I am beginning to think of myself as less of a science-fiction writer and more of a sciencey-fiction writer. I realized this a while ago as I was talking to a friend who was agonizing over the mechanics of dimensionality in her current book (she was flipping frantically through Stephan Hawking's A Brief History of Time and watching Michio Kaku videos about string theory.)
My advice to her? Read and watch all the stuff, make your book sound science-y with the things you learn, but don't shred your brain trying to solve a problem that even Michio Kaku hasn't solved.
My thought is that readers and viewers know the reality of things right now; they know that extra-dimensional travel is not (currently) possible or that Mars's lack of a magnetosphere makes terraforming the planet a non-viable prospect, but that's not why they bought the ticket. They bought the ticket because they wanted to imagine for a while that it is possible.
I think science-fiction needs to look forward, to be creative and spark imagination--and that's not always possible to do while incorporating every known obstacle. Space operas have to project to a future time when deep space travel has become feasible, books about robots have to imagine that the thousand million problems hindering actual AI have been dealt with. (Doctor Who, of course, is the best example of being science-y--and nobody cares because it is so delightful.)
So there it is. Be creative, be inspired, look forward. Use what is known now, but don't be afraid to envisage a world where some of the peskier problems have been already solved. You'll need your energy for the writing all the love scenes in your robot, terraforming space opera.
Showing posts with label doctor who. Show all posts
Showing posts with label doctor who. Show all posts
Reverse the Polarity
Labels:
doctor who,
real science,
science fiction
write what you don't know
One of the most common pieces of writing advice we often hear as beginners is "Write what you know." But what does that even mean? And is it actually good advice?
If I had taken that suggestion literally, my first novel would have been about a man in his late twenties with a day job as a media coordinator at Lifetime Television who was writing a novel about the action-packed world of file transfers, video conversions, and women's programming. Riveting. Perhaps readers would have been drawn in by the rich cast of characters based on my wacky co-workers, friends, and family--who I'm sure would have been flattered to be included. You see the problem. Worse still, my second novel would have been exactly the same, and my third...
I read fiction for experiences completely different from my own, to see with other people's eyes, so why should writing fiction be any different? I love science fiction and fantasy because in the right hands, an author can make the impossible seem real.
But wait, I write young adult fiction, right? Then I should write about my old high school experiences... if only they hadn't been so dreadfully boring. Of course I do draw on my own memories--especially what it felt like to be a teenager--but in fiction, I can give myself, and other readers, something better. Something exciting. Something different. Something impossible.
So, how do you go about writing what you don't know? Research! This is one of my favorite parts of the writing process, where I buy and borrow lots of books on interesting new subjects, pass off watching movies and TV shows as "work," and talk to people.
The research is most exciting at the beginning, when I may not have written a single word yet and anything is still possible. I jot down notes and stick little Post-Its in the pages and just soak in all the new knowledge and see what my brain comes up with. I blurt out random, esoteric trivia to the people around me and start having conversations on topics they didn't think I knew anything about. Research can be seductive, because there's so much I don't know, the temptation is to just keep reading to find out just a little bit more. If you never start writing the book, it can remain forever perfect in your head. But when preparation becomes procrastination, it's time to start writing anyway, even though I don't yet know all the things. Especially because I don't know everything. After all, I didn't know how to write my first novel, so I thought I'd see if I could do it, and that turned out pretty well.
I'm researching all while writing that first draft and often through multiple revisions. There are always more books on the subject and related ones, and it fosters wonderful moments of discovery where a fact suddenly fits perfectly with the story--or sparks an entirely new idea. I'm also one of those authors who likes to read fiction related to the book I'm reading. I'm not worried about being subconsciously influenced by other authors, but I'm trying to avoid doing what others have done, or perhaps find a new or better approach. Basically, I like to immerse myself in the world of my characters to give my mind as much creative fodder as possible.
So what have I been reading for my work in progress? In Peggy's recent "What Are We Reading?" post, I was reading Ghost in the Wires, one of several books by the infamos hacker Kevin Mitnick. I've been reading various books and articles about social engineering, whistleblowers, and computer hacking, which led me to the marvelous, award-winning fantasy Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson. I finally read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson and Homeland by Cory Doctorow. I spend a lot of time on Wikipedia and Google, and let's just say that I've probably been setting off some red flags with our friends, the NSA. (Hi, guys!) I also may have made some people nervous, like this weekend when I was reading articles about circumventing passwords on Macbooks while sitting in a coffee shop... next to a woman with a Macbook.
The biggest downside to being in full-on research mode is that reading all these books means my to-be-read pile of non-researchy books must wait a little longer--my reading time is finite (as is my time for everything else), and it's important to make sure I'm writing too.
I love being forced to write out of my comfort zone, to write what I don't know, because it makes me grow as an author. I have every intention of challenging myself to make each of my books different from the one before it--and hopefully share something new with readers in the process.
