was there. I knew the radiation was too intense for humans to travel there, but I wanted to find a way for humans to actually experience the center of the galaxy.

A question that has long plagued me, and many others, is how could the German people have ever allowed the Nazis to come to power? Heirs of the New Earth explores the psychology of people in denial about their friends and neighbors disappearing when society seems to get better. It’s an examination of the issue in admittedly broad strokes but I do it as a warning that a good society is never immune from corruption by evil forces.

When I started writing Heirs of the New Earth I decided not to work from an outline. I wrote it by the seat of my pants. The novel continued with the same characters from Children of the Old Stars and I managed to write myself into a corner. I set the novel aside for a time and finally realized that what I needed were some of the characters I first introduced in The Pirates of Sufiro to make a return. So, I brought back Edmund Swan along with pirate captain Ellison Firebrandt and his first mate Carter Roberts. Armed with an outline to provide a roadmap and characters to infuse the novel with new energy, I started again and completed the trilogy.

The Pirates of Sufiro is free to download in both Nook and Kindle formats:

Download The Pirates of Sufiro for Kindle.
Download The Pirates of Sufiro for Nook.

Children of the Old Stars is available as follows:

As a Kindle ebook from Amazon.
As a Nook ebook from Barnes and Noble.
As a print novel from Amazon.

Heirs of the New Earth is available as follows:

As a Kindle ebook from Amazon.
As a Nook ebook from Barnes and Noble.
As a print novel from Amazon.

Ray Bradbury, A Personal Remembrance

In May 1983, I was 16 years old and a junior at San Bernardino High School in California. One of my best friends, Rodney King, was a senior at Pacific High School across town. Rod told me that Ray Bradbury was scheduled to give a presentation at his school. I was on San Bernardino High’s newspaper and persuaded my teachers to give me permission to report on the presentation.

On the morning of Ray Bradbury’s presentation, Rod picked me up and we went to Pacific High School. We were walking across campus, when we were stopped by the principal. She saw I was carrying a tape recorder and asked if we were reporters from other schools. I confirmed I was. She then said, “Mr. Bradbury is having lunch in the library, would you care to join him?” Of course, we leaped at the opportunity. We found Ray Bradbury in the library talking to teachers and administrators. He seemed pleased to see some students there as well and we joined in the conversation.

Once we finished lunch, we adjourned to the auditorium where Bradbury spoke and answered questions about his work. Afterwards Rod and I went forward to say goodbye and thank him for talking to us. He pulled us aside and said, “I’m going out for cocktails with some of the teachers after this. Would you care to join us?” Of course we agreed and spent another hour with him. It was truly a magical day. I remember he told the story of how he came up with the story “The Veldt” from The Illustrated Man. He read some of his poetry. He encouraged us to read and write everyday. All of that has remained with me over the years.

I next had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Bradbury about two years later when he spoke at California State University at San Bernardino. That was a brief visit and he signed a copy of Dinosaur Tales for me. What I most remember is that when I stepped up to him in the autograph line, he immediately recognized me, stepped around the desk where he was signing, and gave me a hug.

I didn’t see Mr. Bradbury again until early 1995. At that point, I was living in Tucson. He came out to speak at a writer’s workshop held at the University of Arizona. I attended with my wife, Kumie, and my friend, William Grother. He gave a wonderful presentation over lunch where he told us a person should read a short story, a poem and an essay every day. “Imagine how much you will learn,” he said. He also told us about his experiences in Ireland, writing the Moby Dick screenplay for John Huston. Again, I had an opportunity to visit with Mr. Bradbury. He gave me and Kumie hugs and we left him to speak to other fans.

After that workshop, Bill, Kumie and I decided to create a science fiction and fantasy anthology series called Hadrosaur Tales. We dedicated the first volume to Ray Bradbury and sent him a copy. He sent back a letter praising the stories along with signed photos for all the contributors.

A couple of years later, I saw a copy of Green Hills, White Whale, which collected Ray Bradbury’s stories of working for John Huston in Ireland. I remembered his stories from the workshop so fondly that I immediately bought the book and read it right away.

