| Re: Research
Chris and PA both make an excellent point. You can, (if you want) turn your piece into a literary version of a Haynes Manual, in which the main narrative thrust is along the lines of "Johan flicked the hyperdrive switch. But because the ship was less than three space roods from a sun which was due to collapse in less than 3 million years, the resultant gravitational pull caused the flamblox interface to cross with the sub-orbital wanger flange, which, of course, set off a massive explosion in the underwoofers."
Or you can just tell a story. As Chris suggests, your narrative voice could be from the point of view of characters who don't understand all this rather dry, techie stuff anyway, or you can use the voice of the narrator speaking direct to the reader (Jane Eyre is a good example of this) in a way that conveys information without explaining the nuts and bolts of it. Chunks of explanatory dialogue are, at best, a bit of a clumsy narrative tool which all too often are used so as to make readers think - "gosh, isn't the author clever?" I know that some readers like this depth of information, but I think that you might be limiting the wider appeal of your piece if it is too absorbed with explaining technology that doesn't even exist in the real world.
Assuming you are looking for wide appeal, of course....
Regards,
Peter |