Tag: sci-fi

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

Pizzanomics and the Economy of Words

In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde writes that people know the price of everything and the value of nothing. My friend Eric was not such a person. He assigned value to everything in terms of pizza.

You might price a throw pillow at fifteen dollars—he’d say it cost two pizzas. (This was back in the ‘90s.) He counted the cost in terms of the true value it yielded him, and what Eric valued most was pizza.

Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde

His friends called this Pizzanomics. Decisions based on whether sacrificing that much pizza was worth the purchase. Talk about Opportunity Cost!

Opportunity costs means “What else could I have done with my money?”

Adem Selita, chief executive officer at The Debt Relief Company in New York, N.Y.

There is an opportunity cost attached to each word a writer uses. We need to draw readers into new realms where they can connect with and vicariously strive alongside our characters. We need to craft our expressions with intention—be it chapter, scene, paragraph, or word—to ensure our writing is concise but not boring. Remember, our readers are also counting their opportunity cost. Don’t let them wriggle off your hook.

What is in a word? Would that rose by any other name really smell as sweet? What else could we have done on the page? With that description?

Word choice matters. I remember a high school reading assignment where the narrator referred to the scent of bruised gardenias. If he had used “stink” instead of “scent,” what sense would that have conveyed?

Color your world… with words

The genre and setting should color our work. Don’t just close a door. If the story is set in space, let it whoosh. A stone castle door could grate or grind as it moves. Wooden village gates and doors might creak. Clues like this give readers a sense of the world’s setting and reflect the character’s unique POV.

Similes, metaphors, imagery, and expletives are prime opportunities to make strategic word choices.

Sandfly, a debugger in A Star Curiously Singing, book 1 of Kerry Nietz’s Dark Trench saga vents his frustration with an exclamation of “Crichton and Clarke,” two historical science fiction authors.

The amphibian dwellers of my water-covered planet mutter shells under their breath and taunt each other with sea creature insults.

And in Hidden Current, Sharon Hinck introduces the dancers of the Order with this beautiful imagery before she reveals they live on a floating world.

We lunged and poured our bodies forward. We moved like channels of water, divided, as if by an unseen boulder into two streams that circled the room, arching, flowing, reaching.

A ripple disturbed the flow.

Sharon Hink

This passage pours beauty and warmth into my soul. She did that with words.

At a Realm Makers workshop, Sharon said words should serve as double-agents, communicating more than their face-value to the reader.

Make each word earn the space it occupies. If it cost five dollars to use, would you still plug it in?

Don’t use the fanciest words to show off vocabulary prowess (or adept use of a thesaurus). Aim to transport readers, rather than impress them. If they think about the author while reading, we’ve missed the mark. But make sure to communicate all we can with that noun, verb, and article—so readers have a deeper sense of our world.

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.

Proverbs 25:11 KJV

If a spoken word carries that much potential, how much more do words inscribed—utterances recorded to outlast the breath that launched them. Invest wisely in your words to compound the impact for your reader. They will be reluctant to emerge from this story and eager to plunge in to your next one.

Sophia L Hansen is an author and editor with Havok Publishing and loves to write In Other Worlds. She’s lived on a tiny island in Alaska, the bustling cities of New York and Boston, raised kids in Tennessee, and now resides just outside Birmingham, AL. After 30+ years of marriage, seven children, and numerous pets, Sophia still fits into her high school earrings.

You can follow Sophia’s words and worlds at https://www.sophialhansen.com/, Facebook, and Instagram.

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

Strike the Earth

Any gamers in the house? I’m a huge fan of games: the creativity, the challenges, and the competition, of course. I love testing my wits and resolve in unpredictable settings and it’s fun to surprise my kids when I play one of “their” games. I may be a grandma now, but “Grannies are pernownin noobs!”

I started playing Dwarf Fortress after my hubby had been talking it up forever. It’s been around for over twenty years, and was one of the major inspirations for Minecraft, but much more complicated. He watched YouTube tutorials and Twitch streams and conferred with our sons as they all anticipated an upgraded release on Steam. I couldn’t avoid learning about it and was, eventually, hooked.

But Dwarf Fortress is HARD. You are expected to lose your colony several times, regularly even, so much so that one of their mottos is “Losing is Fun.”

Hmph. I didn’t like the thought of that but tried anyway. And I lost. And tried again. And lost again. But with each new try, I started with more experience under my belt, and I developed my own motto: “If at first you don’t succeed, just look how much you learned.”

“I never once failed at making a light bulb.
I just found out 99 ways not to make one.”

Thomas A. Edison

Growing as an author is like playing a new game. Unknown possibilities lie before you, but the path is untraveled. How and where do you start?

Choose Your Game

Do your tastes run more towards a first-person POV solo quest (like first-person shooter,) or an ensemble adventure (mmporp-massively multiplayer online role-playing game)? Are you a minecrafter (world builder,) puzzle solver (mystery,) or do you love Stardew Valley? (Sounds cozy to me.) Whatever you land on, make sure you love your story/world. You’re gonna spend a lot of time there.

Once you’ve chosen your adventure, you need to learn how your game works. Study the craft—query a friend who’s had some experience. Or search out tutorials. Don’t just visit the same old sources, but find out where the players are, whether Twitch, Substack, or Kindle Vella. Check out new sources for fresh takes on familiar obstacles.

When I play a new game, I want to know what the goal is and how do I reach it. In the writing game, this means I consider my goal–is this a first draft? Is it a brainstorm session or contest submission? Self-pub or a traditional publisher? Sometimes I’m competing with the game, and sometimes I’m just trying to improve my personal best.

I adapted some tips from this Wiki Walkthrough that should serve you in the writing game.

  • Stay calm—don’t panic. The challenge may seem overwhelming but if it were easy, you’d be bored already. Try something new, and don’t be discouraged if you falter. Starting over doesn’t set you back to square one. Each restart comes with new understanding and new skills.
  • Configure your controls the way you like them—your desk (standing or curled up on the sofa), keyboard (clicky?) or notebook with special pens. Then throw in some yummy snacks, good lighting, and a supportive chair. I like to have dark chocolate and mixed nuts in easy reach, as well as a supply of lens wipes. The key is, make your setting work for you.
  • Learn the environment—Where are attacks most likely to come from? Pay attention to the feedback that urges you forward or sets you back. What activities distract you, and which renew your resolve?
  • Communicate—Whether you’re playing solo or among strangers, you need a party. Not the balloons, cake, and disco ball kind, but that small contingent of trusted folks who are committed to watching your back and helping you stay on mission.
  • Practice—Gamers rehearse keyboard strokes to build muscle memory, striving to improve their APM (actions per minute.) Word sprints, writing prompts, and flash fiction are fun ways to strengthen your author game. Learn the rules for your genre; the conventions, expectations, and the tropes, so you can bend—and even break them when it serves the story. Havok Publishing is a great place to read and write flash fiction.
  • Develop your style—know your voice. Bob Hostetler’s writing wisdom, “God has given you a story that no one else can tell,” set me on this journey years ago.
  • Join a team—find your tribe. Don’t sequester yourself completely, even if you write in solitude. Find community that challenges and encourages you, the ones that inspire you to start, and start again. Groups like Writers Chat, Realm Makers, and the 540 Writers Community have been a huge encouragement for me.

Strike the earth. No matter how much you prepare, study, and research, you need to commit. To act. To enter the fray.

In Dwarf Fortress, you wield your pickax to break ground. Wield your words. Start your story. Write. This is the first win.

Sophia L Hansen is an author and editor with Havok Publishing and loves to write In Other Worlds. She’s lived on a tiny island in Alaska, the bustling cities of New York and Boston, raised kids in Tennessee, and now resides just outside Birmingham, AL. After 30+ years of marriage, seven children, and numerous pets, Sophia still fits into her high school earrings.

You can follow Sophia’s words and worlds at https://www.sophialhansen.com/, Facebook, and Instagram.

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

Flash Fiction FUNdamentals

Flash fiction may sound new and alien, but it’s been around longer than you think. The query that inspired the first flash fiction contest was, “How short can a short story be and still be a short story?”

As a result, Short Stories From Life was published in 1916, featured81 stories from the Shortest Story Contest. Further questions raised as the project grew were:

  • When is a story not a story, but only an anecdote?
  • When a story is a story, is it a combination of plot, character, and setting, or is it determined by only one of these three elements?
  • Must it end when you have ended it or must it suggest something beyond the reading?

These are still some of the questions asked about flash fiction, but let’s clarify.

Flash Fiction is a form of short story, usually between 300 to 1,000 words.

Why should you write flash fiction?

  • It’s a good way to get past writer’s block—and writing prompts are a fun way to jumpstart creative juices
  • You get to play with a new story and the rush of finishing
  • You’ll learn to write and edit tighter
  • You’ll have content (aka lead magnets) to offer your readers
  • Getting published is not as arduous or prolonged

Publishing flash fiction is not automatic, but the barrier to entry is not as steep as for a full-length novel.

Getting down to business

Every story needs a beginning, a middle, and an end whether it’s spread over a seven-book series or a 50-word fiction. You need a beginning that will hook the reader, a middle that engages them, and a satisfying ending. And you need to do that in 1,000 words.

For plotters, here’s a basic structure for a 1,000-word flash fiction story. I’m pretty committed to pantsing—but people who plot say this is helpful.

  • Intro: ~150 words – setting and characters–if you can, start in the middle of the crisis
  • Rising action: ~600 words – develop main conflict (try-fails, conflict/crisis)
  • Climax: ~200 words (the turning point/most intense moment)
  • Resolution: ~50 words

Pacing isn’t the only thing acquisitions editors look for in submissions.

Beginning

  • Make your title earn its keep! It’s not included in your word count, so use it to set the stage or foreshadow a twist.
  • Your first line needs to hook the reader.

“There are things they don’t tell you about having green skin.”

Photosynthetic by Cassandra Hamm
  • Pay attention to POV and voice (whether you choose 1st, 2nd, or 3rd)
  • Limit your characters to one or two–but include the conflict of two opposing forces
  • If you introduce a feature, make sure it’s pertinent to the plot

Here’s another wonderful opening:

Commander Tri’eek’s ship was self-destructing.
Bianca muttered Earth English curses under her breath as she ran through the Argo’s gigantic ventilation shafts, holding a gargantuan stolen ring of shiny, black electrical tape around her waist like a life ring. She had spent three precious hours tracing the problem to the engine maintenance room. She couldn’t afford to be wrong.

