Posted by admin on 03 Mar 2010 under books, writing
Simon Rose
Editors, teachers, librarians and critics may scrutinize the imaginary science in your science fiction story and the same applies to historical facts in time travel stories. Just as the scientific equipment has to be in working order, the historical details have to be well researched for the story to remain credible. In The Sorcerer’s Letterbox, Jack discovers a letter in a drawer and finds himself corresponding with Edward V, one of the princes imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1483. After penning a reply, Jack finds himself trapped in late medieval England.
While it was not overly important to explore the political complexities of England in the aftermath of the Wars of the Roses, facts had to be checked and rechecked. Some of this naturally involved research into the clothing of the era, everyday life, maps of medieval London and so on, but some aspects of the novel required more attention. The language of the scroll Jack finds had to be appropriate for the time period and be written in both the style and the alphabet of Middle English, as it was spoken in 1483. Real characters are also used in the book, such as Richard III, so that their exact location at the time described in the story had to be accurate. Research focused on the Tower of London, such as which buildings existed within the complex in 1483 and the layout of the grounds, plus many other aspects related to the historical background of the novel, featuring who was who in late medieval England, Richard III, Edward V, the Wars of the Roses, the mystery of the Princes in the Tower, pretenders and imposters, medieval maps, the history of the English language and links to various websites about the time period depicted in the story.
Simon Rose is the author of science fiction and fantasy novels for children, including The Alchemist’s Portrait, The Sorcerer’s Letterbox, The Clone Conspiracy, The Emerald Curse and The Heretic’s Tomb. He offers a wide variety of workshops, presentations and Author in Residence programs for schools and libraries around the world, covering such topics as where ideas come from, story structure, editing and revision, character development, time travel stories, history and research and more. He is also available for presentations, workshops and public speaking engagements with a wide range of adult audiences, offers creative services designed for writers, including editing, critiquing and manuscript evaluation and also freelance writing services, including website content and copywriting, for the business community. Details of school and library programs, plus online readings, excerpts from his books, reviews, and reader, student and teacher comments may be found at http://www.simon-rose.com/ You may also visit his blog at http://simon-rose.blogspot.com/
Article Source: Science Fiction and Fantasy For Younger Readers – Part Four – Historical Research
Posted by admin on 01 Mar 2010 under books, writing
Simon Rose
It is crucial that your time machine, method or device, whether it is mechanical, magical or even supernatural, appears to be authentic and is easily believable in the mind of the reader. In my workshops on this topic at schools and libraries, the majority of children have wonderfully inspired ideas related to time travel, but some struggle to explain how their machines or methods actually function. They are also usually very clear on the way their character travels back in time, but have given little thought to the return trip.
In The Alchemist’s Portrait, Matthew is on a field trip with his school to the art gallery at the local museum. When he places his hand on the canvas of the portrait of Peter Glimmer, a seventeenth century Dutch boy, his hand sinks into the painting, like quicksand. He can also step through the frame and actually be inside the picture. From the inside, he can see the museum gallery he just stepped out of, complete with other museum visitors, although they are unable to see him. From the inside the frame is capable of showing images from all the different time periods wherever the painting ever existed in the past and just as Matthew can step into the painting from the outside, he can also step from the inside into any of the historical periods shown in the frame and travels back not only to 1666 but to the French Revolution in 1792, the American Civil War in 1865 and the Russian Revolution in 1917.
Impossible? Perhaps, but if the process is described in such a way as to make it believable to the readers, the concept will work. Although the story involves travel to another world rather than into different time period, we do not question that four children can walk into a wardrobe and reappear in the magical land of Narnia in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Similarly, the fact that Alice can tumble down a rabbit hole into a strange underground dimension or that a flying boy outside the bedroom window can lead his young friends to Neverland, seems perfectly reasonable in the imagination of the young reader.
