The Next Big Thing

I was tagged by Luke Walker in his The Next Big Thing blog post chain. It's taken me a little while to respond, because well, I wasn't sure I was interested in writing about stuff I was writing. I don't post a lot of what I do, because I don't feel it's right for me to do it. If it's not edited and published, it's probably not my best work, and I don't want to present it until then. This is a bit different, with more of an interview style to it, so I decided to play along. Here goes:

1) What is the working title of your next book?

The Chiaroscuro Portrait. And I so hope that title sticks. They say titles are changed 60% of the time in publishing, which is a pretty decent amount of the time. I have stories whose titles I know will be changed, and that's perfectly acceptable. This one I hope sticks, because it's a really cool title, and it fits the story so very well.

2) Where did the idea come from for the book?

Heh! It came from a doxycycline-fueled nightmare in Afghanistan a number of years ago. Doxy is an antimalarial medicine and was required for us there at the time. It's said to cause stomach unrest and weird dreams. I got none of the stomach unrest and all of the weird dreams, all the time. Lots of folks get their stories from dreams. That's not really earth-shattering. This dream was so wickedly weird that I awoke in a cold sweat, powered on the laptop and pounded a 500-word summary before I forgot what I dreamed. And then I got ready and went out to grind out a long workday just like always.  I wrote the rest of the story during that deployment.

3) What genre does your book fall under?

Young Adult horror. I originally wrote it as adult fiction, but the characters' ages, coupled with the issues they faced in the story, really suit it better for young adult. And with the move to darker YA titles nowadays, it seems like perfect timing.

4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie version?

You know, a lot of people describe their books as making great movies, or being perfect for the silver screen, but I don't think this one would. While it could probably be adapted to a decent movie script, I think unlike some of the other stuff I've written, this story is better told in printed form. If pushed, I'd have to say I'd like to see brand new actors take on the roles for it. I believe a story in film is a little cleaner if the audience isn't watching the performance of their favorite actors and actresses, but rather concentrating on the story itself.

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

After his childhood crush comes back to life, Toby must learn how Julie can escape the hellish memories of death, and what it will cost.

6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I am currently seeking representation for it.  While the lure of higher royalties in self-publishing is tempting, and while it would be edited and proofed professionally in either case, I feel it's still a better option to go the traditional route with this novel, especially at this point in my career.  I don't think I'd be doing the story justice otherwise.  I don't tend to view literary agents as "gatekeepers" as some authors do, but rather as those who offer ladders in the difficult climb to the top of publishing.  Sure, you can climb the cliff on your own, and a few have made it just fine on their own.  But most don't, and even though there are only so many ladders to go around, they provide a huge advantage.  Besides, if you're doing what it takes to impress an agent to accept your manuscript, you've already taken the first steps to enticing editors and publishers, and by proxy, future readers.

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

The first draft went rather quickly.  Three months, I think.  Of course, with adequate time to write, and a story that practically wrote itself, it wasn't that hard to do.  Since then, I've edited it a number of times, and it's gained and lost a considerable amount from the original.

8 ) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I'm a little ashamed to say that's a tough call.  I'm not by nature an aficionado of young adult literature, although I am reading more in the category now that the girl prodigy is reading it profusely.  The fact that this story is young adult is rather coincidental, really.  I like horror, and in that respect, it reminds me a little of Stephen King's Carrie, but without the "documentary" feel.  Some of the themes are the same, with young protagonists in social environs that they're not really all that equipped to handle yet.  It also has some darker parts that deal with certain taboo subjects like death, religion, and the like.  It's quite a different story, of course, and ostracism isn't key to the plot, but there are similarities in how it feels.  I would be lucky to have it see a fraction of Carrie's success!

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?

The dream I had was the only real inspiration I had or needed.  The title was a bit trickier.  The story didn't actually have a title for the longest while.  I had inspiration, an image of what I wanted, but no title.  I wanted to convey the concept of following eyes, of a portrait painting being almost alive in its detail and realism.  And then I came across the chiaroscuro method of painting, the use of strong contrasts of light and dark to give a picture a three-dimensional feel and pop it off the canvas.  That concept plays rather well into the story.

10) What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?

I like the relationship between the two main protagonists in the story, and how things are much different in retrospect than they were at face value before.  There's more honesty after the events that form the basis of the story, something not really probable with teenagers facing normal social situations.  The self-consciousness and inexperience Toby has as a teen facing his lifelong crush is rather poignant at times, and lends well to the story.  I also set the story in a small town outside Spokane, Washington, near where I grew up.  It's a fictional town, but anyone who grew up in the Palouse country wheat fields of Eastern Washington would recognize it as any number of the small towns there.

