This months’ first prompt, from SLWalker:

To AU or not to AU, that is the question!

Do you like writing alternate universes? Branching your characters off and seeing where a different path goes? Where do you start, and how do you go about it?

So!  Alternate Universes!  Seems easy enough, right?

Eh…not really so much.  If for no other reason than I’m lazy and I like my characters right where they are, in their own little protected universe…

Except, if you look at things technically…most of us write in alternate universes.  We *claim* they’re in the prime or the AU or the MU or Universe 1729 but, really, we write in separate, alternate takes on what we feel should be explored in Trek.  United Trek would be the largest single universe I’ve seen around here so far, but then again, I’m still pretty new on the scene myself.

Along with that, I write for Star Trek Online’s universe.  This is a video game; it would be the epitome of alternate universes.  Why?  Because every character (so far, until they change the tutorial next week or so) has gone through what Jessica did in Blood Red Dawn.  Every character has stopped the Devidians in Ghost Ship.  There are a finite number of missions, and just about every character has ground their way through those set missions.

Is it feasible to say five million captains all received their commands following a Borg attack?  Not really…

I’m working to do something similar to United Trek, in that at least one other STO writer and myself are going to be syncing our timelines up so that we are writing in, virtually, the same universe.  You’ve been getting a taste of his characters, and they’ll be larger players in my next story to help introduce them properly to the community, and it should hopefully encourage other STO writers to throw their hats in the ring as well.  At least, that’s the goal.  BUT, that is, again, just one more alternate universe to add to the pile.

Now, going back and looking at AU as alternate to my universe…well, that’s a bit different.  Again, I like my characters right where they are, but I have explored this possibility, somewhat off-handedly, in Merrily Merrily Merrily, where I explored the “what if” of Jessica telling her friends what her first posting was.  If you haven’t, go read it before continuing, because there will be spoilers.

Back?  Ok.  So, as I said, Jessica tells her friends where she goes.  Vega still happens; Bridget and Justine’s knowledge of her posting isn’t going to change the fact that the Borg are returning, nor the fact that Rafale gets caught in the middle of the charlie-foxtrot.  I presented the story as a dream to assure people that things were still the same, but I ended it intentionally with a shift back to that reality, in the spirit of the theory that for every decision point in history, a new universe is created.  Somewhere, there is a Bridget who is utterly alone; somewhere else, I’m sure, all three of the girls made it out of that alive.

Other than that foray, I’m not sure I’ll do more of it.  It could be interesting later on, but I have enough ideas for stories to keep me busy for a while.

For your fourth blog prompt I am going to ask you to consider the setting. I’ve written a post touching on this before where I find that settings/locations often shape a story. So tell me, how do you choose your settings – be it planet, ship, ship class, heck Trek era even? How does the setting shape your story? What world building lengths do you seek as a writer / as a reader? Do you like descriptions and to paint the scene or do you leave it to the imagination of the reader. However you choose to interpret this prompt, have at it.

Hmm…settings.  Without them, stories really don’t go anywhere…literally.

I guess, starting simply with ship class, it depends.  With “After Darkness,” I chose the old freighters from ENT as a crossover between ENT and the JJ-Verse.  I chose the Newton-class because it was an intriguing design.  Maybe not the ship of line, but a somewhat specialized ship, maybe for long-term extensive research-type missions.  Not a warship, but also not a tugboat either.

For Rafale, I (obviously) used the ship I was playing with in-game.  I had read (somewhere, I can’t find it anymore) that the Akira was basically the new design that was replacing the Excelsior, as far as it’s widespread use and appearances in the fleet.  I decided on a refit-version that traded a lot of firepower and the hangar for extra labs, letting her fill the role of the Excelsior-class ships she was replacing.  That way, Rafale was definitely more than capable of being a warship in a time period where the Federation is at war with the Klingons again, but then also more than capable of going on short-range, quick down and dirty science missions.  I wouldn’t have a ship that would slice through enemies in space, nor be able to single handedly cure the Phage; she’s intentionally hamstrung to make the stories a little more interesting, as well as keep the ship dependent on the Fleet that she’s apart of.

For world building, Rafale is very easy – I use the game Star Trek Online for the backdrop.  There is a lot of story there that has already been established that I can use very easily.  In a few more stories, I’ll be departing somewhat more heavily from “canon” in the game; the backdrop will still be there, but they will be much more original situations that currently are not (and probably, never will be) in the game.  Once that divergence occurs, I don’t see the game shaping the story much more, until something happens that I decide to address in story.

