Reading:
I started reading this very late on February 25, 2005. Finished
March 1, 2005.
Specs:
Bova, Ben, The Craft of Writing Science Fiction that Sells,
published by Writers Digest Books, Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1994. This
is based on Notes to a Science Fiction Writer
which was published in 1975 and 1981. This is from the Central
Resource Library. This is a non-fiction book.
Overview:
This book goes through the process of writing fiction in general,
Science Fiction in particular. At the end he notes the same thing I
have, Science Fiction is not really about the future, but rather is
commentary about today.
There is a good quote before one of the chapters (which I have
discovered through my experience already. "There are three rules
for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are."
In general, this is a very encouraging
book.
Also, there are a few terms defined which are worth remembering.
Space Opera - a science fiction book that has only action, that is,
a western transformed into science fiction. This is common in movies
- I suspect because of the movies dependence on action to
accomplish whatever it accomplishes. Examples are Star Wars and
Outland. Also, the thematic novel is a novel with a strong
message, usually political. Most good science fiction is of this
type. Examples, Planet of the Apes, Fahrenheit 451,
etc.
I like these definitions because I can say I like the thematic
movies, but am not that thrilled with the space opera, especially if
I'm going to take the time to read the book.
The author gives a checklist at the end of the various chapters
which is worth remembering. Each is about a particular subject:
Character:
In a good story the reader forgets where he is and lives in
the story; the reader wants to be the protagonist.
The protagonist must be admirable, or at least likable, but
he should have at least one glaring weakness that Forms the
underlying tension that drives the character's behavior. Capture
those conflicting traits in a simple emotion vs. emotion equation.
The protagonist must struggle to solve his problems. That
struggle is the backbone of the story.
Avoid stereotypes!
Study the people around you; draw your characters from life.
Show the story from the protagonist's point of view.
Use all Five senses: Describe what your characters see,
hear, touch, taste and smell.
Background:
Make every background detail work.
Don't try to explain how the machinery works; just show what
it does
Feel free to invent any new devices or scientific discoveries
that you can imagine - providing they do not contradict what is
known about science today.
Be thoroughly familiar with the background of your story.
Learn the basics of science.
Names are important.
The background - and the story itself - must be
internally consistent.
Conflict
A story is a narrative description o a character struggling
to solve a problem. Nothing more, nothing less. Struggle means
conflict.
In fiction, conflict almost always involves a mental or moral
struggle between characters caused by incompatible desires and aims.
Physical action is not necessarily conflict.
The conflict in a story should be rooted in the mind of the
protagonist; it is the protagonist's inner turmoil that drives the
narrative.
The protagonist's inner struggle should be mirrored and
amplified by an exterior conflict with an
antagonist. The antagonist may be a character, nature, or the
society in which the protagonist exists.
Eschew villains! The antagonist should believe that he is the
hero of the tale.
Be a troublemaker! Create excruciating problems or your
protagonist. And never solve one problem until you have raised at
least two more - until the story's conclusion.
Plot
Plant a time bomb on the first page - in the first paragraph,
if possible.
Each story involves a race against time. That time bomb is
set to explode at the climax of the story; its ticking should be
heard on every page.
Every scene must further the plot. Especially in a short
story, if a scene does not help move the story forward, take it out.
There should be surprises in the story every few pages. New
complications and new problems should arise as the story progresses,
moving the plot along on a chain of interlinked promises.
Show, don't tell!
The characters' actions should move the story from its
beginning to its end. Characters must be active, not passive. The
protagonist must change.
The story ends when the time bomb goes off (or is prevented
from going off). The ending must answer satisfactorily the major
problems raised in the story's beginning.
Surprise endings are good only when the reader is truly
surprised; even then they must be logically consistent with the rest
of the story.
Preparing for the Novel
All the earlier material on characters, background, conflict
and plot applies just as much to writing the novel as to writing
short fiction.
The novel's fundamental difference from short fiction is its
greater complexity and depth.
Generally, a writer earns more money per hour of work by
writing novels than by writing short fiction.
Keep a desk book that contains, as a minimum, sections on
characters, names, background information, lines and phrases, and a
chart of character appearances.
Plot outlines should guide your work, not strangle it. The
plot outline should answer these five basic questions: 1. Who are
the novel's protagonist and antagonist? 2. Where does the novel
begin? 3. What are the complications? 4. What is the climax? 5. What
is the resolution?
There are three types of research: your life experiences; the
experiences of people you meet; and library research.
Writing the Novel
The greatest enemy a novelist faces is delay.
Write every day, preferably at the same time of the day, and
let nothing interfere with your writing time.
There are eight tools that are important to the novelist over
and above the techniques discussed for short fiction: viewpoint
changes, subplots, maintaining tension, transitions, chapter
endings, time and flashbacks, dialog, and
handling minor characters.
Every novelist has bad days. Only intense dedication
and perseverance can overcome the inertia that prevents you from
writing.
Every novelist falls into the slough of despond somewhere
along the long road to the finished novel. Keep working!
Rewriting is as important as the original writing was. Think
of yourself as a sculptor, polishing your statue until it shines in
the sun.
Marketing your Fiction
There is no way to become a published writer except to send
your manuscript to an editor at a publishing house.
Beware of amateur criticisms of your work. I you must have
your work critiqued before sending it to market, seek professional
criticism.
In marketing your novel, use your local bookstores to
determine what category your novel fits most closely and one or more
of the various writer's guides to locate the editors who regularly
buy that kind of work.
In marketing short fiction, slant your stories to the
magazines you send them to. I you do not enjoy reading a magazine,
it is unlikely that you will write successfully for it.
Do not send your entire novel to an editor; send a query
letter with sample chapters and a synopsis. For short fiction send
the entire manuscript. Aways include an SASE (a self-addressed,
stamped envelope).
You do not need an agent until a book publisher sends you a
contract.
Manuscript preparation is important. Make your manuscript as
professional-looking and easy to read as possible.
Good editors are a treasure - but a poor copyeditor can be
infuriating.
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