No one else comes to mind when thinking of who to tag for follow-on posts of their own, so if you've got something burning, feel free to take this and run with it.  Let me know and I'll edit this with a link.

Writing Advice from the Masters

So there's a lot of writing advice out there.  A lot of it's great.  Some of it stinks.  I've even thrown my two amateur cents into the ring from time to time, whether good, bad or otherwise.  It all has some merit, though, when weighed with a grain of salt or two.  After all, many great authors differ greatly with the advice they give on writing.  And one can still learn from mistakes and bad advice, just as they can from the good.

On that note, I thought it fitting to compile some advice clips from the masters of the craft, those to whom we look to as the ultimate experts of the trade.  Here are ten authors talking about various aspects of storytelling.  Enjoy and learn as I did.

Ray Bradbury on writing persistently:

The most interesting part of this is how he would send short story after short story out, and wait for the rejections.  This is something I've done countless times, and at about the same ages.  Always the rejections.  I looked forward to them, to each one, hopefully with some tidbit of personal advice upon which to learn and grow.  I have close to 300 of them from short stories alone, most collected during my teens and early twenties, tucked away as mementos to perseverance and to giving my heart and soul to writing.  Most of the time between then and now has been spent writing, honing, perfecting; not trying to get published.  I've been too often in parts of the world where it was just not conducive to querying.  It's always been on my mind, even in places as foreign as Afghanistan, as quite a few rejections will testify to.

Elmore Leonard on hard work, characters, descriptions, and rhythm in writing:

"I made myself get up at five o'clock every morning to write fiction.  I had a rule that I had to begin writing, get into whatever the scene was, before I could put the coffee on.  If I hadn't done that, I don't think I'd be sitting here today."  That is a pretty powerful impetus for sitting down on your ass and cranking the words out.  Probably makes most of us, even the more successful ones, a little chagrined, more eager to jump back into a story again.  He's absolutely dead on - at least in my case - about writing four pages for every one quality page.  Writing is rewriting.  The one thing I can't agree with is writing longhand.  I've done it before, and just can't stand it.  Give me a good ol' word processor every day of the week.  That way I can go back and change a word mid-stroke when I realize it wasn't the best choice to use.

Stephen King on writing short stories:

So interesting his view on why people don't read short stories as much anymore.  He attributes it to laziness, which is probably a large percentage of the truth.  The other percentage, I think, is the way stories are promulgated to the public.  We aren't satisfied with a single peek at something.  We have to have more.  Even a movie or a single book isn't enough.  We have to have trilogies and series and goddamn sagas!  Let it never end!  And yet a short story does just that.  It's like the one night stand of literature, that fleeting kiss in the night, never to be continued, but only remembered for its fiery brevity.  I absolutely love short stories.  And in today's world of short attention span theater, and fear of commitment, I don't know how the short story isn't more popular than it is.

Kurt Vonnegut on writing short stories:

Short, sweet advice, just like a short story.  But it's some of the best advice I've ever heard.  And the thing is, all these words of wisdom are just as applicable to writing novels as they are to shorter works.  We see professionals in the literary business talking about how stories just don't start fast enough, that there's too much pre-story or world building, or character development happening before the actual story starts.  Vonnegut's advice on starting the story as close to the end as possible is just as good in these cases as it is for a piece of flash fiction.  Start with the action, make your characters want something, and then take it away from them.

Neil Gaiman with advice for new writers:

His advice, apart from going out and actually living and seeing the world is spot on. If you want to write, you have to write. The elves aren't going to magic your book into finished form. You're not going to get a sudden epiphany one day and churn out a book, slavering over an old fashioned typewriter like the classics. You're not friggin' Snoopy, sitting on your doghouse, pecking out that great work of literature without a flaw. You're going to make mistakes. You're going to write absolute crap. God knows I have. And you'll learn from it. You'll edit like there's no tomorrow, and when you're done, the finished product will look nothing like what you started with. And it's all because you wrote, and wrote, and wrote. And wrote some more.