I am a pretty visual person.  While leaving a setting to my imagination could work, I really enjoy when the writer goes out of his way to really describe what it is the characters are looking at when they board a ship or beam down to a planet.  The weather is a big player, too.  So many people don’t realize that you can use the weather like another character that your main people have to react to, another character that can drive your story forward.  Too often it’s just…nice and sunshiny.  Or, at least, that’s what I’m left trying to determine since no description is given.  Even on a ship, the staleness of the air or the rocking of the deck or even the occasional pinging and creaking of the hull is important, and can be used really well to set a mood (see:  Ghost Ship).  Even if the writer tries and isn’t good at it, the more you practice the better you get.  I can appreciate trying.  I try all the time.

Ok, so probably not my best response.  I guess I really wasn’t sure how to approach this; I’ve never really thought about my world build.  I’ll have to ponder this a bit more; maybe I’ll revisit this prompt later down the line.

So this prompt was actually my idea, but I couldn’t just sit back and NOT answer it.  What would be the point of that?

My blog idea is to try and maybe see just how far out there some of us have gone, are considering going, or wish we could go in the pursuit of IDIC in our fanfics. So, of those who are doing it, what other shows/media (or even star trek eras) are people pulling into their fanfics as crossovers? What crossovers do some people wish we could see, or want to try and write themselves. How do you feel about crossovers in star trek in general?

SO, allons-y!

My wife and I recently got hooked on a little show from across the pond (ha!  Pond!) called Doctor Who.  Maybe you’ve heard of it.  Basically, it’s awesome.  And lots of running.  Since starting to watch it we have cried numerous times, I can no longer go into a dark room without looking behind me multiple times for a stone angel, and I had the overwhelming urge during chem-warfare training to turn to my partner, while wearing my gas mask, and ask “Are you my mummy?”

The one crossover fic on the site that I’ve read and fully enjoyed was MDG’s “New Threat.”  Go check it out.  Unless, if you’re like me and can’t stand to start something that isn’t finished yet and have to wait for the rest to be posted (hint hint).  It’s a REALLY good crack at combining Doctor Who and Star Trek.  And after the rumors of the possibility of ENT/Dr. Who crossovers if ENT had continued, and now the comic book that was released with Matt Smith’s Doctor and the Enterprise-D joining up, the two shows seem to just beg to be thrown together.  Ok, maybe not beg, but dammit they play well together!  And if you haven’t read MDG’s New Threat, go.  Now.  Read.  It’s fun!

As far as for me, I’m a bit inspired to try my hand at a Doctor Who story, but I’m not sure about mashing Rafale with it, and which Doctor I’d use, especially since I’m a bit limited on my knowledge (we started with Eccleston and just got to Matt Smith two days ago).  I know I’m also going to bring in a few elements here and there from other places – if you’re familiar with the Mass Effect series, you might start to recognize a few elements here and there in coming stories.

The main crossover I’m working on is a TRON crossover.  It’s still in the works, and still a ways off, but I’m really excited about it, and I think it’s going to be really fun to do.

“What now?”  She asked quietly, looking down at Sark’s remains.

Tron knelt down, picking up Sark’s disc.  “It ends.”  He stood back up, placing both his and Sark’s disc on his back, finally looking at Jessica.  “We finish the game.”

Obviously, I like crossovers in Star Trek.  Fan Fiction is the best place, I feel, for crossovers of this kind of magnitude to live and be enjoyed more fully.  We can do anything we want – within reason – in this realm of fan fiction.  And it only makes the Sci-Fi that much better.  IDIC, right?  Crossovers are the epitome of that phrase.

What’s this?  Another blog prompt?  You’d think I’d start actually doing this on more…consistent basis!

 

Again, using the Boldly Reading discussion thread, it got me thinking about the hope of generating more reviews. So here’s your short and simple blog prompt: what do you like to see in a review of your work? what do you comment upon yourself in a review? has a received view changed your opinion on a story you wrote or were writing? and finally, has a review sold or warned you off another author’s story?

