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) 

Literary Agents & Publishing

Tip - find a literary agent stationed (or who was stationed) in New York

Why is getting an agent important? EPublishing & Independent Publishers make it seem like agents aren't important, but...they are important.

Self Publishing / Independent Publishers
- don't need an agent

5 Big Publishers: Harper Collins, Penguin, etc.
- will only take manuscripts from literary agencies - no slushpile even there.
- to get published with them you HAVE to have an agent..

Agents
- if you get an agent, you don't have to know all the stuff in writer's market
- at the end of the Writer's Market it lists conferences - this is the BEST way to meet agents. then you can email them and say that you met that at this ___ conference.
- you can find someone looking for the specific kind of book you write - but they might have seen too many books like yours
- query far and wide!

Writer's Market tells you:
- how to write a query letter
- how to pitch your work
- lists all agencies in the United States, the genres they represent, how to contact them, what they want (hard copy, email, with or without a synopsis), instructions
- lists conferences - this is the BEST way to meet agents

Beginnings - Hooking Your Reader

Some awesome first lines:
"The gunman is useless." - I am the Messenger
"When I think of my wife, I always think of her head." -Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn
"What about a tea kettle?" - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
            It's not as much a catchy line, but it makes you go what? And you want to get to know the narrator, this kid, because his musings on the teakettle are so different.
"In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit." - The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkien
"It's the first of November, so today someone will die." - The Scorpio Races
See 100 Fabulous First lines here.

Some good ideas / Tips:
1. Keep it simple. Don't overwhelm your reader, but don't be vague. "Something stirred in the night." - simple but too vague. Don't do a long run-on sentence.
2. Introduce character. You will have a problem if you don't have a character - again, our first line "Something stirred in the night." You should not open with setting - you should open with the character. Either description of the character, or the character's voice.
3. Be different or shocking. You have to be interesting. Show your reader that this book isn't like all the other books. *In the example of the teakettle line, the boy has a very unique voice and an unusual interest/thoughts about the tea kettle.
4. Set the tone - see our recent post on Tone.
5. Speak to your reader as if they are a confidant. Most of the time you want a reliable narrator, and you want your readers to feel a connection with the narrator or character. You, as the writer, narrator, speaker, or character are speaking to the reader in some way.
See 100 Fabulous Opening Lines here.

Things to Avoid:
Don't try to hard to write well - often times people write overly-well-written opening paragraphs. They try to make it impressive and poetic, etc.
Don't start the first sentence with setting.
Don't be vague.

*The Rule of Exceptions*
"There is an exception to every rule, except the Rule of Exceptions."

Rewriting

Last week, on the 23rd, we talked about rewriting.
1. Overall/General
Often we can learn from mistakes, so take a novel you think could be improved, plotwise.

2. Details
- Don't overuse the word 'that'
Take a look at how many times you use the following words in a section of your writing: eyes, glance, good, had, head, just, look, mouth (open, close), nod, raise, eyebrow (raise, lift), really, seem, shrug, sigh, slowly, smile, so, still, stood, suddenly, then, very, walk

3. Drafts:
I have a hard time getting through the first draft, but it's okay for it to be messy, just get through it!
First draft (1.0)
First Draft (1.5) - first draft becomes readable
Second Draft (2.0) - cut out 5 - 10,000 words. Delete unnecessary adjectives, etc.
Beta Readers (2.5) - great time for ypublish submissions, or a creative writing classmate. Have at least one writer friend for this step.
Third Draft (3.0) - fix the things you were too close to the story to see (things your readers pointed out). This is hard to do - you're attached sometimes. Lots of structural changes here.
Fourth Draft (4.0)
Alpha Readers - pick some people who like to read, not writers. Don't pick someone who doesn't read at all, they need to read often. They don't have to write. But they will notice things to change - Also try to get several people - at least five - so you can get a range of responses. You can post on facebook that you need some readers.. You'll be more confident at this stage, so you can share with people.
Final Draft - you probably won't make big changes for this step. You'll be making final tweaks from your alpha readers - pay attention to their responses to things. Polish, and get ready to send to a literary agent!

Notes on Tone, Style & Voice

So this last week we talked about voice. McKelle had us talk about three things: Tone, Style, and Voice. Here are some notes & some exercises you can do to practice and learn more about each one:

Tone

- attitude
- feel
- ambiance

Exercise Ideas:
write a short scene.
write the same scene right after the character's mother died.
write the same scene right after she just got her first kiss.
write the same scene in wartime.
write the same scene right after getting his/her dream job.
**You'll notice you'll put in small details that express the overall attitude.**

Style

- the way words are put together, with syntax
- generally consistent for the writer between work

- sometimes more casual, more formal, etc.
- sometimes very descriptive, sometimes unique in how it is descriptive, sometimes it's metaphysical, etc.

Exercise Ideas:
Pick three authors who have very different styles. Read each for a few minutes, notice how they write stylistically. Then write a scene in the first author's style. Then read the second and write the scene in the second style, and then repeat with the third author. You'll notice what makes the scenes different this way.

Voice  
- projection of character - of the author? of the character?
- the way you actually talk
- authentic, honest, real

Exercise Ideas:
1. Here's what you do. Write down a journal entry for yourself. Try writing in first-person because it's easiest to notice voice that way. Pay attention to how you talk. Then write in another person that you are familiar with how they talk - your mom, dad, grandma, roommate, husband/wife, best friend, annoying neighbor, teacher, pastor, etc. Pick someone you're familiar with who they talk, and write a scene and pay attention to how they would sound. Try it with a tv or book character you know - perhaps Frodo, or "The Doctor".
2. The next step would be to incorporate details about things that they would notice, or think, or like, or dislike. For example, maybe your mom who is kindof OCD about tidiness, would notice small details like, his plate sitting on the floor by the couch where he probably fell asleep pigging out last night. What would the son notice in that situation? Maybe that he saw the movie out on top of the TV and was reminded that he was going to get the second one from Redbox.

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.

Circle of Honor Essay Contest (Jan 25th!)

Share your feelings about the Honor Code b submitting an essay to the 2013 Circle of Honor Essay Contest.
"I have been asked what I mean by 'word of honor.' I will tell you. Place me behind prison walls--walls of stone ever so high, ever so thick, reaching ever so far into the ground--there is a possibility that in some way or another I may escape; but stand me on the floor and draw a chalk line around me and have me give my word of honor never to cross it. Can I get out of the circle? No. Never! I'd die first!" - Karl G. Maeser

Submit essays to circleofhonor@byu.edu by midnight Jan. 25, 2013 Prizes include $300 for 1st place, $150 for 2nd, $50 for 3rd. Please keep essay submissions to 4 pages or less.

For questions, contact (801) 422-3758 or email circleofhonor@byu.edu