Brownie Points by Lavender Ellington

It’s not a story until something goes wrong

Steven James

Middle

  • Dialogue, dialogue, dialogue
  • Action beats can reveal more about your characters than dialogue tags
  • Reveal, don’t lecture (aka show, don’t tell)
  • Avoid talking heads. Use the whole body to communicate your character’s state of being—shoulders, fingers, knees, toes
  • What are the stakes? What happens if the MC fails? Will the reader care?

End

  • Your ending needs to be satisfying and the conflict, resolved—whether it’s positive or negative. Leave your readers with a thought to chew on, a twist, or an aha. Does the story convey an idea larger than itself?
  • Your readers want to know what’s going to happen but they also want to be surprised—so plant seeds of the ending in the beginning and throughout the story.

When you’re done:

  • Check for repeated words or concepts, unnecessary details, or cliches,
  • Read it out loud and get someone else to look at it.
  • Recheck the submission requirements before hitting SEND!

Where to submit

Havok Publishing wants stories that hit fast and strike hard––stories that can cut through the day’s troubles and grip distracted readers. They also provide feedback on all submissions, unless requested otherwise.

Spark Flash Fiction looks for romance stories that will grab the reader and put a spark in their day.

NYC Midnight hosts contest for a variety of short fiction stories. For a small entry fee they provide prompt-based challenges, feedback from their judges, and peer feedback forums.

If you’re curious about flash fiction, read some! There are plenty of free sources and don’t take more than a few minutes of your time.

Sophia L Hansen is an author and editor with Havok Publishing and loves to write In Other Worlds. She’s lived on a tiny island in Alaska, the bustling cities of New York and Boston, raised kids in Tennessee, and now resides just outside Birmingham, AL. After 30+ years of marriage, seven children, and numerous pets, Sophia still fits into her high school earrings.

You can follow Sophia’s words and worlds at https://www.sophialhansen.com/, Facebook, and Instagram.

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

This Little Light

Sharing your fantastical words and worlds can be terrifying. You feel everyone’s eyes on you, weighing the thoughts you had the audacity to record.

What if I’m not good enough?

What if they laugh?

What if I make a fool of myself?

These are not the what ifs you want to dive deep with.

Of course we imagine the worst—imagining is what writers do best! But only you can change that narrative and write a different adventure. We are encouraged to identify the lie our character believes, but dare we dig deeper and challenge the lies we believe?

When you dream up worlds that don’t exist outside your mind and then people them with inhabitants from your imagination, it can be intimidating to reveal your creation. But if you find a kindred spirit it’s a little less scary.

Still, someone needs to make the first move, to confess,

“My name is Sophia and I write science fiction and fantasy.”

Two things can guide you through these unknown waters:

1- The spark you brought with you

2- The wisdom of those who have gone before.

Hold onto the candle of your imagination. Remember, you came because you had a thought, an idea, a story. You had a little light, and it led you into this universe. Your flame, whether large or small, is more than what meets the eye. Colored and shaped by the experiences that make you unique, this light is unlike any other.

Nurture it. Don’t compare it to the bonfires of those you meet.

Yes, learn from the professionals you want to emulate, those who’ve produced what you’re aiming for, but don’t judge your works by theirs. Study, practice, and follow their advice, then work it out with others whose lights are similar to yours.

Find support among your peers while you follow the pros. Critique partners, writing groups, retreats, conferences, and seminars are great opportunities to find like-feathered friends. Flock with them.

Remember, everyone starts as a beginner. so don’t be afraid to ask how they got started. Only those who haven’t gone through the trenches think writing is easy.

Be generous with what you’ve gleaned. We don’t all have the skills to teach a master class, but we can pass along the bits we’ve learned here and there. It all counts. Frequently, our experience provides what is lacking in another’s.

Share opportunities. Let your friends know where you’ve found beneficial input. Whether you call this networking or collaboration, it falls under the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. You don’t need to bring a slew of new contacts, but if you add even one person their circle is unique, which can add to and enrich all the parties involved.

You never know who’s hesitating in the wings, working up the courage to step out.

That little flame flickering across the way? It might belong to a new partner in your writing ventures and adventures. Bring your light close to theirs and increase your candlepower.

The funny thing is, once you gather a bunch of little candles, their lights combine and overcome darkness. The effect of the sum is truly greater than that of the parts, and together can illuminate new paths for many.

Sophia L Hansen is an author and editor with Havok Publishing and loves to write In Other Worlds. She’s lived on a tiny island in Alaska, the bustling cities of New York and Boston, raised kids in Tennessee, and now resides just outside Birmingham, AL. After 30+ years of marriage, seven children, and numerous pets, Sophia still fits into her high school earrings.

You can follow Sophia’s words and worlds at https://www.sophialhansen.com/, Facebook, and Instagram.

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

Wonder

I wonder… What made you fall in love with science fiction and fantasy?

As a child, I loved fairy tales and myths. When I got older, the worlds of Frank Herbert, Isaac Asimov, and Anne McCaffrey swept me away, surprising and astounding me with new ideas. Their worlds opened my mind to endless possibilities.

Worlds full of… WONDER.

Wonder: rapt attention or astonishment at something awesomely
mysterious or new to one’s experience.

David Farland, mentor for dozens of internationally successful writers including Brandon Sanderson and Stephanie Meyer, lectured on the importance of writing wonder into our stories, and often. He pointed out that JK Rowling introduced something wondrous in her Harry Potter series every three to five pages. When I needed some comfort-viewing, I rewatched the first few movies and it was true. Something wondrous happened every few minutes, immersing me deeper and deeper into her world of impossibility.

This is what our readers crave—to be transported.

The challenge lies in how to share the wonder present inside our minds with our readers. Don’t hold out on them. My tendency is to reveal little bits at a time, teasing the reader and saving the big reveal until later in the story. But if I wait too long to set the hook, I risk losing them altogether. Remember, they have chosen your sci-fi or fantasy tome because they want, no they expect to be fascinated. Don’t be coy.

Another point David Farland makes is that once the audience has been exposed to something new and wondrous, the author will need to provide a new magical experience. The next time they see it, they will not be struck with wonder, but filled with nostalgia. you must keep tapping into what makes them wonder, but with new experiences.

If you write science fiction or fantasy, it’s not because it’s easy. You love your genre, and you are compelled to share the worlds inside you. But after months or years of worldbuilding it’s easy to forget that not everyone knows the suns create seven seasons, or the cannibalistic flora are the sentient beings of their planet, and we assume that our readers will grasp the diabolical intent of a mental contract.

Build a world filled with wonder.

Then invite your reader in.

Star Trek promised new worlds and new civilizations—to boldly go where no one had gone before. Avatar’s world is full of wondrous creatures that don’t seem to move the story forward—it’s all part of the setting, right? But then these amazing creations show up powerfully, asserting their place in the narrative. Star Wars began with A New Hope, and while they were spinning that tale, introduced new robots, new powers, and new races. As much as we love to laugh at the cantina scene, we all remember it.

Look at your work.

Have you shown the wonder that you know exists in it? Pull back the curtain a little more and let your reader in on the special. It’s not spoiling—it’s deepening their experience.

Here is a link to one of David Farland’s seminars on Writing Wonder.

Sophia L Hansen is an author and editor with Havok Publishing and loves to write In Other Worlds. She’s lived on a tiny island in Alaska, the bustling cities of New York and Boston, raised kids in Tennessee, and now resides just outside Birmingham, AL. After 30+ years of marriage, seven children, and numerous pets, Sophia still fits into her high school earrings.

You can follow Sophia’s words and worlds at https://www.sophialhansen.com/, Facebook, and Instagram.

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

Valued

From her earliest days, my mom’s life lacked value in the sight of others.

One-year-old Hyun Sook, before contracting polio.

Born female and Korean in Japanese-occupied China, Hyun Sook started at a deficit. Then polio left her with a useless leg at three. The cultural stigma of disability brought shame on the family, so she was kept out of sight when company came. Following Japan’s surrender, her family returned to Korea, but when her older sister started back to school, she wasn’t allowed to go. Why educate a crippled girl?

Mom is the child on the
right, held up by
her grandmother.

Communists invaded in 1950, but due to her disability, the family couldn’t flee. Her parents were sentenced to hard labor, and her father was almost executed. At the threat of a second invasion, fourteen-year-old Hyun Sook was left behind with promises that they’d send for her once they were settled.

After being interrogated by the invaders, waiting was no longer an option. If she stayed, she’d be at the mercy of those who terrorized her parents. Her journey from North to South Korea was dangerous, but God made a way—whether by miraculous intervention or the kindness of American servicemen.

Working at the U.S. base

Even after reuniting with her family, the GIs showed her compassion and respect previously unknown, and as they did, her heart began to hope of having something—of being something more. She dreamed of going to this country where even a girl with a withered leg might pursue an education… and a life.

After several failed attempts, her dreams were realized. She began to experience the life she thought she’d never have: moving to America, an education, and a family.

In the ‘80s she wrote her story and tried to get it published. Too religious for traditional publishers, and too raw for faith-based ones, she opted for a vanity press.

By business standards, Mom wasn’t a successful author. She’d give her book away in a heartbeat, and any proceeds were donated to veterans’ organizations. Yet, every time her story was shared, people’s hearts were touched.

Who do we listen to? Who do we believe?

We have a Shepherd and an enemy.

Voices surround us telling us we can’t, we shouldn’t, we won’t make the cut, and our words fall short of the mark. They accuse us of being insufficient—of being imposters. They tell us our words lack value.

Listen to those who speak with wisdom and experience, but don’t allow the voices of those who wish to destroy us to dominate our thoughts.

The enemy wants to steal, kill, and destroy the vision and mission placed on us. If God’s gifts and calling are without repentance, it’s safe to say He knew what He was doing when He planted those story seeds.

Why listen to the one who wants to destroy us? A pastor once said, “A thing’s value is determined by what someone is willing to pay for it.” You were purchased with the priceless blood of Jesus.

Furthermore, according to Ephesians 2:10, you are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to walk in good works he has prepared in advance for you to do. The gospel’s truths form a shield against the lies that attack. They remind us of our value and strengthen us to follow his lead.

“Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.”

G.K. Chesterton

What about you? What has God planted in your heart?

Have you ever felt your stories lack value? We write science fiction and fantasy. Is investing time, money, and energy in fairy tales and space operas worth the cost and sacrifice?

“God has placed a story in you that no one else can tell.”

Bob Hostetler

These words from the Blue Ridge Mountains Christina Writers Conference-BRMCWC– 2017 still convict and comfort me.

Made in the image of an infinitely creative God, we are as unique as fingerprints. So are our stories. In them we diffuse light to fight darkness, disperse comfort we’ve received, and share truth we’ve learned.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s genre… or their ratings.