Margaret Weiss talks with R.A. Salvatore on collaboration and how gaming affects fantasy books:

The most interesting part of this interview for me is hearing about collaboration. A story of any size is very personal; it's probably one of the most intimately personal pieces of creativity there is, and sharing that with anyone can create some complex and often problematic issues. It appears that one of the reasons why Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman have been so successful writing fantasy together is the way they have worked together. Each person has specific tasks and goals, each a certain chunk of the story they are responsible for. With less overlap, there is less a chance that the artistic vision of one author will clash with that of the other.

Louis L'Amour talks about historical accuracy and research in writing:

One thing he mentions later in this interview is his trademark lack of profanity. While he grew up in among a very rough crowd, he never saw the need for it. He didn't feel it was appropriate to use profanity, and that using it was often a crutch for a "lack of real skill". While I'll sprinkle my stories with profanity where necessary, L'Amour has a very good point - one shouldn't have to use it at all to get the point across. In the end, I'd opine that it's fine if used as a part of one's style; not if used as a crutch.

Chuck Palahniuk with a succinct analogy on writer's block:

Slightly crude or not, his point is made. And that's really the thing. Many writers advise one to write every day, to write nonstop. But Palahniuk's advice is simpler: if you don't have anything to write, there's no sense trying to force it out. But I think it goes deeper than that, and is something that is nuanced in what he says here. Many writers have tons of great ideas, filling their heads and overflowing onto the written page, whether they like it or not. But they don't have those ideas without living, without gaining experiences, because those experiences are what feed the ideas necessary to write.

Garrison Keillor with some advice to writers:

"Get out of the house," he says, and he's right, because writing isn't just about the author. In fact, I'd argue it's exactly the opposite. Writing has almost nothing to do with the writer, and everything to do with the reader. It's the reader's experience that brings a book to life, not the writer's. If you don't go out and experience life, relate to others, stay tuned to what's happening in the world, you'll end up writing a bunch of self-absorbed pretentious crap that nobody wants to read.

John Irving with encouragement to new writers:

It's tougher today than ever before to break through in this industry. The competition is not only an increasingly larger number of writers, but it's also tougher. The talent pool is larger. But that shouldn't mean discouragement. Rather it should be incentive to work all that much harder. It takes a lot to really produce a quality work of art, no matter the medium, and the higher the competition level, the better the best work is going to be.

Watching these videos, we get rather common themes from them. Write often. Read a lot. Get out there and live. Persevere. Write a variety of genres and lengths. Experiment. But over all, write, write, write. And then write some more.

Dystopia and the Occupy Movement

Hama Al-Assy Square 2011-07-22, © Syriana2011

The winds of change are blowing.  The world is changing.  As early as the Arab Spring, which began in late 2010, a cry of protest rose, the effects of which I think we have only begun to see.  Similar sentiment rushed through the Middle East, with speed and intensity only matched by a wildfire.

Large anti-Mubarak protest in Egypt's Alexandria, © Al Jazeera English

Well over a dozen countries there have seen protests, from minor rallies in places like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, to complete chaos, fighting, and the overthrow of governments in Egypt and Libya.

Where the Smoke Clouds Came From, © Al Jazeera English

In an earlier post, I wrote about the dystopian reality we can find around us, with images of stark decay, squalor, and crumbled infrastructure, pictures of places time has seemingly abandoned.  This time, let's take a look at the societal aspect of dystopia, and how it can be seen in the world events unfolding around us.

Occupy Wall Street Day 14, © David Shankbone

Whether triggered by the protests in the Middle East, or only coincidentally related, the Occupy Wall Street movement has become a key discussion point in today's discourse.  Not since the 1970's have we seen this level of widespread and volatile dissension in the United States.

Occupy Wall Street Day 14, © David Shankbone

This is neither a pro- nor an anti-OWS post, so if you're here for that, you'll be sorely disappointed.  I am not here to make a statement, whether ideologically, politically, or morally, regarding the pros or cons of the movement.  I see it as portraying a number of key social discussion points that appear in many works of science fiction.  There are discussion points from both ends of the spectrum, many with no clear-cut answers.

Occupy Wall Street Day 60, © David Shankbone

Sociology and science fiction are linked, perhaps far more closely than the average reader imagines.  It's not hard to draw parallels and see examples of these discussion points whenever there is a significant social movement.

Occupy Wall Street Day 28, © David Shankbone

Whether art imitates life, or it's the other way around, we find subcultures, factions, and cliques emerge whenever there is a large group of people put together for any significant amount of time.  It's who we are as social animals.  It's inherent in our makeup as humans.

