Challenge Dear Diary Challenge 2017 | 11/30: 2018 Challenge Discussion Now Open

Excerpt from Alliance Intelligence Recruiting Division Interview
Subject: Ander Sonalex, Defecting Imperial Pilot

QUESTIONER: What is your relationship with technology like?

SUBJECT: I grew up in a home with Imperial-level tech. I was raised by a nanny droid, educated by a tutor droid, and annoyed a protocol droid my parents owned as a butler. I never left Ukio until I was with the Cadets, but my father had a shuttle that I learned how to fix alongside everything from speeders to moisture vaporators from the hub’s tech chief. I could also fly a speeder from a young age. One of the hub supervisors even taught me to shoot a blaster. My relationship with technology is fairly close.

QUESTIONER: Did you grow up with high or low tech surroundings, or somewhere in-between?

SUBJECT: I was raised in a high tech environment on a low tech world. I understand that not everyone in the Rebels has the same background that I do. At the same time, I know how to live without it because of my life on the agro planet. I know how a repulsor-combine works, but I can also plow a field with an animal and manual plow. I know how an auto-chef works, but I can also cook food with just a fire and a stick.

Don’t get me wrong, Ukio is just an agro planet. The Ukians didn’t even have a unified government before the Republic found them. Technologically speaking, it’s rather low tech. But, I never spent any real time anywhere else on the planet except for the Hub and the Imperial Cadet Facility. As I said before, both of those facilities were top of the line, with the hub actually being a bit better than the Imperial facility just because the military works by the lowest bidder.

QUESTIONER: How do you feel about the technology, or lack thereof, that you have to work with in daily life?

SUBJECT: That’s the question of the millennium. Imperial tech is the best there is within the galaxy military industrial complex. It’s simple to maintain, it’s easy to use, and it generally doesn’t fail. I know that TIE fighters are mass produced and when they do fail, they fail spectacularly, but they are simple to understand.

In the maintenance curriculum that I took as an elective for a term at the Corellian Academy, we broke a full TIE fighter down to its component parts and reassembled it. The class didn’t do just one, but we were split off into six-man teams to work on our own fighters. That’s how easy they are to maintain.

QUESTIONER: Are you more comfortable with some kinds of technology than others?

SUBJECT: Well, sure. I think everyone has their personal comforts when it comes to tech. This one girl at the academy hated droids to the point of purposefully bumping into them whenever she had to walk past one. One guy in command track almost failed out because he wouldn’t go near anything that had to do with radiation. A girl in the room next to mine was drummed out because he refused to accept a prosthetic hand after a maintenance accident.

I break it up into three categories. Things I love, things I am comfortable with, and things I tolerate. If I can control it, then I love it. If I can understand it, then I am comfortable with it. If I can’t understand it or control it, then I tolerate it.

I guess that’s why I’m a pilot. I can control what I’m behind the stick of. It’s not just starfighters, though. Repulsorlift vehicles, space transports, capital ships, even walkers and turrets are the same in my book. One twitch and it moves the way I want it to. Blasters are the same way. I control them and thus love them.

The things I understand cover a broader scope. Droids are the number one thing that falls into this category. I may not understand their programing or personalities, but I know how to take them apart and put them back together well enough to be comfortable around them. Most alien species also fall into this category. I’m sorry if this sounds bigoted, but it’s the way I feel. Hell, most of the people I know fall into this category, so I guess it’s not really that racist.

Finally, there are the things that I can’t control or understand. There aren’t many of these things, but they do exist. I felt this way about the Empire until I learned they would let me be a pilot. I felt the same way about lightsabers, even though I remembered them through the holodramas. Then again, I still do since the only one I ever saw up close didn’t have anything inside to hold it together, but still held together. Then there’s that Force thing, but it’s not really technology.

QUESTIONER: Is this due to your culture, experiences, or just personal preference?

SUBJECT: My culture? I was raised as a loyal member of the First Galactic Empire. My dad was head of a major agro hub and designed the system that is the standard for every agro planet the Empire controls. I went to the best Imperial academies and my service was on their greatest starships. Trust me, it isn’t cultural.

If I were to claim it as anything, it would be my experiences and preferences. I know I’m a control freak, most pilots are. However, I also like to know how things work to better use them. The Academy taught me to really take things apart and put them together, so that experience taught me a great deal. At the same time, I’ve been taking things apart since I got my first tool kit. So, yeah; I’d definitely say it was experiences and preferences, but more personal preference over experience.

 

Discussion: Technology

Talon loves technology...what he doesn't like is when people treat their droids like sentients or when droids try to start conversations with him or when droids get all 'pretend sad' when he doesn't want to treat them like anything else but a mechanical device. He doesn't understand the Grand Master's affection to Artoo.
He is not anti-droid. He just wouldn't talk to one or treat it like a sentient. He's weird in that way, but his dad has a similar outlook.

Talon has the basic expertise when it comes to technology. He probably could fix some basic things on a ship or do some things with a computer, but he is in no way an expert. He is a Jedi Guardian. He is also a Void Jumper. His specialty is combat. He probably knows a lot about weapon systems.

