Announcement: My novels Sister of Light and Sister of Darkness are about to be published. I write this blog about 2 months prior to its publication. I just heard that the proofs will be here soon--likely before the end of the week. My publisher also wants to put the entire set of novels based on Aegypt on contract--that's 5 more novels for 8 total. They also want to put my other novels on contract. The release schedule should be one novel every 2 months. I'll keep you updated.
Introduction: I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon. This was my 21st novel and through this blog, I gave you the entire novel in installments that included commentary on the writing. In the commentary, in addition to other general information on writing, I explained, how the novel was constructed, the metaphors and symbols in it, the writing techniques and tricks I used, and the way I built the scenes. You can look back through this blog and read the entire novel beginning with http://www.pilotlion.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-novel-part-3-girl-and-demon.html.
I'm using this novel as an example of how I produce, market, and eventually (we hope) get a novel published. I'll keep you informed along the way.
The four plus one basic rules I employ when writing:
1. Don't confuse your readers.
2. Entertain your readers.
3. Ground your readers in the writing.
4. Don't show (or tell) everything.
5. Immerse yourself in the world of your writing.
I am writing about the extrapolation of science and technology to be able to write science fiction. I made the point that it is almost meaningless to try to fully extrapolate a universe (world) that is 10,000 years in the future (and maybe 1,000 years in the future) without applying some cultural and technological shaping.
By shaping the cultures of your science fiction universe, you can shape the science and technology that is extrapolated. Here is how I culturally shaped the universe of The Chronicles of the Dragon and the Fox to make the 10,000 year extrapolation work.
Why don't we have flying cars--yet? The reason in the USA is government regulations. The first flying car was made in 1934 (it's in the Smithsonian). In 1956 the Ford Motor Company proposed to the USG (US Government) to build a flying car and a couple of flying car factories in Dearborn. The USG immediately rewrote the FAA (CAA at the time) regulations to prevent a flying car. They basically made the licensing of a pilot so difficult that it was economically unreasonable to build flying cars--at the time. Today, the FAA is still trying to keep you out of your flying cars. Now, the reasons stated are: too much current traffic (the number of aircraft have been decreasing since 1974), competition with the airlines (the airlines are constantly trying to prevent aviation innovation that might result in more people flying in something other than their buses), and regulatory difficulty (wouldn't be any problem if there wasn't any regulations).
The flying car is repeated in many ways. For example, in the 1980s a company wanted to begin commercial rocket operations in the USA. The FAA rewrote the regulations to prevent commercial space flight. They supposedly support commercial space flight, but the 4 commercial spaceflight companies all fly their rockets out of South America (because there are no regulations). The reality here is that regulations have basically killed commercial space flight in the USA. We will see if Virgin Galactic can make their mark. By the way, Virgin Galactic has been able to get around the FAA ban on on space flight by using aircraft instead of rockets. Pretty sneaky. This does show that that regulation writers need to write faster to keep a good idea down.
It is important to note for your science fiction extrapolation that even "free" governments can intentionally (or unintentionally) prevent technologies from begin used. They can also promote technology in ways that do not promote freedom or productivity.
More tomorrow.
Also remember, I'm trying to show you and give you examples of how to write a science fiction theme statement and turn it into a plot.
For more information, you can visit my author site http://www.ldalford.com/, and my individual novel websites:
http://www.aegyptnovel.com/
http://www.centurionnovel.com
http://www.thesecondmission.com/
http://www.theendofhonor.com/
http://www.thefoxshonor.com
http://www.aseasonofhonor.com
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