Occupy Wall Street Protests, © Caroline Schiff Photography

No two people think or act alike, and as such, even while we see blatant examples of Orwell's doublethink at work, we see factions and differing opinions presenting themselves as well.

Occupy Wall Street Day 17, © David Shankbone

Seaking of Orwell, we indeed see examples of his dystopian 1984 world alive and well on both sides of the Occupy movement.  Not only do we see protesters echoing a singular voice, often without fully understanding what they're supporting, we see a similar solidarity and unity of action with the police forces reacting to these protests.  An individual supporting either side would probably react less strongly one way or the other outside the context of collectivism within their like-minded group.  I'm hardly the first to recognize links to 1984, and I won't be the last.

Occupy Rome 1984 Orwell, © Remo Cassella

There are countless pictures of the movement, which isn't hard to imagine with a crowd whose every member wields a camera.  Some are iconic, viral examples of the passionate nature of the movement.  Most are obviously taken to express a singular point of view, either for or against these protests, but when viewed as a whole they provide a mosaic from which we can study the sociological issues at play here.

Occupy Wall Street Day 14, © David Shankbone

From the absurd to the ironic, one can see almost anything whenever a large group of people amass.  And each singular view is necessary to view the mosaic as a whole.  Each picture tells its own story, or even conflicting stories.

Occupy Wall Street Day 60, © David Shankbone

No matter what your position regarding this movement, or what "percent" you claim to be a part of, these images present a number of key social issues and questions that apply to both reality and fiction.

Occupy Wall Street Day 14, © David Shankbone

What does a government owe its citizens, if anything?  What does a citizen owe society, if anything?  Should personal responsibility be graded on a sliding scale?  Where does one draw lines in the gray area between universal human rights offered to all and benefits offered to some?  Is what is good for an individual the same as what is good for society as a whole?  How about the other way around?  Do the rights of the many merit sacrificing the rights of the few, or are the human rights of each individual sacrosanct, even to the detriment of others?  We generally agree that one person's rights end where another's begin, but the main bone of contention seems to be exactly where that imaginary line is drawn.

Occupy Portland, © Kit Seeborg

Sometimes these questions are not only difficult to answer, but may not be immediately apparent.  For example, most people would probably agree everyone should be given equal treatment and opportunity.  But on what basis do we form this equality?  Some argue we should create a higher standard of equality for the many by enforcing unequal treatment to the few.  Some argue we should enforce strict equal treatment to all, regardless of success or need.

Occupy Rome, 15 October, © Remo Cassella

Again, this circles back to the question of who owes what to whom, a question impossible to answer.  For every ten people asked, you'd probably get eleven impassioned answers.  One could make the argument that different societies would answer these questions in very different manners, producing very different societies, much as we see in various countries around the world.

Occupy Sevilla, © Tom Raftery

These are vital questions not only to actual society, but to authors of science fiction.  For as a creator of a society, no matter how fictional, the structures which hold that society in place have to make sense to the reader.  If the society you describe is not a viable, realistic society, it compromises belief in your entire story, not just those elements.

Occupy Berlin, © Adam Groffman

If you create utopia, the checks and balances must be there to maintain it as such, while at the same time exposing issues which may ride just under the surface as they did a year ago.  Because the word utopia resembles both the Greek words for "no place", outopos, and for "good place", eutopos, utopian fiction usually portrays a society which seems perfect on the outside, while leaving several critical sociological issues unresolved.  This allows the author to weave plot into the tapestry of the environment of the story and create the possibility for conflict and climax.

Occupy Wall Street, © Mat McDermott

If you create dystopia, on the other hand, the basic elements for strong conflict should be in the forefront, with no easy resolution in sight.  I like to think of a dystopian society as one slightly older than a utopian one.  Once the basic tenets of the utopian society have crumbled, dystopia emerges as the main framework of scene.

Oakland Police Ready for Violence, by Soozarti1

I don't think anyone could accurately tell whether or not what we're seeing with these movements reflects this change.  I don't think anyone wants it to.  But regardless of what happens in the future, what is happening is a great opportunity to look at elements of a dystopian society.  For a science fiction author like me, that is an additional facet to it, and one that makes it more fascinating than it might otherwise be.

High Fantasy!

It's still one of the most popular story forms in the fantasy genre, and probably the most well known of any.  When one hears "fantasy" with regards to fiction, thoughts of castles, wizards, great warriors, elven forests and dwarven mines immediately come to mind.  One almost can't think of such fiction without immediate comparisons to the Lord of the Rings, either movies or books.

