Tall strapping MMC... or just strapping MMC?

When writing the future, I often reflect on the past to help me create my "world".

Take, for example, the simple decision of how tall to make your characters. Most writers just choose what attracts them most. "The tall, strapping man glided in on his space bike to flash his dazzling, perfect smile at the tall, willowy ladies through the space port viewer."

But, who's to say that it's realistic? Health and physical stature is environmentally dependent.

Let's continue with the height thing. Height is a global indicator of environmental health. Men during the early Middle Ages were almost as tall as modern man today. Basically, people living 1 to 2 thousand years ago had it as good as us climate and social economic- wise.

Trippy... I know, right? They were in a warm period like we are today. They had room to both grow plenty of crops and keep away from other people's germs. Plus, they didn't have the social networking to deal with so they may have been happier, since FB studies have shown people are less satisfied with their lives after a FB session.

It is believed a "perfect storm" of social and climate factors hit when people began losing inches. These factors included the mini ice age, the increased trend of trading routes and the growth of towns into full-blown cities. Due to close proximity of this new urbanization, communal disease flourished and agricultural production -- which was already declining due to the colder weather -- was overtaxed.

We went from an average of 68.27 inches to down to an average of 65.75 inches by the end of 18^th century.

It was only during the 19^th century that height started to really return. The war had decreased the population pressures in many cities (cold, I know, but a fact just the same) and health care advancements and environmentally conscious thinking has helped to recover the stature of humans, which again, is a sign of a healthy world.

So, in writing what do we take away from this? Well, when world-building I always think through what kind of world/setting are the characters both in and from. Are they from a heavy industrial society or from an agriculturally driven world? Are they rich or poor (which can make up a difference of 1-3 inches against the average)? Are they from a city/crowded space port or a rural area? If from a city/space port, how is the health care in that society?

What factors do you all look at when designing your "people" in stories?

Turtle Humans?

Genetic engineering techniques began in the 1960s. When I think of genetic engineering, I always imagine a mad scientist "sucking" DNA fluid out of a test patient, mixing it in a cylinder with all sorts of nefarious chemicals and animal DNA and then "squirting" it back into the test patient wherein the patient would convulse and change into a half wolf or duck or something... ooh, maybe a Human Turtle? (My TMNT fantasy come true?)

Reality, unfortunately, is more pragmatic than the mind of AR.

There are over a dozen techniques involved in genetic engineering of the some 70k genes in the human genome. And none involve animal/human hybrids of my mind (that's public anywho).

Now, as you all may or may not know, in my latest Interstellar Intelligence Agency the concept of genetic engineering has reached its pinnacle with "species terraforming" that allow humans to live and thrive throughout the galaxy. (And, yes, I know terraforming is the change if land, but it seemed appropriate enough in this setting to steal from.)

The latest story, Brotherhood, will delve further into the genetic engineering science, so as a responsible SF writer, I researched details of genetic engineering to get terms and usage right.

Genetic engineering techniques can be anything from simply delivering a gene into a living cell (Gene Transfer) to finding a certain gene in a genome (Shotgun) to creating a gene from scratch (Gene Synthesis).

The various techniques are combined for complex genetic engineering applications, such as insulin development, human growth hormone, cystic fibrosis and genetic disease therapy.

Of course there is the scary side of genetic engineering like germ-line therapy and bio warfare. And there is the gray area of human cloning and species altering for interplanetary expansion. But, it is within genetic engineering that illness and diseases, such as cancer and HIV, will find cures.

And the truth is humans have been "genetically altering" for thousands of years. The Native Americans changed corn where it is almost unrecognizable today from its beginning state. And horticulturists have created whole new plant species with their work in cross-species slicing and binding. We've even unknowingly changed our own species by mate selection and self-designed environments over the generations.

Genetic engineering is just a more in your face and finesse approach to the subtler, slower natural process.