About that time, I was also reading submissions for Hadrosaur Tales. There were three in a row that told the story of a knight climbing a mountain to slay some hapless dragon. I found myself asking, “Isn’t there a fresh way to tell this story?” I thought of Ray Bradbury in Ireland, writing Moby Dick. The question occurred to me, what if teams of people flew out in airships and hunted dragons? I wrote the story of a young man named Rado who joined such a crew. Rado was named for Ray Douglas Bradbury. When the story was published in Realms of Fantasy magazine, I sent Mr. Bradbury a copy and told him the story of how I came up with the idea. He wrote back a few days later and said how much he enjoyed that day in 1983 at Pacific High School, how proud he was of me and that the “The Slayers” was a “fine story.”

Back in 1983, Ray Bradbury told the story of visiting a carnival when he was a child. A man called Mr. Electrico strapped himself into an electric chair. With lightning arcing all around, Mr. Electrico pointed a lightning rod at the young Bradbury and said, “live forever!” That’s the moment Ray Bradbury decided to be a writer, so he could live forever.

That day, Ray Bradbury pointed at me and said, “Live forever, submit your stories now!” I have lived by that ever since and now it’s my turn to point to you. “Live forever!”

Speculative Poetry Contest

This weekend, I’m packing up copies of the 2012 Rhysling Anthology to send out to members of the Science Fiction Poetry Association so they can vote for the best long and short speculative poems written in 2011. You can learn more about the Science Fiction Poetry Association at: http://www.sfpoetry.com/

Also this weekend, The Science Fiction Poetry Association announces its 2012 speculative poetry contest. Speculative poetry encompasses science fiction, fantasy, and horror poetry. Deadline September 15, 2012.

There is no entry fee, and the contest is open to non-members, with $50 prizes and publication to the winners in 3 length divisions, and an additional $50 prize to the best poem by a non-member. Winners also receive a year’s membership in SFPA and member publications.

The complete guidelines for the 2012 SFPA contest are posted at http://www.sfpoetry.com/contests.html

Children of the Old Stars

Children of the Old Stars is the sequel to The Pirates of Sufiro. In The Pirates of Sufiro a mysterious and powerful alien called the Cluster began destroying space vessels for no apparent reason. In Children of the Old Stars, Captain John Mark Ellis embarks on a quest to determine just what the Cluster is. The woman on the cover is Ellis’s mother Suki Firebrandt Ellis, who plays an integral part in the quest.

As Children of the Old Stars opens, Captain John Mark Ellis and the crew of the destroyer Firebrandt attempt to rescue a civilian ship threatened by the Cluster. They fail and Ellis has to make the choice of taking a demotion or leaving the fleet. He decides that he can continue his quest better if he leaves the fleet. He joins a warrior/philosopher from the planet Rd’dyggia and a human who is convinced that the Cluster is God incarnate on the quest.

I grew up watching Star Trek and loved the exploits of Captain Kirk and the Starship Enterprise. As a teen, I discovered that Gene Roddenberry was influenced by the Horatio Hornblower novels of C.S. Forester. Around the same time, I also encountered the John Grimes novels of A. Bertram Chandler. Unlike Captain Kirk, who was always a staunch defender of the Federation, Grimes’s career made a detour when he resigned from the service. I loved the idea of a captain who wasn’t perfect, who might have a tarnished record, or might leave his position because of a principle. That’s where John Mark Ellis came from.

When I wrote the novel, the working title was Children of Chaos. It was an allusion to the Titans of Greek Mythology who sprang from chaos. Once the book was finished, though, I discovered I wasn’t the first person to have conceived that title. The final title is a more literal description of the alien machine called the Cluster.

To step back a little bit, astronomers divide stars into two “generations.” Newer stars like the sun are called Population I stars. Old stars like you might find in Globular Clusters or the hearts of galaxies are called Population II stars. The alien known as the Cluster is a product of those old stars. I’ll leave the details for people to discover, if they choose to read the novel!

One other piece of astronomy trivia from this novel, Ellis’s encounter with the Cluster at the beginning of the novel happens around a binary star called 1E1919+0427. It turns out that I’m one of the people who discovered that star is an eclipsing binary. I published the results in The Astronomical Journal in 1997.

