Friday, February 1, 2019
New Things in Analog
I've just had a couple of items accepted by Analog. The first is a nonfiction article that discusses the similarities and differences between "doing" theoretical physics and coming up with new ideas for science fiction. (I need to specify here that my cosmology research does not fall under the category of "science fiction"). And the second is the short story to which I alluded here. I can't tell you what it's about -- you'll just have to wait and see.
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2 comments:
And I've read your column, which was published as a guest editorial. Anyway...
I've noticed that we do get overwhelmed at times. Being autistic I find it easier than most, but most anyone will get overwhelmed when things get overwhelming.
We need time to handle something new. When we have we can continue on to dealing with the consequences and implications of the new. At the moment I have an idea regarding the structure of the universe, but that requires a bit of background, and it has consequences. The idea itself I'm not equipped to properly explain.
The idea is this, that the universe is a single unit composed of a sphere of expanding spacetime. What appears to be particles and forces are the result of volumes (sections) of ST in different states, and the motion of those states through spacetime. There's more to this, but we'll keep it simple for the moment.
So that's what you've triggered with your writing. I'm now off to see about bookmarking your blog.
I’m reading that article of yours right now in Analog (from a bundle of back-issues I just bought) and find it very intriguing. Intriguing enough to look you up, then I found this blog post!
I’ve been a nonfiction writer for 35 years, now trying fiction, but edited an unusual project lately (an outstanding collection of sci-fi stories from a ‘50s-‘60s Analog author, my stepdad.)
I’m a practical person, so I like even sci-fi to make sense in some way—then I can enjoy stories. Out of 20 stories I loved and edited, only one line in a great time-travel story (that otherwise worked) made my brain hurt. The character as a child could not possibly have known a detail he described in one sentence, since he hadn’t traveled yet. I chose to omit that one sentence to make the story work.
I loved the section in your article where you said sci-fi inhabits the territory between fantasy and mainstream literature, adding: “Introduce too many unjustified assumptions into your story and you’ve drifted out of science fiction and into the world of fantasy.”
And while eliminating most time travel details gets a nod now in modern sci-fi, it all still has to make sense, right? Then no more brain pain and fun to read.
Thanks for an enlightening article.
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