Like nuclear technology, there is a fine line between the benefits and danger of genetic engineering, but I'm willing to take the leap... at least for now and with the hopes it won't be too late if it goes too far.

Home Away from Home (Maybe)

(My blogger friend, Kaye Manro, beat me to the punch and has a great post about this up at her blog HERE.)

We've found an Earth-like planet...okay, "we" haven't found anything. Technically, NASA's Kepler mission team found it. (Does being a NASA cheerleader/supporter/groupie count as part of the overall NASA team? Yes/No?)

In what I call the Obvious Statement of the Year, Geoff Marcy of UC Berkeley stated, "This discovery shows that we Homo sapiens are straining our reach into the universe to find planets that remind us of home. We are almost there."

I guess I shouldn't take the statement for granted, though. Truthfully, I'm not sure how much the general population is wondering or straining to find other homes like Earth. It's the geekdom population that is cheering on the scientists. But I'd like to think that 4 geek-groupies equates to 1 normal person, so maybe it equals out somehow. (LOL. That right there, folks, is AR math...Live it. Learn it.)

Say hello to Kepler-22B. (Top right image.) Can I just say, these NASA folks need to get creative with their planet naming... it's like an apartment building. Geez.

"That's correct. I live in Kepler-22B, right next door to 22A. Yeah, the one right across from 7-11 and the Chinese restaurant. Hang a left at Alpha Centauri... no, no. A LEFT."

Okay, okay. Focus. Let's learn a little about this new planet find, Kepler-22B... or as I'd like to call it, Planet Awesome.

Kepler-22B aka "Planet Awesome":

• Is located in the Kepler-22 Star System


• It's 600 light years away (or 3,540 trillion miles)


• It circles the star (Sun like star may I add) at about the same distance as Earth to the Sun


• Its year is 290 days


• Probably has water and rock, but probably mostly ocean


• It's 2 and a half times bigger than Earth


• Average temperature about 72 degrees (most likely, if it doesn't turn out to be a gas planet)

Keppler-22B makes a tally count of 2,326 planet candidates. Hee hee, you like that term the NASA team has designated for potentials? It's like a political race or something... better yet, a planetary race. Which will be the first one we decide to visit? You think there'll be a poll or official vote by the general public? (Wouldn't that be groovy?)

Any-who, of these, 207 are approximately Earth-size, 680 are super Earth-size, 1,181 are Neptune-size, 203 are Jupiter-size and 55 are larger than Jupiter.

Source material:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/news/kepscicon-briefing.html

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/life-unbounded/2011/12/05/kepler-22-b-another-step-closer-to-finding-earth-like-worlds/

http://news.yahoo.com/planet-sweet-spot-goldilocks-zone-life-223007926.html

Solar System, Galaxy, Universe, Oh My!

How do you decide how far out your sci-fi story is gonna go? (Totally assuming you write sci-fi…of course, we all know what assumption will make out of you.)

So far, I haven't gone out of the Solar System…well once for a short story, but it was a super quick reference and no more was said about it. In Revelations of Tomorrow, I've been trying out a world build where civilization has grown to plant themselves throughout the Galaxy. There are lots of references and people mingled in who've traveled in from other regions. Like The Black Rose concept. (It's the story where a couple of medieval men head off into the wild unknown of China to explore the wonders and mystery, only to return and have no one believe them.)

Even with this concept, however, the actual story stays within one region of the Solar System. (Think a slice of pie - or bit of crumb - within a slice of pie, if you will.) This is because the pure concept of a single story crossing throughout the galaxy is just so over-consuming it boggles my still Earth-based mind.

Now, Saturday night I had a weird dream. It was about characters in Revelations of Tomorrow, but the story itself was different. All Sunday morning I tried to push what I thought was a subplot into my plot line. No matter which way I worked it, molded it, meld it, meshed it, or mashed it, it just wouldn't fit. Then my Einstein moment (don't laugh…I can hear you) smacked me as smartly as a Dallas character.