Be faithful with the talents your Father has entrusted to you.

Our job is not to out-perform anyone else, but to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and walk in obedience.

There were times that my mother felt like a failure. She’d sunk her savings into self-publishing her book, and never recouped the losses. Had she been a fool to pursue this dream? Her testimony to God’s mercy says otherwise, and her message continues to touch hearts, long after she ran into Jesus’ arms.

The value of our work and words isn’t weighed in ratings or sales, but in truth revealed, and that is worth more than gold.

Sophia L Hansen is an author and editor with Havok Publishing and loves to write In Other Worlds. She’s lived on a tiny island in Alaska, the bustling cities of New York and Boston, raised kids in Tennessee, and now resides just outside Birmingham, AL. After 30+ years of marriage, seven children, and numerous pets, Sophia still fits into her high school earrings.

You can follow Sophia’s words and worlds at https://www.sophialhansen.com/, Facebook, and Instagram.

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

Baby Stepping

The proverbial journey of a thousand miles begins with the one step. But it doesn’t end there. 

Writing an epic story is like climbing a mountain. The approach is intimidating, and reaching the summit seems impossible. But anyone who’s climbed a mountain will tell you that though the ascent isn’t completed in one step, it starts with one.

The prospect of beginning may terrify us, but what we need—and must—do is begin.

“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin…”

Zechariah 4:10

When you’re starting out as a spec-fic writer, don’t despise the small beginnings. I don’t mean shelve your four-book faerie trilogy or your open-ended space opera, but do give yourself some space for encouragement and success along the way. When I taught children with special needs, I’d divide the large goals into smaller tasks, so we could acknowledge and celebrate each incremental gain.

Writing is a marathon, not a sprint.

Sometimes we need a little Couch-to-5K training.

In What About Bob? Psychiatrist Dr. Leo Marvin hands Bob, a highly dependent, obsessive-compulsive patient his brand-new book called Baby Steps. He explains:

Marvin: It means setting small, reasonable goals for yourself. One day at a time, one tiny step at a time–doable, accomplishable goals.

Bob: Baby steps.

Marvin: When you leave this office, don’t think about everything you have to do to get out of the building, just deal with getting out of the room. When you reach the hall, just deal with the hall. And so forth. Baby steps.

Here are some baby steps that can take you farther than you’d imagine:

  • Reading this column counts as a baby step. You’re studying the craft.
  • Write Ugly – My previous post is an encouragement to get your words out, before focusing on the polish.
  • Read and write flash-fiction—stories no more than 1000 words. Havok Publishing is an excellent place to read and submit.
  • The 540 FB Community encourages, educates, and equips its members to communicate their stories.
  • Cassandra Hamm hosts Prompted, delightful microfiction (50 to 300-word stories) contests, on Instagram, and there are challenges on a variety of social media platforms. Follow #writingchallenge and you’ll discover a plethora of opportunities to write. 
  • Step into the boots, tentacles, or wings of your characters and have them write to someone important in their life, describing their spaceship, forest grove, or tower/dungeon confinement. 
  • Create a travel brochure for your favorite out-of-this-world getaway.

Writing short stories hones your skills and gets something out there for people to read and respond to. It’s a true accomplishment. Once your words are out there, you’ve been published! You don’t need to know how to do everything to get started… or keep going.

You just need to do the next thing.

The next easy thing.

The next scary thing.

The next hard thing. 

The. Next. Thing.

Sophia L Hansen is an author and editor with Havok Publishing and loves to write In Other Worlds. She’s lived on a tiny island in Alaska, the bustling cities of New York and Boston, raised kids in Tennessee, and now resides just outside Birmingham, AL. After 30+ years of marriage, seven children, and numerous pets, Sophia still fits into her high school earrings.

You can follow Sophia’s words and worlds at https://www.sophialhansen.com/, Facebook, and Instagram.

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

Write Ugly

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable and pleasing in Your sight, O LORD, my [firm, immovable] rock and my Redeemer

Psalm 19:14

You love words. So much that you can’t stop them from spilling out of your brain. You dash home, clear your schedule, and sit—fingers poised above the keyboard, or a pen in hand over a sheet of paper, ready to breathe life into the figments of your imagination and… nothing. Somehow, somewhere, the words are stuck, refusing to flow.

This is when I channel Marvin the Martian whining…

“Where are the words? There are supposed to be earth-shattering words.”

Even now, writing this, I struggle. Is this how I want to start? Do I have a hook? What about the right structure? Will my words add value, or am I just “adding to the noise“’?

I write in fits and starts, pouring out my thoughts and then I stop—wanting to fix the beginning…again. These same words came so easily as I was sharing my idea with a friend, but the switch from narrator to scribe is sometimes tricky, and we feel the loss of translation.

The best remedy is this: write anyway. Write anything.

In or out of order, get your ideas out of your head and into text. Let your first draft be as ugly and disjointed as it needs to be born. You can clean it up with the next pass. And polish it with another. But you can’t edit a blank page.

Great works of art may come from a potter’s wheel, but it takes more than sitting and spinning the table. Nothing can be formed until a lump of clay is slapped onto its surface. Only then can the artist’s hands run over the surface, watering and wiping, stretching and shaping the malleable clay until form and function is revealed. But the next step is to fire your vessel – not to destroy your work, but to let its beauty take on strength and shine.

So it is with our stories. We want the beauty and the impact to be as present on our page as it was in our mind, but that will take time and work. The beauty is there, residing in its potential, but to be realized it needs shaping.

Don’t deny the world of the marvels your mind has concocted just because it takes some time to communicate them. Slap that lump of clay on the page that is your wheel. Spin it, wet it, squash it—work that clay.

Here are some helpful shortcuts I’ve learned:

  • Use brackets if you’re not sure of a word.
  • Use bullet points for your ideas, especially sequences. It’s what I’m doing now.
  • Use comments to note things you need to research so that you won’t get distracted from content creation.
  • Do writing sprints or write-ins with others. A little accountability (and sometimes competition) can make your writing time more productive.
  • Place-kittens are images designers and coders use when they don’t have all the content, but they still need to create a structure.
  • A friend uses a script-like format for his first drafts, with stage-direction and environmental comments dispersed throughout

Do you see a pattern? You don’t need to have all the pretty words to start sketching your story. You just need to start.

“I’m writing a first draft and reminding myself that I’m simply shoveling sand into a box so that later I can build castles.”

Shannon Hale

You don’t need to have all the pretty words to sketch your story. You just need to start.

Sophia L Hansen is an author and editor with Havok Publishing and loves to write In Other Worlds. She’s lived on a tiny island in Alaska, the bustling cities of New York and Boston, raised kids in Tennessee, and now resides just outside Birmingham, AL. After 30+ years of marriage, seven children, and numerous pets, Sophia still fits into her high school earrings.

You can follow Sophia’s words and worlds at https://www.sophialhansen.com/, Facebook, and Instagram.

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

Technology and Magic in your Science-fiction and Fantasy novels

An important part of what makes your story fit into the Science Fiction and/or Fantasy genres is an element of the fantastical. This comes in either advanced technology for Science Fiction or a magic system for Fantasy.

For this discussion, we are going to treat the exotic magic of fantasy as simply a flavor of the advanced technology of science fiction. As Arthur C. Clarke famously said, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” They are one concept, but one that it is critical to speculative fiction.

Systems need rules

Readers need to understand your magic and technology and must believe it’s at least plausible within the world you have created. If they don’t, they can’t suspend disbelief enough to enjoy the story. Real-world systems have limitations, and your magic and technology should have them as well to give them a real-world feel. Here are some examples from popular culture: The Ghostbusters can’t cross the streams. The Delorean has to get to 88mph to achieve time travel. A wizard must be able to enunciate the words of the spell properly for it to work. The ritual must have the ancient artifacts to the open the gate to another realm. No one can defeat an Agent inside the Matrix.

These limitations can become the engine for tension and drama in your story. The heroes must find the sacred artifacts before the villain so he can’t open the portal to bring in his other dimensional army. The villain gags the wizard so he can’t cast. Now, how will he win? The engine breaks and the car can’t up to 88mph. How will Marty time travel home?

This also opens up great opportunities for your story when your villains or heroes have to break the rules. Spoiler alerts for a thirty-plus year old movie, but to win in the end, the Ghostbusters must cross the streams. No one can take on an Agent and win… until Neo does.

Your rules need to be integral to your story and not a simple plot device. Let’s say your character has a superpower gadget that needs to be recharged. Needing to be recharged can be a good rule and open up story angles for you. What if the hero doesn’t have enough power to defeat the bad guy. Should the hero use this powerful attack that will drain half his energy? What if the villain takes control of the charger? But you have to be careful. If you’re not consistent with how much power the gadget can hold or how much power each element of the suit takes each time, it will push your story past plausible in your reader’s mind and you’ll lose that all important suspension of disbelief.

Making it part of your world

One of the major challenges is explaining your magic or technology to your reader without resorting to long passages of expositions or telling through dialog. This is a crutch wherein the author slips an important piece of information into dialog so the reader will know it, but it’s a piece of information the other character already knows. If you can start the dialog with “As you know…” it’s telling through dialog. This should be avoided.

Your characters wouldn’t feel a need to explain their technology anymore than you feel a need to explain your mobile phone to your best friend. It’s simply part of your world. One way authors have solved this is by having characters brought in as students or neophytes who require training and therefore explanations. Even in this case, though, avoid pages of exposition and keep the story moving forward.

Think about how your magic or technology would affect the culture of your world. “Necessity is the mother of invention” but a magic spell that can solve the problem removes the necessity. Why spend years developing a telegraph if a wizard can cast a communication spell.. Why work on a steam-powered engines if a spell or artifact can teleport someone across a great distance in seconds? Why spend countless hours perfecting a light bulb if a Bard can sing a spell of illumination.

The real world gives both you and your reader a baseline for expectations. Science Fiction writers tend to be future focused, but looking at history is instructive. Over the twentieth century, we went from newspapers, to radio, to TV, to the Internet. Each advanced increased the speed at which information flowed and how many people any one person could communicate with. Vietnam was unlike any other war because, for the first time, the general populace could see it. People who heard the famous Kennedy/Nixon debates on the radio came away more impressed with Nixon, but those who watched it on those early TVs thought Kennedy would be the better leader. Whatever incredible technology or magic you create should have seismic effects on your culture as well.

This is also true as it relates to the speed at which technology develops. We’ve gone from the first powered flight to space travel in under a century, but we still haven’t successfully taken humans beyond our moon. Your story must explain whatever technological leaps exist in your world and give a plausible timeline.