Reviews, reviews.  We all crave them.  Why else do we write?  Sure, I enjoy getting the ideas out of my head and in print, as if making my dreams into something more tangible, but I love when other people read my work and enjoy it.  Sure, not everyone likes what I write, and let’s be honest, I’m not a huge fan of a lot of other writing out there (Sorry, but it’s the cold hard truth).  There are probably a few people who have read maybe one or two of my things and had to shake their head, put it down, and say “I can’t read this anymore.”  It happens, and I’m certainly not offended by it.

My vision of Star Trek is very different from yours.  It’s just a fact of life we as writers label “creative differences.”  And it’s great.

I love to see positive reviews of my work.  I love when people just pile praises upon praises.  Every now and then I get a negative review, and I have to try and see things from the reader’s perspective (which isn’t always easy for a very proud man to do, believe me).  I like to see when people who read my work picked up on little “easter eggs” that I throw in here and there, or realize why I did things a certain way.  It makes me giddy knowing other people could see into my brainz as I worked.

I am the worst about leaving reviews for other people.  I can safely say I have read maybe four times as many stories as I have left comments on them (before the ficlet flashdance, at least.  I tried hard to keep up with that).  Part of my problem is that I’m still one of the “newer” faces around here, which means many of the stories I’m trying to get into have already been read and reviewed by MANY people.  It’s a little…off-putting, trying to come up with something to say that hasn’t already been said by three or four other people already.  More often than not, I just leave it alone rather than repeat what’s been said.  What do y’all think?  Do you care if you get a couple reviews that all look pretty much identical?

When I first arrived, I wrote USS WHISTON, a piece for a monthly challenge that asked to explore the JJ-Verse and the fall-out of Nero.  In that story, in the opening scene, I had the chief of security of the ship pull his phaser on his bumbling roommate.  And, when the roommate continued to make noise, he flipped the phaser from stun to kill to threaten him off.

I got at least one review that basically said “WTF?  How can he get away with something so undisciplined?”

And I thought about it, and the person was absolutely right.  It shouldn’t have happened.  He should have been strung up by his toes for it, in fact.  So, I have actually taken that input into account while writing part 3, GHANGWL.  The opening scene shows the chief reprimanded, and banned from operating anything more than a hand phaser pending “remedial weapons training.”  That’s probably the best example of using a review to help shape the next piece of the story that I’m writing.

As for turning me away from a story?  I haven’t seen any reviews that would do that to me (yet?), since most everyone on the site is actually pretty positive.  It’s pretty cool.

That does it for that prompt!  That was fun!

From Miranda Fave:

Given the thoughts being bounced about in the Book Club idea Boldly Reading my prompt is a simple: what do you like to read? what fanfic story type/era/character and heck even name an author here you gush over do you like to read?

Well, this should be a fun prompt (and thanks for the nudge to get blogging!)  What do I like to read?  Well, I actually do like to read fanfiction now.  I’ve gotten very tired and bored with the stuff that’s usually put out on the mainstream market with the Star Trek logo on it; we need fresh stuff beyond the Next Generation era characters (TNG, DS9, VOY).  Don’t get me wrong, I love TNG and the characters (I grew up with them) but it’s time to explore more.  That’s what Star Trek is about.

Beyond that, I am a Sci-Fi/Fantasy kinda guy.  Read “Ender’s Game” a year ago finally and loved it, and I totally can’t wait for the movie (even though I won’t get the chance to see it in IMAX or 3D…so bummed).  Hobbit, LOTR were my favorites growing up, and it really has pushed me into the sci-fi and fantasy realm of what I enjoy.

As for on Ad Astra itself, I like to read TNG-era stuff.  It’s comfortable for me.  I’ve never been a huge follower of TOS, so despite the iconicness of that time, it’s very alien to me.  Right now I’m working on finishing the Gibraltar series and let me tell you…wow.  Sam is amazing with his Gibraltar stories, and you can definitely see a transformation and growing in his writing style as you follow the series.  I seriously love it, and I’m actually kinda honored he and MDG asked me to try my hand at making characters (in Star Trek Online) to be used for a few characters and the Europa, to include my favorite Pava (*fanboy squee*)

Another awesome story I read was “451” by, interestingly enough, 451.  It was, at the time, the only Star Trek Online universe story, and I felt it gave the community a great first look into the universe, especially before I jumped in and started wacking you all on the head with it with my “Rafale.”  Definitely recommend reading that one as well (I actually did recommend it, during the final review hunt.  Glad to see it get a few more reads and reviews!)