Simon Rose is the author of science fiction and fantasy novels for children, including The Alchemist’s Portrait, The Sorcerer’s Letterbox, The Clone Conspiracy, The Emerald Curse and The Heretic’s Tomb. He offers a wide variety of workshops, presentations and Author in Residence programs for schools and libraries around the world, covering such topics as where ideas come from, story structure, editing and revision, character development, time travel stories, history and research and more. He is also available for presentations, workshops and public speaking engagements with a wide range of adult audiences, offers creative services designed for writers, including editing, critiquing and manuscript evaluation and also freelance writing services, including website content and copywriting, for the business community. Details of school and library programs, plus online readings, excerpts from his books, reviews, and reader, student and teacher comments may be found at http://www.simon-rose.com You may also visit his blog at http://simon-rose.blogspot.com
Article Source: Science Fiction and Fantasy For Younger Readers – Part Three – Creating Credibility
Posted by admin on 26 Feb 2010 under books, writing
Simon Rose
History is a thing of the past and there are over five thousand recorded years of it to serve as an inspiration for writers in many different genres. Both historical fiction and time travel adventures, either for children or adults, show no signs of waning in popularity, but to be plausible to the reader, even stories involving magic or imaginary technology have to be well grounded in reality. In The Alchemist’s Portrait, during a school field trip to the art gallery at a local museum, Matthew journeys through the frame of a magical painting, which acts as a time portal, to Amsterdam in the year 1666. A straightforward idea maybe, but how does this doorway actually work? Although time travel may remain firmly in the realm of fiction, the conditions under which it occurs still have to appear believable. If readers consider your means of time travel to be utterly ridiculous, they will quickly be turned off the story altogether.
As a writer it is vital that you create a credible method, machine or device for your time traveler, and many so-called time travel stories often overlook this important aspect. Especially in relation to novels for younger readers, the main character goes back in time at the end of chapter one, has a series of adventures in the past, before the he or she returns safely home at the book’s conclusion. While these types of stories are set in a distinct time period, they should perhaps be more accurately classified as historical fiction. In numerous classic time travel tales, the hero goes into the past or future only to discover that their machine or device has either malfunctioned, become broken or is stolen by the chief villains of the piece.
This leads to an adventure in which the main character is stranded in a far flung time period, and a story in which time travel itself, along with all its complexities, is the key element.
Simon Rose is the author of science fiction and fantasy novels for children, including The Alchemist’s Portrait, The Sorcerer’s Letterbox, The Clone Conspiracy, The Emerald Curse and The Heretic’s Tomb. He offers a wide variety of workshops, presentations and Author in Residence programs for schools and libraries around the world, covering such topics as where ideas come from, story structure, editing and revision, character development, time travel stories, history and research and more. He is also available for presentations, workshops and public speaking engagements with a wide range of adult audiences, offers creative services designed for writers, including editing, critiquing and manuscript evaluation and also freelance writing services, including website content and copywriting, for the business community. Details of school and library programs, plus online readings, excerpts from his books, reviews, and reader, student and teacher comments may be found at http://www.simon-rose.com/ You may also visit his blog at http://simon-rose.blogspot.com/
Article Source: Science Fiction and Fantasy For Younger Readers – Part Two – History is a Thing of the Past
Posted by admin on 24 Feb 2010 under books, writing
Simon Rose
Writers of science fiction or fantasy have something of an advantage over those who work in other genres in that virtually anything you can imagine is possible. Your stories may feature time travel into the past or future, alternate realities, parallel universes, alien worlds, other dimensions and so much more.
When writing for younger readers, the phrase ‘writing what you know’ takes on a whole new meaning. In crafting your narrative, you need to be able to see through a child’s eyes whenever possible. You have to try and recall events and experiences your own formative years, in particular how did things actually feel to you when you were seven, ten or twelve years old. Who were your most constant friends when you were that age? Were there memorable incidents, family vacations, emotional dramas, books, TV shows or movies that shaped your childhood and early adolescence? Do some of your memories from that far off era truly linger in your mind and are they likely to stay with you for the rest of your life? You may even find yourself remembering events, people and places that you always assumed you’d irretrievably forgotten.