Finally, I’ll note that one of the most frustrating novels I’ve ever read is From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne. The reason it’s frustrating is that he ends the novel on a cliffhanger. I did the same thing with Children of the Old Stars. If I had it to do all over again, I would have wrapped things up more neatly. But part of the issue is that I felt I needed a whole new book to deal with the issues that were raised when Ellis discovered the truth of the Cluster. That’s where the final novel of the Old Star/New Earth trilogy, Heirs of the New Earth comes in.

The Pirates of Sufiro is free to download in both Nook and Kindle formats:

Download The Pirates of Sufiro for Kindle.
Download The Pirates of Sufiro for Nook.

Children of the Old Stars is available as follows:

As a Kindle ebook from Amazon.
As a Nook ebook from Barnes and Noble.
As a print novel from Amazon.

Phoenix Comicon Schedule

On Memorial Day Weekend, I’m honored to be one of the participating authors at Phoenix Comicon in Phoenix, Arizona. Billed as “the signature pop-culture event in the Southwest” Phoenix Comicon features such guests as William Shatner, LeVar Burton, Brent Spiner, Peter S. Beagle and many, many more. I’m just scratching the surface with this list. Be sure to follow the link above to learn all about the convention.

Unfortunately, my schedule at the observatory only allows me to attend Saturday and Sunday of Comicon, but I still look forward to seeing what I can while I’m there.

In the meantime, here’s where you can find me at the event:

Steampunk Fiction

Saturday 3:00pm – 4:00pm.

Also on the panel: Michael Spradlin
In Space, No One Can Hear You Say Arrrr!

Sunday 10:30am – 11:30am.

Also on the panel: Gini Koch
The Micro Publishing Option

Sunday 1:30pm – 2:30pm.

Also on the panel: Bob Nelson
Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry

Sunday 3:00pm – 4:00pm.

Also on the panel: Marsheila Rockwell and Larry Hammer

If you’re in Phoenix for Memorial Day Weekend, I hope to see you there!

Vampires of the Scarlet Order

After discussing The Pirates of Sufiro and its origin here at the Web Journal, I thought it might be fun to go back and take a brief look at all my novels, introducing them to people who haven’t read them, and telling a little about their origins. I’ll start with Vampires of the Scarlet Order, which generally has received the best reviews of all my novels.

Vampires of the Scarlet Order is an action-adventure novel with a touch of romance that tells the story of an elite cadre of vampire mercenaries who have worked throughout history as pinpoint assassins. Under the command of Desmond, Lord Draco, the Scarlet Order was involved in wars with the Ottoman Empire, The French Revolution and even the conquest of the Americas. As the 21st century dawns, vampires are too expensive, too untrustworthy, and frankly, too passé for governments to employ any longer. Nanotechnology can be employed to engineer more reliable super soldiers. However, governments might be tampering with powers they don’t really understand. The elemental forces of the universe bring the vampires of the Scarlet Order together to put a stop to the humans’ dangerous experiments.

The novel opens in 1492 Spain as the Scarlet Order is working for the Spanish Inquisition and ends in a climactic battle in 2002 Los Alamos, New Mexico.

Vampires of the Scarlet Order began in 2001 when Janni Lee Simner and I were sitting around talking. She happened to wonder what a vampire would make of Las Cruces, New Mexico. Literally, Las Cruces means “the city of the crosses.” She said she had no plans to use the idea and said I was welcome to it. About a week later, a story about a vampire telescope operator who moves to Las Cruces came almost fully formed to my mind. I titled the story “Vampire in the City of Crosses” and sold it to Margaret Carter’s magazine The Vampire’s Crypt. About a month later, I came up with a sequel called “Vampires in the World of Dreams” which Carter also bought for The Vampire’s Crypt.

Over the course of the next two years, I kept writing short stories about vampires in the Southwest. Some of the vampires lived in the present day. Some lived in the past. I finally decided to figure out how all the stories related to one another and I put them together into a novel.

