Research

[davveruk]

Hi All,

My first post and a question that you've probably heard before, but here it goes:

How would you recommend research for both Sci-Fi and Fantasy writing. If I was writing more factual stories, it wouldn't be too hard, but Warp Drive Engines or Soul Stealing Swords don't, and have never, existed!

Is it a case of just writing and making things up, or is it more a case of using what information is available and melding it into my own imagination?

Thanks in advance!

Dave

[The Ace]

I try to expand on existing technology, taper-bore guns, spigot mortars, the list is endless. Figure out what you want to do and come up with a plausible theory. I claim first dibs on, 'Farcarrier,' though.

[Culhwch]

Originally Posted by davveruk

Is it a case of just writing and making things up, or is it more a case of using what information is available and melding it into my own imagination?

Definitely the latter. Read widely and scavenge little bits and pieces that interest you, and then build upon them. I strictly write fantasy, so I'm no help in advising on the SF side of things, but I tend to do this from fiction and non-fiction both. If you're stealing, er, appropriating something from a novel, though, just make sure you give it your own twist...

[pyan]

Welcome to the Chrons, davveruk!

There's a thread about interstellar travel, that may interest you, assuming that wasn't just an example you were giving....

interstellar space-travel designs

[Moogle]

Well science-fiction is generally split up into two MAIN genres (not that there aren't subgenres), those being 'Hard SciFi' and 'Soft SciFi'. To write hard science fiction you're going to need to do a LOT of research and nail every little physical fact down if it can be traced back to reality from your story. Soft science fiction on the other hand is easier when it comes to research because you can generally make up whatever lacking technological details your story needs.

So think about what style of science fiction you're going to do before you start the research, but if you want inspiration, subscribe to a magazine like Scientific American, I used to read that when I worked in a convenience store and get flooded with inspiration for future technologies.

[Anthony G Williams]

For fantasy writing, the one recommendation I'd make is to invent something new! No more magical rings or swords, please, unless you have a completely new twist on them! Elric's sword was unique AFAIK in having a malevolent mind of its own.

[Tobytwo]

Remember though that SF and fantasy aren't necessarily all about the science/fantasy, unless you're writing a book about some amazing invention. In a space opera like Star Wars, say, references to "the warp drive" or whatever need only be very infrequent, and need never be properly explained.

Both fantasy and SF have a set of archetypes (elves, teleporters, wizards, robot suits etc), and it is hard to write any SFF without including something a bit like one of them at least. Sometimes the trick is to sit down and work out something new with what's already there. I think if you say to yourself "I must think of something totally new" you'll just fry your brain: not to say everything out there's been done, but that originality often comes from giving an old idea a startling new twist.

[ctg]

In order to write SF, I would recommend you to read science journals as much as you can. However, when you write about the science, you should write as vaguely as you can so that your average reader brain doesn't go numb. It's a difficult task at the best.

I personally read at least 6 science related sites from top to bottom every single day, plus I do my research on other matters in order to get an idea what is plausible to the people.

Fantasy is bit easier as you have more freedom in your hands, but thing is that you need to be an excellent storyteller to get your book published in this highly competed arena.

[iansales]

First thing to remember: just because you're writing science fiction, it doesn't mean you can make it up as you go along.

If you want your story to be convincing, it needs authority - and you'll only get that if you know what you're writing about. You don't need to be an expert by any means, but neither do you want to get your facts and suppositions wrong. And it's not just the science and technology. So don't have a Muslim character refer to Jesus as an infidel prophet as Pete Hamilton does in The Reality Dysfunction. (Islam reveres Jesus as the prophet who preceded Mohammed.)

[chrispenycate]

I think the trick is you have to know how it works, and the readers have to feel you're comfortable with your explanation, but you mustn't explain it too much; very few of them are interested in that, they just want the story. I always want to show off "Look, this is why he's allergic to silver, that's really two demons epoxied back to back giving a repulsive force of…" I've never tried a soul-eating sword (don't know much about sword fighting, anyway. Know a little about pike tactics, but a "sole eating pike" sounds fishy to me) but if I did I'd know whether a soul was pure energy or partially personality, and whether the sword slowly took on the average character of its victims – and, because I knew, even if I managed to restrain myself from explaining, the thing would be realler both for me and for my potential audience.

With star drives, you can either use one that already exists, which means everyone will already know how it works, (but you still have to know its limitations) or you can build your own from scratch, which is more fun, but makes for a longer book as you have to explain its strengths and weaknesses in the interstices, without losing the story flow.

Mind you, if your point of view is a passenger he doesn't know any more about how it all works than your average passenger on a 747 knows about aerodynamics; you get in, it takes an age to get everybody stowed and your first drink served, the crew are rude and none of the other passengers should have been allowed to fly…

[The Pelagic Argosy]

From my (admittedly limited) experience, it's not the awesome doo-dads in a story that nudge you to hit the books. It's more the little things.

For example, early on in my story, a feast is being laid. A question occurred to me - where did all this food come from? Because, lemme tell ya, my heroine sure the heck didn't prepare it. She's been too busy reading magic books and moping about her tragic life. Who's paying the servants? Etc. Long story short, I'm becoming acquainted with the manorial system. (Hey! C'mon! Someone quiz me on three-field crop rotation!)

But, to echo was cris said about TMI, technically, my question was answered just by reading the blurb on a book jacket about the Middle Ages. My heroine's mage school functions like a medieval manor, much the way a parish did. Great! So, I should press on with the writing then? *laughs* You poor, naive fool. No, no, no. Now, I have all these books about the manorial system, and I am armed with a highlighter. (Actually, my hope is that I am absorbing some bit of trivia that will hijack whatever niggling question might occur to me, say, in Chapter 6.)

Yeah, your ****-sure space-cowboy hero probably doesn't know how the warp drive on his space cruiser works any more than my heroine knows about three-field crop rotation. (That's what space mechanics and serfs are for, respectively.) So, just start writing your story, until you come up with a question that you would like an answer to, and then do some research. And then, for god's sake, stop.

Now, if you'll excuse me, this post has kept me from my highlighting.

[Peter Graham]

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

[Ursa major]

If a writer really wants to show off how clever they are in "inventing" all the details of a new technology without forcing the story to grind to a halt, they could always put it in a glossary - if, that is, they're really confident that anyone else would want to read it and would not be able to pick holes in it too easily.

[Martinjbull]

Hi guys...first post...just joined. Be nice to me....
I think that via Google etc we can access enough information and basic terminology to speak credibly (I think) without necessarily fully understanding all the hard science. By grasping what the questions are, maybe by using a character viewpoint of someone who also does not understand the technology we can navigate through whilst remaining good writers. Eg I don't understand how my car engine works but I know enough to write about ignition keys, engines and wheels to describe a journey. Maybe a stronger example is that I don't have a clue how this iMac I'm typing on works, but I can rest assured that as long as it does work, (and most people in say the year 2600 would be in the same position in relation to their technology), and as long as someone understands it out in the real world, then I can use terms like 'hard drive, access times, data compression, memory caching...etc (yawn) without necessarily being an expert. I think the science is the support for the people story going on-and that's what I like to read. My science knowledge base is social sciences like psychology, interpersonal relationships, etc, theories of social anthropology, and that to my mind is more helpful to me as I write character driven plots than inventing 'hyper spatial slip space tachyon plasma converters" (no, I'm just being silly for the fun of it. I don't know what they are-and probably no-one does-great looking words though, huh?)

[Purdy Bear]

I would just let your imagination flow, look at Star Trek, that has lead to real innovations in technology.