How much to explain

Fantasy explains less than Science Fiction. It’s magic, right? But without defined rules, it can become wish fulfillment and whatever the writer needs for the story at that specific moment. Without rules, you can write yourself into a corner. Invariably, your readers will ask, ‘why didn’t they just do X’, and they will lose that all important suspension of disbelief.

Magic and technology is another of those goldilocks tightropes writers must walk. Reading widely in the genre is a great way to see examples both of the tightrope being walked with skill and also watching some authors flail right off.

F. Ted Atchley is a freelance writer and professional computer programmer with a passion for reading and writing speculative fiction. Whether it’s words or code, he’s always writing. His latest short story, The Preponderance of the Evidence, will be published by Havok Publishing on December 20th.

He writes the monthly Science Fiction and fantasy column for AlmostAnAuthor.com. In addition, he is a staff writer for BlizzardWatch.com, a premier fan site for the games produced by Blizzard Entertainment.

He lives in beautiful Charleston, SC with his wife and children. When not writing, you’ll find him spending time with his family, and cheering on his beloved Carolina Panthers.

You can find more about Ted at his website: https://tedatchley.com/

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

the eight types of time travel

Time travel is a stable in science fiction. Countless books, comics, movies, and TV shows have used it as their main plot device. Even more have incorporated it into a key moment of the story. Over the years, eight major types of time travel logic emerged. Recently, YouTubers Eric Voss and Héctor Navarro examined all eight types, and looked at which one gets it most correct in term of the real world science behind science fiction.

Type 1 Anything goes

Definition: Characters travel back and forth within their historical timeline.

This approach frees you to have fun and not get lost in the minutiae of how time travel works. Usually, there’s a magical Maguffin that to quote the great Dr. Ememett Brown, “makes time travel possible”. Writers have used a car, a phone booth, and a hot tub, among other options. This approach leads to inconsistent limits on the logic of the time travel, but this doesn’t mean the story is poorly plotted, won’t be enjoyable or won’t be an enormous hit. This approach is more science fantasy than science fiction with no basis in real-world science.

Examples: Back to the Future, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Hot Tube Time Machine, Frequency, Austin Powers, Men In Black 3, Deadpool 2, The Simpsons, Galaxy Quest, Star Trek TOS, Doctor Who, 11/22/63 by Stephen King.

Type 2 Branch Reality

Definition: Changes to the past don’t rewrite history. They split the timeline into an alternate branch timeline. This action does not change or erase the original timeline.

As authors got more familiar with the science behind time travel in theoretical physics, this type, based upon the many worlds theory in quantum mechanics, emerged. When the character travels back into the past and changes events, they create a new reality. Their original reality is unchanged. Branches themselves can branch leading to a multiverse of possibilities.

Examples: The Disney Plus series, Loki, used this extensively. See also: Back to the Future Part II, Avenger’s Endgame, the DC Comics multiverse, the Marvel Comics multiverse, Rick and Morty, Star Trek (2009), A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle.

Type 3 Time Dilation

Definition: Characters traveling off-world experience time moving more slowly than elsewhere in the universe, allowing them to move forward in time (but not backward).

This type is the based upon our scientific understanding of how time slows down as you approach the speed of the light. This is a forward-only type of time travel. There’s no going backwards.

Examples: Planet of the Apes, Ender’s Game, Flight of the Navigator, Interstellar, Buck Rodgers.

Type 4 This Always Happened

Definition: All of time is fixed on a predestined loop in which the very act of time travel itself sets the events of the story into motion.

This one can confuse and delves closer to the realm of theology than science. It feels gimmicky, and has become something of a trope making it hard to pull this off in a satisfying way for your audience. This type also invites the audience to question if your protagonist ever had free will or agency in the story.

Examples: Terminator, Terminator 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Game of Thrones-Season 6, Twelve Monkeys, Interstellar, Kate and Leopold, The Butterfly Effect, Predestination, Ricky and Morty-Season 5, Looper.

Type 5 Seeing the Future

Definition: After seeing a vision of their fate, characters choose to change their destiny or embrace their lot.

We’re stretching to call this time travel, but it provides your story with built-in conflict and stakes. Will the hero choose to walk the path knowing how it will end, or will they choose a different path?

Examples: Oedipus Rex, A Christmas Carol, Minority Report, Arrival, Next (Nicolas Cage), Rick and Morty-Season Four. Star Trek:Discovery-Season 2, Avenger’s EndGame with Dr. Strange and the Mind Stone.

Type 6 Time Loop / Groundhog Day

Definition: Characters relive the same day over and over, resetting back to a respawn point once they die or become incapacitated.

This type gained popularity after the movie, Groundhog Day, became a tremendous hit. Most of the other examples take the Groundhog Day idea and put a slight twist on it. Like Type 4 “This Always Happened”, the popularity of this type can make it harder to pull off in a fresh and innovative way.

Examples: Obviously, Groundhog Day with Bill Murray. Edge of Tomorrow, Doctor Strange in the ending battle with Dormammu, Russian Dolls (Netflix), Palm Springs, Star Trek TNG.

Type 7 Unstuck Mind

Definition: Characters consciousness transport through time within his body to his life at different ages.

Nostalgia for the past and dreaming of the future are core parts of the human experience. This type runs more metaphorically than scientific.

Examples: Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Desmond in the series Lost.

Type 8 Unstuck Body

Definition: A character’s body or object becomes physically detached from the flow of time within the surrounding universe, becoming inverted or younger. Only certain objects or bodies are unstuck from time. Also called Inverted Entropy.

This one will blow your mind if you think about it for too long. Like Type 2 “Branch Reality”, this one comes from the realm of quantum mechanics and theoretical physics. Scientists and mathematicians have all the formulas worked out to make this de-aging a reality, but currently lack the technology to control all the variables in the ways needed. It would like scientists working out than an object could break the speed of the sound in 1890. It would look inconceivable, given the technology of the day, but I wouldn’t put limits on human ingenuity.

Examples: Dr. Strange (the Hong Kong battle). Tenet, briefly in Endgame with Scott Lang and Bruce, Primer.

If you’re writing a time travel story, you’ll need to decide which one of these types you want to deploy. They all have their advantages and disadvantages. In many ways, its similar to designing your magic system, especially if you go with a Type 1 time travel story. The most important thing remains to have relatable characters and to tell a great story while being internally consistent with the rules and logic of your story world.

Ted Atchley is a freelance writer and professional computer programmer. Whether it’s words or code, he’s always writing. Ted’s love for speculative fiction started early on with Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, and the Star Wars movies. This led to reading Marvel comics and eventually losing himself in Asimov’s Apprentice Adept and the world of Krynn (Dragonlance Chronicles). 

After blogging on his own for several years, Blizzard Watch (blizzardwatch.com) hired Ted to be a regular columnist in 2016. When the site dropped many of its columns two years later, they retained Ted as a staff writer. 

He lives in beautiful Charleston, SC with his wife and children. When not writing, you’ll find him spending time with his family, and cheering on his beloved Carolina Panthers. He’s currently revising his work-in-progress portal fantasy novel before preparing to query. 

Ted has a quarterly newsletter which you can join here. You’ll get the latest on his writing and publishing as well as links about writing, Star Wars, and/or Marvel.

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

Writing bigger speculative fiction stories

In his 2017 best seller, You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Story, Houston Howard admonishes writers to create larger stories which he coins Super Stories. Your goal as a writer is not just to create a great story, or a great book (or movie script). Your goal is to create Intellectual Property (IP). Stories so big they launch entire universes, or even multiverses of characters, narratives, and experiences across all kinds of media. As the name implies, it’s a big job. Let’s look at how we can accomplish this.

It’s all starts with your characters

While intricate plots can carry books, to launch an IP you need a cast of characters readers can fall in love with. Super Stories require extraordinary characters. They must have some quality that makes them likable right away, but also have an arc that can span multiple stories. You have to go crank up everything you know about creating characters to a new level. You have to know them better than you know people in your ‘real life’, but still have wonderful things to discover about them.

And you need more than one. Each must be unique in their own way, with their own lessons to learn and obstacles to overcome. Every orbital character possesses the potential to be the principal character of another story or series. Sometimes their arcs may cross each other and even bring your characters into conflict with each other. This can be a good thing as fans will want to see who comes out on top.

No character in your story should be a cardboard cutout from central casting. The simplest guard could wind up rising to a general. One of the great training lessons for creating characters was my time running various tabletop role-playing games. My players took singular pleasure in walking up to any random passerby and grilling them on their life story. It prepared me to make sure each character, no matter how minor, was the hero of their own story.

And your unique story world

In science fiction, the ship often becomes a character in its own right. In a similar way, your story’s world, and universe needs to be a character. You need to flesh out its history and geography. Ninety percent of what you come up with won’t make it into the first book, but you’ll need it for book five, or maybe even book seventeen. It allows you to plant little offhand references reference to places or historical events that can become a hook and a thread to explore in a future story.

You can’t “pants” your way to an IP

This is going to require planning and some level of outlining. I know some of you just ordered shields up and red alert, but hear me out. If writing stories with a “by the seat of your pants” discovery method has been successful for you, keep doing that. What requires planning and outlining is the IP. Have a long-range plan of the general, big picture idea of the kinds of stories you want to add to your IP.  You should have a more detailed short-range plan of the stories themselves.

This allows you to…

Foreshadow across books

Rowling mastered foreshadowing in her Harry Potter series. (Please note there are spoilers for the Harry Potter series to follow, but I think we’ve past the statute of limitations at this point). From book one, Harry’s adopted family, the Dursleys, are moody and mean to Harry. When we discover much later that Harry is the last of Voldermort’s horcruxes, and the effect a horcrux has on the people around it, you see the Dursleys’ treatment of Harry in a whole new way. Another example is the complicated relationship between Harry and Snape. Early on, Snape appears as a villain and an antagonist. His mission is life is to humiliate and thwart Harry.  He even puts a curse on Harry. Later, you learn he was truly an ally, seeking to aid and protect Harry.

You can check out this post for more examples of this. Maybe J.K. got lucky and fell into these, but more likely, she carefully planned each one. You can, and should look do this in your series as well. Fans love to discover these kinds of things.

In addition to foreshadowing, it allows you to…

Cross-pollinate across your stories

Have a character or multiple characters from your earlier novels appear as characters in your other novels. Alternatively, place a character into your novel you intend for a major character or orbital character role in a future novel. While the most famous examples from the world of film is the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), A.C. Williams does this in her novel, Ronnie Akkard and The Brotherhood of Blades. Barb and Jim Taylor, the main characters from her earlier book, Meg Mitchell and The Secret of the Journal, play a minor role in aiding the protagonist.

