Sci Fi

Notes from our meeting on Science Fiction - big thanks to Sarah for teaching us all about it!

Epic fantasy – huge, intricate worlds, - Brandon Sanderson, Robert Jordan, George R. R. Martin, Tolkien Really intricate worlds (word count 120-150k words)

Heroic fantasy – usually lots of action, sword fighting, gritty, Conan the Barbarian (80-100k words)

Urban fantasy (aka Modern fantasy) – our world, buffy the vampire slayer (smaller, faster-paced, usually about 70k words)

The difference between sci fi and fantasy –

“Dr. Who is awesome because it walks the line between. It also walks the line between being really stupid and really awesome.” Science fiction will simply have science terms to explain what’s going on. IE-the Doctor’s sonic screwdriver—it could easily be a ‘wand’ but the scientific terms gives it a more science fiction feel.

“Sci Fi” -

Space Marine - more military, it’s focused on the battles. The science makes sense but science is not the focus. Battlestar Gallactica (80-100k words)

Space opera – i.e. star wars, space, doesn’t have the scientific specifics (i.e. the light saber works because…he used the force because he has the special blood…etc.)

Hard sci fi – science is legitimate (60-200k words depending on topic)

Steam punk

Distopian

Supernatural

Etc.

Technology in science fiction should be grounded in current day technologies.

Sci fi & fantasy – style & writing style:

Sci fi: sentences are shorter, more sciency-stuff, condensed dialogue

Fantasy: careful with the ‘ye’ etc – might bug your readers. You can use normal prose but use slightly fancier diction like ‘wept’ instead of ‘cried’

Big new world: big world, narrow in. desert planet? Where is the water? Civilizations are gathered around water.  Don’t believe it? Read up on the Egyptians – everything centered around the river.

Come up with a general map. Commerce? How long to travel between cities?

All taking place in one city – way easier to write.

How many nations? Similar? Different? Geographical differences between them?

Cultural settings: governments, religion, gender roles, race, economics, technological advancements, family structures.

You don’t have to have ALL of it for ALL of them. Focus on two or three. Add in the occasional details for the other areas. You don’t have to make it complicated.

If you’re stuck, just pick a few randomly. Put them in a hat and draw out some options.

Trying to develop a language:

Don’t be Tolkien. Tolkien was a master linguist. He made up 15 languages, then wrote the books for the language.

Easy way to make language – make up a code. Use existing languages. i.e. Took japanese grammar and Italian words and make up words using google translate. You don’t have to go into full detail – i.e. George R. R. Martin wrote a book with a new language and only made up about 8 words. You often see books use italics when characters are speaking a different language.

Subtle learning curve. Don’t pile on this character with this ethnicity & religion and this weapon and this background – don’t rush. You’ll drive your reader insane. Slowly build up to the awesome stuff. Have small differences like; what is the standard of beauty? Are boys favored over girls? These are common things people are familiar with but they also reveal a lot about a culture.

Give them some things to relate to—don’t make everything new. Introduce things slowly and gradually build in the world. Trees are still trees, bread is bread, etc.

Brandon & Robert Jordan, Martin, Tolkien – they pull from existing cultures.

*Things tend to change as you go a bit.  Start on the small details and run with it.

Magic:

You don’t have to have a system. Tolkien let Gandalf have magic when it was convenient. That’s okay but the trend is more to have an established system like Sanderson or Rowling. In a magic system, there should be a price and a limitation. IE- In Harry Potter, the cost is knowing the proper incantation and reciting it properly (and you have to practice, it's not just easy for everyone). The limitation is only one spell can be done at a time, you must be powerful enough to perform said spell, etc. Try to make the cost greater than the reward. (Sanderson does this) 

How to Research for your Novel

So I came across this article on researching for your fiction. I find that I run into lots of things I need to research - like, how people would wake up before sunrise without technology, how candles were first made,  where names came from, etc. So here's the article I read and here are some of the points I got from it:

- You can't do too much research.
- You can write about what you know. I thought I didn't know anything, and then I thought about my major (Psychology), hard things I've gone through, my parents raise chickens and keep bees, i have brothers and no sisters (perhaps I could develop annoying brother characters in the story), I know about riding horses, I know about art. See, just make a list of your interests and you'll find some things you know about.
- You can find anything on youtube / online. He uses the example of having someone's lungs collapse from a bullet wound, and finding a youtube video of how a doctor would treat that.
- Use all your senses. Pay attention to small details in your other senses. Don't just know what it looks like in the south, but try their food, try out the seasonings they use on their seafood so you know what it's like. Listen to accents so you get a feel for how your character would talk. Know how the sea smells in your scene's area.
- Don't pack it with research. You'll find more than you need & you can leave some out.

I think it's very useful to research - and this is not just for research papers. Or creative non-fiction. I've researched for writing my novels, short stories, even my poetry - I found a specific kind of plant that has many uses, from being smoked for pleasure, to being a poison. And it fit with my poem, added an extra level of meaning. Read How to Research a Novel if you want to read more.

Creating Worlds

So, Ryan Sanderson is great at crafting worlds, and you can access his lecture videos and information at this website:

http://writeaboutdragons.com/