 

Regretfully, I'm going to have to take Teenage Rebellion out of competition. The update schedule has been getting too much for me.

 

Same for me and my non-SW DDC, Watching You, Watching Me. I want to concentrate on it without scheduling, since it's still a new, new thing for me.

My SW DDC *remains* in competition.

 

April 2017—Discussion and Mini-Challenge

Brought to you this month by Pandora.

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Discussion: Talking about the weather

This may be a result of my heritage of untold generations of farmers, but as the season where I live turns toward spring, I find myself keeping track of the weather. There are a plethora of monoclimate temperate planets in the far, far away galaxy (as I was reminded recently whilst re-reading Daniel Wallace’s The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons—and that does not include the many more such worlds that have been added since it was published in 1998)—but even on those worlds, there must be some variation in weather patterns.

So: what are the seasons, and their weather patterns, like where your narrator lives? How much of an effect does this have on their life, and if there are effects, of what kinds? What are their personal views on the seasons, or certain weather conditions—such as rain, or snow—and why do they have them?

Mini-Challenge: All I Have to do is Dream

This can be either your narrator’s fondest wish (which does or does not come to pass) or a vision from the Force, or an ordinary dream sequence, just the usual flotsam and jetsam of the mind coming to the surface while they sleep. It is entirely up to you.

 

Discussion: Talking about the weather Linza likes the sun but she also enjoys a gentle rain and even though thunderstorms frighten her she is amazed by their awesome power and beauty. David as a soldier on patrol despises rain as it is miserable to walk in but he does enjoy the sound and smell of rain.

 

I might do the DDC next year. I've got a great plot bunny that would be perfect for it.

But I have a question. Is it okay to credit a co-author on this thing?

 

Co-authoring makes things a bit complicated. Both co-authors need to meet the monthly minimum of entries - two for you, two for the co-author. Or better said, there needs to be a total of 48 entries at the end of the year, as opposed to 24.

 

Maybe I'll just make it a dedication then.

 

Do I still send notices for updates since my diary is out of competition?

 

Raissa Baiard: Do I still send notices for updates since my diary is out of competition?

This is one of those areas where (given that the Out of Competition category hasn't ever been much used) I don't think there is any established etiquette. But yes, I see no reason for you not to send update notices. Your diary may not be in the competition, but it isn't dead either.

Oh, and apologizes for the delay in my getting to your question.

 

I have to back out of the competition. My muse isn't being cooperative. Thank you for running this challenge.

 

divapilot: Sorry to hear that, hope you'll have the chance and/or inspiration to continue it out of competition at some point!

 

Ditto. What a bummer! Hope your muse come back. And when you find it, tell her to bring mine back, too. Those goat darned ******.

 

May 2017 - Discussion and Mini-Challenge

This month's discussion and challenge were provided (late late late) by Kahara. Happy writing and discussing!

Discussion: Role Models, Heroes, and Mentors

Many people will have had an impact on your diary character's life, whether they were someone that the character knew personally (perhaps a parent or teacher), a historical figure, a celebrity, or even a fictional character. Tell us about some of the people that your character has looked to for guidance or inspiration.

Mini-Challenge: Very Bad Day

Sometimes, the universe just seems to have it in for your character. Tell us about a time when everything goes wrong for at least part of the day.

(Yes, this is nearly every diary entry ever written by any character. Someone was fresh out of ideas this month... )

 

Discussion: Role Models, Heroes, and Mentors

Hmmmm. For Helen, I think her role model/mentor would be the former First Lady, Abbey Bartlet - really the only (in the TWW universe) person who really knows what Helen is going through. Helen could look to historical First Ladies, but the 21st century is simply different (HMMM... this gives me an idea for an entry).

As for Donna, one episode mentions a teacher as sort of a mentor - but I really think her former boss (and now husband in my diary) would be sort of a mentor to her in terms of how Government works.

Mini-Challenge: Very Bad Day

Oh man - it won't be posted in June, but I'm currently working on a VERY BAD DAY for both my characters. This challenge has prompted me to make it even worse.

 

Discussion: Role Models, Heroes, and Mentors

Doria looks up to Gredda, her older Drall friend. Gredda is on a high position at AARIS (Agricultural Appliances Research Institute of Saccorata) and she's really smart and resourceful. Doria also looks up to a fictional character named Qleebold, from a very old holoshow named Dear Qleebold and often asks herself what would Qleebold do. Another person whom she adores very much is her xenobiology teacher Pantareah Steurpa, who is, unlike some other teachers, very understanding on her and could be seen as her mentor. Finally, there is Dyeke, the painter she read about in the book Midday Darkness, written by Roula of Pelayn.

Mini-Challenge: Very Bad Day
My mini challenge response will be posted on Monday. The timing is just perfect. It's a disturbing entry, but yeah.

 

Discussion: Role Models, Heroes, and Mentors

Leo has a lot of role models and heroes in his life, but his father is probably the biggest. While Leo's dad has a very busy job, young Leo loves to go to work with him, even if it means just watching the craziness happen from the sidelines. His entire family (genetically and family of the heart) is in public service of some sort, so it's no wonder he continued that into his adult life.