But each book must standalone

A major advantage of Super Stories is they give future fans multiple points of entry into your world. Discovering any of your books leads inexorably to the others, and with characters they are already familiar with. It lowers the trepidation of exploring your other works.

For this to work, each book must standalone as an outstanding work on its own. While it’s referential to your other stories, write with the assumption that every book is the first book in your world this reader has experienced. The connections and references are Easter eggs to delight your most dedicated fans. They should never be key to understanding the story or any character’s motivation.

This is true to the greatest degree in your debut novel. If that one doesn’t do well, it threatens the entire IP. Like a great first chapter, your debut novel must deliver an outstanding experience on its own, while also launching your readers into your world.

Ted Atchley is a freelance writer and professional computer programmer. Whether it’s words or code, he’s always writing. Ted’s love for speculative fiction started early on with Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, and the Star Wars movies. This led to reading Marvel comics and eventually losing himself in Asimov’s Apprentice Adept and the world of Krynn (Dragonlance Chronicles). 

After blogging on his own for several years, Blizzard Watch (blizzardwatch.com) hired Ted to be a regular columnist in 2016. When the site dropped many of its columns two years later, they retained Ted as a staff writer. 

He lives in beautiful Charleston, SC with his wife and children. When not writing, you’ll find him spending time with his family, and cheering on his beloved Carolina Panthers. He’s currently revising his work-in-progress portal fantasy novel before preparing to query. 

  • Twitter: @tedatchley3
  • Twitter: @honorshammer (gaming / Blizzard Watch)

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

How to Make Readers Feel At Home From Page 1

Have you ever walked into someone’s house as a first-time dinner guest and felt out of place? Ten other people are there and it’s a laid back, serve yourself kind of dinner.

You grab your food, spilling some ketchup on the counter in the process, and clean it up with a napkin. You don’t know where the garbage is although you know they have to have one. Dessert comes around and you want a clean fork but you don’t know which drawer to open and don’t want to look through every one.

By the time you leave you’re flustered. You KNEW there was a garbage can and a drawer full of forks, but because you didn’t know the layout of the house you couldn’t find them.

If you’re reading this post it’s because you’re writing fantasy or science fiction, which means by default, you have other-worldly elements in your writing.

When readers open to page one you want them to feel at home, not confused as they figure out how the world is set up and what goes where.

A simple, reader-friendly way to do so this by dropping in elements humanity relates to no matter where they’re from.

Just as ever house is designed in a different way but with similar features, every world has certain elements that are similar and will feel grounding for the reader.

You might be writing science fiction but the protagonist still can feel lonely. That’s relatable. You might write fantasy but your characters still eat. In The Lord of the Rings Tolkien makes meal time a very important part of hobbit lifestyle. This is something we can all relate to, even though his books are about dragons, magic, and rings of power.

Here are some questions to ask that will help your reader feel at home when plunging into a world they’ve never been to:

  • Where do my characters sleep?
  • Do they eat food from the ground? How is it grown?
  • How many seasons are there?
  • What does personal hygiene look like for my characters?
  • How are friendships made?

As you answer these questions you may feel like you’re brainstorming, and to an extent, you are. However, including personal, daily occurrences like eating and sleeping will ground your reader and make them feel more comfortable as they dive into your hero’s journey.

Remember, the more your reader can relate to your world, the more believable your fantastical elements will be. The more believable your story, the more memorable.

Happy writing!

Sarah Rexford is a Marketing Content Creator and writer. She helps authors build their platform through branding and copywriting. With a BA in Strategic Communications, Sarah equips writers to learn how to communicate their message through personal branding. She writes fiction and nonfiction and offers writers behind-the-scenes tips on the publishing industry through her blog itssarahrexford.com. She is represented by the C.Y.L.E Young Agency.

Instagram: @sarahjrexford
Twitter: @sarahjrexford
Web: itssarahrexford.com

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

Three Ways to Use History to Build Your Fantasy

Margaret Atwood is well-known for her novel The Handmaid’s Tale, a dystopian first published in 1985. Her novel covers the story of a handmaid living in what’s known as the Republic of Gilead. The catch?

Most every, if not all, major plot points were written based on reality. I imagine this was a large contributor in making Atwood’s novel a TV show. Why?

It was relatable.

The Republic of Gilead is not a real place, although to readers, it might seem to be. The same is true of your work in progress. Whatever country you create is not real, but it can seem real to readers when you create it using details that aren’t fiction.

When building your fantasy world, pull details from existing countries.

One of my first novels takes place in a country much like Australia — but only in shape and location. I mixed the layout of Australia with the topography of the US. I haven’t lived in Australia, but I have lived in the US. I know the US. And as the old adage goes, write what you know.

Secondly, I incorporated aspects of US history into my story, but pulled different aspects of Australian government into my fantasy government. This way the reader will never say, “Oh, this world is based on the history of the United States but set in Australia.” Pieces are pulled from both countries, but it’s not based on either.

Use details of historic figures to put skin on your characters.

When researching my characters, I looked up many historic people who’d had a big impact on either their country or the world. I pulled details of their personality and made them characteristics of my own characters.

Readers know names like Frederick Douglass, Mary I, Joan of Arc, and Adolf Hitler. It’s likely they also know more about them then they may remember learning in high school history. Pulling different details from each, a hair style, a personality trait, a character flaw, etc., then combining them to create one specific character, adds the ring of truth.

Mix customs.

If your book does well, you will likely have readers from around the country and possibly the world. Part of the fun of writing fantasy and science-fiction is the freedom to make things up. When it comes to the customs of the characters in your world, this freedom continues.

However, to really make your world come alive, research customs from centuries ago to present day. After you have ten to thirty customs, assign several to each of your characters. This will round out your characters, provide you with centuries of backstory to draw from, and use reality to strengthen your fantasy.

Don’t forget to add your own creative ideas to the mix. After all, that’s what writing fantasy and sci-fi is all about. Happy writing!

Sarah Rexford is a Marketing Content Creator and writer. She helps authors build their platform through branding and copywriting. With a BA in Strategic Communications, Sarah equips writers to learn how to communicate their message through personal branding. She writes fiction and nonfiction and offers writers behind-the-scenes tips on the publishing industry through her blog itssarahrexford.com. She is represented by the C.Y.L.E Young Agency.

Instagram: @sarahjrexford
Twitter: @sarahjrexford
Web: itssarahrexford.com

Categories
The Afterword

From STEM to Story

A discussion of the future of words

How can students and other readers learn about the cutting-edge of popular science through the art of stories?

To talk about that, we invited Jenny Dehlinger and Thomas Locke (Davis Bunn) to join the podcast. Jenny serves as an instructional coach at one of the largest elementary schools in upstate South Carolina. She’s a former science teacher who graduated from Mississippi State University.

Thomas is an award-winning novelist with total worldwide sales of seven million copies. He serves as Writer In Residence at Regent’s Park College, the University of Oxford. During the podcast, he discusses his novel Enclave, a young adult science fiction work exploring questions of science and technology in a dystopian future.

Listen to Episode 4, Part 1 here.

Listen to Episode 4, Part 2 here

Meet the hosts

Holland Webb is a full-time freelance writer and editor. He spends his days writing about higher education, B2B technology, and nonprofit organizations. His clients have let him write for U.S. News & World Report, The Learning House, The Red Lantern, and Sweet Fish Media. Holland’s favorite writers are Malcolm Gladwell, Olive Ann Burns, and Flannery O’Connor. In his spare time … are you kidding, what spare time? You can reach him through www.theafterwordpodcast.com or on Twitter at @WebbHollandLyle.

Amy Bowlin is a veteran teacher. She works with 6-year-olds in literacy intervention and shares with college seniors the art of teaching literacy. Balancing both worlds involves commuting which allows her to listen to her favorite podcasts, “Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me,” “This American Life” and “Revisionist History.” When she is not traveling to Greece to work with refugees, she likes to write, hike, kayak and spend time with family and friends. You can reach her through www.theafterwordpodcast.com or on Twitter at @albowlin1.

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

Fantasy Heroes? This Is How You Make Them Relatable.

One of my friends recently gifted me a book. She’d loved it so much she literally went out and bought a second copy for me to read.

It’s a fantasy, and some of the characters are so heroic they seem fantastic, at least as far as Google defines fantastic: “imaginative or fanciful; remote from reality.”

It’s hard to connect to someone who’s so removed from my own abilities they seem distant. I’d like to believe I’m capable of the things this hero in this book is, but I’m not. The theme of the book is great, just like my friend said, but so far it’s been hard to truly relate to at a personal level.

How can we steer clear of this issue and write fantasy heroes who are very human, physical, and flawed, yet still capable of greatness?

Write Human Characteristics

If you’re writing a fantasy there’s no question you have some very inhuman, creative characteristics in your characters. Maybe some of your supporting characters are not even human at all. Maybe your main character (MC) isn’t! Regardless, in order to be relatable to your human readers, your MC needs to have human characteristics.

Maybe they’re very uncomfortable around a specific supporting character and this shows through their body language. Maybe their natural response to fear is to fight (ever heard of fight or flight, the very human response to negative feedback in the environment?).

Whatever it is for your MC, make it human.

Remember The Physical

Just because they may not be human, your MC is still physical. He/she can still feel the full range of emotion, and demonstrate this emotion through their body.

We all have certain physical limitations. For instance, I dislike running but I run anyway in order to stay healthy. On the other hand, I love getting with friends and experiencing the outdoors with them.

Maybe your main character loves running but experienced an injury that keeps him from running at the time your story takes place. This physical detriment makes him uncomfortable around others. He unconsciously portrays himself through the emotion of insecurity via low power poses.

We all have physical insecurities. Give your MC one too, and he’ll be far more relatable to the average reader!

We’re All Flawed

Whether we admit it or not, we all have flaws in our personal characters. Maybe our reasons for doing something good are skewed, or we see the world through a false lens.

Readers relate to flaws, and flaws enable a full character-arc for your MC.

Wherever your MC starts in the story, make sure he overcomes a personal flaw by the last page. If you can write a fictional character who overcomes, you’ll inspire your readers to overcome.

This won’t only build trust with your readership, but keep them wanting more. Your influence will expand, your writing will grow, and you will experience the pleasure of using your gifts for others.

Happy writing!

Sarah Rexford is a Marketing Content Writer, working with brands to grow their audience reach. She studied Strategic Communications at Cornerstone University and focused on writing during her time there, completing two full-length manuscripts while a full-time student. Currently she trains under best-selling author Jerry Jenkins in his Your Novel Blueprint course and is actively seeking publication for two books.