One of the best things about writing for children is that it allows you to create stories about the kinds of things that both fascinated you and absorbed your imagination when you were young. Our childhood, for most of us, is normally a lost, magical time from before we grew up. Even if we have children of our own, it’s difficult to remember just how things truly felt to us and how our thought processes operated when we were young. For science fiction and fantasy authors, stories for young readers can be very imaginative, which makes writing them so much fun.
Simon Rose is the author of science fiction and fantasy novels for children, including The Alchemist’s Portrait, The Sorcerer’s Letterbox, The Clone Conspiracy, The Emerald Curse and The Heretic’s Tomb. He offers a wide variety of workshops, presentations and Author in Residence programs for schools and libraries around the world, covering such topics as where ideas come from, story structure, editing and revision, character development, time travel stories, history and research and more. He is also available for presentations, workshops and public speaking engagements with a wide range of adult audiences, offers creative services designed for writers, including editing, critiquing and manuscript evaluation and also freelance writing services, including website content and copywriting, for the business community. Details of school and library programs, plus online readings, excerpts from his books, reviews, and reader, student and teacher comments may be found at http://www.simon-rose.com/ You may also visit his blog at http://simon-rose.blogspot.com/
Article Source: Science Fiction and Fantasy For Younger Readers – Part One – Suspension of Disbelief
Posted by admin on 21 Feb 2010 under books
Carl DiNello
Science fiction has long been a favorite subject of Hollywood film makers. Great science fiction movies were being made as early as the 1930s and have provided a solid foundation for modern day science fiction. Let’s take a closer look at just a few of these Hollywood Science Fiction Classics.
The Invisible Man was released in 1933 and was directed by James Whale. Based on the H.G. Wells novel of the same name, it tells the story of scientist Dr. Jack Griffin who has invented a serum that makes him completely invisible. However, the serum comes with the terrible side effect of gradually driving its user insane. Under its influence, Dr. Griffin robs and kills a number of people. A very creepy film that starts out with a good deal of humor, but settles in to become deadly serious. The film features convincing special effects for a movie produced in the 1930s.
One of my favorite science fiction classics is Forbidden Planet, directed by Fred M. Wilcox. Released in 1956, this is perhaps the most highly regarded sci-fi film of the 1950s. It tells the story of Dr. Edward Morbius and his daughter Altaira who are the last two remaining survivors of a colonization attempt on the planet Altair-4. It is the year 2200 and a group of scientists on a space mission from Earth have just landed in search of Dr. Morbius and the previous missions crew. They find Dr. Morbius to be somewhat unreceptive to their arrival, as he wishes to remain isolated in order to continue his work studying the numerous remains of a once-flourishing society of Krell which is now extinct. Using Krell technology, Morbius is able to greatly increase his IQ, and in doing so has brought to life a mysterious creature through his own subconscious mind. This is classic 1950s Sci-fi, and introduced what is probably the most popular robot of all-time – Robbie the robot.
Last, but certainly not least, we have War Of The Worlds, based on another H.G. Wells novel of the same name. This spectacular movie was released in 1953 and featured breath-taking special effects that were rewarded with an Oscar. The plot revolves around a meteor crashing near a small town in the California Mountains. However, this is something more than just a meteor with many more having landed around the globe. These meteors are carrying Martians with the intention of destroying the unsuspecting human population. Seemingly unstoppable, they begin to destroy the major cities of the world. All manor of defense, including the Atomic Bomb, are tried without success. Can anything stop this Martian invasion? Easily one of the greatest science fiction movies of the 1950s.
It was classic science fiction movies like these that helped kick start a whole new genre of films that capture our imagination to this day.
Carl DiNello is an Article Author and Blog Owner whose passion is Hollywood history and those movies from the 1920’s – 1950’s that make up this rich history. Hollywood Movie Memories… Movies to Remember and Discover!
