Are you planning on doing it ship scale, fleet scale, or grand scale?

fleet scale

basically focusing on one person

who enlisted in the navy

Okay, that's more ship scale.

yeah

Battlestar Galactica was mostly ship scale.

okay yeah

then ship scale

its hard to do a good grand scale

Very. LOL

because you dont get to know anyone

basically the main character is the leader of the fleet

I started slow in my own main universe, then expanded from there until it was huge.

nice

I find it easier to do a single story on one person

then do another in the same universe

on a different person

Works well to a point, yep.

not too far, yeah

But I think you have the basics laid out okay, it's getting into the details that'll take the most work.

definitely

would you mind sending me one of your novels? grand scale sci fi sounds interestering

I'm still working on the first full novel. I ran with short stories up until now.

oh ok

I tried and failed with the first draft

70 pages of crap

now I'm completely restarting

basically the same core concept

You'll always be rewriting first drafts.

but other than the rogue planet everything is different

yeah

If you reach a point where you decide to change everything, don't be afraid to keep the parts you like and rewrite around them.

good idea

Niven and Pournelle literally rewrote an entire chunk of The Mote In God's Eye for one kickass line.

thanks for all the help. Mind if I send you the draft in a few weeks?

wont be done

just the first part

Also, Larry Niven's "Known Space" stuff is a good way to get a handle on introing worlds and races easily.

Sure!

thanks