As it turns out, the first draft was quite a bit different from the finished product. In the first draft, it wasn’t the United States trying to make super soldiers. Instead, aliens from another world were trying to create vampires. After setting the book aside for a short time, I decided I had stretched credulity and I changed the novel into its current form.

I have continued to write vampire stories since Vampires of the Scarlet Order. One of them is a prequel called Dragon’s Fall: Rise of the Scarlet Order. That will be released soon from Lachesis Publishing. I also have several other standalone vampire stories. I’ve created a separate blog to discuss vampires and my vampire stories. You can check it out at: http://dlsummers.wordpress.com. You can also keep up with news about the vampires at their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Scarlet-Order-Vampires/159599227447475

You can find Vampires of the Scarlet Order at:

Barnes and Noble as a Nook Book
Amazon in Kindle Format
Amazon as a Print Book

Gaslight Gathering Schedule

From May 11-13, 2012, I’ll be one of the guests at Gaslight Gathering II: The Expedition in San Diego, California at the Town and Country Hotel.

Here is my tentative schedule for the weekend:

Friday, May 11

2:pm-2:50pm – Chivalry and Courtesy in the Age of Steam – Is the art of polite conversation and good manners dead? Come discuss whether steampunk is appealing because we recreate a more genteel and courteous time. Scott Farrell, David Lee Summers. Brittany Room

5pm-5:50pm Role of the Empire: Influences on Steampunk From Outside the US & UK – From the Congo to the vast outback of Australia, steampunk stories can take us far from our familiar streets and western frontiers. Listen as some of our most esteemed authors discuss the transcontinental power of steampunk to cross borders and visit exotic destinations. Nancy Holder, Tim Powers, David Lee Summers, James Hay (M). Garden Salon One

7pm-8pm – Victorian Astronomy – The stars have always held a special fascination to us mere mortals who look up into the heavens. I’ll tell about some of the discoveries, inventions and mad scientists of the Victorian Age. If weather permits, we’ll view Mars after the presentation. David Lee Summers – Claredon Room

Saturday, May 12

1pm-2:15pm – Paranormal Steampunk – Sink your fangs into this amazing panel as our authors discuss the many supernatural species that have invaded the steampunk genre and why readers can’t get enough of them. Scott Farrell, Nancy Holder, Suzanne Lazaer, and David Lee Summers – Garden Salon Two

5pm-6pm – How to Write Steampunk – Get ready to start writing your own steampunk story with some helpful hints from some of our incredible authors on how to get inspired and get your steamy ideas down on paper. James Blaylock, Nancy Holder, Suzanne Lazaer, and David Lee Summers. Brittany Room

Sunday, May 13

11am – Autograph Table – Dealers Room

2pm-3pm – Victorian Magic Vs. Science – Magician Dino Staats again pairs up with scientist and author David Lee Summers to bring you the real story behind the Victorian views on science and magic. Dino Staats, David Lee Summers – Brittany Room

3pm-4pm – Steampunk without technology?? – Come be part of a lively discussion on whether steampunk can exist without gears, gadgets and steam powered machines. Let the science fact versus the science fantasy debate on what the steampunk genre requires begin here! James Hay, Stephen Potts, Tim Powers, David Lee Summers. Brittany Room.

A Steampunk Spring

Happy Astronomy Day! Hope you get a chance to get outside and turn your gaze skyward tonight. As it turns out, Astronomy Day falls on one of my days off from the observatory this year, so I’m spending much of the day writing, but will be back to astronomy soon! In the meantime, I have a handful of new steampunk releases and a great steampunk event to tell you about.

Gears and Levers

First off, I’ll kick this off by telling you about Gears and Levers 1, a brand new anthology from Sky Warrior Publishing that includes my story, “The Pirates of Baja.” As you might guess from the title, there will be a Gears and Levers 2. It will feature the story “Endeavor in Halcyon” that I wrote with Kurt MacPhearson.

Come, my friends, adventure and romance await in worlds that never were but should have been. Magic and science blend together as Gears and Levers explores the quest for all that makes up humanity. Battle pirates, travel back in time, fly in dirigibles, explore the wonders of the Orient, and walk with automatons in twenty amazing tales set in Steampunk lands by masterful storytellers such as David D. Levine, Brenda Clough, Mark J. Ferrari, Irene Radford, K.L. Townsend, Shannon Page, and Bruce Taylor, among others.

