Writing Philosophical Science Fiction

My background was originally in philosophy. Science fiction, while my preferred fiction choice, wasn’t what I wanted to do in college. I pushed myself to study philosophy because I found the ideas interesting. Yet, the career prospects were null and the hobbyist possibilities the same.

In thinking about philosophy in science fiction I think about the short story from the July 2017 issue of Apex magazine: The Turing Machines of Babel by Eric Schwitzgebel.

One day I may review the short story, but I mentioned the story on my twitter account. In the mean time, let’s talk about philosophy in science fiction. There are a few possible ways to incorporate a philosophical question:

• 1. Directly asking the question.

You could, simply, have a character wake up one day and ask, “is there a god?”

It’s been done to death and often feels forced, but it’s a possibility.

• 2. Indirectly answering the question.

Instead of making your main character or side characters ask the question, have them deal with an outsider who wonders about why they do a certain thing, which is tangentially related. So, instead of asking “is there a god?” you could have an observer watch the characters perform their actions and ask “do they do this for their gods?” Make it assumptive, and instead of answering the question of “is there a god?” we deal with the moral argument for god’s existence, for example.

• 3. Showing a world where the question isn’t asked.

If you want to explore the question “how do you know what you know?” Then show a world where it’s all just assumed and no one questions themselves. In this way, you create a reality in the mind of the reader that you can explore and confront. How do these characters know what they know? Is that right?

• 4. Showing a world that explains the question and your answer.

This is how The Turing Machines of Babel did it, in my opinion. The universe was explored in the story, with its explanations and questions all laid out in how the universe was constructed. Coming to that universe was the main character, and everything was explained through his research and understanding.

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Well that’s a few examples and suggestions. I hope it helps!

Make sure to follow me on Twitter and Instagram, and check out some of my other blog posts:

Going from Outline to Manuscript

How to Tell if Your Writing is Improving

Book Review: Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

How to Get Back to Writing After a Break

How do you come back to writing after you take a week (or longer) break?

It’s hard to say. For me, I find the following helps:

• 1. Read through the last few chapters of what you wrote.

This is how you get back into it. Find what you were working on, and read through it. Hopefully, you find it interesting (I’ll come back t that idea), but if you don’t maybe there’s something salvageable.

• 2. Do some creative/vocabulary exercises.

I’ve talked about this before, but it’s absolutely true. If you want to get into writing, drawing out your creative and word-crafting abilities can help. Vocabulary choice has always been my weakest element, and it gets me fired up to work on it. I recommend you find what you feel is your weakest element and work on it!

• 3. Read interesting stories!

The most basic thing I would recommend. Just read something interesting, and if you are an aspiring author/successful writer, you will want to write!

I hope this helps you get back to it. The most important thing to being a writer is writing.

 

Book Review: Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

As I mentioned in my Ocean at the End of the Lane review, I am a fan of Neil Gaiman. The man is a fine writer, and creative beyond most authors currently writing. Tackling the Norse myths seemed like a match made in heaven for him.

This was a fun book to read. I enjoyed the entire thing, and especially appreciated the way he told the tales of old with new language. Don’t expect him to use modern slang or euphemisms; Gaiman is solidly in the old ways in this story.

I think that’s what I love and hate about it.

There’s a lot that just felt like a direct translation of old tales. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it sort of stands out when Loki tells Thor to “shut up” twice in a row. Also I felt like we never truly understood Loki’s motivations, but that seems to be the fault of the source material rather than any fault of Gaiman’s.

Honestly, I would recommend this version to anyone unfamiliar with the old tales. It’s a perfect introduction to Loki, Thor, Odin, Baldur, Frey, and the others. I think it should be used in middle school to introduce these old stories. There isn’t much in the tales that could be too obscene (apart from a mention of Loki’s privates being tied to a rope).

I think he’s done a great job, but would have liked a little more of the environment present; maybe more that is distinctly Scandinavian? The salty scent of the sea, or the coastal cut of the fjord? I’m not sure.

I don’t give grades in my review, but I expect that Gaiman’s stories in this book will be recognized for the skill they were crafted with. This is definitely a book worth picking up.

