Science Fiction Teaser

I want in! After reading the delightful first-scene-teases that Anthony and others posted, I thought, "Cool." After I thought some more, I thought, "Hey, wait. Can I do that? Legally?" Then I realized that I had already done so with that "first paragraph" thing a while back. Oddly, this just doesn't feel as scary. Hmmm...thoughts to ponder. Anyway, this is the first scene exerpt from a science fiction piece. Feel free to comment on whatever strikes you. I'm always up for improvement.

Hunched over his steering wheel, brandy fumes clouding the windshield, Dr. Macau steadily ignored the rain, wiper, and intermittently working defrost. Instead, he clutched at the double yellow line, the lifeline that would lead him home. Even so, he caught the stagger of pedestrian on the shoulder, the heavy rain almost blotting out the motion. He gripped the steering wheel, focusing on slipping through the tunnel of yellow and blurred movement.

The first explosion slammed against the jeep, blowing him back against his seat before his foot jerked down on the brakes. The jeep bucked, tires gripping momentarily, then floated on the water-dense road. Thrown into a slide, Macau wrenched the wheel, brain shutting down beyond the focus of staying on the road. The second explosion propelled the body across his vision and onto the highway, a crumpled wad of limbs and clothing. Macau could only stare, his right foot working the brake in mounting horror. Shuddering to a halt, the jeep sputtered, then died. The wipers kept up their steady rhythm, the headlights staring blindly into the narrow arroyo that skirted the highway.

Flipping out his cell, he punched 911 as he kicked open the door, hurrying into the rain and towards the motionless body. Adult male, age 18-25, athletic build. Crew cut, possibly a Marine from the Yuma Marine Corps Air Station. Unknown explosion, with unknown injuries. Help on the way, he sank down and began to check for vitals. The dark shirt hung in ribbons, and his hands came away sticky with blood. The man was unresponsive. Training took over, steadying his hands and slowing his heart rate. Even through the rain, the heavy stench of burning rubble hung unmistakable, but he filed it for later use and focused on the victim.

Flashing lights heralded the arrival of the ambulance service. Macau turned the man over to the EMTs, then dialed police dispatch. “Macau, here. Victim is being transported to Yuma Regional Medical Center. Have the officer on duty call my cell if he needs me. I’m not waiting in the rain.” He closed the phone, climbed into the jeep, and continued the drive home, for the first time realizing that he had recognized the man. Instant rage boiled through his veins, and for the second time that night, he almost slid off the road.

Hone Your Writing Skills

So you've read my blogs on Odyssey, the annual 6-week Fantasy Writing Workshop, AND you've checked out their website and thought, "Oooh, now that's freaking awesome." Well, I'm here to deliver even more delightful news: there's a separate but equally as tasty workshop on the West Coast.

Clarion West, an intensive, six-week workshop for writers interested in science fiction and fantasy careers, just posted their requirements for Summer 2009 on their site Monday!! Here's your overview.

• Dates: June 21- July 31
• Application Deadline: March 1 ($30 application fee)
• Application requires writing samples and essay
• Scholarships available (full, partials, student of color, and NYC student)
• Six Stellar Instructors: John Kessel, Elizabeth Bear, Karen Joy Fowler, Nalo Hopkinson, David G. Hartwell, and Rudy Rucker. (Don't forget that Hartwell is Senior Editor for Tor Books!)
• Total Cost: $3200 (tuition, room, and partial board (breakfast + most weekday meals) for six weeks). Wireless Internet access is free.
• Did I mention there were scholarships?!

And, for our down-under friends, Clarion South is held in Australia every two years. Applications are now open and the "Boot Camp" will run from January 4 - February 14, 2009.

What are you waiting for? Click on those links; explore those sites; scribble out awe-inspiring application letters! Or, send me a stack of unmarked, non-consecutive serial numbered, non-inflation-impacted dollar bills and finance a scholarship of your own making...

Definition of Science Fiction Explored

For the beginning writer, plucking stories out of the overly thick cranium is akin to one of two activities: violently puking up a midge-madge of unidentifiable contents or tediously tweezering out one cactus spine at a time, following a ballet-like splash into said cactus. Regardless of which path you choose, the resulting mess is pretty much the same, and, honestly, you're simply thankful or exultant or pumped that you actually got something down on paper.


After those first painful stories or novels, and after a suitable number of months, years, or decades have polished the rougher edges of your writerly self, you determine to focus not only on content but also on craft.


Easier said than done. So, as a science fiction writer, the focus must first be upon the elements of science fiction. Um. Right. That does seem rather self-evident, yes? So, what are these elements? Well, at first, the answer seems easy enough. A science fiction novel must have a plot revolving around both science and fiction. Thank you. And, to further substantiate that claim, Wikipedia, too, states that Science Fiction "involves speculations based on current or future science or technology."