Instagram: @sarahjrexford
Twitter: @sarahjrexford
Web: itssarahrexford.com

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

The Science Fiction Behind Science Fiction

Since the release of Star Trek and Star Wars, viewers of space-based science fiction have had certain expectations of what a space battle should look like. As a result, most authors have followed suit and written their space opera in the same vein as these examples. But how accurate are these space battles we’ve come to expect? Here are a few surprising differences you would need to make as a writer if you wanted to have a more realistic space battle.

Communication. Currently, our communication can only travel at the speed of light. This means ships communicating to nearby planets or other ships very likely will have a significant time delay between messages. The discussions would not be instantaneous, like they are in the movies. This would probably make the battle long and drawn out, as each side awaits the next order from their Communications Officer.

Ship design. We often see space ships that are built similar to our own aircraft here on earth. However, a ship meant only for travel within deep space would not need wings. Wings are meant only for lift when encountering air, therefore, they would be useless on a space ship since there is no air in space. It’s quite likely the ships would look boxy and plain.

Also, because of the extreme G-force that would be applied within the ship as it moves through deep space, even the smaller ships would have a difficult time utilizing stick-shift style controls. Therefore, control panels would likely be flat touch screens that could be controlled with the touch of a fingertip.

Lack of air in space. As I mentioned before, there is no air in space. With no air, there can be no carrying of sound waves. This would make for silent battles. Gone would be the high-pitched screech of the small fighter ships as they pass by the mother ships. And the massive echoes of explosions would disappear, as well.

Speed. Again, with no air, there is no way for a vehicle to slow down without intention. It would take just as much energy to decelerate, as it would to accelerate. Because of this, there would not be battles in “close quarters.” A ship that got too close to another, unable to slow down in enough time, would cause a collision that would damage both ships, resulting in their demise. Therefore, they’d want to do battle at great distances, to assure there would be no collisions.

The speed of an object in space also affects the type of ammunition used during a space battle. Faster moving ammunition would be best, since the distance between ships would give plenty of time for the targeted ship to move before the strike hits. Therefore, laser weapons would work better than torpedo-type weaponry.

The reality of space battles is that it wouldn’t look like a WWII dogfight—or a battle seen in the movies. The question is, how realistic do you want your sci-fi space opera battle to be? Do you want to write a story that lines up with the majority of other tales, or are you the type of writer who wants to take a chance and write something different, but much more accurate? Take a moment to consider just how real you want to portray your space battle. Your decision just might make your story out of this world.

Laura L. Zimmerman is a homeschooling mama to three daughters and a doting wife to one husband. Besides writing, she is passionate about loving Jesus, singing, drinking coffee and anything Star Wars. You can connect with her through Facebook and Twitter @lauralzimm and at her website Caffeinated Fiction.

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

Realistic World-Building

The trend within the fantasy and sci-fi genres is to push for more detailed world-building within our stories. While this might work for some novels, it isn’t always necessary. When writing a sci-fi story set on earth in the not too distant future, less is actually more. A story can be just as effective—if not more so—when the writer keeps the setting simple. Keep in mind that in reality, the next generation or two probably won’t be living too much differently from the way we do now.

Names.

I personally know teenagers named William, Julia, Benjamin, Robert and Elizabeth. I also knew teenagers with these names when I was a young girl in the eighties. Today, we’ve also got names like Truxton and Abcde, but every generation will have new and different names. Overall, they haven’t changed that much. I would expect there will still be boys named James and girls named Grace in the year 2118. When creating your cast of characters, throw in an unusual name or two, but don’t bog the story down with odd names that are too difficult to pronounce. It’s perfectly futuristic to give your characters normal names.

Technology.

Computers have changed our way of life forever. Technology is moving at a faster pace each and every year. But that doesn’t mean earth will be unrecognizable in another century. With each new technology, it takes years of testing and then more years of production, before a company or government can implement it into society. Pharmaceuticals take decades to pass through the FDA. We may have the first self-driving cars on the road, but will that really mean all vehicles in our country will be self-driving in just a few decades? Most likely, not. Remember to incorporate some of these changes as occurring slowly over time within your story. However, no one will expect our skies to be filled with flying cars by the year 2068.

Geology.

What’s happening on our planet? It’s no secret that polar ice caps are melting and changes in our atmosphere are causing scientists to scratch their heads. But how will this affect our world in the future? Many futuristic stories include the same countries and landmarks that exist today, but use different names or have new alliances, causing the reader the need to learn about our planet as if it were not our own. But how will our world be different geologically? Including small changes in the natural world around us may be the key to your world-building without having to “reinvent the wheel” by creating all new nations just to make our world seem different.

The differences needed for world-building within a sci-fi story on earth don’t need to be complicated. Remember to keep things simple, pull from what is familiar to you, and think about the next logical step for the future of our world. This just might be the key to keep your reader reading, without getting hung up on complex details.

Laura L. Zimmerman is a homeschooling mama to three daughters and a doting wife to one husband. Besides writing, she is passionate about loving Jesus, singing, drinking coffee and anything Star Wars. You can connect with her through Facebook and Twitter @lauralzimm and at her website Caffeinated Fiction.

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

The Highs and Lows of Fantasy Sub-Genres

“Oh, you’re a fantasy writer? I love ‘The Lord of the Rings.’”

“I don’t write that kind of fantasy.”

“What other kind of fantasy is there?”

Does this conversation sound familiar? To some fantasy writers, it might. Although High Fantasy—the category in which J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” falls under—is one of the most common sub-genres of the fantasy genre, there have been an abundance of sub-genres that have made an appearance over the past number of years. Because of this, it can sometimes be hard for a writer to decide which sub-genre their work actually falls under. Here are a few of the most common that might help make your decision clearer.

High Fantasy—As mentioned above, it is one of the most traditionally used. These works are often lengthy with large-scale quests and many characters. They sometimes include a world map, the classic “hero” character, possess fantastical creatures like dragons or unicorns, and may have magic. Other sub-genre categories that may cross over are Medieval Fantasy or Sword and Sorcery Fantasy. Example: J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings.”

Low Fantasy—A story that takes place in the “real world” but has elements of supernatural magic would fall into this category. These can include the “normal kid” who discovers they, or those around them possess some sort of supernatural power. Other sub-genres that cross over are Portal Fantasy, Paranormal Fantasy, and Urban Fantasy. Example: J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” series.

Steampunk Fantasy—This sub-genre is unique in that it marries a historic Gaslight Fantasy world (set during the time that gaslights were in use) but incorporates both fantasy and technology. The technology is often powered by magic, lifting the limits that the Historical sub-genre might place on this category. Example: Shelley Adina’s “Lady of Devices” series.

Dark Fantasy—Sometimes called Gothic Fantasy or Grimdark Fantasy, this sub-genre is meant to be scary. These are the stories that contain ghosts, zombies, and other creatures of the night. Again, this category crosses over into the Speculative realm by remaining close to the Horror genre, but it is still considered Fantasy by many writers. Example: Neil Gaiman’s “Coraline.”

Historical Fantasy—This sub-genre is any fantasy work that takes place in a historical time period. This makes it easy for many other fantasy sub-genres to identify within the Historical Fantasy sub-genre, as well. Example: Diana Gabaldon’s “Outlander” series.

Medieval Fantasy—Inspired by the medieval period, this sub-genre can rely heavily on myths and legends. Depending on the depth and length of the work, this category could include High Fantasy. Another break off from this sub-genre is Arthurian Fantasy, which focuses specifically on the world of King Arthur. Example: George R.R. Martin’s “The Game of Thrones” series.

Paranormal Fantasy—This sub-genre evolved from the combination of the Low Fantasy and the Dark Fantasy categories. Many books in this genre often have a romantic element, as well. Strong themes within these novels are love triangles, vampires, faeries, werewolves and angels. Example: Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” series.

Crossover Sub-genres—Many of these mentioned sub-genres can also have a romantic element or may be better defined as Young Adult. In this case, calling your work either Romance Fantasy or Young Adult Fantasy would work, too. There are also Children’s Fantasy, Comic Fantasy, and Science Fantasy, to name a few more. Keep searching and you will find dozens of sub-genres to describe the fantasy writing genre.

In the end, it’s up to you, the writer, to decide in which sub-genre you’d like to categorize your work. There is no doubt that your work will likely cross over into a few of these sub-genre categories, but calling your work a Young Adult Paranormal Urban Romance Fantasy will likely confuse the reader. (And make it difficult to market!) Choose one sub-genre to begin your marketing strategy and you can change or add additional categories down the road, as needed.

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

The Trouble with Portals-Laura Zimmerman

Do portals that move your character to another time and place work within modern storytelling? This is the question fantasy and sci-fi writers have been struggling with over the past several years.

Imagine this: You’re reading a book with a great hook, the characters have depth and relationship, and the plot moves at just the right pace. Then out of nowhere, the main character is transported to an entirely new world that needs to be saved. The previous one is forgotten and a new plot begins.

Would you continue reading? Many readers of fantasy and sci-fi complain that, although it has worked in the past, the “portal to a new world” genre is overdone. Here are a few reasons why.

[bctt tweet=”the “portal to a new world” genre is overdone” username=””]

First off, the reader has no investment about what happens in the alternate world. Once you’ve established the main characters and the world around them, it can be jarring to expect the reader to jump into yet another world and begin caring about that one, too. Unless the jump between them is done with care, the reader can feel betrayed for having cared about the original world in the first place.

Also, there’s often not enough at risk. In many portal stories, the fantasy world is in peril, while the one left behind goes on without much thought or threat. The reader might be inclined to wonder why the main character doesn’t just leave the fantasy world to its own devices and go back to the safety of reality.

Another downside is when the reader realizes that without the portal, there would be no story at all. When the main character literally needs to leave reality to find adventure, the story can feel stale and overused. The portal is simply a mechanism to get a character from point A to point B so the “real” story can begin, which can reflect lazy writing.

So, how does a fantasy or sci-fi writer avoid the proverbial “portal trope?”

For starters, take a step back from your story and investigate whether it has a few key ingredients. Is your portal integral to the main plot? Is the portal woven within the threads of the story? How is the real world related or impacted by the alternate world?

Why does the portal appear at that specific spot, at that time, on that day? Who is able to access this portal and for how long? What price is there to be paid for using the portal? (There is always a price to be paid when using magic, otherwise your main character could use magic to fix the problem from page one.) Why must the main character travel to that alternate world, when he/she could just stay in the safety of reality?

Finally, if you take the portal out of the story, how will it affect the plot as a whole?

If you have solid answers to each of these questions—and you can make a strong case for the validity of that portal—then there is no reason a reader should walk away from your story. The reader should be so invested, that they don’t even consider it “another portal story.”