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If you liked this review check out some of my others:

Book Review: Dying of the Light by George R. R. Martin

Book Review: Trading in Danger by Elizabeth Moon

Or maybe you’d like some of my posts about writing?

How to Tell if Your Writing is Improving

Write What You Like

Please make sure to follow me on Twitter: @FrankOrmond

How to Tell if Your Writing is Improving

It’s hard to tell when your writing is getting better. I’ve previously suffered from a plateau effect in my writing ability. Whether it’s vocabulary issues, pacing problems, or lack of emotion, I feel like my work is always flawed.

But then, there’s no perfect manuscript.

So I wondered… how do you know if you’re improving?

1. Read your old work

Obvious, I guess. Ultimately, you should see improvement. It’s less boring, it’s more interesting, it’s descriptive, it’s emotional, etc. Those elements need to pop out and show you’ve improved.

2. See if you’ve addressed your glaring problems

You should know your weaknesses. Find out if you’ve been working on it via #1.

3. Revisit your old ideas

Try to write an old idea with your new style and technique. It should be easier to see where the strengths of the idea are.

4. Characterization

The most important element in a story is a character. If you have an awful character (i.e. generic) then you have an uninteresting story. Sure, plot is a big deal, but characterization needs to be there. Make sure your stories have improved the characters over time.

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I hope that helps!

Check out some of my other writing work:

Is Writing Every Day Necessary?

Write What You Like

Revising Your Work

Dodging Derivatives

Have you ever written a story that you soon realized was clearly lifted from another author’s work? Have you ever come up with an idea only to discover it was actually developed by someone else?

Science fiction is a genre that can easily fall into derivatives. Far too often writers of genre fiction either copy ideas from others without thinking about it, or develop ideas from the same source material.

Here’s 3 tips on how to avoid that:

1. Don’t Just Read the Science 

The “science” part of science fiction is important. But taking all your inspiration from the science periodicals is a recipe for disaster. Every submission season, it’s obvious when a new article came out with an interesting scientific breakthrough, because multiple people write about it!

Try breaking out the philosophy magazines and the histories and classics. Maybe there you’ll find inspiration that other people won’t also write about!

2. Take the Tropes and Twist Them

There are a ton of tropes in genre fiction. Science fiction especially suffers from the same sort of ideas time and again. Whether it’s the “AI will kill us” scenario or the “humans are their own enemy” story, it’s a recurring thing when these plot elements are used so frequently.

Take these ideas, and flip them around! Instead of AI being a killer, make it the one suspected of the murder. In reality, people killed and made the AI look like a murderer on purpose! How about the “humans are their own enemy” story? What would an alien race look like who was worse to themselves than humanity is to themselves?

3. Write Down Your Dreams

This seems silly, but I’ve had so many great ideas in the twilight hours! While I’m on the edge of consciousness, my brain just spits out random ideas and thoughts. It’s helpful to write them down so you have unique images and ideas to work from!

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I hope you enjoyed that! Let me know in the comments below if anything else has helped you avoid falling into the “same old, same old”. Thanks!

Going from Outline to Manuscript

In developing a story, you will often hear the advice that outlining organizes your thoughts and makes the story more coherent.

This advice is valuable.

However, how do you get from the outline you’ve created to the manuscript?

Here are five tips I have for you writers who struggle to go from the outline to a full manuscript:

1. Follow the Outline.

This is basically step one. You should have added enough to the outline so plot threads you introduce actually have conclusions. If you follow this outline well enough, you will not forget about certain characters or plot elements. It drives me crazy in stories when authors forget about entire characters!

At the same time, don’t let the outline redirect you from creative ideas! Let ideas flow naturally, but let the story read naturally as well. It’s a tough balance.

2. Write Like You’re Reading.

When I say this I don’t mean skimming details. I mean, “write like you’re reading the story word for word”. If it’s quick and the pacing is wrong, slow down. If it’s too slow, speed up! Outlines aren’t much help for this kind of thing.

Your outline won’t have any concern for word count either (though it helps!) so make sure you pay attention to how much time certain story elements take. A quick action scene shouldn’t take ten pages of descriptions about a space ship!