And why not?  J.R.R. Tolkien completely reinvented the genre with the book The Hobbit, forever changing the lives of generations of fantasy nerds, including you and me.  His writing led directly to a resurgence of the genre.  He's the ultimate authority on all things high fantasy.  He's been copied and mimicked by countless authors, from the most amateur writers of fan fiction to renowned bestselling authors.  He's influenced them all, and with good reason.

In Hobbiton, © Tara Hunt

But what made him successful in the first place?  What made his works break out with such distinction?  He certainly wasn't the first to write novels in the genre.  We have numerous examples of castles and knights throughout medieval history.  Countless tales of dragons and assorted monsters have survived from the earliest works of history, including Beowulf and even the Bible.  Rumors of those able to perform magic, witchery, sorcery or any other "dark arts" are equally as old.

Angry Dragon, © Jonathan Dalar

I think it's hard to say just what made Tolkien's works so great, except for the fact that everything was right.  The characters were varied, interesting, and believable.  The setting was wonderful, from the green, rolling hills of the Shire to the eerie muck of the Mordor swamps.  His childhood, schooling, and service in World War I certainly contributed to his writing.  He was first and foremost a linguist, which would have immensely broadened his writing palate.  And he published in a time when the world seemed desperate to escape into an alternate world of fantasy.

Since then, much of the fantasy published has been derivative, at least in some form or another.  And that's alright.  It helps define the genre and give it boundaries.  After all, what is high fantasy without those elves, dwarfs, goblins, and orcs?

Bamburgh Castle, © Nigel Chadwick

We need certain elements to remain in fantasy, but what helped Tolkien's works stand out and endure was his creativity and imagination.  He went beyond what was established in fantasy at that time and made his own boundaries.  His creativity went beyond his peers and into new territory.

Wulfgar, Celtic Warrior © Jonathan Dalar

And that's what we need to see in fantasy today.  We need it to blend with other genres, creating a variety of new sub-genres.  We need authors to break the established molds and let their imagination separate from that which they grew up reading and spread into new territory.

We need heroes to fight dragons, but we also need them to fight other, as yet unnamed monstrosities.  We need fresh voices to spark new interest further into the unknown, as the early pioneers Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, William Morris and others did.

We've gotten that to some extent already.  J.K. Rowling did exactly that for young adult fantasy, blending the mundane world with the wonders of Hogwarts.  And even if some of us older and more cynical readers aren't completely enamored with her stories of a twelve year old boy's discovering his magic wand, we have to admit it was just the boost of energy the genre needed.

Jacobite Steam Train over the 21 Arch Viaduct near Glenfinnan, © Paul Ashwin

It isn't exactly high fantasy, but it's soundly within the fantasy genre.  And it works.  Rowling pushed the boundaries by not only creating an epic fantasy story appealing to generations, but also ventured into new territory in doing so.  Before, we had stories told of alternate fantasy worlds such as Tolkien's, David Eddings and others.  We had stories with portals that took us from our world into an alternate time or reality, such as in some of the works by Stephen R. Donaldson.  And now we have the world of Hogwarts, that blends and blurs the realities of the magical realm with our own.

It seems we see literary agents, editors and publishers clamoring on almost a daily basis for "the next Harry Potter".  Everyone is looking for the next big break-out in fantasy, particularly young adult fantasy.  It's a hot ticket at the moment, and rightly so.  After all, Harry Potter made a lot of people a whole lot of money.

It's only a matter of time.  It's probably out there already, being typed out on a laptop somewhere between college classes, or in stolen moments when the kids are asleep and the spouse is watching prime time television.  Maybe it's yours.  I'd say it's mine, but only if we were talking about science fiction.  Regardless, when we find it, the genre will be a little better for it.

To the Stars Again

Space has always been fascinating to us.  Long before technology allowed us to venture beyond the atmosphere, we've been fascinated with celestial objects.  Ancient cultures made gods out of them.  We've sacrificed our fellow humans to them.  They've affected daily life in numerous ways, from art to superstition to navigation to who knows what else.

I opined recently in a post on Curiosity Quills whether the decline in our space program would significantly alter the type of speculative fiction our children would read from that which we read.  I wondered whether the focus would shift from science fiction about outer space to more virtual reality, cyberspace-oriented science fiction.  It seems plausible, considering the end of the Space Shuttle program and the costs and logistics of a successful mission so a place even as relatively close as Mars.