Well, there you go.  I hope that fulfilled the prompt well enough!  lol

So, as I’m sure we can assume, based on the direction my previous two posts went, where this one is going.

We’ve hit my beginning footsteps into the fandom.  We’ve hit the point when I jumped in and started fanfic-ing (however tentative that intial step was).

So now, we’re here.  What am I doing *here* at Ad Astra.

As I mentioned in the previous installment, I’m active duty Air Force, and currently stationed in Oklahoma City.  My wife moved in a few months prior to our wedding, and we’ve now been here for the past four years.  So, go back four years.  What was popular back then?

That’s right.  JJ-Trek released.  Let me tell you, I bought into the craze.  I saw that movie a whopping 9 times in theatre.  Once in IMAX around opening weekend, and then 8 more times, all here in OKC, about once a week.  Every weekend.  For two months.  I loved it.  My love for Star Trek was rekindled, you could say.

Also popular?  Twilight.  And let me tell you, my (now wife) loved it.  Not really because the books were *great,* but because she got involved in an online fan group that called themselves Twihards.  They talked about the books.  They talked about the movies.  They talked about crazy fan girls.  They talked about how ridiculous the directors were.

And, they wrote and read fan fiction.  That was the first I had learned about the *possibility* of Fan Fiction.  My first knowledge was of fan productions, like Hidden Frontier, Aurora, Phase 2.  They were fan made, but they were still movie/television “series” type of shows.  They weren’t pen and paper; it was all still visual and audio.  I never considered it “fan fiction.”  This was the first I learned that fan fiction – fan produced writing – existed in MANY different genres.

Fast forward about two years.  I’m deployed, on what I’m thinking is a six-month long stint, away from home.  Internet sucks, so trying to watch shows is out.  And I had only a few burned movies in my possession.  I needed something to help occupy my time.  So, I Googled “Star Trek Fan Fiction.”  I figured, “hey, why not.  [The wife] loves fan fiction.  I’ll see what people have done for Star Trek.”

First or second, in the list of responses to my search, was Ad Astra.  I clicked.  I checked out the featured story (I forget what it was now).  I saw the monthly challenge – a JJ-verse story.  I read jespah’s entry, which was our first introduction to the wonderful (and my favorite) Eriecho.

“I can totally do this.”

The result?  “Star Trek; After Darkness – USS WHISTON.”  My first piece of proper fanfiction.

Since then, I’ve gotten heavily into my Star Trek Online universe that I play in, helping to add another universe for the people of our community to enjoy.  I’m active in the forums and on the site, contributing to monthly challenges and, now, the Twelve Trials.  I’ve gotten some awesome reviews.  I’ve gotten some criticism.  I’ve read some series and stories, and (I’m ashamed to say) had to turn away from others.  Just because I can’t stand cliff hangers and need to know “what happened next,” I’ve sorta put reading other people’s series on hold until I finish Gibraltar’s “Star Trek Gibraltar” series (which, I just learned, is getting ANOTHER story added to it currently.  I think I’ll finish…eventually.)  After that, I’m certainly game for suggestions, but I know I need to read SLWalker’s Scotty stories, and trekfan’s stuff (I need to know more about Bethany now that she’s part of the family over here!  It’s so cool!).  I’ve loved the community since I joined, and it’s been eye opening and inspiring to see all the different styles of writing, all the different takes on the central Star Trek theme.

With Archangel still waiting to be created and Rafale well in the works (I have, ready to go, the possibility of 12 more proper stories in the series), I am enjoying this new chapter in my Trek life.  I’m almost afraid, if a new series were to be made for TV, I wouldn’t enjoy it.  It wouldn’t be the same as the incredibly original series and one-shots that have been created by some of the coolest people I have ever met.  And now that I’m dragging a friend into the mix, I’ll be one of three authors to write in the Star Trek Online universe, and in the same vein as our United Trek brethren, in that our two series would be in the same universe within STO as well.  I love where I’ve come, and I love the community I’ve joined.

Keep your eyes peeled for more.  I haven’t come this far to just stop when one story is done.  I’ve still got a whole other series to create and share.

That said…any artists want to help?  My comiccing skills leave much to be desired.  🙂

As I ended the previous post, I entered college still with the idea running in my head of the Raptor and her crew.

