Writing Science Fiction

April 17, 2009

Mary Rosenblum:  Hi, folks! Welcome to our Friday After Hours Forum.  We were going to talk about writing Science Fiction this afternoon, and mostly, I want to answer questions. But to begin with  Science Fiction really is a wide genre, running from near future SF that's borderline to mainstream, all the way to the space opera stuff like Star Wars  and the nuts and bolts hard SF like my physicist friend Geri Nordley writes.  It also includes 'softer' SF -- telepaths, mental powers, and the like.
So it has something for everybody, more or less. And a lot of marketing your SF story is knowing who publishes what. If you're serious about writing SF, I recommend that you subscribe to Locus Magazine. It is the trade journal and VERY helpful to novice writers.
Mary, what's the difference between sci fi and fantasy?
Mary Rosenblum:  Ingrid, fantasy includes a fantastical element that is not based on science at all --  elves, vampires.  You do have some fiction that encompasses both, but not a lot. The readership overlaps, but is actually comprised of two distinct populations.  Even though the science is made up, it's science, not magic.
Mary, would "Sixth Sense" and "Back To The Future" fit the SF genre?
Mary Rosenblum:  ‘Sixth Sense’ is one of the borderline storylines, jrp. You could market that on either shelf -- contemporary fantasy or SF. Back to the Future is clearly SF. Zena Henderson's The People stories were SF, even though the 'SF element' was the telepathy and telempathic abilities of her characters and the setting was modern. It's what I meant by 'soft' SF. You do have a blurry crossover, especially when you're dealing with mental abilities. That does tend to edge the story over into the SF realm, where magical powers take it to the Fantasy shelf.
One problem I see a LOT with novice SF writers is a failure of technology. That is, they use a generic Star Trek universe and don't really create a plausible and interesting future world. SF does require a plausible connection to the real world and real science.  Not a REAL connection, a PLAUSIBLE connection.
Which sometimes turns into a real connection
Mary Rosenblum:  Often, Pearl. Several of my SF short stories from the past are no longer science fiction. I do like very near future fiction.  The really hard SF is all real science, extrapolated a bit, but solidly based on what is real now.
Like 'Horizons'?
Mary, can you give an example of hard core SF?
Mary Rosenblum:  Well, ‘Horizon’ is based solidly on real science, yes.  Most of the short fiction published in Analog is hard core 'hard' SF.  Greg Bear writes hard SF.
Ben Bova?
Mary Rosenblum:  Yes, Ben Bova. David Brin.  Many others.  A lot of the 'classic' SF from the fifties is very science oriented.
And for a long time, SF had the reputation of being idea fiction without strong characters. Now you really want strong characters, too. But you DO need the idea.
So you have to be a science nerd to write SF? No offense intended.

Mary Rosenblum:  Ingrid, hardly! My science is all research. I don't have a physics degree.
Could you describe and give an example of Speculative Fiction?
Mary Rosenblum:  Speculative Fiction is just a marketing term, Stamr. It means 'fiction that includes something that is not real' and thus covers both fantasy and SF
Getting a good "science nerd" to proof your plausibility might be useful.
Mary Rosenblum:  Charie it is highly useful if you don't have all the answers at your fingertips.
Are there other rules about Science Fiction?

Mary Rosenblum:  The only real 'rule' for writers, DLB, is that if you don't read SF you probably aren't going to write it well. You will reinvent wheels that were old ten years ago.
would the jd robb series of mystery that is set in the year 2059 with main character owning planets and the cop travels by glides, takes tube showers, autochef , vertical automobiles to get out of traffic. is that sf
Mary Rosenblum:  Sure, bss.  If it has future science/future society/ it's SF.  Now if it has a lot of romance in it, Harlequin may call it romance, but it's SF also.

I suppose it would be best to keep current on newer SF to know what the trends are.
Isn't one of the rules that the futuristic elements are integral to the story, not just window dressing?