Well, that wasn't good enough for me, either. I looked elsewhere. Science Fiction magazine, Analog, has the following advice listed under Submission Guidelines: Basically, we publish science fiction stories. That is, stories in which some aspect of future science or technology is so integral to the plot that, if that aspect were removed, the story would collapse. Try to picture Mary Shelley's Frankenstein without the science and you'll see what I mean. No story! (Emphasis mine.)


In my search for further helpful definitions, I remembered a podcast I had listened to last Spring on the same subject. Odyssey, the Writing Workshop for Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Horror writers, has nineteen podcasts from their guest lecturers spanning the last eight or so years. One, in particular, discusses the Science Fiction element. Robert J. Sawyer has a thought-provoking lecture on the subject that I hope you'll download and listen to. He mentions both "Flowers for Algernon" and The Wizard of Oz as examples of stories that could not be told without the science fiction element.


So, ultimately, in order to be a true science fiction piece, the writing must include some sort of science or technology, without which the hub of the plot would splinter to pieces. This definition was all well & good until I applied it to my short story, "The Last Marine." It was then I realized that this story might be soft sci-fi or even science fantasy, since the hard science wasn't there. I am now exploring what Stanley Schmidt, editor of Analog, meant when he wrote that "the science can be physical, sociological, psychological" and I am well into my second draft of the short story, with a more focused eye on the craft of science fiction.


Note: Colleen Lindsay, a literary agent with FinePrint Literary Management, has this to say about the Odyssey workshops: If you've attended the Odyssey workshop, say so...By far the best and most tightly-written queries I've seen this week are those from writers who identify as former...Odyssey students.

New Publisher for Sci Fi Writers: "looking for new, upstart, breakout authors"

Ok. This news is a month old, but it's still exciting for all the budding sci fi writers out there: HarperCollins is launching a new imprint to publish "the next wave of authors...who are on their first books with us at Voyager."

Target audience: 14-16 and 27-40
Head publisher dude: Marc Gascoigne
Imprint Name: Angry Robot
Schedule: two books a month
Start date: July 2009
Tech Tools: website to sell book, digital audio, and e-books
Cool Tweak: on-demand book printing for those books that have "gone beyond conventional shelf time."

And, just so you know, HarperCollins does not accept unsolicited manuscripts (unless you're submitting for Avon Romance), so, yes, you really do need an agent.

Thanks to Gavin from Mechanical Hampster and Lou Anders from bowing to the future for alerting their blogging audience to the news.

Agent Blogger: the Swivet

Slogging through blogs and randomly pulling out gems is hard work. That's why it's nice if someone else does it for you. Thanks to Nathan Bransford for pointing his readers in the direction of agent Colleen Lindsay who maintains a succint & informative site.

An agent with FinePrint Literary Management, Ms. Lindsay has posted her submission guidelines, currently seeking list, and tips for earnest writers in an organized and witty fashion on The Swivet.

The good news? While she represents a vast array of genres, Ms. Lindsay loves S/F and fantasy, especially the kind that breaks through the more common tropes of the genre. So, explore her site, mull over her advice, and start submitting your work!

Writers of the Future: Free Writing Contest

One of the elite writing contests of the day happens to be sponsored by L. Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future. Many leading science fiction and fantasy authors have earned their first laurels -- and major recognition -- as semi-finalists, finalists, and winners of this contest. Big names in the field (like Orson Scott Card, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, and Anne McCaffrey to name a few) also make up the panel of judges.

Check out the contest rules, explore the site, and contemplate sending in your masterpiece.

Basics:

• No entry fee
• 17,000 words or less
• Four quarters per year, each with prizes
• First prize: $1000
• Grand prize: $5000 for the year's winner
• No professional writers (see site's definition)

Contest Deadlines:
December 31st
March 31st
June 30th
September 30th
Contest year ends at midnight on Sept 30th.

Note: for you budding artists out there, check out the Illustrators of the Future contest for new & amateur artists worldwide; $1500 in prizes awarded quarterly.

How to Publish Without an Agent

My advice is to secure an agent (see previous posts). However, it's still possible to see your book in print without the advice and guidance of one. Read on for tips.

It is possible to be your own literary agent. I don't personally know anyone who has gone that route, but I do know it's been done.

1. Search out publishing companies that accept unagented, unsolicited manuscripts. There are lots that say they do, but whether or not your manuscript receives more than a cursory glance is hard to determine.

• Heather Osborn an acquiring editor of Tor Books (imprint of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC) is looking for paranormal romance or urban fantasy. She suggested Stacy Hague-Hill (Thanks to twinkiethekid for spelling advice) as someone actively looking for Science Fiction / Fantasy aquisitions.
• Check out Fleetwood Robbins, an editor at Wizards of the Coast, as well.
• Ace & ROC of Penguin Group will also accept direct queries from authors.

2. Do the research. Each of these publishing companies details specific guidelines for submitting your work. They're all different. Look up what they want, do a google search for an editor to send it to, and then personalize the query letter.