Article Source: Science Fiction Classics Start Here
Posted by admin on 12 Feb 2010 under books, writing
Dave Felton
I love writing. I love writing science fiction. I also love to read.
There, I said it. The horrible truth, out in the open on the first line! Clearly this author knows nothing about suspense. What more could be expected from a science fiction writer?
To be slightly more serious for a second, I do indeed love writing. What I dislike are small minded people who think that writing should only occur in a particular way, in a particular genre, style or voice. For example, “expert book reviewers” who tell me a book is bad because of the author’s style, or that science fiction (SF) is puerile.
Apart from the obvious considerations of spelling, grammar and punctuation, an author has a massive degree of freedom in how their thoughts reach the reader. Sometimes even these minimal rules are deliberately broken in order to tell the tale.
Of course, a writer wants his work to be read, but it is also about making an emotional connection with the reader. The form writing takes can be formal, like Dickens, or truly unique and free-flowing as in the case of Joyce’s Ulysses. What really matters is the connection or, if you prefer, the emotional communication. If there is no emotional connection then you could just as well be reading a telephone directory. If science fiction writing can effectively form this connection with the reader then how can it be judged as “poor literature”?
How much poorer the world of literature would be without Joyce, Dylan Thomas, Wordsworth or Shakespeare. By the same token how much poorer also if there were no Asimov, Heinlein, Niven or Banks. This loss would surely be most severely felt in the world of ideas.
Science fiction is the world of ideas. It is the result of looking at the world and asking, “What if?”
Sometimes these ideas have changed the world: Star Trek’s Communicators, once thought impossible, are now commonplace as mobile phones. On the darker side, the movie Aliens showed us robotic guns, power-assisted exoskeletons and various forms of scanners and image-enhancement technology. All of these things are now quite current and accepted in today’s world.
With such power to change the world, should science fiction really be seen as the poor relation to “serious literature”?
Sometimes science fiction is not so much about the gadgets, but more about the sociology. Here SF gives the author the ability to explore a world that is different, yet uncannily like our own. Here too there are many notable works: H.G.Wells and The Time Machine as well as War of the Worlds can both be seen as social commentary. His lesser known short story, Tono-Bungay, satirises the advertising of the day and arguably predicted the atom bomb. Wells is of course just one author, but others could included here such as George Orwell (1984) or Aldous Huxley (Brave New World).
So what of the science fiction of the future?
Increasingly the gap between science fiction and science fact is narrowing. People talk seriously about a technological singularity in our near future, in which artificial intelligence will become a fact. With the current rate of improvement in computer data storage and processing power, who really knows?
Sadly, science fiction has not yet shown us a solution for the problems of today’s world, but perhaps the book or movie that hints toward that solution is just around the corner.
Dave Felton is a forty something writer wannabe. Although I write a short stories, blog extensively, post widely on the web and am currently writing another novel, I consider myself a “wannabe” as that first published novel still eludes me. Until that day comes you might want to look up my personal blog at http://djfelton.com
Article Source: Is Science Fiction Writing Necessarily Not Serious Literature?
Posted by admin on 29 Jan 2010 under books
Gail Pruszkowski
Have you ever had a phrase running through your mind and couldn’t quite remember the exact words or where you heard it before? Well if it had anything to do with the world of science fiction you will probably find it in Science Fiction Quotations: From the Inner Mind to the Outer Limits, a treasure trove of wit and wisdom from literature, movies and TV. This Hugo-nominated work was researched by Gary Westfahl and includes over 2900 quotations from the world of science fiction and fantasy.
Some quotes are better known than others but they will all amuse, enlighten or get you thinking. Authors range from personalities such as Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury through the alphabet to Edgar Allan Poe and George Zebrowski. There’s also a foreword by Arthur C. Clarke. Westfahl divided the book into topical headings with the intention of creating a feeling of discourse and discussion so prevalent in the genre. Categories begin with Actions and end with Work. In between are topics such as Aliens, Belief, Computers, Earth, Gods and Demons, Immortality, Religion, Space and much more. There’s also a comprehensive index of titles and one of authors.