College was a wonderful time for me, and I was focused on…ah, who am I kidding.  I can’t even finish that statement with a straight face.  I got involved at the Catholic Student Center on campus.  I was involved in ROTC.  I joined a fraternity.  I began playing my first MMOs (Final Fantasy XI and City of Heroes).  And, I continued to refine my ideas of my OWN Star Trek series.

It would have to be animated, I decided.  You can do anything with animation, to include incredible new aliens that would cost prohibitive to create, either with makeup or CGI.

I began refining the story of my crew, right down to where they sat on the bridge (side note:  Rafale‘s bridge layout, having the helm and tactical console integrated, was because of my thoughts at this stage.  On the Raptor, tactical sat at the front of the bridge right next to the helmsman, so that they could better coordinate their attacks and maneuvers.)

The captain was my character, Captain Steven Scott, a man who had willingly been partially assimilated in order to enhance his abilities.  His right hand was a Romulan woman named Sevlaan.  Tactical was a Caitian named Sayre.

As I continued forward and continued making plans, I realized a few things.

1)  I like too many “S” names.  I wonder why that is… (My name is Steve, btw)

2)  Raptor was a lone warship in a Starfleet of explorers.

3)  I was becoming more involved in my faith, and realized that, while a conflict-heavy setting would be inevitable for me, I wanted a more hope-filled story.

Designs changed again, and I fell in love with the sleek look and feel of the Prometheus class ship as well as the Dauntless NX-01-A from Voyager.  I hit the drawing board again, designing what would become the Gabriel: an escort-type ship that resembled a Prometheus with only the two lower nacelles.  She was slightly smaller, but packed much of the same punch.

My crew transferred over, with a few changes.  I came up with a villain – the Shay’d (damn S names) – who would be more feared than the Borg for the sheer reason that, while similar in methods (“assimilation” of sorts), they’d be worse because the Borg were emotionless, robotic.  What they did was programmed.

The Shay’d were capable of mercy.  And refused to show it.

I needed a new setting.  Most of the Milky Way had been explored.  The Delta Quadrant, while still virgin (Voyager didn’t do much damage) would involve species that were already canon.  I wanted something new.

Then, it hit me.  Why not leave?

My setting would be Andromeda, and a contested region of space that had been all but overrun by the Shay’d.  The last few races of an alliance (the Vinrali “Dragon”) were struggling to survive.  Starfleet would find a way there, hoping to explore, and be caught in the crossfire of a raging battle.  They would quickly try to remain neutral, contacting both sides for a cease-fire and temporary safe passage until they could figure out how to get back home.  One side would laugh and (their universal translators assimilating quicker) say no, firing on the Starfleet ships and destroying a few.  The other side would require a bit of “me Tarzan, you Jane” to come to an agreement, and Starfleet would join the Vinrali in repelling the Shay’d and, eventually, becoming allies with them to help protect the Vinrali and their allies and end the Shay’d threat.

Gabriel, I felt, was too masculine a name for a ship which would be, as all are, female.  Gabriel was kept as the class name (both in-universe and out) and the first ship – my ship – would be renamed USS Archangel, NX-96014.

Sound a little familiar?  This is the backstory, essentially, of how my characters Wirstowx and Jessica St. Peter arrived in the Milky Way.

A few character names changed here and there.  A few alien races changed here and there.  But ever since my freshman year (about ten years ago, now), my series has been Archangel.  I have almost an entire 7 “seasons” worth of material planned, between being on paper or just running around on repeat in my head.

This, friends, is what I consider my first “official” fan-series.  I realize Rafale – Star Trek Online might have been a little confusing at times, as far as back story that references Archangel, but I promise at one point I will have Archangel down on paper.  Though I don’t intend to animate it anymore, I do still want it to be illustrated; I’m leaning more towards a comic/graphic novel format now.

I’m out of college and about 6 years into my tour of duty as an Air Force Officer.  I’ve gotten married, and now have two kids.  I run marathons.  I’ve deployed 3 times, with a fourth only a month away now.

And yet, in all this busy time, I still find the time to play a new MMO that has consumed a lot of my time for the past 3 years.  Why?

Because it’s Star Trek.

And because, without this game and a certain novel series about werewolves and emo-teen girls and sparkly vampires, I would have never found Ad Astra.

