Writing Sci-Fi and Fantasy

Doing any kind of long-form writing is hard. Writing science-fiction is particularly difficult, because both are restricted by the rules the author puts in place for the world to exist.

Both genres need to exist in believable worlds to be successful. Readers need to believe that even though the world this story is taking place in doesn't exist, it certainly could because of the way the author is describing it.

Science-fiction is confined by the rules of science. Whether the story is about time travel or is set in the distant future, there needs to be science behind what the author is writing about. Sure, there is still a lot of room for the author to be creative, but they need to work within the confines of the world they create.

Fantasy works the same way, except the rules in a fantasy world need to come almost wholly from the authors imagination (or taken from established fantastical sources, i.e. vampires are killed by driving a stake through their heart).

This issue is not only coming up with the rules, but the expectation from the reader for those rules to exist. They need to know how the world functions. They need to know what is allowed or plausible, and what is outside the realm of possibility.

On top of all that is the challenge of incorporating these rules into the plot of the story, and not just simply laying them out in a long monologue. Readers don't want to have to sit through a long amount of exposition about what can and cannot happen in the world they are reading about. They want to understand the rules by experiencing them through the actions of the characters as they interact with the world the reader is reading about.

Time travel is particularly difficult in science fiction. If a character is traveling to the past, the author needs to do a heavy amount of research to get all the details right to make the world authentic. If the character travels to the future, the author needs to create a world that can trace its progression back to the character's present in a plausible way.

My issue with time travel stories that focus on going to the past is that they are simply rehashing problems that have already been dealt with. It takes a certain amount of skill to draw the connection to the importance of that story in the present. That is why I like fantasy. It allows for a story to be told in a way where the fantastical elements can be seen as parallels to issues people are dealing with in our world.

Sorry if this piece was a little ramble-y.

Things I Bought Recently: Baby Names Book

As I mentioned previously, I am reading a book about how to write a novel in 26 days. The book includes a series of exercises to help prep for what it describes as a "writing marathon."

Some of the sections was devoted entirely to the tools I would need to write my book. Most of these exercises have involved writing lists or figuring out resources from the internet to utilize. One section, however, explicitly states that I should go out an purchase certain items to be successful.

Being unemployed the idea of being told to go buy more things that weren't really in my budget did not directly appeal to me. But, I did say I was going to commit myself to this program and follow the instructions of the book to see if it could be done. So, off to the bookstore I went.

Among the books I was supposed to have at my disposal were a dictionary (which I had), a thesaurus (again, something I had) and a book on Chicago Manual Style (I cheated slightly on this with a pocket style guide). The only book I did not have was a baby names book.

I could have ordered this off Amazon, but with shipping it would take several days to get to my house. I wanted to keep moving forward with the exercises in the book, so, instead, I decided to reserve a copy down at Barnes & Noble. I figured reserving a copy online was the least embarrassing way to purchase a book like this. I didn't want to have to deal with a lot of questions from people about why I was buying it.

My friend came along with me and we decided to stop at a bookstore closer to my house just to see if they would had it in stock before driving the 20 minutes to the closest Barnes & Noble. Unfortunately, that bookstore closed at 7 o'clock, which is kind of absurd, but there wasn't anything we could do about it. Getting back on the freeway we went down Barnes & Noble.

We browsed around a bit before picking up my book, which is always dangerous because I didn't want to spend anymore money on this trip than I had too. When I went to the checkout to pick up the book, the cashier inevitably asked me if I was expecting. I had to politely explain to her that, no, I simply needed it for a writing tool, which she seemed to accept.

When I got home, I found the book actually had a lot of useful information in it. The book wasn't simply a list of names. It also gave country or culture of origin and the meaning. I was able to look up the top five boys and girls names in each state, and names that were rising in popularity due to exposure in popular culture.

There are some really terrible name out there, I won't mention any lest I offend someone, but next time you're browsing your local bookstore stop by the baby book section and leaf through copy. You might be surprised at what you find.

Dedication Dilemmas

When trying to write a book in 26 days it is often difficult not to get ahead of yourself. Often I find myself leaping to the finished product, and I am not even to the part of the book that tells me I can start writing my own book yet.

My cross country coach used to tell me to "run in the present." 

To me, that's good advice for living life in general. It doesn't pay to dwell in the past or to think too far in advance. Playing the what-if game is dangerous, time consuming, and (often) unproductive. The idea with living in the present is to assess what is going well and what can be improved. Determine how to continue doing the good things and focus on improving the things that aren't going well.

This a difficult philosophy to adhere to when writing because there needs to be an end game. In order to achieve that end game, there might be adjustments that need to be made in what has already been written. It is hard to simply keep plowing ahead, especially when problems are clearly evident.

But there are other things related to the end game that are hard not to think about as well, like the book as a whole. In addition to the story, there is a cover, a dedication page and sometimes a few pages acknowledging the people who helped the book come to fruition in the back of the book. 

I have often thought about who I would dedicate my first book to, and that led me to thinking about what that process might entail.

Do I ask the person if it is ok to dedicate my book to them? What if they say no? I imagine this has to have happened to someone at some point in history. Out there somewhere is a bad writer, a nice person, but a bad writer, who for some reason or another feels compelled to dedicate their book to someone who really does not want their name associated with this person's writing. 

That must be one of the more awkward conversation people can have:

Author: I just finished my book and it's going to be published!

Person: Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!

Author: Thanks for all your encouragement.

Person: My pleasure.

Author: I'd like to show my appreciation by dedicating the book to you.

Person:....Oh...noooo, that's ok. Thank you, but...nooooo

To avoid this, I think I will only dedicate my books to dead people. Dead people aren't going to care if my book is any good or not, and I can avoid shaming anyone who otherwise might not want to be associated with my writing.

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Let's See How This Goes

I have wanted to be a writer ever since the eighth grade. That was when I first attempted to a novel. I filled up an entire notebook before writing myself into a corner and letting the project fall by the wayside. I have made many attempts since. I have what I believe to be many strong beginnings, but I lack any complete stories.

I took one class in high school and three in college focused on creative writing. The writing I did in those classes was valuable experience, but I was never able to write anything more than ten or fifteen double spaced pages. This does not a novel make.

The other day my mother came home with this book:

First picture in a while, how exciting!

Typically, I scoff when I come across these kind of books in the bookstore. I have a hard time believing there is any secret formula to writing a novel. Either you have the ideas and drive to do to write, or you do not.

But I have an idea for a story that I think could be promising, and I don't want it to slip away. That, accompanied with the fact I just finished the book I was reading for fun, have driven me to pick this up and see what happens.

I began reading it last night; just the first couple of pages to get a feel for what direction it headed in. Here is what I have garnered so far:

• The biggest piece of advice Melander has given so far is: Writers write. (Fair enough, I say)
• The book is written to give advice to people seeking to write both fiction and non-fiction. (For the record I am writing fiction)
• While I do not agree with all here theories and pieces of advice about writing, there are some very good inspirational quotes from established writers. (My favorite so far: You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club. —Jack London)
• The book is written in a way that is trying to mimic a marathon training guide (hence the title). I am curious to see how long before that becomes an annoyance.
• Also annoying, the author's insistence on implanting a character named "Molly McAuthor," a stand-in to represent any author.
• The title of the book is a little deceiving. While the cover would have you believe that a book can be written in 26 days, Melander does not include the two weeks to a month training period.

My plan is to earnestly follow whatever this book tells me to do and see how it goes. This blog won't be turning into me writing about writing, but I will give periodic updates (if I feel like it).

Good hunting.