How to Keep Your Science Realistic

One of the things that turns a lot of readers off to science fiction (I think) is that it's just too far out there. A lot of people have trouble connecting to a book that they feel isn't based at least partially in reality. For example, I'm a big fan of Timothy Zahn (sorry, he doesn't have a web site that I've been able to find). I started reading one of his series called the Conquerors Trilogy. The premise was really cool and I absolutely loved the first book. I enjoyed the second book, but I didn't love it and that made it really hard to get through. The problem was that Zahn wrote the entire second book from the perspective of an alien race; cool idea, but I just couldn't connect with the characters and I had a hard time keeping track of things. But I digress.

My point is that, as science fiction writers, we need to make sure the science in our stories isn't too far beyond comprehension. I've found a couple useful resources and tips for doing just that. (Incidentally, I wish I head learned this before I finished my first book.)

1. Find a mentor in the sciences: Personally, I like to talk to my brother. He's an engineer and works mostly on renewable/alternative energy research. Fortunately, he's also a science fiction fan and likes to think about the physics of our genre. He's a great resource because he can explain why something might work (even if we can't get it to work in real life yet) or why something definitely won't work. Besides, it's kind of fun just to kick ideas around with him!
2. Do some research: I know this sounds like a fate worse than death, but it can be really fun. I don't mean you have to earn an advanced degree or anything, you just have to do a little digging to get some background information and a foundation to build your ideas on. I hope the intellectual community wont' lynch my for saying this, but wikipedia is a great place to start. You can get a lot of basic facts and usually plenty of good resources. I also like Science in My Fiction. They do a pretty good job of covering the science fiction standards (energy weapons and the like), especially explaining how writers often misuse them.
3. Share your ideas: I've said it before, but the best way to make sure your ideas will keep your readers interested is to discuss them with someone who reads a lot of science fiction! I love talking to one friend in particular because he'll actually try to punch holes in my ideas (not maliciously). It can be a royal pain sometimes, but it forces me to think about my ideas and see if they really work.

So, what do you do to keep your science real?

P.S. For all you fantasy writers, don't feel left out! I'm tackling magic in my next post!

Embarrassing Books

I had a really interesting—if somewhat upsetting—conversation with my wife the other day. FYI, my wife loves books more than anyone I know. She has an English degree, positively drools over literary criticism, and is never more happy than when she's reading or organizing our bookshelves. That being said, imagine how I felt when she mentioned the other day that, if she had her way, she'd rather not have my science fiction and fantasy books on the shelves in our living room (our front door opens right into the living room of our apartment). Apparently she's embarrassed to have mass-market paperback sci-fi and fantasy novels out there for the world to see.

Needless to say, I was mortified! It felt like she had literally slapped me across the face. However, this whole debacle led to a really good discussion. What my wife has a problem with is the stigma that still manages to cling to the science fiction and fantasy genres: she perceives the genres to be mostly filled with second-rate writing; far-fetched or overly-contrived ideas; and flat, cliched characters—the sort of stuff you expect to find on unsanctioned fan-fic websites and things like that. (I have to admit that her opinion isn't entirely baseless, even if she is casting her net a bit too wide; given the sheer volume of science fiction literature, there is an awful lot of sub-par writing out there.) Anyways, throughout the course of our discussion, I managed (I think) to help her understand that science fiction and fantasy are just like any other genre: there is some serious literature and there's a lot of brain-candy. The problem is that our brain-candy is much more conspicuous than other genres'.

So, as science fiction and fantasy writers, I think it's clear that we have a responsibility to disabuse the world of its stereotyped preconception of our genre by producing quality literature. And by quality literature, I mean good writing, well thought-out ideas, well-developed sympathetic characters, and strong underlying values. SOAPBOX: a story written for the story's own sake, no matter how well planned and executed, is nothing but brain-candy; good literature provides an opportunity for the reader to learn and evaluate either life, the world, or his or her self. My friend Shallee McArthur (who is a wonderful writer, by the way) talked about one way to do this in a recent blog post. Besides, a story won't be exciting or engaging if it doesn't have some sort of moral foundation anyway.

Happy writing!