LOST IN SPACE? GET A BIBLE!

Laurie’s post about swearing in SFR this week made me think about the alien vocabulary my characters have been accumulating in the four books (and one short story) of the Interstellar Rescue series universe. There’s the swearing, of course, but I’ve developed a few alien terms for creatures that don’t exist on Earth, for example, and for religious, political or philosophical concepts, too.

The IR universe is a pretty full one after nearly a decade of writing, so there are planets (complete with cities and topographical features of note) and sectors of space and jump nodes that take you here and there. There are historical events, like famous skirmishes between the Rescue teams and the bad-guy aliens, or the discovery of the jump node transportation system (and the destruction of the home world of the alien species that discovered it). Each of my characters has a backstory, too, of course, that fits into the history of the universe. 

The series bible: not divinely inspired, just organized!

How to keep all of this information straight? Well, it’s pretty clear I should have graduated long before now from my “system” of scribbled notes and sketches with computerized notes for each book. I need a genuine series bible. Only lack of time and pure laziness/terror has prevented me from organizing all the material I work with in creating my IR universe into a coherent reference that both readers and the author can depend on.

What would I include in my series bible? In no particular order:

--A glossary of terms. This would be both of alien words and any pseudo-scientific terms I’ve invented, such as “mindwipe,” the term I use to describe what the Grays do to their captives to erase their emotions and memories of Earth.

--A list of places. Planets, space stations, significant jump nodes, cities/towns, colonies, topographical sites of note, such as the Sea of IzRa, to which characters might refer.

--A rough map of the “galaxy.” A number of jump nodes are mentioned in the series, as well as their relative distance from place to place in ship-days. The map would give readers a way to visualize where the nodes and places are in relation to each other. This would in no way be a real map of the galaxy, just a look at where things are relatively.

--A list of major characters. This wouldn’t be exhaustive and would only give the briefest details about the character—in which book they first appeared, planet of origin, relation to others, etc.

--A list of species. A description of the characteristics of each sentient alien species that appears in the series. Descriptions of creatures like the psoro (a Barelian “buffalo”) or the targa (a Thrane wildcat) will be found under the glossary, not here.

I’m sure there are other pieces of information that should be included. As I’m assembling my bible, they’ll make themselves known. I do know this is one of those tasks that I’ve put off too long. No doubt there will come a day when one of my readers will notice I’ve put a planet where it doesn’t belong. Before that happens, I’d better lay it all out in Scripture!

Cheers, Donna