[bctt tweet=”The reader should be so invested, that they don’t even consider it “another portal story.”” username=””]

Do you include a portal within your magical world? Before you move forward with your work, take a few minutes to consider how you can find a balance between the real world and the alternate world. Doing so might keep your manuscript out of that “slush pile” and in the hands of an editor.

Laura L. Zimmerman is a homeschooling mom to three daughters, and a doting wife to one husband. Besides writing, she is passionate about loving Jesus, singing, drinking coffee and anything Star Wars. You can connect with her through Facebook and Twitter and at her website, www.lauralzimmerman.com

 

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi Storyworld

Entertainment in your Storyworld

Entertainment

We’ve spoken before about how little details can help color your storyworld. Societal habits, mating customs, dinner choices, and environmental aspects are all key to fleshing out a believable living space. Another aspect to consider is the way in which your characters entertain themselves.

Sometimes entertainment plays a central role in a book. The entire concept in Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games is a deathsport reality show, partly to show the Capitol’s control over the Districts, but also partly to entertain the masses. Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One shows a world in which reality is miserable and everyone escapes into a massively multiplayer online game. This “game” supports commerce, education, and other activities, but entertainment is a major aspect, especially considering the bleak reality outside of the virtual reality “OASIS.” And Aaron Gansky’s Hand of Adonai series presents a World of Warcraft type game in which the protagonists get trapped, Tron-style, and must figure out how to escape.

Hand of Adonai

In those three examples, the entertainment medium is actually the centerpiece of the novel, but it’s also the major point of tension. Specifically, each of the forms of entertainment is broken or twisted in some way, and the characters must overcome the challenges that arise.

Should entertainment play a major role in any other type of novel though? What if you have a story in the Wild West? Or a post-apocalyptic survivalist tale? A Space opera? I would argue that entertainment should be valued by your characters if you want them to feel like real people. That’s because all humans desire to have comfort and enjoyment at least part of the time (hopefully their lives aren’t always threatened by events like the ones in your novel!).

For example, John Scalzi’s The Ghost Brigades is a book about super soldiers defending humanity from a ghastly assortment of different alien species. And yet, Scalzi helps to make the storyworld feel alive with little windows of enjoyment. In one scene, a pilot is playing poker with some friends, in another, a father pirates a broadcast signal so his daughter can watch TV, and most importantly, an alien race is revealed to have no need for arts and entertainment. And this alien race realizes its lack of culture and strives to create it.

Or take Little House in the Big Woods. The novel chronicles the survival of a young girl and her family in the wilderness. Despite the struggles, there are times where she and her sister enjoy the musical talents of their father, or the two inflate and seal a pig bladder and kick it around like a ball. Personally that’s disgusting to me, but it really does help me picture the world in which little Laura Ingalls lived.


If your story is a non-stop adventure, you might feel like you don’t have time or space in your book to show scenes of enjoyment. That may be true. While not a book, the first season of the TV show 24 really pushed its story along with scant little room to explore its characters’ hobbies. Nevertheless, the first scene with the protagonist shows Jack, his wife, and his daughter finishing a late-night game. This one scene helps establish Jack’s normal life before the world started falling apart. It thus gives us an idea of what he’s fighting to get back through the whole first season.

Even if your story is very dark and the adventure extremely perilous, I would really encourage you to figure out some hobby or interest your character has to make him more personable. This is especially true if the world is very different from our own, because the character’s chosen entertainment could be used to show how foreign or similar that world is to ours. For example, a sorcerer in a fantasy adventure might enjoy magical sculpting – which might be a sort of enchanted pottery making. Or maybe he enjoys reading books of far-off adventure. In the first case, the hero has a hobby similar to one found in our world, but he clearly lives in a different reality. In the latter scenario, the sorcerer has an interest akin to that of your readers, making him relatable despite his extraordinary talents. Both are useful, depending on what you’re trying to accomplish.

That’s all for now, and possibly for a while. My wife and I are expecting our fourth child in a few weeks. Being a stay-at-home dad with four children ages 6 and under (and homeschooling the oldest two) will mean I won’t have much time to make regular updates at A3. So after two years of storyworld contributions, I’ll be taking a sabbatical for a little while. In the meantime, if there are any particular topics you’d like to see covered in the future, please leave a comment below and I can cover that subject when I return! Thanks guya and gals!

 

Ghost Brigades Image from: http://www.alisoneldred.com/imageJohnHarris-Illustration-2-58.html

Pig Bladder Kicking Picture from: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/270638258827560791/

24 Family Picture from: http://www.buddytv.com/articles/24/hottest-tv-dads-jack-bauer-24-17503.aspx

 

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

Fantasy Flash Fiction 101- Laura Zimmerman

Fantasy Flash Fiction 101

Could you write a story in 500 words? What about 100?

Flash fiction is a genre that has grown in popularity in recent years. Those committed to it enjoy the challenge of creating a complex story in less than 1000 words—some choosing to stick below 500 or even 100 words total. The key to flash fiction is that the story must be complete, encompassing a beginning, middle, and end, as well as a plot twist at the close. This genre can be both fun and challenging. The writer must create as tight a story as possible, while still evoking the same emotion one would experience from a full-length short story.

The positive point to writing this type of work is that the genre itself fits nicely within the fantasy or sci-fi world, particularly because of the twist ending. However, a writer within the fantasy/sci-fi niche will have a few habits they may need to refine if they want to be successful in this genre.

Setting: With a limited set of words and an entire story to tell, there is typically no room for a descriptive setting. This may be difficult for a fantasy writer. Many publishers will allow a higher word count for a novel in the fantasy/sci-fi genre to leave room for world-building. Unfortunately, flash fiction doesn’t give this extra word allowance. The writer needs to choose the perfect word to describe not only the mood of the scene but what might evoke a physical description of the surroundings to the reader. Instead of giving a detailed description of a broken down house that’s been empty for years, the writer might have to limit himself to simply using the word “dilapidated” knowing that the reader will see the shattered windows and chipped paint in their mind’s eye.

Physical Appearance: Once again, there just aren’t enough words to effectively describe your characters. Forget hair and eye color, or other mundane information that isn’t necessary to the story. Choose a single characteristic that will make the character stand out but will also tell a bit about that character’s personality. “Amelia shrank beneath his stare and pushed her glasses back in place.” In this example, the reader knows Amelia is low in self-confidence but what about those glasses? I would imagine they are part of what makes her self-conscious in the first place. She certainly doesn’t stand out as part of the popular crowd. I didn’t need to know if she was fat or thin, tall or short—she clearly sees herself as plain, which will lead the reader to see her in the same way.

Dialogue: Effective dialogue is another challenge you will face when creating your flash fiction in a fantasy or sci-fi setting. There may be unusual language or phrases you wish to insert, but there will be no extra words to give such an explanation. Once more, take your time to word your story so the reader can understand the intent without having to be told the precise meaning. Dialogue is also an opportunity for the writer to establish setting or physical appearance and still keep that word count tight.

The main thing to remember when writing fantasy/sci-fi flash fiction is to make every single word count. Find one word that can take the place of many. It may sound easy to write a story in 100 words, but I find that I take longer to write a single flash fiction story than I do an entire 2000 word chapter!

Flash fiction is a challenge every writer should undertake to help sharpen their writing skills. It will hone your talent to tell an effective story in a limited number of words and can be a great boost to your creative side!

Laura L. Zimmerman is a homeschooling mom to three daughters, and a doting wife to one husband. Besides writing, she is passionate about loving Jesus, singing, drinking coffee and anything Star Wars. You can connect with her through Facebook and Twitter and at her website, www.lauralzimmerman.com

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

The Secret to a Good Sidekick

 

The beloved “sidekick.” Han had Chewy. Frodo had Samwise. Harry had Ron and Hermione. Captain Kirk had Spock. The Doctor had…well, all of his companions. In the world of fantasy and sci-fi, the main character usually has a loyal helper by his/her side.

But creating a sidekick just for the purpose of being a sidekick can be a trap for even the most seasoned writers. (See: Jar-Jar Binks from Star Wars: Episode I.) Before a helper is created to serve as comic relief, or as the sounding-board for the main character (MC), the writer needs to consider the sidekick’s true role. What is his/her real purpose?

Every MC needs a flaw (or two). This is not only necessary for the direction of plot or to give the journey purpose, it is also needed for balance against other characters—particularly the sidekick. Where the MC is weak, the sidekick is usually strong. The personality flaws the reader may hate within the MC are often the reason the reader loves the sidekick. Sometimes, there is no possible way for a MC to “win at the end” without the aid of the sidekick.

A sidekick is also more than an extra character to help move plot forward; more than a narrator to provide valuable information; and more than the unlucky soul who cleans up whatever mess might be left behind by the MC. A sidekick is often the one person with whom the reader can deeply connect; the person the reader identifies with the most.

Take your time when creating this vital element of your story. Possibly, base specific personality traits from people you already know. Sit down and create a Myers-Briggs personality test for your sidekick character. What makes him/her tick? Get to know this person just as much as you (likely) already know your MC. Plot out the purpose of the sidekick within the story and the reason that person has for sticking around with the MC despite all his/her flaws. Dig deep. Know your sidekick before you begin adding that comic relief factor.

So much of a writer’s time is spent focused on plot, theme, setting, characterization, and other technical points. But don’t miss out on an opportunity to take your story to the next level by creating an extraordinary sidekick. It’s one thing to create a Jar-Jar Binks, but wouldn’t you rather have a Samwise?

Bio: Laura L. Zimmerman is a homeschooling mom to three daughters, and a doting wife to one husband. Besides writing, she is passionate about loving Jesus, singing, drinking coffee and anything Star Wars. You can connect with her through Facebook and Twitter and at her website, www.lauralzimmerman.com

Categories
Storyworld

The End of Civilization

Recently, a friend of mine asked me if western civilization was at the end of its life cycle. It’s a loaded question, and its answer will largely be dependent on how you define western culture. I’ll answer the question in a minute (or because I hate click-bait as much you do, you can skip to the last few paragraphs – I won’t tell on you), but this got me thinking of good storyworld ideas. Specifically civilizations in decline and how to preserve culture.

Cultural Preservation in Fiction

First of all, what I am not talking about is the French Resistance or Napier’s band of anti-Neo sappers in ExoSquad. Those are fine stories of fighting an oppressive government, but preserving culture usually means peacefully (if possible) living in one society, while preserving the spirit of another.

