  Fantasy
This week: Edited by: Robert Waltz  
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For me science fiction is a way of thinking, a way of logic that bypasses a lot of nonsense. It allows people to look directly at important subjects.
- Gene Roddenberry
"Fantasy is the impossible made probable. Science fiction is the improbable made possible."
- Rod Serling
This is space. It's sometimes called the final frontier. (Except that of course you can't have a *final* frontier, because there'd be nothing for it to be a frontier *to*, but as frontiers go, it's pretty penultimate...)
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Diamonds Are For Error
Ever read a story that's going along just fine, and then you hit a scene or phrase that makes you go, "Hey, that ain't right!"
I was reading a science fiction novel the other day in my copious spare time, when I came across something that I've seen other science fiction authors do that was wrong then and it's still wrong.
The writer postulated a future technology that was able to make spaceship windows out of diamond.
Now, I can see that: nanotechnology, perhaps, or some breakthrough in quantum physics that allows carbon to be created in that particular molecular form cheaply and consistently.
There's just one problem: Diamond is even more brittle than glass, which makes it entirely unsuitable for most applications subject to pressure and potential meteoroid impacts.
"How can you say that, Waltz? Have you taken leave of your senses? Diamond's the hardest substance in nature!"
Well, yes, it is. And maybe I have taken leave of my senses, but that's immaterial
| Thank you, thank you; I'll be here all week |
Perhaps more importantly to its potential use as a spaceship viewport - again, assuming the means exist to create large expanses of that particular allotrope of carbon - is that diamond undergoes a transformation in a vacuum, turning to the more common, less interesting, and opaque carbon allotrope called graphite.
Now, true, the carbon molecular bond is one of the strongest in chemistry, and even now scientists have created carbon nanotubes, tiny strings of carbon chains with an unbelievable tensile strength - but the authors in question didn't say carbon nanotubes; they said "diamond."
So what I'm trying to say is this: You can get away with a lot in science fiction, and you can get away with a whole lot more in fantasy, but a knowledge of the laws of physics and basic chemistry is essential to form the base of the literary structure that can suspend disbelief. I'll read about warp drive and transporters and magic spells and so on all day, but at least make the background physics plausible. Learn all you can about everything you can (you can start by looking up "allotrope" if you don't know the word) - you never know when the knowledge might help push your plot along.
The geeks in your audience will thank you. |
A few things from around the site, with an emphasis on science fiction this time:
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Last time, I ranted about the dangers inherent in loving one's character too much.
Lorien  : Great newsletter, Robert! When I read stories with a main character who's essentially a Mary Sue, I want to jump into the story and battle him or her myself. To the death, preferably.
A Mary Sue is one example of a character that the writer likes entirely too much. I probably need to do a whole newsletter devoted to just that topic. Perhaps next time.
littlun: This newsletter about not loving your character was very well said and you are absolutely right! Thanks for an AWESOME newsletter; it really opened my eyes.
Glad to help!
Ladyoz : Thanks - I needed that ♥
Writing advice is the art of telling people what they already know in a way that seems new to them 
Epic Winter : Can you please send me a link to some contests? I am new to WDC but will be forever active while creating epic villians to torment the universe.
I've emailed you directly, but for everyone's benefit: Be sure to subscribe to the Contests and Activities newsletter to keep up to date on current contests around Writing.Com. [shamelessplug]Also, remember the ongoing, daily prompts at "The Writer's Cramp" [13+] - Birthday Week is coming up with lots of GPs up for grabs![/shamelessplug]
darkskye : I always think "How could the author do that?" when I read of one my favorite characters dying or going through some kind of torture or pain, but in the end it does make the story... most times anyway.  Thank you another great newsletter!
I just saw the movie District 9, which is a textbook example of having Bad Things happen to a story's characters, which really made the movie work.
omni_squirrel/Keev : A great tip on this one! Made me think and realize that maybe I do protect my character a little too much. I guess I just never liked sad stories...
Ah well, if I'm going to get better, I'd better get a little more evil.
Thanks a lot!
It's hard to know when you've struck "Sad Gold", how do you know when you've done a good job and will stir your reader emotionally after you've got them attached to your character?
It doesn't have to be a sad story to work - the hero can come out right in the end. It's the trip to that place that we want to read about. As writers, our job is emotional manipulation. Readers are all different, but for me, it's the stories about people triumphing against all odds that seem to work the best. If you can relate to your character, chances are your reader will too. It's just that the character's NOT your friend. If you've created someone who, were they real, would punch you in the face upon first meeting you for what you've put them through, you're doing it right.
joyofdawn: Thanks for reminding me not to love my characters. That it is okay and good to make them suffer. I am always forgetting that and loving what I create. Your right because some of the best stories and films don't try to protect their characters at all costs. They are always going through something. So thanks for the reminder!
I'd go further and say that the best stories go out of their way to fail to protect their characters. What happens to Luke Skywalker at the beginning of A New Hope? The only family he ever knew is destroyed.
Acme : Thank you for egging on my inner sadist, Mr Waltz--'erm, was that wise? 
Well-behaved newsletter editors never make history.
THANKFUL SONALI Library Class!  : Oops. I love to love my characters. And on reading your NL I find I was wrong.
Not sure whether to love you or be indifferent to you at this point, Robert! - Sonali
Whatever you do, don't write me into a story! My life is "interesting" enough!
Thank you all for the great feedback. Keep it coming! And until next time,
DREAM ON! |
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Fantasy: September 02, 2009 Issue [#3252]
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