Integrity in Science Fiction-- Part Deux

I’m writing this post as an amendment to the first.  The comments I’ve gotten on the other suggest I didn’t communicate my point clearly.  I apologize for that.  Writing’s all about proper communication, and I seem to have failed in that regard.

My use of the word “fantasy” was a little confusing.  I was not at all suggesting there be no cross-genre work.  In fact, when I used the term “fantasy” I wasn’t referring to the genre at all.

I was trying to make a point about suspension of disbelief.

Facts help you ground your readers.  They set the parameters for your story.  In science fiction, or any genre in which the real world plays a large role, people will expect to find shared knowledge. 

They’ll expect that the speed of light is the cosmic speed-limit, and that you can’t go backwards through time, and that if the sun died we’d all die too.

Does this mean that you have to give them what they expect?  Absolutely not.  But, trying to get your reader to believe something they know to be false is on your shoulders, not theirs.

What does that mean?  It means you have to give them reasons to take your word for it.  Any time you differ from what people know to be real you have to explain yourself (and no, that doesn’t mean you state, “This is different from what we knew in the 21^st century because...”).

Fiction is all about suspension of disbelief.  You can’t get away from it.  You’re asking a stranger to accept what you say, to believe in your lies.

You have to make them feel secure, get their subconscious to nod and smile and say, “Yes, yes, I see, yes.”

But if they hit something in your story that makes their brain stumbled, makes them say, “Pft, no way,” it’s over.  Sure, some people will keep reading.  Some won’t.  And for those who do, they’ll have a more critical eye turned on your work.  They’ll be counting strikes against you.  Maybe not consciously, but a reader can only be jarred out of a story so many times before they decide it’s not worth the effort.

What I’m trying to say is: Don’t give them a reason to put your story down.

I’ve had people tell me, “Well, if it’s a good story, factual problems won’t matter,” as if there is some difference between a good story and its content.  No, a good story is good because it grabs you and doesn’t let you go.  Everything works in harmony in a good story: the plot, the characters, the prose, the setting, and the events. 

So, when there are clear scientific and factual errors--basic errors, ones that are obvious and easy to find--the audience notices.  Some people are forgiving, some not so much.  There’s a lot of fiction out there, so much that’s it’s impossible to consume it all in a life time.  Time is precious, and most people dole theirs out judiciously.  If there is something wrong with your story they don’t owe you a second more.  If you fail to keep their attention they’ll move on.

Factual errors are like bad prose or boring characters, they give people reasons not to read what you’ve spent long hours putting together for them.

As I said before, everyone is bound to make mistakes.  No one can be expected to know everything, and slip-ups will happen.

But there is a difference between a mistake and getting something wrong because you don’t care enough to get it right.

I’m advocating for research.  Enough to let your audience know you care about them, that you don’t expect they’ll just gobble up whatever you say, that you love your work enough to do it right.

That you respect their intelligence.

That’s what I was trying to say with the last post.  That the author is always responsible for explaining the universe he or she has created.  If there are differences between current, accepted knowledge and your world, you are responsible for making the audience believe.  If you differ on the basics of the real world, it better be purposeful, and you should explain it to your audience.  Otherwise they might just think you have no idea what you’re talking about and move on.

It might sound harsh, but it’s true.  Put on your reader hat and think about how selective you are.  How much time do you give a story?  How many times can your brain say, “Yeah, right,” before you stop reading?  

Fact is, fiction is bull.  It is.  Writers are snake-oil salesmen, the lot of us.  And if you tell someone that Advil cures tonsillitis they won’t buy your Grogork potion that cures cancer.  Get it?

Ok, hope I made myself a little clearer.  Thanks for sticking with me, ya’ll.

~Marina

Rejections with goal of 100: 29

Childhood Dreams

Have you ever noticed how becoming an adult lets you be an even bigger kid?

I recently returned from my first trip to Washington DC.  I saw a lot, but my favorite was the Smithsonian. I only had time for two and a quarter of the museums, and I knew I couldn't miss out on Natural History or Air and Space.  

Yep, I wear my geek badge proudly.

So, my husband and I were walking through an exhibit of planetary photography when he came up with a great idea: We should decorate our bedroom with Hubble pictures!

Remember those glow-in-the-dark stars you begged your mom to let you stick to your ceiling?   I mean, come on, what nerdy little kid didn't want a space-themed bedroom? 

And now I get one!  Only no plastic stars for me.  We're going all out.  It's the super duper, totally awesome, beyond-that-seven-year-old's-wildest-imagination version.

How about you?  Anything you wanted as a kid that you realized you can have--but better--as an adult?

~Marina

Rejections: 29     

Integrity in Science Fiction

...or integrity in Historical Fiction, or any other fiction in which the real world plays a large part in conveying the elements of the story. 