My story in the collection tells the story of Ramon Morales, former sheriff of Socorro, New Mexico, who finds himself out of work in Los Angeles. He boards a ship on a mission to hunt pirates who have been sinking ships without firing a shot. He discovers the pirates possess an amazing new weapon: a submarine that can produce its own oxygen. The submarine in the story was inspired by a real-life submarine that was built in 1864 called the Ictineo II.

The story is reprinted from my novel Owl Dance. If you’ve already read Owl Dance, you should still check out the anthology for the nineteen other great stories. If you haven’t read Owl Dance, this is a great, inexpensive way to sample the novel along with nineteen other great stories. The way I see it, you can’t lose! Go pick up a copy right now at:

Amazon.com in Kindle format.
Barnes and Noble as a Nook Book.
Smashwords.com in pretty much any format.


Tales of the Talisman

The special steampunk issue of Tales of the Talisman is now available.

In this issue, M.E. Brines transports us to the Western Front during the Great War when British soldiers must confront a new menace—a giant, steam-powered German soldier. Jonathan H. Self introduces us to Albion, a secret agent for the Empire. What happens when agents from the other side discover her true identity and threaten her family? Douglas Empringham takes us to the distant past and shows us a clockwork marvel, an amazing dancing doll. Our own art director Laura Givens takes us to San Francisco where Chin Song Ping must find a wedding dress for his beloved or else the world will end. He would have a much easier time if not for the tongs, Teddy Roosevelt and the dragons!

Tales of the Talisman is a magazine of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Part of the fun of steampunk is that it encompasses all of these elements. We explore and push the boundaries in this issue, but the one thing we have not done is glued gears on it and called it “steampunk.” You can pick up a copy for yourself at:

TalesOfTheTalisman.com
Amazon.com


Cemetery Dance 66

Cemetery Dance issue 66 is now available featuring my story “The Vrykolakas and the Cobbler’s Wife.”

A vrykolakas is a creature of the night with properties of both a vampire and a wereworlf. My story is set in a small village in Greece in the year 1901. I’m hesitant to say this story is, in fact, a steampunk story. Even though it’s a horror story set during the Victorian age, there’s little in the way of steampunk technology here. Still, I think if you enjoy a good steampunk horror story, you’ll like this one. The issue is available at:

Cemetery Dance Publications.


Gaslight Gathering

Gaslight Gathering, Southern California’s first dedicated Steampunk and Victoriana Convention, is coming up May 11-13.

The guest of honor is Kaja Foglio, award winning author of the web comic Girl Genius. I’ll post my schedule here as soon as I have it, but I do know that I’ll be giving my Victorian Astronomy presentation with a few new twists and I’ll be joining Dino Staats to talk about magic and science, and maybe communicate with a few spirits. Of course, I’m happy to sign copies of Owl Dance or Cemetery Dance, or you could just ask me to dance at one of the great concerts! You can learn more about Gaslight Gathering and get tickets at:

GaslightGathering.org

Outlining Success

One question I have been asked in some recent discussions is whether I’m an outliner or a pantser. In other words, do I outline my stories and books or do I write by the seat of my pants? Over the years, I have written both ways, and I have even combined the two approaches. These days, though, I’m primarily an outliner.

In the most recent issue of the SFWA Bulletin there was an excellent article by C.J. Henderson that dared authors to consider whether or not they were ready for success. People who want to be writers often hear how they need to be prepared to face rejection and failure, but what happens when you’ve stood up to all that and suddenly find yourself with a contract for a book you haven’t written? Part of my personal answer to that question is to be an outliner. Admittedly, this might not work for everyone, but it’s a technique that works for me.

You see, there have been two cases where I tried to write novels by the seat of my pants and failed in my first attempt. The first was Heirs of the New Earth. The second was The Solar Sea. In the first case I wrote myself into a corner and I could see no way out, so I set the novel aside and wrote Vampires of the Scarlet Order instead. In the second case, I was getting bogged down in plot and character details that were neat, but didn’t drive the story forward at all. I ended up abandoning that version of the manuscript altogether.

