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Post by Retread-Retired-Cameron on Apr 6, 2020 21:28:02 GMT
Disclaimer: I've never taken a Creative Writing class and never taught one. For those who are new to writing, more especially those new to the genre of Speculative Fiction there are a few things I've noticed over the years that can make the difference between a well-received work and one that gets panned. Others can likely give a better explanation of character development, so on that topic I'll suffice it to say most readers will identify to a greater or lesser degree with characters that aren't two-dimensional like cardboard cutouts. When it comes to Speculative Fiction [Horror, Fantasy, Science Fiction, and various sub-genres] building a world can be as simple or as complex as the story being told. While it is difficult to get into great detail if the writer is limited to a word count, with one source listing 50K to 150K for Sci Fi and 40K to 80K for Horror [https://self-publishingschool.com/how-many-words-in-a-novel/ ], and roughly 100K being a sweet spot, it's better to go over than under when creating a believable world. J.R.R. Tolkien's work probably wouldn't be remembered today if he hadn't woven such a rich backdrop for his characters. Following are links to Wikis about several authors [in no particular order of importance] who have shown the importance of world building, as in the background details that make a world believable, whether it's very similar to this reality, very different from this reality, set in the far future and so on. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destroyermen [Taylor Anderson] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Saberhagenen.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Drakeen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lois_McMaster_Bujolden.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andre_Nortonen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Silverbergen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Nivenen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_PournelleIn "Lucifer's Hammer" Niven and Pournelle didn't have to stray far from the reality current when they wrote it, it was in many respects extrapolations on most likely scenarios based on science and human psychology. As co-writers they did an excellent job. The point being you can take what is known with a few tweaks or start writing more [possibly a lot more] details depending upon how different the reality you're writing about is from this one. I tend to write what amounts to a pseudo story listing pertinent details which get woven into the main story, sometimes the background and the actual novel are worked on concurrently, sometimes not. The thing to remember is to check and double check for consistency, whether in hypothetical animals, weapons, monsters, or magics. One thing that helps, doing a lot of research. Paleontology is a good place to start if you need bizarre critters for a story. At any rate I'll try to write more on the topic later. but a shot of wodka is calling [I've got to keep the lungs open after all].
***Update***
I read it back in 1971. [Make that summer of 1970.]
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Post by Retread-Retired-Cameron on Apr 7, 2020 12:46:20 GMT
I'll add to this as I have time, being a bit occupied at the moment doing a description of a non-mammalian [not quite sauropsid or therapsid, kind of sort of in between the two] intelligent species. You never know what might pop into a world besides Neanderthals, Denisovans, and other human critters. Try to remember it's best to avoid the "human in a rubber suit" visual even if it resembles "Barney", unless you're working on a parody. Taylor Anderson's descriptions of "Lemurians" in his "Destroyermen" books is a good example of making a species realistic, a plausible case of convergent evolution without having that "rubber suit" visual.
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When it comes to Speculative Fiction and the beings you may need to populate a realistic world, the imagination is the limit.
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Post by ronmiller on Apr 7, 2020 23:13:05 GMT
Lois Bujold is an old friend of mine. We met at the same science fiction club in Columbus, Ohio more than 50 years ago! I have done a couple of dozen ebook covers for her recently.
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Post by ronmiller on Apr 7, 2020 23:17:09 GMT
I'll add to this as I have time, being a bit occupied at the moment doing a description of a non-mammalian [not quite sauropsid or therapsid, kind of sort of in between the two] intelligent species. You never know what might pop into a world besides Neanderthals, Denisovans, and other human critters. Try to remember it's best to avoid the "human in a rubber suit" visual even if it resembles "Barney", unless you're working on a parody. Taylor Anderson's descriptions of "Lemurians" in his "Destroyermen" books is a good example of making a species realistic, a plausible case of convergent evolution without having that "rubber suit" visual.
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When it comes to Speculative Fiction and the beings you may need to populate a realistic world, the imagination is the limit.
The number of genuinely alien aliens in SF is relatively small. Even the idea that aliens might have a completely alien way of thinking was new when Stanley Weinbaum came up with the idea in the 30s (in "A Martian Odyssey"). Wells was the very first to suggest that aliens might be physically and anatomically totally unhuman. Until War of the Worlds, science fiction aliens were invariably humanoid.
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Post by Retread-Retired-Cameron on Apr 8, 2020 9:25:49 GMT
Lois Bujold is an old friend of mine. We met at the same science fiction club in Columbus, Ohio more than 50 years ago! I have done a couple of dozen ebook covers for her recently. I like her "Barrayar" books. Can't say I've been personally acquainted with anyone for fifty years.