In Asimov’s Foundation, Harry Seldon foresaw the collapse of the Galactic Empire long before it happened. He knew that once that downfall began in earnest, it would take millennia to reestablish the same level of culture and technology. His solution? Create a colony with a massive library of all information necessary to recreate society. The colony of mostly scientists would feverishly work to teach successive generations all of known literature, science, and culture. It worked. The bloated galactic empire fell to the point where nuclear power was no longer known, space travel was rare, and control of different regions was usurped by local warlords. Meanwhile, Seldon’s world of Terminus carried on and even made advances.

The premise was borrowed by the storyworld of Battletech, where a semi-religious cult on earth maintained what was called “losttech.” They were decades more advanced than the other thousands of planets, but not because of scientific breakthroughs, but scientific preservation. The five main houses controlling known space had lost even the ability to create new battlemechs, their principle method of warfare.

 

In various fantasy settings, sometimes the arts of magic are preserved in a similar way. While the rest of the people beat each other senseless, mages will isolate themselves to preserve their craft. And they always seem to do so in dangerously tall and remotely situated towers. I can’t think of any specific novels, but I know I’ve rolled dice in at least one role-playing game with a similar backstory.

Cultural Preservation in History

These fictional tales are believable because they are based on actual events that happened in history. Over a thousand years ago, a man named Benedict created enclaves of culture, science, and literature to preserve the best of Roman, Greek, and Judeo-Christian culture. These little enclaves became known as monasteries, and monasticism was born. And we can all thank God for it, since monasticism effectively maintained a light in the dark ages and allowed culture to rebound once a degree of political and legal stability resumed in Europe.

My wife is currently reading a book called The Benedict Option, which looks at what Benedict did and evaluates if a similar method ought to be employed in present times. I’m not a huge non-fiction reader, (I believe truth is sometimes best conveyed in fiction) but the topic sounds interesting enough that I’ll probably pick it up when she’s done.

Cultural Preservation in Present

In a larger context, Christians know this idea resonates, and not just because of recent law-changes or disruption on college campuses. As Christians, we preserve a way of life – a relationship with God – that was lost soon after creation. Despite my tendency to avoid nonfiction, I’ve been reading Jake McCandless’ book Spiritual Prepper (I mean check out the cover, how could I not?). It is a good reminder that although the world is increasingly antagonistic toward us, we are called to preserve our faith. Each of us are little monasteries that preserve a Christian value system foreign to those around us. One might even call us temples. And in large groups, like at a church or a community gathering, we represent a subculture.

So is Western Culture really dying?

That depends how you define it. Some see western civilization’s foundation as secularism and liberalism. And before my conservative friends balk at that, remember that classical liberalism (the idea of disagreeing politely, discussing rather than shutting down ideas, encouraging freedom as long as it doesn’t impede the freedom of others, etc.) has nothing to do with the Democrat party. Just watch the news to see how the so-called Resistance treats people who disagree with their “open-minded” views. Also see Dave Ruben’s video here.

In modern times, the term “Liberal” has been perverted, but secularism has been reigning for quite some time. If western culture was built on a secular ideal, then I’d say it is reaching its natural conclusion. That’s because secularism holds to no higher authority. One cannot claim that murder is wrong (since there is no higher authority to cite), only that one feels murder is wrong. Or that the largest group opinion is that murder is wrong. Or the most vocal group opinion is such.

As for me, I think Western Civilization is best described as an intersection of Greek, Roman, and Jewish cultures. The Greeks brought the idea of logic and reason over emotion, the Romans provided an evenly enforced set of universal laws, and the Jews had a unique value system which valued life, property (even slaves had rights in Jewish culture), and a respect for a higher power to which all people, even kings, were subject. And Christianity was birthed at this same intersection point. For this reason, Christianity and Western Culture are intertwined, each shaping the other.

Do I think that Western Civilization, as I define it, is falling? Yes. Emotion is far more important to most than logic and reason; FBI director James Comey has proved that we no longer have a set of laws universally enforced between ruling class and commoner; and the only religious part of the constitution that progressives cling to is the line about “separation of church and state.” Never mind that that particular phrase isn’t even in the document.

However, there is hope. As I’ve already said, within each Christian is a preserved culture, different from the world. As long as we continue to meet together, encourage one another, and help each other in the faith, then the best development of Western Culture, one that now transcends all local cultures – the restored relationship between God and man – will be preserved.

 

Battletech Galactic Map from: http://operationbulldog.blogspot.com/2010_08_29_archive.html

Benedict Picture from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedict_of_Nursia

Wizard Tower image copyright Shaun Williams: https://www.3dartistonline.com/image/10248/wizards_tower

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

The Many Worlds of Sci-fi and Fantasy

 

In what world does your story live?

Sounds like a strange question, doesn’t it? After all, most bookstores are stocked with tales where the action takes place somewhere on Earth, either in present day, or in a historical setting. Most fiction is based on real-life, so it makes sense that we have no other world in which to experience life, right?

Not for sci-fi and fantasy authors! We are the blessed lot that can choose in which world we want our story to come alive. Chances are, this is one of the main reasons we were drawn to the genre in the first place.

What “worlds” are available to such authors? The most obvious would be the one in which we live. However, just because it’s Earth, doesn’t mean it needs to remain ordinary. Futuristic sci-fi takes place right here on Earth, but much further in the future. Yes, the author is confined to the laws of science regarding our planet, but the world would be greatly different than what we know today. The tale may also take place in the past or present. This kind of story can be found in the “Harry Potter” series, written by J.K. Rowling.

Other “worlds” available to fantasy authors are the ones on planets similar to Earth. The physical characteristics of the land, and many of the setting descriptions may sound analogous to that of a country with which we are familiar, but the location is definitely not Earth itself. An example of this would be “The Lord of the Rings” series that encompasses Middle Earth, written by J.R.R. Tolkien. This kind of fiction would also include stories that may begin in our true “real-world” experience, but where the character travels through a passageway leading them to an imagined world of impossible things. Lucy Pevensie experienced this when she walked through the door of her wardrobe in C.S. Lewis’ “The Chronicles of Narnia” series and ended up in the land of Narnia.

Finally, there are the places that are very much unlike our planet Earth—those that are inter-galactic or clearly defy all matters of nature to which we are accustomed. This would cover a good portion of the sci-fi genre and space opera. In these worlds, “the sky is the limit” when it comes to imagination. Not only can the magic or force behind these worlds be varied, but the creatures and abilities of humans can take a far greater leap than the average story. These would include novels such as the “Star Wars” Expanded Universe books, written by various authors.

What worlds have your characters visited recently? Whether you like to keep them close to home, or send them to galaxies “far far away”, within the genre of sci-fi and fantasy, the possibilities of where you can take them, are endless.

Laura L. Zimmerman is a homeschooling mom to three daughters, and a doting wife to one husband. Besides writing, she is passionate about loving Jesus, singing, drinking coffee and anything Star Wars. You can connect with her through Facebook and Twitter and at her website, www.lauralzimmerman.com

Categories
Storyworld

Anatomy of Grays: Alien Digest

The autopsy window allowed Jim a clear view of the good doctor’s grim work. The gray-skinned corpse had been cut open from neck to … whatever was between its legs, and its internal workings were just as alien as its external ones. Over the speaker, Doctor Stein began commenting on how the ugly fellow might digest its food. Apparently the little gray invaders had multiple stomachs like cows. Jim sighed. So their world was being invaded by bipedal gray-skinned cud-chewers. Great. Just great.

This month we continue our series on alien anatomy, literally delving into the bowels of unusual creatures – specifically their appetites. I’ve already posted an article about food and its necessity to your characters, which are probably vertebrates. That means they ingest their food, break it down, absorb it, and then circulate it to every single living cell in their bodies (which is headache-inducing if you stop to ponder it – don’t). Unused consumables are then disposed of in the same way that publishers typically treat unsolicited manuscripts. But with an alien anatomy, it bears mentioning that exotic creatures might ingest, digest, and circulate food differently.

 

Self-producing

Take for example a typical plant. Its food is self-produced, using a special pigment called chlorophyll, plus sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide. It still needs potassium, nitrogen, and various other nutrients found in the soil, but the energy the plant uses is the sugar it produces for itself. This may not sound extremely interesting as a plot device in a book, but wait until you read John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War. I won’t spoil who the green-skinned creatures are, but suffice to say Scalzi incorporates a creature that uses chlorophyll-infused skin to further enhance its energy (as a hint, they aren’t the Jolly Green Giants).

 

Externally Digesting

Other organisms like fungus and starfish actually digest their food externally. A fungus emits enzymes into the soil (or plant, organism, or whatever the fungus is feeding on), and its “food” breaks down around the root-like hyphae. The nutrients are then absorbed into those little tendrils. Try not to think of that the next time you get athlete’s foot. Arguably more gross is the starfish, which actually spits its entire stomach out of its mouth to digest its food externally. Creatures like this are likely to be pretty alien. Again, the world of Scalzi’s Old Man’s War is populated with interesting characters. Take the Gehaar for example, which are blue, tentacled extraterrestrials that inject their food with acid and slurp up the mostly-digested syrupy mess into their mouths. Yuck. But who knows what your space-faring adventurers or fame-seeking wizards will find in their world?

 

Otherworldly Appetites

But not all creatures need to follow the same rules as those in our own world. The second book in Larry Correia’s Monster Hunter series (incidentally, no relation to the Pokemon craze), includes some creatures called Oni, which feast off of souls to prolong their life. They do this in an almost literal way, because the souls are actually stored in a stomach-like bag inside the creature, where they are processed and provide energy for the evil beings. Apparently such a malevolent metabolism makes a monster very hard to kill too, since an entire section of Alabama interstate was virtually destroyed in the process. You’ll have to read Monster Hunter Vendetta to appreciate it though.

 

Picking up a Monster Manual from Pathfinder or 3rd or 5th edition D&D can also give you some interesting ideas for aliens and fantastic creatures (Note: 4th edition is great to play, but the monsters typically lack back-stories). Examples from these books are Gelatinous cubes and oozes that tend to be mindless blobs of jello that are only semi-aware. If you touch one though, your skin will begin to decompose in their uniform acidic bodies. That’s because their digestive systems are little more than homogenous blobs of acid. Rust monsters are also interesting since they eat metal, including magic weapons. In one of the editions this meant that one of their waste products would sometimes be residuum, a magical substance used to enchant other weapons.

 

That’s all on the menu this month. Next month we’ll talk about alien sex and reproduction, but don’t worry, I’ll keep it PG. Still, you may not want to invite your grandma.

 

Gelatinous Cube Inspirational Photo from http://catsoftindalos.blogspot.com/2016/05/caverns-of-slime.html

Green Giant image from https://www.tellwut.com/surveys/lifestyle/food-drink/91881-jolly-green-giant.html