By integrity I mean factual integrity.

Put the science back in science fiction.  When did fantasy start muscling its way into Sci-fi?  I love fantasy, don’t get me wrong, but I hold the firm belief that if you’re going to label it as “science” anything, actual science should play a part.

There is a scale of tactile differences when it comes to sci-fi: you’ve essentially got your hard and your soft, and a lot of it slides around in-between.  Factual accuracy is much more rigorously sought after in hard sci-fi than anywhere else, but does that mean that “soft” writers are exempt from knowing anything about science?

Let me give you some background on why I’m writing this post, why I’m advocating for artists motivating themselves to keep integrity a part of their art.

Recently, on several forums dedicated to the wonderful world that is sci-fi story telling, I’ve run into factual problems.  People who seem to have very little, or no basic understanding of the science upon which their stories are supposedly based.  Actually, I’ve run into this a lot.  And not just on forums filled with aspiring authors. 

Now, it’s impossible for someone to know everything about everything.  Mistakes are bound to be made.  I’ve made plenty myself.  It’s silly to expect people to be 100 percent accurate in story telling.  After all, just because someone’s never been to the Sistine Chapel doesn’t mean they’re precluded from ever setting a story there.

But you’d expect them to at least look at some pictures, wouldn’t you?

Let’s take an example from recent media: V, the new version.  I’m on the fence; I want to care about the show, but I’m having a hard time because it seems like the writers don’t care.  They don’t care enough to look up something basic, like how DNA is structured (hint: if large chunks are missing, the nucleotides left without end-caps won’t float in a nice double-helix for you).  And they don’t care enough to make sure they understand the terminology they’re using; just because something is unstable doesn’t mean it’s “weaponized.”

They don’t care enough about their work to make sure very basic, easy to look up facts are right, so why should I care at all?  If they’re not going to put real effort into their story telling, I’m certainly not going to waste my time forcing my belief into suspension.

And that’s the kicker:  If you care enough about your work to make sure the basics are correct, you’ve taken a step in the right direction.  When you get basics wrong people notice, and they care.  You think using too many adverbs is bad?  Getting facts about the world around you wrong is worse.

Let’s take another favorite:  Death by exposure to the vacuum of space.  Ok, we’ve all seen this one a hundred times, and it seems to happen a hundred different ways.  Astronaut takes off his helmet and--wham--his head explodes, or he freezes solid, or his blood boils, or he’s fried by all those microwaves bouncing around out there.

Why are there so many different versions of the same thing?  Surly taking your helmet off in space isn’t a crapshoot-- it’s not like they are all possible options, right?  Right.

So, why?  Why can’t anyone in Hollywood (or sci-fi in general) agree on how space-exposure kills?

Because they don’t care enough to look up the facts.

Guess how long it takes to find out what really happens?  Five minutes.  Five lousy minutes to access NASA’s website and read the articles pertaining to vacuum exposure (of course, for any stories that pre-date the web this would have taken longer to find out.  And any stories that pre-date scientific knowledge on the subject are exempt).

Want to know what happens?  Go look it up.

Again, if you don’t care enough to look up even the easy stuff, why should I care enough about your story to read it?

Integrity is important.  Any scientific idea central to your story should be as accurate as you can make it.  No excuses.  If then you run into problems, fine, but at least you tried.  As I said, no one is expected to be perfect.

But there is a second point to this: accuracy is even more important if you’re trying to point out someone else’s mistakes.  I try not to do this too often, especially if I’m not 100% sure about something, because there’s a chance they really do know and I don’t.  I try and fact-check myself before I attempt to fact-check anyone else, because this can really get you into trouble.

Point in case:  I occasionally run into people who try to correct my descriptions of electricity or the conduction there of.  This really irks me.  My husband has a PhD in electrical engineering, and he’s my first reader.  Believe me, if there’s anything wrong with the way I describe anything electrical, he’s already fixed it.  And these instances are sad, because the people who are “helping” me really don’t know what they’re talking about.

Arrogance masquerades as know-how all the time.  Don’t get fooled, and know the difference in yourself.

And don’t assume you know things.  You know what they say about assuming.  Be sure.

Moral of the story: Don’t leave it up to your audience to catch your mistakes.  Know what you’re talking about.  Just because there’s a portion of the population out there that won’t know the difference doesn’t mean you’re excused from trying.

I repeat: integrity is important.  Spend the five minutes to verify your details.  Your audience will thank you for it.

~Marina

P.S. Rejections: 27

P.P.S.  If I’ve made any mistakes in this post, chalk it up to irony ;-)

What Is Up With Thursday?