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Post by Retread-Retired-Cameron on Apr 8, 2020 10:00:44 GMT
I'll add to this as I have time, being a bit occupied at the moment doing a description of a non-mammalian [not quite sauropsid or therapsid, kind of sort of in between the two] intelligent species. You never know what might pop into a world besides Neanderthals, Denisovans, and other human critters. Try to remember it's best to avoid the "human in a rubber suit" visual even if it resembles "Barney", unless you're working on a parody. Taylor Anderson's descriptions of "Lemurians" in his "Destroyermen" books is a good example of making a species realistic, a plausible case of convergent evolution without having that "rubber suit" visual.
********
When it comes to Speculative Fiction and the beings you may need to populate a realistic world, the imagination is the limit.
The number of genuinely alien aliens in SF is relatively small. Even the idea that aliens might have a completely alien way of thinking was new when Stanley Weinbaum came up with the idea in the 30s (in "A Martian Odyssey"). Wells was the very first to suggest that aliens might be physically and anatomically totally unhuman. Until War of the Worlds, science fiction aliens were invariably humanoid. People usually tend to write what they know rather than what can be imagined, and in some ways it makes sense. When you consider the stage science was at the time Wells wrote "War of the Worlds", he was clearly seeing around corners most people didn't consider.
The description of the Tlacktiactl is somewhat humanoid, but more as a case of convergent evolution on an Earth where things went just a bit differently. Unlike the "Dinosauroid" which resulted from a thought experiment back in the early 80s, the Tlacktiactl is less anthropomorphic because it wasn't conceived from the idea that every intelligent species will look like us.
Creatures facing similar evolutionary pressures while dealing with similar environments may evolve similar features to perform similar functions, but it no way does it mean they will look virtually identical [the "rubber suit" I dislike].
One example would be feline-appearing predators with an over-sized set of upper canines [scimitar or saber teeth]; the pattern has repeated a few times. The metatherians [marsupials] had their version, as did the eutherian felids, as did the eutherian nimravids [more closely related to the felids than the canids, but neither felids nor digitigrades].
Had the Ediacaran biota not been basically erased by the Cambrian radiation, or had evolutionary events unfolded another way at different loci, the world would be a stranger place. A few pseudo-mammals based on a hexapod or octopod body plan would be interesting to have around.
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Post by ronmiller on Apr 8, 2020 10:57:48 GMT
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Post by Retread-Retired-Cameron on Apr 8, 2020 11:30:40 GMT
Copied the links to my bookmark file. Took a look as well, nice artwork he has there.
Trying to decide on a model symbiotic pet for the Tlacktiactl, perhaps an intermediate form between a member of Dasyuromorphia [thinking about a quoll form] and one of the Haramiyida [only around for a measly 151M years].
Then again actually stopping to eat breakfast might help after working on schtuff for a couple hours.
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Post by ronmiller on Apr 8, 2020 13:55:24 GMT
Wayne is pretty amazing! Another artist, who worked mostly during the 40s and 50s, who also came up with incredibly original---and believable---aliens was Edd Cartier. Probably his best-known efforts appeared in "Travelers of Space" in the chapter "Interstellar Zoo." Several of the illustrations are available here io9.gizmodo.com/319468555#! I have the book and all the art scanned, but I will have to reduce their sizes so they can be posted here...
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Post by Retread-Retired-Cameron on Apr 8, 2020 14:14:52 GMT
I might need to go back to some of the Cambrian predatorsand have a few shots of Mescal in order to match some of the critters in the "Interstellar Zoo". Kind of hard to beat them.
Mescal always gives me a headache...
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Post by ronmiller on Apr 8, 2020 14:36:14 GMT
I might need to go back to some of the Cambrian predatorsand have a few shots of Mescal in order to match some of the critters in the "Interstellar Zoo". Kind of hard to beat them. Mescal always gives me a headache... I don't know what Edd Cartier was on...
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Post by ronmiller on Apr 8, 2020 14:41:29 GMT
...and three more... In the book, there is a text (by David Kyle) explaining where each alien came from and the environment that shaped them.
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Post by Retread-Retired-Cameron on Apr 8, 2020 14:42:48 GMT
I might need to go back to some of the Cambrian predators and have a few shots of Mescal in order to match some of the critters in the "Interstellar Zoo". Kind of hard to beat them. Mescal always gives me a headache... I don't know what Edd Cartier was on... It must have been something good along with a run in with both Hallucigenia and Anomalocarus at the local tidal pool.
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Some interesting critters in both sets.
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Post by ronmiller on Apr 8, 2020 15:31:18 GMT
I don't know what Edd Cartier was on... It must have been something good along with a run in with both Hallucigenia and Anomalocarus at the local tidal pool.
******
Some interesting critters in both sets.
I will have to see if the accompanying text is available online...otherwise I will scan it for you.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2020 15:41:00 GMT
Edd's aliens are very different from humans. No chance of a science fiction love story between a human and any of Edd Cartier's aliens.
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