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 18 Feb 2010 under books, business
Penny C. Sansevieri
Most of us meander into a bookstore, maybe grabbing a latte from the nearby coffee vendor and sauntering up and down the aisles looking for our desired title. Bookstores are great and I’ve always said if I were ever to get locked in a store overnight, let it be a bookstore (preferably one with a handy Starbucks inside). But bookstores are so much more than that.
For the savvy author, a bookstore is a great way to not only get to know your market, but to research your competition and get a better understanding of the sales space. This is one of the best and least expensive ways to do your market research. Making your bookstore your research laboratory is a fantastic way to position yourself for success, regardless of how you are published.
Know Your Market
First off, if you’ve written a book for which there is no market (read: there are no books that cater to this audience), you may have a problem. Unless you are already a brand, meaning that you’re a published author with a significant following, it’s unlikely that you will be able to create much momentum for a yet unserved market that a publisher will consider you. If it hasn’t been written there is likely a reason why. Now there are always exceptions of course, my other book: Red Hot Internet Publicity is not a title that I would have published in 1976, mostly because there was no Internet back then.
So yes, new markets are developing all the time but it’s key to wait till those markets emerge, otherwise you’re selling to an audience that doesn’t exist. This also goes to creating a new genre for your book. You should fit into an existing genre and find the best one for your market. This is also important since sometimes books can straddle different markets. A change in title can take your book for women wanting to succeed in business and move it from the business category into self-help and/or spirituality. Be clear on where your book belongs. Remember, a confused mind won’t make a choice so if you confuse your reader, you’re likely to lose a sale.
Who Else is Sharing Your Shelf Space?
Understanding what your market is and who else is sharing your shelf space is key. What are their books like and have you read them? This is all part of your market research: know your competition and know who shares your space. This is not just important to know other competing titles, but for marketing and media positioning this is critical. Also, you should take note of all other recent titles in your category and go visit their websites. If you’re really eager to watch your competition, you could also get Google Alerts on their name or book title to see how much traction they are getting. I will usually do this for any major author in my market as well as all their book titles. Not only can you keep an eye on their hit rate, but these sites and media targets could be good for you as well.
Every Book Tells a Story
Each book in your genre will tell you a little something about the author and publisher. Now I’m not talking about the contents of the book itself, I’m talking about things like the cover, book jacket, book size (both dimensions and page count), as well as endorsements, back cover copy, etc. Getting bookstore shelf space isn’t easy. Generally bookstores won’t keep books on their shelves that aren’t selling, so getting to know books that are doing well in stores can really benefit your title as well. Learning from books that are out there is a great way to position yourself for success.
Books that make it into and onto a shelf in a bookstore need to “look” the part. Yes, your book may be the best out there but if it doesn’t meet the needs of the genre, it simply won’t get put on a shelf. In order to play in the publishing sandbox you must play by the rules. While it’s nice to be a maverick and to hear stories about authors who “bent the rules” and claimed success, if you read the backstory to any success, you’ll find that following the rules and playing to the market is vital to success. There are 1,500 books published each day. Yes, you want to stand out, but you also want to look the part.
Bookstore checklist
Here’s a checklist to get you started in your bookstore research. You’ll want to expand on this as you find more titles or more ideas to research. I suggest for example adding in URL’s from the book jacket so you can research the author’s website, etc.
- What genre does your book fall into?
- Is there a sub-genre and if so, what is it? (for example, my books fall into reference/writing, writing being the sub-genre)
- List the top five titles and authors in that market:
- Key points each book has in common? (for example, all cookbooks you noted had nutritional analysis on each page)
Penny C. Sansevieri, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., is a best-selling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert. Her company is one of the leaders in the publishing industry and has developed some of the most cutting-edge book marketing campaigns. She is the author of five books, including Red Hot Internet Publicity. Penny is also an instructor at NYU. AME is the first marketing and publicity firm to use Internet promotion to its full impact through The Virtual Author Tour™, which strategically works with social networking sites, blogs, Twitter, ezines, video sites, and relevant sites to push an authors message into the virtual community and connect with sites related to the book’s topic, positioning the author in his or her market. In the past 15 months their creative marketing strategies have helped land 10 books on the New York Times Bestseller list. To learn more about Penny’s books or her promotional services, you can visit her website at http://www.amarketingexpert.com.
Article Source: Marketing Secrets of a Bookstore
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 04 Feb 2010 under books, business
Lisa Sliwa
Are you thinking about opening a bookstore? Have you been searching for the perfect plan to guide you in this quest? You may have already thought of a name, happened across a superb location, and chosen a great niche in which to sell books, but without a solid action plan, it can be confusing and difficult to turn your dream into a reality.
It can be a long, lonely road from start up to success when you want to take action but don’t know what to do first. If you are looking for guidance in opening a bookstore, here are 3 simple steps you can take NOW to get pointed in the right direction to open the bookshop of your dreams!
1. Look into local business license laws and building codes. Find out what the local authorities require from someone opening a bookstore. This information may be available online, or may require a quick visit to your town’s city hall, but usually, the information is free. Knowing what the authorities will require of you ahead of time will keep you from expensive missteps and wasted time and money as you move forward.
2. Visit lots of bookstores. Make a note of what you like and don’t like about each. If you are serious about opening a bookstore, do more than simply check out the books! Approach this task as a critic would. Check out the neighborhood, the curb appeal of the shop, parking, lighting and the interior fixtures and floor plan. Most importantly, notice who is shopping there, and when. As you fine tune your ideas about your dream bookshop, incorporate what you’ve gleaned from your field study.
3. Find a mentor. Talk to bookshop owners and find out what does and doesn’t work in real life and what the pitfalls are when opening a bookstore business. Learning from someone else’s experience may keep you from making costly mistakes, or even better, give you some great insight that you never would have known on your own.
It can take MONTHS to gather enough information to know if opening a bookstore is a good move for you. Here’s a quick way to jump start your dream without relying on your competition (and hoping they don’t mislead you) to help you learn the in’s and out’s of bookshop ownership. Check out http://openabookshop.info for great tips from a successful independent bookshop owner. You CAN successfully open a bookshop!
Article Source: Opening a Bookstore – 3 Simple Steps to Take Now to Achieve Your Dream
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