3. Find out what it takes to represent your own work. I would recommend Martin P. Levin's book Be Your Own Literary Agent: The Ultimate Insider's Guide to Getting Published. While not the final word on the subject (chapter on contracts advises finding a lawyer or an agent) , it will still give you some tips on getting an editor to look at your work.

Are you someone who has gone the unagented route? What were your experiences? Did you find that getting published led you to an agent? Or did you decide to continue on alone?

Setting and the Creation of Magic

Although comprehensive world-building is something you should do before you write an entire novel, I'm still going to participate in this activity post-Ceilyn's Calling. The novel takes place entirely in a monastery, so thus far Ceilyn has not encountered the world at large. His "journey" is an internal one, both within his own psyche and within the structure of the building.

The world of Renaciman is a mixture of the sub-genres high fantasy and sword & sorcery, with requisite struggles of good versus evil, fantastical creatures, and doses of magic use. It's all very medieval in nature, with swords, crossbows, and magic potions. So what makes it unique in nature? How is Renaciman any different that any other high fantasy novel?

Ceilyn's Calling, unbeknownst to the reader (and perhaps never openly revealed), takes place in America in the year 3050. Instead of being a futuristic, science fiction piece or a dystopian literary rage against societal ills, this book explores a post-apocalyptic world without any of the angst. In fact, all that the citizens of Renaciman know are their current lives, spent -- for the most part -- within the same village they were born in. History has been left in the dust of the ages; the religious institutions are embroiled in their own intrigues; and a god-king is attempting to usurp all power for himself.

In order to explore the world, we need to understand the nature of magic. This was actually the most difficult part of my novel, because, after all, how many people ponder the nature of magic? It just is, right? But how can magic come into being somewhere down the road in a future America? Well, in most cultures there is an tacit agreement that magic is or consists of energy. We know that energy exists on a sub-atomic level. Therefore, in my definition, magic is simply the ability to shift, control, or manipulate energy on the sub-atomic level. And that cleared a lot up for me.

Once I penned a post-nuclear Planet Earth where survivors developed the ability to control different forms of energy, I understood how I could interject a scientific form of magic (scientific used loosely).

Over time, some survivors focused their new-found abilities to rid themselves and others of radiation sickness, keloids, and tumors. They became known as 'healers' within the society. Others, who were either simply curious or desirous of exploiting new-found powers, experimented, studied, and learned many skills outside the scope of healing, becoming known as 'mages.' Notice the reliance on known concepts or words within the English language.

None of this exists within the novel Ceilyn's Calling. Instead, the only remnant of past civilizations are the village stones that hold the last waning vestiges of radioactivity, now vital for any magic user. Some stones have disintegrated; others have been lost; still more are being plundered by the king's soldiers who have been instructed to haul every stone they find to the palace. The only other place that has its magic intact is the monastery, where Ceilyn has grown up using spells and chants. He does not know that the world around him is gradually losing its access to power.

The second novel, Ceilyn's Curse, details his journey from monastery to palace -- one place of powerful magic to another -- and the emptiness between. He must learn to rely upon himself and the skills of his friends if he hopes to survive without magic along this circuitous and dangerous route. Once he arrives at the palace, of course, he uses this new-found confidence and self-reliance to outwit the most powerful mage and enemy of the people, Lord Xavier. What else could he do?

Urban Fantasy World-Building

As promised, here are the key points from the Fey Fab Five's world-building workshop. (Ok, they call themselves Team Seattle, but I couldn't resist.) Note that most of these can be used with high fantasy or sci fi as well.

1. Setting informs plot and character development:
* Cake Mix: start with the known world and break some rules (ex: America w/ underground zombie world).
* Scratch cake: build a world of your own, adding rules as you go (ex: Forgotten Realms).

2. Awareness level of audience:
* Closed world: fantasy aspects are secret; only open to protagonist and a few others
* Open world: fantasy completely integrated; everyone knows.
* Inciting Event: something that either opens up the world or closes it off.

3. Role of known mythology:
* Use known myths, tweak, and make your own.
* Do research first so that you know what you're talking about.
* Know your stuff: Apollo could currently be the god of the tanning bed, but probably not the god of dishwashers.

4. Economics:
* Who are the movers and the shakers? Where does the money (or goods/materials) move?
* Who controls what?

5. Limits:
* A magical system must have rules and limits; there has to be give and take.
* Your protagonist should have a fatal flaw.
* There has to be something on the line, so that your audience cares.

6. Consistency:
* There needs to be consistency within the genre that you're working in. For example, magic always has a cost. Or, were-creatures need to be a comparable size to humans. You don't hear about were-ferrets.
* There also needs to be consistency within your own book or series. Think about all the angles, restrictions, etc, before you even begin writing so that you know the limits of your own world.

7. Tropes & Stereotypes:
* Find out the common archetypes or hallmarks of the genre or subgenre you're working in.
* Select one, then put a spin on it.