And Rafale – Star Trek Online would have never existed, nor would the inspiration to continue to fight to get Archangel on paper.

I guess this post is kinda inspired by jespah’s blog post about how she got into Star Trek.  Although, I promise you, my story is not very in depth.  So, I’ll add to it and let my geek show.

I’m an eighties kid, though I don’t really claim it that much.  I was born in 85, so my first memories don’t really come forward until about 89’ish (and even then, it’s us landing in West Germany, and I have chicken McNuggets from the airport we left from in the States).  My parents tell me I fell asleep and my gum fell out of my mouth, getting all over my dad’s dress blues pants (he was enlisted Air Force at the time, and back then, you were required to be in your service dress when traveling.  Nowadays?  Forget about wearing that uniform ever in public in a new country.)

I was first introduced to Star Trek while we were stationed in Germany.  It was the show we watched as a family at night, usually after the typical Armed Forces Network news.  Saturday mornings had Sesame Street and Transformers and Gumbi, but night had the family watching Star Trek; The Next Generation.  My first episode that I truly remember watching?  Skin of Evil.

I was traumatized for life.

Still, I don’t remember much else of what was watched during that time were stationed in Germany.  I remember my dad commenting on why we were watching Star Trek:

“Because I used to watch this as a kid, and it was great, so I’m passing it on to you and [your sister].”

We left in 92ish, going to a small base in Del Rio, Texas.  Dad left for OTS, and I don’t remember us watching Star Trek, though I finally was exposed to the Original Series movies.

Wrath of Khan?  Also traumatizing to a kid.  *nervously bats at ears*

After dad commissioned, we left for Panama, where our family had probably the very best three years of our lives.  The jungle, the beaches, the camping and hiking and backpacking.  I got into Boy Scouts down there, and it definitely set the tone for what I enjoyed the most in scouts, and was an experience I never found again.

The Next Generation was still going strong in reruns on the main AFN channel there, though it was well into its 7th season.  I saw “All Good Things…” the day it released.  We went and saw Generations opening weekend (which, on base, was about two or three months after opening weekend in the states, lol).  We went and saw First Contact when it came out as well.  LOVED First Contact; still one of my favorites, along with Undiscovered Country.

At that point, I was a Trekkie.  And, though I didn’t know it, a budding Fandom Creator.  See, it was then that I began to really let my imagination fly.  I would play Power Rangers and Star Trek and a number of other games with my friends at the time.  We would run around the street shouting “pew pew” and “hi ya!” and “Morphin Time!”  Star Trek days we’d build a bridge in someone’s carport and pretend to fire phasers and take damage and “engage.”  My first curse word I shouted, rather unfortunately, during one of these play times when I was Riker:

“DAMMIT Geordi, I need shields!”

Yeah…that was fun.

I also created my first Trek, and of course (since I loved Power Rangers and G-Force and Saint Seiya) it was a crossover.  My ship was the “Raptor Claw,” a little yellow-colored LEGO creation with a saucer, two nacelles on vertical-stabilizers, and a giant, green “claw” that held ALL the weapons.  It was a Star Trek/Power Rangers conglomeration that I would draw over and over and over again in all kinds of space battles (some that even had the ‘Claw clashing with the Galactic Empire from Star Wars).  I had characters, I had the ship, I had victories and defeats and “fire everything!” and “Morphin Time!” where the ship would even morph into a more tactical-friendly layout.

Damn, I had fun.

We moved back stateside and the Raptor Claw was shelved.  I got busy with school.  Saw Insurrection in the theater and liked it.

We moved back to Texas next after a two year stint in Ohio, and when I got into High School my geek started showing again.  I played Magic.  I played Video Games.  I watched anime.  I watched Star Trek.  I began drawing trek again, this time creating a more Starfleet version of the ‘Claw.  This one was simply USS Raptor.  She was ENORMOUS; I had her dwarfing the Sovereign class.  Three nacelles made her a dreadnaught, and more firepower than a Borg Cube could shake a stick at.

But still, she wasn’t very classy, and looked hilarious in drawings.  But it was my ship.  And I drew her over.  And over.  And over.

And over.

More little dreams of what she was about.  More characters.  Fun situations and battles and losses and triumphs.  I actually started writing some of them down.

But it wasn’t until I was in college that I truly sat down and refined things.  And THAT is when I consider MY Trek formally started.