Hi. It is I.

EndOfRico

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Pleased to meet everyone.

I am a prospective (also known as "wannabe") writer hoping to find inspiration and advice from experienced writers with regards to both writing itself and all the practical issues associated with it.

I am, however, a bit intimidated by some of the other introductory posts, as quite a lot of new members appear to have published works even *before* coming here... Well, I wrote my only book draft back in middle school. and its quality was - unsurprisingly - what one could expect from a middle school pupil. I gave up on it after about 250 pages, and the world is now forever a better place.

Anyway, I will use the recommended questions for an introductory post:

• What genres do you write?

I do not (yet), but I want to write Science Fiction. I lean towards the harder and more serious kind which deals heavily with social and philosophical issues. It's not that I don't like soft science fiction or space operas - I just prefer watching it in the Cinema or on TV instead. I have begun putting together a disposition, but at this point I haven't even decided if I'm going for a novel, short stories or something else entirely.

• What do you like to read?

I'm currently going through a "must-read" list of classic Science Fiction works, hoping to find additional inspiration and to avoid overused concepts and story elements. This is my reading list so far (not finished):

Philip K. Dick, Robert a. Heinlein, Frank Herbert, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Arthur Stapledon, H.G. Wells and Olaf Stapledon... I haven't read all of these yet (and I will likely not read all of the respective authors' works).

My personal favorite is William Gibson and his work from the 1980s, though - both his Neuromancer trilogy and his short stories. I'm a big fan of both his themes and his fast-paced writing style, and this is probably the style I am leaning towards myself. I am also quite a nostalgic (as my username suggests), so I am considering if I should - as Gibson did - incorporate some aspects of the classical "hard-boiled detective fiction... but then I might end up being too much of a copy-cat, so I'll have to give this some more thought.

But I actually read a lot more non-fiction (about history, philosophy, religion, science etc.) than fiction. I'm actually hoping to reuse aspects of historical social institutions/conflicts etc. as inspiration for a Science Fiction story setting.

Recently I have also been reading up on books on how to write. Some are probably well known here: Strunk & White, Stephen King, Anne Lamott, Lisa Cron, John Truby, Steven Pinker, William Zinsser.

• How long have you been writing?

I actually write for a living. But not by writing stories. I write management information, legislation, formal decision papers etc., but these are very different writing skills which probably translate poorly into a fictional work. Bureaucrats like myself are not exactly known for having plain and concise language like Ernest Hemingway or Toni Morrison.

• Do you beta read?

I had to Google that term :)

No, but I'd like to try it. And I guess I'm fairly qualified as I have very little writing experience.

• Do you have any particular hobbies? Are you expert in any particular field or craft?

I read. A lot.
 

regdog

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Welcome to AW




Take some time and read the Newbie Guide and the Stickies found
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Maryn

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Nice to have you join us, EndOfRico. There was a time when I read nothing but science fiction, and you've certainly listed some fine authors. Welcome!

Maryn, gesturing toward the snack table
 

TylerJK

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Hello there! I have read work from many of those authors and they are phenomenal! What to you constitutes hard/ vs soft science fiction? In my understanding, soft also deals with the issues you mention. I thought that hard refers to science fiction that was deeply explained. Ie. hard: a laser beam is used to destroy the earth, and each detail of how that works is explained. Vs soft: a laser beam destroys the earth, little explanation, but explores the repercussions. Possibly, with what you do for a living, you’d be excellent at writing the more technical stuff. Looking forward to seeing some of your work!
 

EndOfRico

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What to you constitutes hard/ vs soft science fiction? In my understanding, soft also deals with the issues you mention. I thought that hard refers to science fiction that was deeply explained. Ie. hard: a laser beam is used to destroy the earth, and each detail of how that works is explained. Vs soft: a laser beam destroys the earth, little explanation, but explores the repercussions.
Well, I know there is a debate on what is hard and soft Science Fiction (and a debate on whether the distinction is even relevant when writing fiction), but for me it's largely how close a concept corresponds to known scientific principles.

But I am undecided as how to approach the concept myself; I have a very scientific mindset, but I don't want questions about scientific accuracy to detract from the primary goal of writing a good story.

I mostly want to have a story world which reasonably obeys known scientific principles, except for some specific exceptions. For instance, I am looking to include a non-rotational model for artificial gravity, which is nonetheless semi-plausible.

I'd be very interested to see how other aspiring/published Science Fiction writers handle such issues.
 

bleep

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My personal favorite is William Gibson and his work from the 1980s, though - both his Neuromancer trilogy and his short stories. I'm a big fan of both his themes and his fast-paced writing style, and this is probably the style I am leaning towards myself. I am also quite a nostalgic (as my username suggests), so I am considering if I should - as Gibson did - incorporate some aspects of the classical "hard-boiled detective fiction... but then I might end up being too much of a copy-cat, so I'll have to give this some more thought.

Huge fan of Neuromancer. I say go for it; not too shabby as an inspiration source. Welcome to AW!