Announcement: There is action on my new novels. The publisher renamed the series--they are still working on the name. I provided suggestions as did one of my prepub readers. Now the individual books will be given single names: Leora, Leila, Russia, Lumiere', China, Sveta, and Klava--at least these are some of the suggestions. They are also working on a single theme for the covers. 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.
As I mentioned before, nations need a strong and wealthy group who can afford to absorb new technology. Without this group, there is little purpose in developing technology. The reason for this was obvious too--most technology development is for entertainment purposes. Much of it is also related to pornography, but that is an entirely different discussion.
If you look back at the true space age in the US and the world, at the time the government had money to spare--JFK had convinced the Congress to reduce taxation on the wealthy and business. This caused billions more to come into the treasury. It was a time where the USG was much smaller, before baseline budgeting, and before many social programs existed at the federal level. The influx of tax dollars due to the tax cuts and the revitalization of business and personal finance gave a surplus that the government could spend on JFK's moon project. This was government exploration, which I mentioned before is a wonderful capability that governments have that businesses and individuals can't do as well.
The exploration powered by government dollars, political will, and mutual ascent by the people, resulted in the exploration of the moon. At the time, the extra money in the pockets of the wealthy resulted in technology transfer from the space program into the society and the extra dollars in the hands of business and individuals allowed those technologies to quickly benefit society. There was also a strong labor pool because of the lack of government social programs. And then the USG decided it would move into progressivism and the end of the space program began.
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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