Planning for the Future: Adding to Sci-Fi Oscar Bernie LDStoryMakers 2015

Planning for the Future:Adding to Sci-Fi

Oscar BernieLDStoryMakers 2015

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Disclaimer

• Student Promise– Give feedback– Ask questions– Don’t be afraid

• Instructor Promise– Keep it fun– Keep it moving– Answer all questions

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Objectives

• Increase understanding of the Sci-Fi market• Highlight conventions, tropes, and pitfalls• Help non-scientists identify credible resources

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Who am I?

• Scientist– Columbia, U of U (EE, AI / analytics, MBA)

– Design / Test (drones, satellites, tactical networks)

– Field engineer (nuclear, RADAR, intelligence systems)

– Programming (artificial intelligence, big data)

• Adventurer– Anthro, philosophy, literature– Smuggler, bodyguard, nuclear defense

• Writer– NASA– Corporate / military– Novels

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What is Sci-Fi?

• Subgenre of fantasy• Origin: ~18th century– as old as the novel itself

• Fiction including at least one futurist conceit– Science– Technology– Parallel universes– Extraterrestrial life

• Golden age: 1950s onward– Engineers writing for engineers– Is this changing?

The Market The Genre The Science

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Fantastic Elements


Scientific Explanation Supernatural Explanationx=?

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Have I read this before?• Classical

– Jules Verne (Journey to the Center of the Earth, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea)

– H.G. Wells (War of the Worlds)

– Edgar Rice Burroughs (John Carter)

• Fundamental– Isaac Asimov (Foundation Series)

– Robert Heinlein (Starship Troopers, Stranger in a Strange Land)

– Philip K. Dick (Bladerunner, Minority Report)

– Kurt Vonnegut (Slaughterhouse-Five, Cat’s Cradle)

• Radical– Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park, Sphere)

– Doctor Who (shared universe – tv, books, movies)

– You?


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Mapping the Market

Idea DrivenPlot Driven

Hard

Soft


Isaac Asimov

Robert Heinlein

Philip K. Dick

Kurt Vonnegut

Arthur C. Clarke

Frank Herbert

Connie Willis

Orson Scott CardDouglas Adams

Michael Crichton

Neal Stephenson

Ray Bradbury

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The future of science fiction


• Unique Market– Early adopters– E-book distribution– File sharing

• Depressed Market– Traditionally strong(er than fantasy)– Still strong in other media– Not much has changed since the 70s

• Growth market– Needs mainstream writers– On agents’ pick list– Huge mainstream potential– Why?

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The Genre:Science Fiction Fandom


• Fans– Organized CONs since 1930s

• Encompassing other fandoms• Attendance at major Cons exceeding 100k people

– Nearly every weekend• Twelve next weekend – including ConDuit Salt Lake City

• Worldcon– Hugo awards

• Very traditional – did Michael Crichton ever win? Is voting process changing?

– 2015: Spokane, WA– 2016: Kansas City, MO– 2017: Japan or Montreal or Helsinki or Washington DC

• Should SF writers attend Cons?

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How do I get started?

• Standard advice: – Write what you know

• How would you write a historical novel?• What you know:– Relationships– Dialogue– Plot

• What you don’t know:– Research– Find an expert– Become an expert


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Writing Sci-Fi


• Sci-Fi is:• Reader-promise to follow genre tropes• An agreement that story elements will be invented

• Setting• Technology• Anthropology

• A tool to analyze our world from different perspectives

• What Sci-Fi isn’t:• License for Deus Ex Machina• An excuse to publish your ‘technical manual’

A good story doesn’t require genre to be good.

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Tropes


• Cliché (or overused) storylines– Cops travel back in time to stop / kill someone– Rag-tag rebels struggle against authority– Virtual reality can’t be distinguished from real life– Forbidden love between humans and other– Android discovers emotion and loses control– Alien on a new planet learns to fit in– People become dependent on a new technology– A new technology is disruptive and bad for society– Aliens are invading for whatever reason

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Tropes


• Are we allowed to use tropes?– Streamline elements to jumpstart plot– Older sci-fi readers – among most trope sensitive– Subvert tropes

• Sometimes fake is better– Star Wars– Throwing a punch, breaking glass

• #1 Rule: BE AWARE OF TROPES– Biggest mistake is not being aware that you’re using them.

Resource: TVTropes.org

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Tropes


• #1 Rule: BE AWARE OF TROPES– Biggest mistake is not being aware that you’re using them.

Resource: TVTropes.org

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What am I going to write?

• Cyberpunk• Time Travel• Alternate history• Military SF• Superhuman

• Apocalyptic / Post-apocalptic

• Space Opera• Space Western• Social Sci-fi


• Decide your goals• Decide your market• Validate story elements with friends / nerds• Story elements service BOTH character and plot• Don’t be scared – they can’t steal YOUR story

Common science fiction subgenres

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The Science

• Requirement: one or more futurist conceits– Define– Research– Develop a hypotheses

• How does it change other technology? (travel, manufacturing, etc)

• How does it affect economics? (disruption, black market)

• How does it affect the top 10%? The bottom 10%

Which is easier?– Writing about our world?– Inventing a new one?

Story comes first


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Iceberg Theory

• Hard sci-fi is idea-based, not detail-based• Just show the tip of the iceberg

– Disruptive effects to society• Soft sci-fi shows less “under the hood”


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Iceberg Theory

• You don’t have to have ALL your research done, but…– Technology builds upon itself. A fully researched world

allows all elements to impact each other.– Stopping a story to do research is best avoided.


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Where do I get ideas?


• Take your absolute-best-I-love-it-must-do-it idea– Throw it away

• Start dreaming– Great idea = good idea + good idea + conceit

• Ask lots of ‘what ifs’• Study new technologies

– Popular Science– Scientific American– Discover– New Scientist– Wikipedia– Google News

• Use your friends

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World-building 101


• A futuristic society requires– One (or more) modes of travel– One (or more) forms of communication– The ability to create and distribute food– The ability to resolve conflict and govern– Mechanisms to sustain / increase the population– Recreation– ‘Old’ culture (outdated forms of the above)

• An alien society also requires– A planet to do it all on– New biology and an ecosystem

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Writing the Other- Aliens


• How do I write the ‘other’?• Nature versus nurture– Decide cultural norms– Analyze the impact of your decision

• Trope alert!!!!!!!– All <insert race> exhibit <insert trait>

• An interesting alien– Is an interesting person

• A good alien character– Will adopts some traits and rebel against others– Is most effective as a contrast against our culture

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Space Travel


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Communication


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Food


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Government


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Industry


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Recreation


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Planetary Biology


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Further Q&A


Documents

Planning for the Future: Adding to Sci-Fi Oscar Bernie LDStoryMakers 2015