So, I wrote a thing...

Updated on 7/17/17 to add detail and improved links, on 7/20 to add other formats, and on 5/31/19 to remove dead links.

In April of 2017 the open-source social network software called Mastodon was covered by a blogger, and I wandered over to take a look.  Mastodon, based on GNU Social supports a network of "instances" that are "federated" in order to share content.  Using a script I wrote, I initially looked for an instance that was closest to me in terms of network delay, and wound up at a now-retired instance and created my first account.  I then started looking around at other instances.  Some instances have specific themes, such as politics, system administration, teaching, sports, and so on.

I soon stumbled upon a Star Trek themed instance called Ten Forward, and created an account there called @Redshirt27, trying to be as generic as possible (by not taking the name of a scripted Star Trek character) yet still represent a known part of the Star Trek universe (the hapless Security folks who tend not to live too long).

I started posting as if I were a very junior Starfleet Security officer reporting aboard the USS Enterprise.  Then, unexpectedly, I fell into a story and the posts started flowing.  I have written no fiction since high school 45 years ago.  I was very surprised as this started happening, but kept typing what popped into my head, letting the story go wherever it went.

Here's what spilled out, all 100 KB of it, over 17,000 words.  Longer than a short story, not quite a novella, what some would call a novelette.

The individual posts are unedited (even typos are left as-is), though I did remove a few early posts that didn't fit the narrative that emerged.

Here's why I'm sharing this: I really, really like it, both the process and the result.  "Proud" would be the wrong word; "Delighted" is a better fit.  I like that I was more of a reader than a writer as this story came out, always surprised by what my character did next.  The only external reference I used was the Memory Alpha site, mainly to get the terminology right and avoid gross mistakes within the Star Trek universe.  (The mistakes that remain are all mine!)

The thing is, I feel I created something here that may add something to Star Trek fandom.  First, I like that this all happens within the head of the single isolated character, in the form of a personal log.  Second, I got to think about some implications of Star Trek technology we take for granted, hopefully in a way that adds depth, not weaknesses.

Finally, I was hoping a sequel would come spilling out on the heels of this first story, but so far I have nothing to move on with.  This may be its own thing, a one-off, and I'm OK with that.

Should I revisit this, clean it up, and flesh it out a bit?  For example, the dates are the actual dates of the posts: Should I convert them to stardates?  Please let me know in the comments, especially about any faults you find, being as kind and gentle as possible so I can more easily listen to and better understand the criticism.

Enjoy!

Update: Whoops!  A second book spilled out!

Update: If you'd like to read the books in other formats, let me know and I'll make it happen.