But I wonder if I may have been a little premature in my pondering.  I've seen a number of interesting scientific discoveries lately that make me consider another alternative, and that is, we won't have to go out into space to continue our fascination with it.  Bringing it home via magnificent telescopes, video recording systems, and digital recreations of what only mathematics sees in space might just be the catalyst.

Hubble Catches Jupiter's Largest Moon Going to the 'Dark Side', © NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Consider the new planet made of diamond that was recently discovered.  Or the Tatooine-like planet that revolves around two suns.  Or the fact the planet Pluto may have oceans hidden beneath it's surface.  All three of these discoveries have been in the news within the last month or so, and all are exciting new developments in space research.  Maybe we'll end up designating poor Pluto as a planet once again.

Crab Nebula, © NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Technology grows in leaps and bounds, and that includes the tech that allows us to expand our reach into space without ever leaving the ground.  We're seeing more and more beautiful photos like these from NASA, allowing us the unique experience of space at a distance.

Hubble Finds Carbon Dioxide on an Extrasolar Planet, © NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

And while it would be überawesome to be an astronaut, and who hasn't dreamed of that as a child, the odds of a kid actually growing up to be an astronaut are well, astronomical.  Precious few actually get the chance to go up in space, unless of course you have large amounts of cash lying around without purpose and want to do it as a tourist.  That's where programs and projects like the Hubble come into play.  They allow that exploration without the travel.  They allow kids who won't have that chance to be actively engaged with the science of space exploration and research.

Hubble Supernova Bubble Resembles Holiday Ornament, © NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

We can see worlds far beyond our own, and even speculate whether they have life on them or even contain livable environments.  We might even be able to detect life on even the remotest of them someday soon.  That's a lot, considering we're looking at objects fifty kajillion light years away from being seen with the naked eye.

We're a curious species, and whether or not we continue or discontinue a program, our curiosity won't be easily sated.  We'll continue to wonder what's out there beyond the boundaries of our vision, and we'll continue to reach out to find it.

Dying Star Shrouded by a Blanket of Hailstones Forms the Bug Nebula, © NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

So who knows, maybe I speculated wrong in my earlier post.  In fact, I'm sure I did.  Not because the premise was necessarily wrong, but because I didn't take into consideration the other aspects of technology we are developing.  And while we will continue to break down the barriers of the cyberspace frontier, it won't come at the expense of abandoning outer space.

Most Earthlike Exoplanet Started out as Gas Giant, © NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

We may be decades or even a century or more from actual space travel to another celestial body besides the moon.  We may never get there as humans, but we aren't going to remain that stationary with the technology that allows us to view it from where we are.  And that's what's going to further drive space age science and the speculative fiction that derives from it.  As more and more of these exciting discoveries are made, our imaginations will remain fueled with thoughts of what's even further out.

Our kids may well see the same space-inspired fiction we grew up reading and watching, but because of the remote technology that allows us to see it from a distance, instead of manned space vehicles exploring the visible space around us.  Rather than shifting focus, this type of fiction will expand its focus.  We've already seen several new sub-genres appear in the last several decades or so, and we'll continue to see more.  Our kids won't abandon the types of speculative fiction we grew up with, they'll just add more to the mix, and that's a great thing.

The Dystopian Reality Around Us

The world was first introduced to Utopian fiction in 1516, with Sir Thomas More's novel Utopia.  Since then, idyllic settings have been common in literature, especially science fiction, where such a place makes it easy to introduce conflict and discord.  We as readers like Utopian fiction.  It gives reference to our own societies and our own lives.

Dystopian fiction has been around since the late nineteenth century, and its popularity is only increasing.  It appeals to us probably more than Utopian fiction, and for a number of reasons inherent in the themes of the genre.  We like imaginative alternate realities and worst-case-scenarios.  We like heroes, fighting against the odds, rising from the ashes to overcome, and there is always plenty of that in this type of fiction.  Even more importantly though, we like the contrast it provides to our own lives.  We like to sit back in our comfortable chairs and read about or watch something so much more awful than our own lives, because our own lives look great in contrast.

Dystopian themes seem so distant, so removed from our lives that it's easy to read them.  But what about the inspiration?  Where can we find these elements to expand on and create interesting works of Dystopian science fiction?  The sad truth is, they're not as distant as one might think.