This is not a book I sit down and read cover to cover but I can open it to any section and find something that will entertain me. I have often revisited favorite moments from a film and become engrossed in reading further. Then a gem from an author unknown to me catches my eye and I’m inspired to look for a book I haven’t read yet. It’s a good source for research and I have also found myself using it for writing prompts. A good quote will set off an idea and I’ll be motivated to write something of my own.
Here are a few examples from the book to whet your appetite.
- “Once human beings realize something can be done, they’re not satisfied until they’ve done it. – Frank Herbert, Cease Fire (1958)”
- “The less you know about the future the better off you are.” – Philip K. Dick, The World Jones Made (1956)
- “All human beings, as we meet them, are commingled out of good and evil.” – Robert Louis Stevenson, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde(1886)
This comprehensive and well researched book is an invaluable resource for writers, readers and all fans of science fiction.
Publisher: Yale University Press (October 10, 2005)
ISBN: 978-0300108002
Pages: 488
Price: $28.00
Gail Pruszkowski reviews for “Romantic Times BOOKreviews” magazine and her work has been published in the “Cup of Comfort” Anthologies. http://write-juncture.blogspot.com
Article Source: Science Fiction Quotations – From the Inner Mind to the Outer Limits
Posted by admin on 22 Jan 2010 under books
Pauline Go
Science fiction is a genre that is difficult to write. And those who succeed and become famous and popular do so because they are able to craft words into vivid pictures that get emblazoned on people’s mind forever.
Here are some of the most famous science fiction authors, who are considered to be the greatest of all times:
Arthur C Clarke
He captured the imagination of the world with his Space Odyssey series, in particular the novel 2001: A Space Odyssey. This novel was made into a popular film and helped to bring science fiction back into mainstream cinema.
Isaac Asimov
He is one of the most creative and productive writers in the history of science fiction writing. He has edited or published over 500 books. His Robot series and Foundation series ended becoming the foundation for many new sci-fi writers. I, Robot was made into a highly popular film starring Will Smith and it managed to break many box office records.
Jules Verne
His books were ever so popular and took time to be translated in English. He wrote about travel and much to it. He wrote about things that were impossible for a human mind to even think of and explored that side of the world that we got addicted to. His books Journey to the Center of the Earth, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Around the World in 80 Days are classics. They were written at a time when space travel and submarines were considered figment of imagination.
H.G. Wells
Undoubtedly the most famous and influential sci-fi writer. His book The Time Machine is the ultimate sci-fi novel ever to be written. Then there are other books, The War of the Worlds and The Invisible Man, that are classics. H.G. Wells ensured that the genre never fades into oblivion. Hollywood still loves to make his books into movies.
About Author: Pauline Go is an online leading expert educator. She also offers top quality articles like : Famous Writer Biography, Emily Dickinson Biography
Article Source: The Most Famous Science Fiction Authors
Posted by admin on 20 Jan 2010 under books
Dusty Thornton
I first read Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, at the age of 17. I had a close friend, who loved to read, introduce the book to me. He told me it was great and that I should definitely check it out.
After finally buying it and starting it, I became immersed in this masterpiece. So many modern dilemmas and morale controversies present themselves in this masterpiece of science fiction, all interwoven with wholly realistic and sympathetic characters.
After I finished Ender’s Game, I quickly started trying to get my hands on every Orson Scott Card book I could find. I quickly read Speaker for the Dead (sequel to Ender’s Game) and then came across the Homecoming Series (although I didn’t know at the time these were based on Mormon theology, I believe they stand amazing by themselves).
After learning more about the author, I learned that Card’s writing has constantly been heavily influenced by his Mormon religious beliefs. Although I’m not Mormon, I highly respect his ability to write and without a doubt consider Orson Scott Card one of the best (if not the very best) science fiction writers of our time.
