A slight change of tack for this blog post. I’ve always wanted to write, I’ve always felt I had some talent, but I used to be far more skilled in delaying tactics than I was in motivating myself. My motto was ‘Procrastinate now!’
Diversity is coming
Right now there’s only one sort of human. The future may differ. Transhumanism is happening, humans are being augmented with technology, widening the gulf between old and new. Mind-machine interfaces are being developed. Humans may link to the internet or each other, improve their physical abilities, work around diseases and disabilities.
Review: Wool, by Hugh Howie
Wool shows how to develop enthralling plots and sharp, believable characters. Howey colours his world well; the scenario is satisfyingly rich. The book will reward re-reading, thanks to its depth of detail.
Stumble into imagination
Sometimes writing is about listening. I was strolling along Oxford’s Cowley Road. A young man walked past me, and turned, asking why I used crutches. Having a brain cyst and balance problems makes them useful, so I let him know this. That’s when the dialogue veered into the unfamiliar.
Review: Dark Eden, by Chris Beckett
A novel showing survival isn’t enough. Dark Eden describes a culture born from ours, but one where time has turned technology into relics, stamped its mark on the language, and turned adult minds stagnant. People appear content to scrabble for survival in a world of dwindling resource, unwilling and unable to plan for any…
Review: Children of Time, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
A superb example of what science fiction can achieve. Tchaikovsky takes us on two different journeys, and deftly interweaves the story threads in a way which would make a spider envious. We’re shown one species slow ascent to consciousness and technology, while another struggles through a chaotic journey, never able to leave the mistakes of…
The Subtle Feed
I used to think there was a rule. Many science fiction short stories followed the rule, any remaining suck out. The template was simple, two or three paragraphs of introduction, introducing strangeness to the reader, a new environment, an action you couldn’t do on Earth. There followed another section, filling in backstory, an alternative history…
The false conflict
Writing is a journey. My writing started with my reaction to a modern myth – the idea of natural being better than artificial. I don’t hold the opposite view, but I wanted to challenge sloppy thinking. There are natural things I don’t want near me, like scorpions, death cap mushrooms, arsenic, lead, botulism, malaria,…
Taking the reality tablets
A conventional novel can draw on real life. Inspiration on speech patterns can come from a snatch of conversation overheard at the shops. Making a house seem realistic can be helped by seeing how a real house is built. Want to describe a foreign beach? Go there on holiday.
Hemingway was right
My 6th December post covered how writing novels was like turning iron ore into a sword. I’d left things at the refining stage, where my sword was still little more than an idea. I struggled to answer the question “What’s your novel about?”