Detroit, Michigan © Tom Roche, Roche Photo

The decayed, abandoned buildings of Detroit show a stark picture of a real dystopia.  One need not look far to find images better suited to the worlds of William Gibson's novels than our own world.

Detroit, Michigan © Tom Roche, Roche Photo

Detroit is hardly alone in this regard.  Many places such as Mumbai, India have serious economic issues that paint a grim dystopian picture.

Mumbai, India © Jon Baldock

Mumbai, India © Jon Baldock

There are many other places on earth that provide similar imagery.  One need only watch the news during hurricane season to find other disturbing examples.  The aftermath of Hurricane Irene, and Hurricane Katrina, pictured below, are examples of dystopia created almost instantly by natural disasters.

New Orleans, Louisiana © Charles Taber

Images from the tornado devastation in Joplin, Missouri last year add even more such imagery.

Joplin, Missouri © John Tewell

Unfortunately, examples are not limited to those of a failed economic structure or natural disasters.  The current crisis in Somalia has been brought about by a combination of drought and the total chaos of anarchy and warfare.

Somali Refugee Camp, Kenya © IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation Turkey

Mogadishu, Somalia © macalin via Flikr

This is all rather sobering, not something one likes to think of with regard to speculative fiction.  It's easy to distance oneself when reading about it in fiction, because our reality is so far removed, we don't completely empathize with the situation because it's not part of our own experiences.  We read it in books and see it in the movies, and we know it's contrived, something that was created to give us the illusion of dystopia.  It's a lot harder to stare brutal reality in the eyes.

Truth is, fiction mirrors life, because there are always elements of reality in it.  Something from the author's life always impacts the story, whether it's personal experience or not.  Whether we like it or not, there will always be natural disasters, failed societies, and human atrocities in the world.  There will always be examples of true dystopia.

© Kate Gardiner

And that brings us to the best part of Dystopian fiction, and that is the heroism it portrays.  Dystopian fiction is often about rising from a dire, almost hopeless situation, and finding a way to overcome against all odds.  It showcases the human spirit in us, and gives us hope for the future.  No matter how bleak the situation is, humanity will always find a way to rise above it and survive.  And that's why we like reading it, because it's not about the squalor, the chaos, the poverty and destitution.  That is the setting.  The story is about the indomitable human spirit in all of us.

The Hive Mind

Hive minds are an integral part of many notable science fiction works.  It's a fascinating concept.  All the minds in a society, commune or other such community all linked together, working together, sharing the same information.  Gives a whole new meaning to the term "on the same page".

Most of the hive mind examples I've seen involve biology rather than science, however.  And that, dependent on exact circumstances of course, is usually closer to fantasy than science fiction.  The two are closely related, but fantasy usually involves elements of magic or the supernatural to explain things we don't see in reality.

This post really came about from pondering one of my last posts, Crossing the Uncanny Valley, and continuing that thought in light of my current work in progress, The Plexus.  With a virtual world connected with the physical world on such a personal, instantaneous level, add androids, and it seems you'd have the perfect setup for a hive mind.

Think about it for a moment.  You have a global virtual world, connecting communications, information, social interaction, entertainment and whatever else via instantaneous wireless connection.  You have androids, with built-in brains, wired into the network.  Bingo!  Hive mind.

But how would they work?  Many have argued that the hive mind causes its bearer to lose identity, to become nothing more than a drone in an insect-like society.  They argue the bearer becomes simply a tool to carry out whatever higher purpose is instilled, by an arguably non-hive-minded entity, on the hive mind.

I disagree.  I think not only would those connected this way have complete identities, but would be allowed to operate almost completely independently of each other, connecting only in terms of data transfer and information sharing.

Think about it.  How is technology moving now?  What are the current trends?  The internet is no longer a fad, but a way of life.  Cloud technology allows us to tap into resources beyond our immediate control or ownership.  Everything is moving toward a hive mind mentality already, whether we know it or not.

So where does that leave our androids?  In good shape, really.  Picture them similar to computers today.  They remain separate entities, have their own memories, computing capacity, subroutines, and profiles, but are connected to the whole to gain whatever information they need to access.

I picture them as completely autonomous entities, able to function all on their own.  They tap into the hive intelligence for any information, but remain separate as an identity.  They're essentially like humans, but connected by thought to instant worldwide information.  Real time.  Kind of scary if you think about it.

Actually the concept itself isn't very scary.  It's pretty cool from a strictly speculative point of view.  The possibilities of such entities are virtually endless, no pun intended.

