First, on a brief personal note, I'll confess that I had another chunk of flesh taken out of my face.
It isn't as bad as I just made it sound. The dermatologist found another very small incident of basal cell carcinoma—skin cancer—on my hairline just above and to the right of my right eyebrow. It was relatively quite small. The surgeon used self-dissolving sutures and I'll be able to return to work after two days of inactivity.
Back to Dydeetown World by F. Paul Wilson. This third section, titled "Kids," is the last section of the novel. In this story the author uses terms in the dialogs like "bloaty" and "filamentous" and does not anywhere explain what these terms mean. He allows the reader to understand them through context.
There are other terms and designations he also uses naturally, as if they are a part of the normal language because they are—in the setting he has created.
If you were speaking to another person in your general circle of contacts and he told you about his Twitter account, would you expect him to explain what that was? Of course not. You would know what it was and he would know you know.
In your speculative fiction you must treat your futuristic or fantastical terms and concepts the same way.
Don't go overboard with those clever new words or phrases. There comes a point when your characters are suddenly speaking gibberish. Robert Heinlein often introduced new words in his novels or short stories, but he kept the total to one or two. In Stranger in a Strange Land, for instance he did spend quite a few words discussing the word "grok." This was justified because the word was new to the characters, except for those very few that had been to Mars.
In Stephen King's Dark Tower series, his primary character often uses the word "ka." Over the course of the series the meaning is explained to those not from Midworld, but to those native to Roland's world, "ka" is word known and understood, much like "karma" would be known and comprehended here.
One other suggestion for a speculative fiction novel or story: begin with an action. Setting up the setting with just a plain description and no context is a no-no. Reveal the setting naturally through action.
In Witchery I started it with Hanna, a grandmother, walking to her son's home; her instincts told her something was wrong because he and his wife should have dropped off their infant daughter for her to watch while they rode out to the fields.
So with the first three sentences I've established the approximate age of the character and the idea that this is a farming community.
As she arrives within sight of the house she notes that the door is closed, the wagon is on the side of the house, and the horse must still be tied up out back.
Those two sentences establish the approximate technological level of the civilization the reader is going to view, and I, the author, have not told them any of that. The character has told them by what she sees, knows, and feels.
The next sentence prepares the reader for what is coming: "She could smell the blood even from thirty paces away." So now I've added "smell"—another action verb—to use for the description.
At no time in that opening revelation of what she finds do I, the author, tell the reader what has happened. Rather, the reader sees and hears what Hanna experiences.
It is not until the third page that the narrative leaves Hanna and explains what actions the community takes. And through those actions we learn more about the Chem people, the community, and the unusual nature of the culprit.
At all times in that first chapter, people are doing. They are pursuing or talking or crying or watching, but never do I, the author, tell you what is happening. I show you.
I'll admit it, I'm pretty proud of Witchery. It's only had one review on Amazon so far, but it was a full five stars.
If you haven't read it, I urge you to. If you've never read fantasy before, this might be a good book to "wet your feet" in the genre. Or, if you'd prefer a shorter book for your first sample, Prophecy of Honor is shorter by about 30,000 words, has less magic, and a smaller "scope" since it is told in first person. Only what Collin experiences can actually be reported.
Okay, shameless plugs over. I hope these suggestions, observations, and examples will be helpful if any of you undertake the task of writing something in the various genres that depend on a plot.
Literary fiction is an entirely different matter. I'll get to that eventually...maybe even next time.
It isn't as bad as I just made it sound. The dermatologist found another very small incident of basal cell carcinoma—skin cancer—on my hairline just above and to the right of my right eyebrow. It was relatively quite small. The surgeon used self-dissolving sutures and I'll be able to return to work after two days of inactivity.
Back to Dydeetown World by F. Paul Wilson. This third section, titled "Kids," is the last section of the novel. In this story the author uses terms in the dialogs like "bloaty" and "filamentous" and does not anywhere explain what these terms mean. He allows the reader to understand them through context.
There are other terms and designations he also uses naturally, as if they are a part of the normal language because they are—in the setting he has created.
If you were speaking to another person in your general circle of contacts and he told you about his Twitter account, would you expect him to explain what that was? Of course not. You would know what it was and he would know you know.
In your speculative fiction you must treat your futuristic or fantastical terms and concepts the same way.
Don't go overboard with those clever new words or phrases. There comes a point when your characters are suddenly speaking gibberish. Robert Heinlein often introduced new words in his novels or short stories, but he kept the total to one or two. In Stranger in a Strange Land, for instance he did spend quite a few words discussing the word "grok." This was justified because the word was new to the characters, except for those very few that had been to Mars.
In Stephen King's Dark Tower series, his primary character often uses the word "ka." Over the course of the series the meaning is explained to those not from Midworld, but to those native to Roland's world, "ka" is word known and understood, much like "karma" would be known and comprehended here.
One other suggestion for a speculative fiction novel or story: begin with an action. Setting up the setting with just a plain description and no context is a no-no. Reveal the setting naturally through action.
In Witchery I started it with Hanna, a grandmother, walking to her son's home; her instincts told her something was wrong because he and his wife should have dropped off their infant daughter for her to watch while they rode out to the fields.
So with the first three sentences I've established the approximate age of the character and the idea that this is a farming community.
As she arrives within sight of the house she notes that the door is closed, the wagon is on the side of the house, and the horse must still be tied up out back.
Those two sentences establish the approximate technological level of the civilization the reader is going to view, and I, the author, have not told them any of that. The character has told them by what she sees, knows, and feels.
The next sentence prepares the reader for what is coming: "She could smell the blood even from thirty paces away." So now I've added "smell"—another action verb—to use for the description.
At no time in that opening revelation of what she finds do I, the author, tell the reader what has happened. Rather, the reader sees and hears what Hanna experiences.
It is not until the third page that the narrative leaves Hanna and explains what actions the community takes. And through those actions we learn more about the Chem people, the community, and the unusual nature of the culprit.
At all times in that first chapter, people are doing. They are pursuing or talking or crying or watching, but never do I, the author, tell you what is happening. I show you.
I'll admit it, I'm pretty proud of Witchery. It's only had one review on Amazon so far, but it was a full five stars.
If you haven't read it, I urge you to. If you've never read fantasy before, this might be a good book to "wet your feet" in the genre. Or, if you'd prefer a shorter book for your first sample, Prophecy of Honor is shorter by about 30,000 words, has less magic, and a smaller "scope" since it is told in first person. Only what Collin experiences can actually be reported.
Okay, shameless plugs over. I hope these suggestions, observations, and examples will be helpful if any of you undertake the task of writing something in the various genres that depend on a plot.
Literary fiction is an entirely different matter. I'll get to that eventually...maybe even next time.
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