Getting a new blog post from Ted was a bit like kismet. I have been wrestling with a component of a sci-fi I've been working with. After reading his advice, I realize why I have a block about it.....while trying to write scientifically, I've actually been trying to be TOO scientific. Here, let me let Ted explain it. He does it so much better than me.
WRITING SCIENTIFIC
By
Ted Mendelssohn
Samantha has graciously invited me into her house – her
blog, that is – with a post about including science in your writing. So here it
is, the Big Basic Rule of Writing Science Fiction (because yes, there is only one):
Science fiction is NOT about science.
Period. Full stop.
Entirely new power sources? Travel to other star systems?
Sentient non-human beings? Who cares?
Seriously. An SF story is about none of these things. Rather, it's about the effects these things might
have on the story's protagonists.
Good example: Robert Heinlein's classic 1940 short story, Blowups Happen. Five years before we had
the atom bomb, and eleven before the first nuclear power plant came on line,
Heinlein imagined a breeder nuclear reactor that provided power and medical
radioactives to the entire western United States. And then he asked "But
what if the plant is fundamentally unstable? What if it could explode in an
atomic fireball?" The plant is vital to the US economy; it can't be shut
down. But the engineers know that one mistake on their part could wipe the
entire state of Nevada off the map in a multi-megaton explosion. The stress is
unbearable, so they start to "blow up." Although there was plenty of
science in the story, the most important thing was the stress on the human
beings.
Another classic example: Cordwainer Smith's Scanners Live in Vain. Smith asked the
question: "What if space flight requires men to undergo radical
transformations – to become partially machine, to lose some of their humanity?
How will they behave?" His answer was utterly believable – that men who
had sacrificed so much, and lost so much of what makes us human, would protect
their power and status with extreme, terrible acts that they would never have
considered before they were transformed.
This is how to use science in fiction: Understand the
implications of a new development, and follow them wherever they might go. What
if genetic engineering allows us to give up sleep? What would the psychological
effects of immortality really be like? Instead of creating a world you like and
finding science to justify it, look at science and wonder what the implications
might be.
Thanks, Ted! And if you liked what you read here, you will love to get more comfortable with his works. Buy and read, and let him know how you felt. The best way to support an indie author is to buy an indie author. We all thank you.
Ted's new book is from Musa Publishing:
And you can become a follower of his, here:
Thanks for those words of wisdom, Ted. For someone who can't read technical stuff, much less write it, it's a relief to know that the best way to tackle the technical side of sci-fi is to leave most of it out.
ReplyDeleteJane
You make it sound so easy now, Ted. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ted. I don't at the moment write SF but that idea of looking at a 'what if?' and taking it from there is essentially the basis of all types of fiction. Words of common sense. Great stuff.
ReplyDeleteThanks, everyone. I'm glad you found it helpful.
ReplyDelete