But while the concept isn't scary, the real possibilities of it are.  This kind of technology is maybe a decade or two from actual existence.  Just as I've portrayed it.  We'll see this in our lifetimes, folks.  Real androids, almost completely indistinguishable from humans, with the full power of instant worldwide information and computing within a thought's distance.

They would be the technological equivalent of Star Trek's Vulcans, only almost omniscient.  Like if Spock and Data had a baby.  Aside from the disturbing visuals there, the concept is intriguing.  Instant decisions would be made from intricate analysis of data, and formed the most logical way possible.  They would always be a step ahead of you, always able to deduce a better method of doing something, a more logical step to a conclusion, and a more thoroughly thought-out process of deduction.  Couple that with scientific breakthroughs in medicine as it relates to the technology of robotics, and you'd have an almost unstoppable force.

Now I'm not saying they'd be some evil, unstoppable force bent on world domination like the Terminator, but they would hold a great deal of power.  They would be the equivalent of massive think tanks all on their own.  they would be far more employable in any number of fields than humans.  The effects on society based on implications from these facts alone are what makes this idea truly scary.

They're coming, folks.  They'll take over the world.  It just won't be as we've imagined it.

Exploring Speculative Fiction

When I was younger, science fiction was pretty simple.  In my world, you had space travel, and you had time travel.  Astronauts, aliens, time travelers - there wasn't much else.  Other forms were out there in various forms, but that's what it seemed like to me.

Nowadays there are almost as many sub-categories of the genre as there are genres of fiction.  Scores of new sub-genres have sprung up over the years and obscure ones have expanded to the point where science fiction isn't even the over-arching category.  Really it's all speculative fiction, which encompasses science fiction, fantasy, horror, alternate history, utopian, dystopian, cyberpunk, apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic, the paranormal, superhuman or superhero, and anything which touches on things (so far) outside the realm of possibility, including those with fantasy and horror elements.

Straight science fiction, as I've heard it explained, is comprised of two basic elements.  Science or scientific principles must be key to moving the plot forward, and the basic underlying theme is one of humanity vs. technology.

Of course, there are many varied schools of thought on this, and many different definitions of what comprises science fiction, what its elements are, and how it is defined.  Pick your favorite.  They're equally valid.

I like my definition, because it's simple, and because it strikes to the core elements of the genre.  Because of this, it helps to define it more clearly in the reader's or viewer's eyes.

The Terminator demonstrates this school of thought nicely, and coincidentally also falls into one of those two categories of my childhood - time travel.  Science is a definite plot vehicle in this story, because without time travel - one of the key scientific elements - the plot is nonexistent.  Even more broadly, time travel and the existence of sentient technology are both vital elements of the plot.

Secondly, the underlying theme of the entire story, from the first movie through the last movie or television series, is one of man vs. machine.  It calls into question our self-destructive relationship with technology and provides a worst-case scenario of that relationship gone terribly wrong.

Many more of the classics can be viewed the same way.  Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, or the more widely known movie adaptation, Bladerunner is one such story.  If it wasn't for androids and their attempts to return to earth from Martian colonies, there would be no plot.  And this story more so than almost any other speaks directly to the contradictory relationship between humanity and technology.

The speculative fiction genre has exploded in every direction.  Bruce Bethke and William Gibson put cyberpunk firmly on the map.  Space westerns and stories of space colonization are becoming more and more common following such stories as Joss Whedon's Firefly and Serenity, and the more recent Avatar and Cowboys vs. Aliens, and the reboots of the classic Planet of the Apes movie series.  Virtual reality remains a common element, with movies like The Matrix and sequels, and the Tron reboot continuing to expand the sub-genre.

One of the keys to speculative fiction is that while it must remain fresh and believable, it is very perishable in nature.  A story that seems new and postmodern at its debut seems antiquated and outdated after a few years of real technological advances.  If you're looking for proof of this, dig out that old video cassette recording of Lawnmower Man, or watch some of the 1950's science fiction reruns.  See what I mean?  Archaic!

To a science fiction author, this means keeping on the cutting edge.  It means constantly struggling to keep up with the latest moves in technology, and trends of where society is heading.  It means consistently updating manuscripts and rewriting outdated material with subsequent edits.  It's a tough job, but a fun one.  And with so many different and exciting possibilities in the world of speculative fiction, it's one I wouldn't trade for the world.