If I had taken that suggestion literally, my first novel would have been about a man in his late twenties with a day job as a media coordinator at Lifetime Television who was writing a novel about the action-packed world of file transfers, video conversions, and women's programming. Riveting. Perhaps readers would have been drawn in by the rich cast of characters based on my wacky co-workers, friends, and family--who I'm sure would have been flattered to be included. You see the problem. Worse still, my second novel would have been exactly the same, and my third...
I read fiction for experiences completely different from my own, to see with other people's eyes, so why should writing fiction be any different? I love science fiction and fantasy because in the right hands, an author can make the impossible seem real.
But wait, I write young adult fiction, right? Then I should write about my old high school experiences... if only they hadn't been so dreadfully boring. Of course I do draw on my own memories--especially what it felt like to be a teenager--but in fiction, I can give myself, and other readers, something better. Something exciting. Something different. Something impossible.
So, how do you go about writing what you don't know? Research! This is one of my favorite parts of the writing process, where I buy and borrow lots of books on interesting new subjects, pass off watching movies and TV shows as "work," and talk to people.
The research is most exciting at the beginning, when I may not have written a single word yet and anything is still possible. I jot down notes and stick little Post-Its in the pages and just soak in all the new knowledge and see what my brain comes up with. I blurt out random, esoteric trivia to the people around me and start having conversations on topics they didn't think I knew anything about. Research can be seductive, because there's so much I don't know, the temptation is to just keep reading to find out just a little bit more. If you never start writing the book, it can remain forever perfect in your head. But when preparation becomes procrastination, it's time to start writing anyway, even though I don't yet know all the things. Especially because I don't know everything. After all, I didn't know how to write my first novel, so I thought I'd see if I could do it, and that turned out pretty well.
I'm researching all while writing that first draft and often through multiple revisions. There are always more books on the subject and related ones, and it fosters wonderful moments of discovery where a fact suddenly fits perfectly with the story--or sparks an entirely new idea. I'm also one of those authors who likes to read fiction related to the book I'm reading. I'm not worried about being subconsciously influenced by other authors, but I'm trying to avoid doing what others have done, or perhaps find a new or better approach. Basically, I like to immerse myself in the world of my characters to give my mind as much creative fodder as possible.
So what have I been reading for my work in progress? In Peggy's recent "What Are We Reading?" post, I was reading Ghost in the Wires, one of several books by the infamos hacker Kevin Mitnick. I've been reading various books and articles about social engineering, whistleblowers, and computer hacking, which led me to the marvelous, award-winning fantasy Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson. I finally read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson and Homeland by Cory Doctorow. I spend a lot of time on Wikipedia and Google, and let's just say that I've probably been setting off some red flags with our friends, the NSA. (Hi, guys!) I also may have made some people nervous, like this weekend when I was reading articles about circumventing passwords on Macbooks while sitting in a coffee shop... next to a woman with a Macbook.
The biggest downside to being in full-on research mode is that reading all these books means my to-be-read pile of non-researchy books must wait a little longer--my reading time is finite (as is my time for everything else), and it's important to make sure I'm writing too.
I love being forced to write out of my comfort zone, to write what I don't know, because it makes me grow as an author. I have every intention of challenging myself to make each of my books different from the one before it--and hopefully share something new with readers in the process.
The 12th Doctor
It won't come as much of surprise that us Leaguers are huge Doctor Who fans. So of course we were all glued to our TV sets last Sunday as the BBC revealed who would be playing the 12th Doctor.
So after a bit of this:
And a lot of this:
The moment finally arrived, huzzah! Peter Capaldi is our new Doctor!!!
Now we've had a few days to get over our excitement and digest the news, here are our initial thoughts on number 12...
EUGENE MYERS
“I'll admit, I was hoping the creative team would be a little more daring with this Doctor, a little edgier. I would love to see a woman Doctor (other than the 13th Doctor as played by Joanna Lumley in Moffat's parody Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death) or a black Doctor. But in all honesty, casting the role older this time is a bit bold — though it's not as if they could have gone much younger, could they? Having seen Peter Capaldi perform in Torchwood: Children of Earth, Doctor Who, and Neverwhere, I'm satisfied that he has the talent to play the role and put his own unique spin on it. And hearing that he was once a major fan boy of the show is even more encouraging! Personally, I came to Doctor Who via the classic series when I was in high school. (My favorite Doctors are Tom Baker and Peter Davison, my favorite companion is Sarah Jane Smith.) So I'm not worried about a man in his mid-fifties taking control of the TARDIS, and in fact I'm pleased to see it return to its roots for this year's 50th anniversary. Allons-y!”LISSA PRICE
“I like the new doctor. He's smart, has depth. But rather not see a love subplot with Clara please.”BETHANY HAGEN
“I admit that I would have liked to see a woman or person of color as the next Doctor. Science fiction is a playground of diversity, and if any show can have a not-white, not-male lead, it's Doctor Who. That being said, I also immensely trust Steven Moffat--both with Doctor Who and Sherlock; if Steven Moffat thinks Peter Capaldi is the right fit for the doctor, then I believe him. I also recognize that with the last few doctors, I've experienced some profound resistance (Christopher Eccleston can't be a the Doctor, he's a bad guy! David Tennant is too twitchy! Matt Smith is too young!) and then have been won over completely by their second or third episode. And the same will happen with Peter Capaldi.”BETH REVIS
“I think it's a great idea to have a slightly older (he's not decrepit by any means!) Doctor--mainly because I'm a little burnt out of the "I'm in love with the Doctor" theme that's been running lately. My favorite season so far has been the one with Donna specifically because the plot focused so much on the plot rather than the romance. I'd love something funny, something adventurous...One thing I'd love to see is one final episode with River Song, where she has to work with the new, older Doctor. Just one last time...one time for her to say goodbye.”