Mary Rosenblum:  They should be, charie.
where's the line Mar? Because that seems a lot like fantasy too.
Mary Rosenblum:  Even when you're writing a character driven story and the idea is not the driving force behind the story, the tech and/or setting should be integral to the plot. If it could take place in Peoria in 2009, why doesn't it?  JRP, you can call any faster than light space travel fantasy. A lot of physicists do. :-) But essentially, if it's future technology it's SF. If it's magic, it's Fantasy. Again, these are marketing conventions.
Does anything take place in Peoria?
Mary Rosenblum:  I think someone should write a really good novel set in Peoria, Pearl. It gets a bad rap, doesn't it?
K phillips, to touch on what you said earlier, about keeping in touch with futuristic trends in SF it's not so much that, as it's knowing what your readers expect and how far they'll meet you halfway in creating the world.  It's hard for non SF readers to read SF. Writers expect SF readers to fill in a lot of blanks, and SF readers do.
Is it always about Outer Space? I have been toying with and idea to put a prison on the bottom of the ocean. For the worst abusers, with drones as prison guards. Doable? Or this wouldn't be considered SCi-Fi? Thank-you Mary.
Mary Rosenblum:  Oh, gosh, Sheena, I've been publishing SF for twenty years and Horizons, my most recent SF novel, is the first time I got off the planet.
Mary, I've noticed a discernable shift from the idea driven, plot driven SF (space opera) to the character driven SF. I've also noticed a LOT of classic literature revamped into SF concepts with new tech environments. Would you describe it otherwise, and if you had to describe a current trend, what would it be?
Mary Rosenblum:  You're right about what you're seeing, Red. Right now, I'd say that publishers are fishing for new concepts -- we had Cyberpunk, then Steam Punk, there are the Singularity stories.... It's a matter of thinking about how tech is going to impact us and then writing about it.
what's Singularity stories?
whats Cyber Punk & Steam Punk?
Mary Rosenblum:  The Singularity is the idea that ultimately we'll create unlimited cheap power and robotic/nano-tech to do all menial tasks.
Vernor Vinge coined that turn iiRC
Mary Rosenblum:  Cyberpunk started with Bill Gibson's stories of a gritty internet-based future. Steam Punk is sort of alternate reality where steam drives high tech instruments like computers instead of electricity.
So humanity will have nothing to do to survive? Just loll about.
Mary Rosenblum:  That's about it Charie. And have problems of course.
Between Analog, F&SF, and Asimov's, can you loosely categorize what their editors are looking for, or at least what the magazine tends to publish?
some magazines and Ezines specifically frown on FTL drive technology but accept science fiction, is that considered lighter SF or just a near-future preference?
Mary Rosenblum:  Editorial preference, CD. That's all.
Isn't it also the idea that we can not predict how things will be beyond that point--at least that's how Vinge depicted the idea of singularity-a sort of sci/tech version of a black hole event horizon.

Mary Rosenblum:  Yeah, that was his idea, Dale. It sure opens the door for ideas.
As to the markets,  Analog, F&SF, and Asimov's are the main three short fiction mags. Analog is strictly hard SF.  Stan has a science background (physics) and your science must work and must be seriously integral to the story. He likes strong characters but he can live wtihout 'em.  Asimov's is Sheila Williams and she likes strongly character-driven fiction. She like a touch of romance, too. Gordon, at F&SF has his own tastes and while I can't give you specifics, he really seems to like rich and strongly created worlds, whether they're fantasy or SF universes. And richly covoluted stories with a strong character orientation.  All three editors are very nice people and very sympathetic to stubborn new writers. If you keep trying and you are getting better, they'll at least write a note to you.
Mary, does metaphysics count with Stan?  

Mary Rosenblum:  Ingrid, I doubt it. Physics yes. Metaphysics, probably not. He  is a hard science man first and foremost.
Would 'Drylands' be considered soft SF? To which of those fiction markets (if it were short fic) would that story sell?
Mary Rosenblum:  Ah, the Drylands stories...and I wrote seven or eight....were all, I think, published in Asimov's. Although Stan often asks me for stories and will publish that sort of near future SF from me. near future rather than soft. 'Soft' implies that the science is really almost fantasy.  The near future global warming stuff I write is based quite solidly on current research. (You should worry).
Disaster fiction would probably fall into that near future speculative fiction based on current data.
Mary Rosenblum:  If it's based on current science, charie.
I ask about 'Drylands' because it had strong characters, romantic elements, and some metaphysical stuff, too. With so many varying aspects, along with the SF, it's hard to know where/how to market such work.
Mary Rosenblum:  What I write, what Nancy Kress writes, what Paolo Baccigalupi writes, can all be called social science fiction as much as anything.  We all deal with near future societal issues resulting from technological origins.