3. Keep Your Folder Nearby.

I think you know what folder I mean. When you start writing a novel, you collect your ideas in a book or folder to keep them all organized. Mine would always look like a packet of mismatched papers!

Look at this folder every time you write. Your outline will guide you, but this folder will flesh out your world. These little touches build a world!

4. Develop a Plan for Each Character.

Getting each character where they need to be is part of your outline (rather, it should be part of your outline). If you are missing this in your outline, then you need to go back and figure this out. Don’t forget about a single character!

But overall, the outline might be missing those specifics that make your characters unique. Your folder from above should contain a quick summary of your character for you to reference, something that you can glance at and remember how you imagine the character to be.

If they change over time, that’s fine! But make sure it’s believable. Why are they changing? What are they responding to?

Creating a world in fiction is one thing, creating a person is another. However, they both spring from the little things.

(But ask yourself this: do you want believability or memorability?)

5. Find Time to Write.

This sounds so simple, but for those of us with careers, it’s difficult.

If you can’t write daily, then write every other day. If that won’t work, then write twice a week or once a week.

Time constraints are generally the only thing keeping your novel constrained to your mind.

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I really hope that helps you! I found these tips specifically useful to me when I write. So if even one person gets some benefit from this list, I’m glad.

Keep writing!

Good Questions in Science Fiction

It seems simplistic to say that “good” science fiction will pose a question, but I truly believe that. The greatest scifi books I have ever read has dealt with questions like “what would happen if…”

There is no requirement that scifi ask a question, but I think it helps.

So then, with that out of the way, how do you write good questions?

Oh it’s very easy to have your protagonist muse over the question while sipping coffee. But is that the best way? Maybe it’s best to make the readers pose the question themselves as a result of your writing?

I think the best questions in science fiction are asked by the author and answered by his or her work. That is how you write great science fiction.

Pursuing Your Dreams

Chasing after the long shot is what made America into what it is today. Entrepreneurs who built businesses, engineers who built bridges, and artists who imagined the future created the future we’re in today.

I sometimes think the division between “wealth” and “dreams” is too wide, unless you desire wealth as your dream. For me, I want to have my work read. I want to be published to the masses and my books to be discussed. I seek readership.

That’s my dream. I think I’ll keep fighting for it.

Is Writing Every Day Necessary?

Stephen King seems to support writing every day (“at least 1,000 words”). Far be it from me to question one of the greats, but is it really necessary to write every day to be a successful writer?

I’ve noticed improvements in my writing and thought process when I write fiction once a day. I believe King is right about that. However, the word count seems to vary.

Writing every day is one option to get into a different mindset in your writing, but it’s not the only one.

I would suggest the following, at least:

1. Schedule writing time for yourself. 

This is important for any writer to have a schedule. Yeah, I know, you can write without a schedule. It seems like I write more often when I actually have it on my calendar to write. Try it out!

2.  Try to write before bed.

This can work, although I’m not one that can do this. For me ideas flow freely before bed, but they’re a malformed blob of creativity. I need a critical eye to sort out what I can do with these ideas. For me, writing at night results in rambling, ranting blocks of text!

3. Write every day.

You can at least try it. I tried it for NaNoWriMo and it worked wonders! I started to think differently about things in my life. However, it also caused me to burn out hard after November. So much so that I hardly blogged in December!

However, the most important thing is to find what works for you.

Write What You Like

 

It sounds simple. It even sounds like a platitude devoid of any meaning.

But it’s true.

I experienced this on a personal level. While working on my previous novel I was attempting to make some changes and realized I would never read the book. It’s not for me. I didn’t like that thought, so I started thinking: well what would I like to read?

So it occurred to me to do those simple four words: write what you like.

Thinking about it now, it seems so obvious. It makes too much sense, almost an Archimedes moment.

I like space stories with good science and action. I like fleet combat and maneuvers and soldiers fighting boarding enemies. I love all of that! Why shouldn’t I write it?

Oh I guarantee the money is elsewhere. But then, I’m not doing this for money, am I?