The problem is, when confronted with a contract for a novel or a series of novels, I can’t afford to write myself into a corner or spend too much time on details that don’t matter to the story’s ultimate outcome. Sorting out the major plot points, understanding the novel’s direction, and turning that into an outline is one of the best ways for me to avoid that trap.

With that in mind, let me present some outlining techniques that have worked for me.

Outline on note cards instead of using the computer. Each note card contains exactly one plot or character point. This allows you to shuffle the points and add new points as necessary until you create a strong plot with good character growth. This is exactly the method I used to get out of the corner I had written myself into with Heirs of the New Earth.
Be mindful of your characters and their reactions as you outline. When you create a plot point, think about how all the affected characters will react. Sometimes you’ll find your story comes to life even as you’re writing the outline. In this way, you preserve some of the organic essence you can get when writing by the seat of your pants.
Don’t outline too tightly. Restrict your outline to simple plot points. This gives your imagination some freedom as you’re writing.
Don’t be afraid to deviate from your outline. If your characters say or do something surprising while you’re writing, let them. Feel free to explore a subplot or a ramification. Your outline is a map, but having a map doesn’t mean there there aren’t multiple ways to reach your objective.

Just to note, I ultimately did write The Solar Sea from scratch by the seat of my pants during the National Novel Writing Month in 2004. So, I’m by no means against being a pantser. That said, I outlined both Owl Dance and my vampire novel Dragon’s Fall. Outlines are useful tools for marking the trail. Don’t be afraid to deviate from the trail periodically and explore the surrounding countryside, though! The outline only exists to help you find your way back to your objective.

Interviewed at Long and Short Reviews:

I was interviewed by Long and Short Reviews in conjunction with the release of Space Battles. You can read the interview at: http://lasrsffguests.blogspot.com/2012/04/interview-david-lee-summers.html.
Note, they mention that this is a return engagement. For those who would like to read the first part of the interview, it’s here: http://lasrsffguests.blogspot.com/2012/02/interview-david-lee-summers.html

Space Battles

Space Battles is the sixth anthology in the Full-Throttle Space Tales series. It is scheduled for release on April 18. Edited by Bryan Thomas Schmidt, Space Battles brings to life 17 explosive tales of spaceship battles by such veterans of the series as Anna Paradox, Gene Mederos and C.J. Henderson. Also aboard for the ride are some newcomers, not the least of which is Mike Resnick.

My story in the anthology features pirate captain Ellison Firebrandt and the crew of the Legacy. This time they have a rematch with Captain William R. Stewart of the New New Jersey, who they first met in the story “Hijacking the Legacy” from Space Sirens. Several of these characters are also featured in my Old Star/New Earth series.

Editor Bryan Thomas Schmidt has been interviewing the contributing authors and sharing excerpts from the stories at his blog: http://bryanthomasschmidt.net/blog/. His interview with me and an excerpt from my story “Jump Point Blockade” is available at: http://bryanthomasschmidt.net/2012/04/12/space-battles-author-profile-meet-david-lee-summers/.

On release day, April 18, there will be a special edition of the Twitter chat SFFWRTCHT hosted by Bryan Thomas Schmidt focused on Space Battles. I’ll be on hand along with several of the other authors to discuss the book and answer questions about our stories. If you have a Twitter account, just look for #SFFWRTCHT to join in the conversation.

Space Battles is available to order from: Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

A few news updates:

Here are a few other items that might be of interest:

I’m laying out Tales of the Talisman volume 7, issue 4, our special steampunk issue. I hope to send that to press this coming week.
I was interviewed by Rick Novy last Wednesday. You can read the interview at: http://www.ricknovy.com/2012/04/writer-wednesday-novy-interviews-david-lee-summers/
I am getting ready for Gaslight Gathering II: The Expedition in San Diego, California, May 11-13. More information about the event is available at: http://www.gaslightgathering.org/
I have been making good progress on Wolf Posse, the sequel to Owl Dance . Thank goodness for the outline, which is helping to keep track of where I am in the story!