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.
The major areas in warfare technology are:
1. Software
2. Weapons
Heavy Weapons
3. Countermeasures
4. Defense
5. Communications
6. Robots
7. Vehicles
8. Environments (personal equipment)
We are seeing combat and combat armor moving from vehicles to individuals. This has been going on for a while. In science fiction, extrapolation has been moving from crewed vehicles to crewed robots. Right now, we are approaching a point of synergy between robots and vehicles. If you are not familiar, the Atlas, Big Dog, and the Cheetah are robots being designed and built for the military to carry combat troop's equipment. These are robots. They are relatively strong and will get stronger. They are not armored--yet. They will soon carry troops equipment. We are not far from carrying troops. From carrying troops, the next step is carrying troops and their combat firepower. The next step is armor and firepower. The near final step is mecha. What, might you ask, is mecha. A mecha or mech is a single (or multi) person attack vehicle that has very powerful armor and offensive weapons. They are human shaped with arms and legs and have the capability of fast movement across all terrain. They are also capable of limited flight.
The mech is not far from Heinlein's powered armor. In fact, a powered armor suit is likely much less powerful than a mech. I expect to see powered armor in the future, but I expect to see something like a mech first. The mechs will be very close to robots and some may be UVs (uninhabited vehicles). We have already seen some movement toward UAVs (uninhabited aerial vehicles), but notice there were first single seat habited aerial vehicles. The extrapolation and movement in military operations is kind of obvious. Expect something similar in ships and underwater operations.
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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