GENNIFER ALBIN
"I'm always sad when there's a regeneration, because it feels like that doctor dies. Yeah, I know, I know, he regenerates, but let's face it, each new doctor has his own personality and quirks. I'm sure I'll love 12 just as I've loved each of the others, but just like having a second child or making a new friend or adding another man to the harem, it will be a different love."ELIZABETH RICHARDS
"I don't think anyone was surprised when Peter Capaldi walked onto the set, but I'm pleased with the choice...although I had secretly hoped it would be a woman! There's something David Tennant-y about Peter Capaldi, which is exciting as number 10 is my favorite doctor. I can't wait to see what he brings to the character."What are your thoughts on the new Doctor? Do you like the fact he's an older doctor? Would you preferred a bolder choice? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
The Feels and Science Fiction
Since today is my birthday, I've reserved the right to talk about two of my favorite things this year: Doctor Who and the way Zachary Quinto and Chris Pine look in tight uniforms the relationship between Kirk and Spock.
It's because of important, writerly reasons, I promise.
What I love about both of these things is how surprisingly emotional they are. When I started watching Doctor Who, I thought I was signing up for campy, spacey fun, not hours of blinking tearfully at the screen, sad-babbling to my husband as I watched the Tenth Doctor regenerate. Same with Star Trek: Into Darkness. I thoroughly enjoyed the first installment (I typically enjoy all things J.J. Abrams) but I was not prepared for the EMOTIONS I had this time around. Bromance emotions.
Sigh.
So how do they do it? I don't have a definitive answer for this, and if I did, I'd open up a school called ALL THE ANSWERS FOR WRITING SCHOOL and rake in the cash. But my theory is this: that both the show and the film take the time to focus on the characters. What's fantastic about sci-fi is that you don't even realize that it's happening, because these important moments are generally happening while characters are doing things, running away from aliens and so forth. Elements of backstory (that the Doctor once had a family or that Spock is still aching from the loss of his planet) happen while other plot elements are going on. And our character's true motivations, their true capacities for fear/bravery/compassion/humor are revealed by the choices they make when in difficult situations. By taking the time--seconds in screen time--to give us glimpses of character, they plant the seeds for a huge emotional payoff. (Side note: Firefly and Lost are other examples of this being amazingly well-done.)
This is something that I'm not always able to put my finger on when it's lacking in books I read or movies I watch, and it's certainly not something I find easy to do in my own books. It's easy to get sucked into writing about the laser-guns and forget to write about the people holding the laser-guns.
And now, if you'll excuse me, I have some Doctor Who gifs to reblog on tumblr.
It's because of important, writerly reasons, I promise.
What I love about both of these things is how surprisingly emotional they are. When I started watching Doctor Who, I thought I was signing up for campy, spacey fun, not hours of blinking tearfully at the screen, sad-babbling to my husband as I watched the Tenth Doctor regenerate. Same with Star Trek: Into Darkness. I thoroughly enjoyed the first installment (I typically enjoy all things J.J. Abrams) but I was not prepared for the EMOTIONS I had this time around. Bromance emotions.
Sigh.
So how do they do it? I don't have a definitive answer for this, and if I did, I'd open up a school called ALL THE ANSWERS FOR WRITING SCHOOL and rake in the cash. But my theory is this: that both the show and the film take the time to focus on the characters. What's fantastic about sci-fi is that you don't even realize that it's happening, because these important moments are generally happening while characters are doing things, running away from aliens and so forth. Elements of backstory (that the Doctor once had a family or that Spock is still aching from the loss of his planet) happen while other plot elements are going on. And our character's true motivations, their true capacities for fear/bravery/compassion/humor are revealed by the choices they make when in difficult situations. By taking the time--seconds in screen time--to give us glimpses of character, they plant the seeds for a huge emotional payoff. (Side note: Firefly and Lost are other examples of this being amazingly well-done.)
This is something that I'm not always able to put my finger on when it's lacking in books I read or movies I watch, and it's certainly not something I find easy to do in my own books. It's easy to get sucked into writing about the laser-guns and forget to write about the people holding the laser-guns.
And now, if you'll excuse me, I have some Doctor Who gifs to reblog on tumblr.
Labels:
doctor who,
feels,
science fiction,
Science fiction films,
Star Trek
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