Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Why I Write Fantasy and Soft Science Fiction


There is a good reason why I write soft science fiction. I wasn’t a science nerd at school. Physics was the first subject that threw me for a loop when I ran headlong into it. Up until that class, I’d always held it over my buddy Allen that I was better than him in school. Then physics grabbed me by the throat and threw me for a loss. Allen aced it.

So when I write a science fiction story, you know there are certain areas I’m going to have to fudge. I try to avoid technical explanations I might have to give, and there are potentially minefields full of them out there in the void. (Which is not really void?). I really admire writers who can get the details correct (as far as I’m concerned!) while not dragging down the story with heavy techno-babble.

I always toss out the old line that if I’m writing a story where someone is driving a car, I don’t have to explain the inner workings of a gasoline (or hybrid electric!) engine, so why do you want to know how I get my spaceship up to warp speed? But that’s not quite true, is it? I think you should try and make the story believable. Still, when you go to those big budget summer movies, it’s permissible to suspend belief and just let the adventure rip.

The reason these thoughts are rattling around inside my head is I’m working on the second volume in a projected trilogy where at least some of the story will fall into the Space Opera category. I’d like to get the little details sounding correct, even if I have to fudge the big picture. This is a bit of a struggle.

Fantasy is another matter. I’ve often told friends the reason I write fantasy is because I’m lazy and don’t have to do all the research to create historical novels. That is only partially true. I like to make up settings, build worlds, characters and plots, unrestricted by conventional countries and backgrounds. I’ve always been a fan of history, read a lot of it, but have little desire to be restricted by having to stay within the existing lines, so to speak.

I ran face-first into this with a recent trilogy. I decided to write a what-if alternate history. Great, now I can make up a lot of the details once my change in what happens in history takes place. However, I still have to stick to actual geography, and blend in what is going on in the rest of the real world. This means having to take the time to do some actual detail searching instead of plunging blindly ahead with my writing. Now I catch a glimpse of what the historical authors go through, and why, I really prefer to write fantasy. Besides, I really can get sidetracked mucking about where the research may lead me rather than sticking to the actual creating.

I’d rather let my wild imagination make things up instead of doing the research, with one caveat. You still have to write within the realms of possibility, in your imaginary world, or explain why not. Rules are made to be broken, but only knowingly.

R.J.Hore
www.facebook.com/RonaldJHore

The Dark Lady Trilogy (Volume 1,2,3)
The Queen’s Pawn (Volume 1,2,3)
The Housetrap Chronicles (Volumes 1 to 8)
Alex in Wanderland,
Knight’s Bridge
We’re Not in Kansas

Toltec Dawn Trilogy (Volume 1, 2, 3)