Mary, do you have any advice on how to approach researching a particular idea--for instance, say Nanotech?
Mary Rosenblum:  Dale, the best way to do that is to simply read widely in the science you're interested in, such as nanotech. Learn the basics so that you understand it and then read the papers coming out about new, cutting edge technology. That will give you plenty of ideas for stories that will have a solid toe in the real science.

Mary, so a 1984 like novel would be considered social sci fi, right?
Mary Rosenblum:  It is, Ingrid, and believe me, the annals of SF are full of 'ugly future' stories!
Metropolis
Blade Runner.
Mary, is it a case of dystopias being more "fictionally" interesting then utopias (as well as more likely, alas)?

Mary Rosenblum:  It is, Dale, but it gets old VERY quickly. For a while, the genre was inundated with post-apocalyptic stories, grim as they could be. The market got over loaded and for awhile, you couldn't give a post-apocalyptic story away.
The social issue aspect is a huge trend I have also noticed. I believe it ties into the character driven aspect. Can you give an overview of how you see social trends with characterization wrapped in SF?
Mary Rosenblum:  Well, Red, our society is heading full steam into a nest of very very difficult ethical and social realities and us Cassandras out there are having a field day! Plus, people seem more willing (thanks be) to contemplate diverse futures now, instead of wanting only positives.
Is Popular Science a trustworthy science magazine?
Mary Rosenblum:  Yes and no, CD. Yes, it's accurate, but it's written at such a low tech level that you'll be behind most SF readers. Better resources are Science and Science News and Scientific American.
How about Technology Today, from MIT
Mary Rosenblum:  Technology Today from MIT is excellent. I get that, and a couple of tech-feeds from MIT in biotech and nanotech as well.
So based on what you outlined, would you say SF writers tend to pick a problem, have it impact the protagonist, then drop it into a SF environment; or pick a SF environment/concept, then decide "what if" and make that science hurt someone who becomes the protagonist? It probably works both ways, but would you recommend one over the other? Or either method?
Mary Rosenblum:  It works both ways, Red. I use both. Most writers use both. It's a chicken egg question, actually. I guess it depends on what you think about first. You can start with a character conflict, find a SF universe that augments and meshes with that conflict and go from there.  Or you can start with an SF universe and find characters whose conflicts will mesh with and augment the SF universe.

 So the rules for sci fi are entirely different than for romance per se. Not as rigid.
Mary Rosenblum:  Actually, Ingrid, I think the SF genre is the most 'wide open' of all the genres including mainstream.  Pretty much anything goes as long as it has that futuristic or SFnal element.  And you have subgenres like military SF as well as various shared world lines, like Mech Warrors.  I personally think it's the strongest genre. You can make people think about things they take for granted or simply never pay attention to. I like doing that.
Have editors mentioned the most common mistakes novice writers make that drive them crazy? What kinds of stories they just can't stand to see anymore?
Mary Rosenblum:  Red, the one thing I always hear when people ask that question at conventions is that people send them stories they don't want, even if they say so in the guidelines. Fantasy to Analogue, vampire stories when the guidelines say 'no vampire stories'.

 What about using stuff like old legends for the base of your story?
Mary Rosenblum:  Well, Crystal, Star Wars is The Hero's Journey (Joseph Campbell).  That is, it's very strongly based on Campbells writing about the mythic hero. He was a consultant on the movie project.
What about historical fantasy? How hard is that to sell?
Mary Rosenblum:  Mystic, historical fiction is HUGE in Europe and the UK.  Both fantastical and non-fantastical.  It's an okay market here, but I'd try to sell it overseas first.
Did I miss any questions? Last chance to ask!

Thank you all for coming!  Have a great weekend!