He understands human interaction and emotion and is able to turn otherwise exhausted ideas into powerful and moving stories of hope, love, friendship, and betrayal.
Card is also a master of writing dialog. I believe this came from his experience as a playwright when he was a college student.
Although I’ve read a majority of Mr. Card’s work, I still find little gems here and there-maybe old books from his early career that I’ve somehow overlooked or that has had an otherwise very low profile.
I stand firm on my belief, though, that Card’s earlier works are much better than his more recent writing. As with many writers, his novels from the beginning of his career are fresh with ideas, and contain the pure essence of his ability. For example, his book The Worthing Saga, is a profound statement of our existence as a whole. The Worthing Saga is also a compilation of some of his earliest short stories.
If you enjoy science fiction, I recommend you check out OSC. His writing breaks all the rules, while creating entirely new ones that writers will be copying for many years to come.
Dusty Thornton is a college student that loves to write. He wants to share his experiences and knowledge with others.
Article Source: Orson Scott Card – Best Science Fiction Writer of Our Time
Posted by admin on 15 Jan 2010 under books, writing
Lance Winslow
Many science fiction writers who’ve written a good deal of works; short stories, novels and eBooks run out of ideas for future plots. This does not need to happen, and just reading a few science journals and newspapers for a few weeks can reveal the potential for more than great Sci Fi novel. For instance let’s look at the news items recently concerning activity of Under Water Volcanic activity off the coast of San Diego.
An underwater volcano has a burst of extra activity and the gases bubble up to the ocean’s surface and escape into the atmosphere, with sulfur laden bacteria, that lives at 1800 degrees but can also survive in colder water as the deep ocean currents move it around. So, all this bacteria (maybe feeds off iron and other Earth minerals) becomes a cloud and then flows with El Nino and Hurricane or Tropical Storm airflows (warmer air), near the inlet to the sea of Cortez and then flows into AZ, NM, TX where it rains down?
It causes weird coloration in the clouds as the hot air from jet engine contrails hit it, triggering crazy conspiracy theorists claiming the government is poisoning the populations to control human populations. Then it rains into the Colorado River AZ water project extension between PHX and Tucson, jeopardizing human water supply and crops. Since, humans have more bacteria DNA in them than human DNA; it alters the human gene expression.
Now from there a writer could take the novel anywhere you wanted from there on the science fiction topic. And an interesting book to read Sci Fi novel is “Gravity” by Tess Garitsen, where a scientist takes this bacteria found near a volcanic vent into space at the ISS into zero gravity, and it grows so rapidly and so viral it renders the Space Station uninhabitable. Tess is a pretty cool author and her Husband is very knowledgeable in subjects of micro-biologist, and obviously Tess has read numerous NASA microbiology papers in researching her book; Gravity.
Now realize I am not a conspiracy theorist, but I can recall a really interesting theory from someone on one of the TED Videos, he was talking about the best way to solve all the problems diseases, viruses, etc, was to drop minute amounts of dead strains of various diseases on human populations to help their immune systems recognize it in advance of a pandemic, food borne virus, water borne disease, etc. Would you like me to dig up that video and email the link?
Additionally, bacteria has been found that operates in huge clusters like schools of fish. It makes sense, and they’ve found this in caves, in some ponds of water, as the bacteria sheens across the top, and swirls and changes direction due to light stimulus or motion. You see, how you can combine many different news items, conspiracy theories, events, and combine those with the fears of pandemics, hurricanes, and other very scary scenarios? Please think on this to help you develop your own Sci Fiction plot.
Lance Winslow is a retired franchisor – Lance Winslow’s Bio. Lance Winslow is formerly the CEO of WashGuys family of franchises for instance one of Lance Winslow’s favorite companies on the team; http://www.windowwashguys.com/links.shtml.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Developing-a-Plot-of-a-Science-Fiction-Novel-Not-Nearly-As-Difficult-As-it-Looks&id=2654469] Developing a Plot of a Science Fiction Novel Not Nearly As Difficult As it Looks