I’ve got one of those great “stat counters” linked into this here page, just to give me an idea of how many people are stopping by.  And I’ve noticed a peculiar trend: without fail, my highest visitor count of each week falls on Thursday.  So, what are you people doing on Thursdays?  Why do you come here on Thursday?  Hmmm???  Is that “visit an obscure blog day” and I missed the memo?

Anyone else notice a similar spike on their blog?

Just curious ;-)  Let me know!

~Marina

Rejects: 24

@TheFuture

No, that’s not my twitter account, but that is the announcement:  I now have a twitter account!  Yet another way to access my ramblings.  You can find me under @MarinaLostetter.

Don’t worry, I plan on using it for helpful announcements, rather than to tell you what I had for lunch. 

~Marina

Rejections (Goal 100):  24

Your Title Here

Alright, Everyone!

It’s that time again, another Writers/Illustrators of the Future quarter is winding down.  Get your entries in ASAP.

My biggest obstacle this time was coming up with a decent title.  I had a long list of ok titles.  You know, those ones that fit but don’t really have that “come hither” quality.

Titles are very important to me as a consumer.  I’d say, just after the cover, the title is the most important factor in determining whether or not I pick a book up off the shelf to see what’s inside.

And in general, I tend to find Sci-fi/fantasy titles to be... horrible.  Yes, sad but true.

Why?

Simple.  Because most of them can be slapped onto any other book nearby and fit just as well.

That’s not a title.  That’s a placeholder. 

Example: Go to your favorite bookseller’s website, and look up “Ill Wind.”  Tell me how many hits you get.  And no, just because some of them have modifiers like “An” and “Yon” that does not make them different.  Can you really tell me those were the most apt, the most memorable titles that could have been assigned to those works?  How many books can you think of that you could slap that title on and never know the difference?

While you're at it, look up any of the classic sci-fi/fantasy buzzwords you can think of.  You know the ones I’m talking about.  “Blood”--If it’s on a vampire novel, I’m even less impressed.  “Dragon”--Just because they’re in there doesn’t mean you have to name your book after them.  I mean it, you don’t have to shove it down my throat that this is a fantasy novel.  “Sword”--really, the book's about a sword?  Wow, so is that book over there.

Get my drift?  I’m not saying the words should become taboo.  But how often have you seen something called “Blood Rites” or “Dagon’s Song” or “The Sword of Truth”?  If you’re going to use a buzzword, you better get damn creative with it.

I know, I know, the poor titling is not always the author’s fault.  The publisher has a big hand in labeling the books they sell.  If they don’t like an author’s title, they change it.  And hell, as the author, you want your book printed, don’t you?  Just make the change and get on with it.

I have to remind you, I’m speaking as a consumer, not as a writer.  If the publisher thinks Marina the writer will sell more copies by calling her sci-fi thriller “Prince of the Damned,” then by hell, guess what she’ll change it to?

Marina the consumer, however, doesn’t agree with the publishers.  Titles like “Mage’s blood” and “Dark God” and “Winter’s Wind” do not get me to buy books.  DO NOT.  I’m looking for something unique and interesting when I browse a bookshelf.  Something needs to jump out at me.  Do you think seeing the word “Darkness” on every other book makes me want to pick up any of them?  No. 

So, you authors who have full control over your titles, here’s my advice.  Spend more than a couple of minutes deciding what to name your story.  Sure, occasionally a title just jumps out at you, and that’s fine if it’s astute. 

Here’s the test.  If, at random, you pick five books from your personal collection and your chosen title fits at least one of them, you have more work to do. 

The title is just as important as the rest of your story.  It’s the first taste of your writing someone gets, be it a novel’s title or a short’s title.  Don’t give them wheat bread when they’re looking for an exotic pastry.  Tell them you can write a good story, just by proving you can get their attention in five words or less.

Of course, this is only my opinion.  Thoughts?

~Marina

Rejections with goal of 100:  23 (I swear there should be more coming in soon)

Pretty Pictures

Just a quick pop in to let you know I’m still here!

Nearly done with my Q2 entry for WotF 2011... Hopefully it goes as well as Q2 2010 did for me.  :)

Nearly ready to send of my first Illustrators of the Future entry, too.  I really have no predictions for how that one’ll go.

And, I remembered I promised a few of you some wedding pics, so here’s a couple:

 This is the wedding party waiting in the rain, lol.  This characterizes my wedding in one frame: wet, colorful, and happy.

My flower girl's basket full of stems to hand out to the ladies.

My dad 'n' me on the way to the tent where my fiancé and the guests were waiting.

My husband and I on the beach after the ceremony.

Hopefully I’ll be back with a meatier post soon-- I know you all want something you can sink your teeth into.

~Marina

Rejections with the goal of 100: 21