Tag: Science fiction

Childhood’s End and why a war between us and aliens is profoundly unlikely

Last night, SyFy debuted two shows, 'The Expanse', which I've already written about, and 'Childhood's End', which is an adaptation of a classic science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke.  With these two shows, along with some other pretty decent ones earlier this year such as 'Dark Matter' and 'Killjoys', the network seems to be on … Continue reading Childhood’s End and why a war between us and aliens is profoundly unlikely →

xkcd: Why Asimov put the Three Laws of Robotics in the order he did

Source: xkcd: The Three Laws of Robotics The Three Laws from the Wikipedia article: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. A robot must … Continue reading xkcd: Why Asimov put the Three Laws of Robotics in the order he did →

The Expanse: Intelligent space opera you should check out

Last night, I watched the pilot episode to the new science fiction TV series, 'The Expanse'.  It's based on a series of novels by a writing team that goes by the pseudonym James S.A. Corey, the first of which I reviewed a while back.  I've read all the books in the series and enjoyed them … Continue reading The Expanse: Intelligent space opera you should check out →

Thoughts on knowing and targeting your audience

Writing can be a tricky business.  Whenever you do it, it has to be with an audience in mind.  When I do blog posts here, I'm usually aiming for a general audience.  I try not to assume that my readers know obscure scientific or philosophical terminology.  That's a decision I've made, hopefully one I've lived up to. … Continue reading Thoughts on knowing and targeting your audience →

‘The Martian’: Robinson Crusoe meets Apollo 13

I recently read Andy Weir's novel: 'The Martian'.  Weir's book is a self publishing success story.  An admitted life long geek, he enjoyed thoroughly researching how a mission to Mars might work and what might go wrong with it.  He originally published the book, in serialized form, on his web site.  In response to reader … Continue reading ‘The Martian’: Robinson Crusoe meets Apollo 13 →

What is the crucial element of a story?

I've been reading a lot of science fiction short stories lately.  As an aspiring author, one of the things I've been trying to pay attention to are what the properties are of the stories I end up enjoying.  And, just as important, what are the properties of the stories I don't enjoy, particularly the ones I end … Continue reading What is the crucial element of a story? →

Literary “rules” I wish science fiction and fantasy books would break more often.

Read any book on writing, or take a creative writing course, and there are certain pieces of advice that you are almost certain to encounter.  In many cases, the advice is good, but some have a tendency to take these tools of the craft and turn them into rigid rules.  And just about any rigid rule … Continue reading Literary “rules” I wish science fiction and fantasy books would break more often. →

When to give up on a story

I've been reading a lot of science fiction short stories lately.  Many have been excellent.  But some have not been my cup of tea.  I've run into a fair amount of melancholic ambiance pieces where nothing much happens.  But the stories I tend to enjoy have action, dialog, or at least a steady stream of concrete information. As I've been … Continue reading When to give up on a story →