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
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)