As an adult, Leo's father has died, but when he gets into a jam he thinks about what his dad's advice would be. He also has people in his family who have held the very difficult job he has now, so he looks to them as well, especially his Uncle Sam. The advice he gets about how to deal with the pressures of being a world leader are invaluable and he can't imagine doing so without the guidance of his family who has been in his shoes before.

 

Talon looks up to his father, but at the same time he sometimes questions his father's motives. He knows his dad would do anything to protect his family...and sometimes those things may not be very Jedi-like. I think his father, Mark Tantiss, is truly a Grey Jedi. Talon knows his father is in possession of Sith knowledge and he often worries about his father and how that knowledge might influence him in a bad way.

Talon also looks up to the Grand Master and his former Master, Mara Jade Skywalker. Of all of those people he probably leans toward his father for guidance. Talon realizes that there are grey areas and one can't always strictly adhere to the Jedi Code.

 

LInza owes a lot of her curiosity to her Grandfather Hrolf. He was a Wandering Shaman that saw many places before he settled down in Grunewald (the Green Forest Village) and told his son and grandchildren about all the places he had been. Linza also has lots of respect for the Shamans because it is their duty to keep the Records and lead the community Spiritually.

David looked up to his eldest sister Livna and hasn't fully recovered emotionally from her death. Since he has been assigned to Captain Hila Cox he has come to see her almost as a sister and someone to look up to since she isn't afraid to stand up for her men and tell their bosses what she thinks or feels about their treatment to her men.


I am on my third rewrite of the next entry and I got to say the mini challenge fits with what I am writing.

 

June 2017—Discussion and Mini-Challenge

Brought to you just before the last minute of the month by Pandora.


Discussion: The Dark Side of Your Narrator


It has been said that everyone—or nearly everyone, anyhow—has a darker side: the mean, or petty and pathetic, parts of themselves that they tend to prefer not to show to others. (Of course, the lords and apprentices of the Sith revel in their dark sides, but that is another story.) And what better place for your narrator to reveal their more socially unacceptable thoughts than in a private document that they do not intend for anyone else to read—a diary? But (to sort of quote Dostoyevsky) there are, besides those secrets people keep from others, the secrets they keep even from themselves. So: what deep dark thoughts have your narrators been spilling out in private? And—what thoughts are they keeping even from their diaries?

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Mini-Challenge: “I’m your huckleberry”

Said Doc Holiday enigmatically. You can decide what it means.

 

I'm late to the game, and I already PM'd the Host with the link but it seems every one else is linking their diary.

So...

Legitimate Salvage for Honor Tur-Hazy (OC)

 

Linza has secretly wondered for some time if the Histories have been corrupted or purposely lost. The thought that any Shaman would purposely destroyed History feels like heresy. But she can't help but think that something happened that led to the loss of History; especially now that she's face to face with a man that not only has no markings but doesn't understand her and knows what the strange symbols on the metal plates her Grandfather Hrolf brought home from the strange structures in the Gruneinmal Desert mean.


David suspects that Ugaidi Industries is doing something shady on Tiston but the only proof he had for a long time was a waterproof bag with supplies and a book with writing but was too afraid to show it to anyone because he's afraid of what they will do if they knew that someone suspected that the world they claim is uninhabited has a population.

A deeper fear that he will never voice is that he's wrong about Fate and Destiny. He used to accept it without question but after he was the one to find his beloved sister Livna and her husband Moran's crumpled speeder, victims of a hit-and-run, he started to question why Fate or Destiny would have his sister, a young mother of two children, die in such a way, why a talented man would be forever paralyzed and why was he the one to find them. Deep down though he wonders if he's wrong about Fate and Destiny and wonders if something is in store for him; something better.


I know not really evil or dark but still.

 

Talon is a fairly decent guy. I think he secretly would be happy if his wife's pet vornskr accidentally got shot out of the airlock...but at the same time he wouldn't want to see his wife sad. He doesn't like Princess, but he loves his wife enough to tolerate an animal that almost mauled him to death. In addition, he suspects his cousin of a crime against humanity (Hapan plague), but he secretly hopes it is never revealed. He's like his dad...family first, Jedi second, and the Galactic Alliance third.

 

Not so much "deep dark secrets" but my diary is showing (what I believe to be) the toil power and responsibility has on a marriage. I just wrote an argument between one of narrators (Helen, the First Lady of the US) and her husband. In her appearances in the show, Helen can be a bit of a witch (for a lack of a better term). She has her moments of pettiness and spitefulness. I've never been married, but it's kinda scaring me how unnecessarily mean I just made her in this argument (I think repressed memories of my childhood are surfacing). It's scary and her anger is unjustified, but it is real and understandable. I'm kinda tempted to change the direction of my diary. It would mean changing humorous diary into something maybe too real (#brokenhomekid), plus it would mean chucking why I decided to do this diary in the first place out the window (AND I NEED TO MAKE FUN OF THE CURRENT SITUATION IN THE US). So I don't think I'll do a complete 180, but it is tempting me.

Donna (my other narrator) is happy and hopeful. I need to write more Donna.