It may have been the series discussion I was participating in with some of my publishing house author buddies, but here it is: I think I might have actually spawned my very first viable series!

Once that thought binged me in the brain my Muse was off and running like she O.D.'d on Red Bull. Being so excited about this series thing, I eased my timetable a bit to allow a little planning on my idea for a book 2. This will allow me to explore writing throughout the galaxy - who knows, maybe even the Universe - without over stressing about the feasible technology so much.

I think that's why sci-fi lends itself so well to series, operas, and mega books. The world is so huge, depending on the level you build (solar system, galaxy, or universe). I mean, just within our little solar system things are millions of miles apart…millions…with a longggggg S. We're not talking a plane flight from here to China people.

Things just can happen within a few Earth days. Imagine how bored you get in just a 4 or 5 hour flight? Keeping a story interesting during a travel multiplied by goodness knows how much and you got to have some serious skill.

Well, that's my tidbit of randomness for today.

Good writing all!

Research

My first draft is almost done. I completed a couple more scenes, but found myself a little drained. To take a break, I started preparing for my next "layer" in the story writing process...in depth research.

Research. It can (is) daunting, especially when there are so many details to research and outline in science fiction.

This is where my project management hat comes in handy. I first break every subject and subtopic into categories, partial example (it's currently scribbled in, bubbled out, and smudged across white paper):

Society
Economic Status, diversity ratio, social hierarchy & roles, institutions, educational structure, etc.

Culture
Heritage, traditions, art & philosophical themes, dress, speech, protocols, etc.

Technology
Household, transportation (on planet/off planet, short distance/long distance), fuel sources (see transportation for subgroups), weapons, healthcare, etc.

My first step is to choose a main category and flit around my resources sites and books getting a broad scope of the subject. As I do this I highlight/tag those subtopics as they appear, sometimes jotting notes.

Once I've gotten at least a half dozen starter sources for my subtopics I'll delve into each topic in turn, fleshing out the concepts on a separate sheet. (Fleshing out includes jotting notes, exploring themes, and sketching out drawings based on ideas.)

The result will be an almost booklet thick folder that contains everything I need to reference when I go through my revisions/editing phases.

Sometimes I do this in depth research before I start the story, but usually the story is hitting me right in the face and I don't have time. It is one reason why I am a layering writer, because my primary objective when a story comes is to just get the basic idea/plot down so I don't loose bits and pieces.

Holidays

It's 4th of July. For all you international friends, this is US of A's day to celebrate independence, freedom, and all the hot dogs and hamburgers we can shovel down our throats.

I love 4th of July, which only comes in second to Thanksgiving. Why? Who the hell really knows. I'm patriotic. I'm into things that go boom. Okay, those sound good.

This is a sci-fi blog, AR, what are you talking about the 4th for??

All right, I'll get right to the nitty-gritty of the post. What kind of holidays do you expect in the future? There we'll be, spread out all over the solar system, government systems completely changed, diversity mixed into new cultures, religion turned inside out and upside down.

Most likely, my 4th and Thanksgiving will be nullified. So, what's the core of holidays? Well, they're primarily religious points of reverence and government points of victory.

When you're building your story and outlining your religious and government framework, think about the holidays that will be involved. It might make for an awesome showdown scene (think Macy's Day and Mardi Gras parade police chases). Or a great revelation scene (think Church confession or monk temple sabbatical).

What it'll definitely do is give that extra bit of believability to your future world and a little more depth to your storyline.

Good writing all!

Developing Creatures

You've just arrived to a new planet. Exiting your space vehicle...what do you see?

Don't be boring and lay out the drony E.T. or triangular-beady-eyed-abducting alien. No, no, no. Let's do an exercise to see what we can come up with.

Close your eyes...don't peek...I said don't peek!

Now, what do you see? Is it a tropical like world, desert world, water world, wetlands, or frozen tundra? Write it down.

Okay now that you have the land, decide if it's populated (alien, human, or diverse mix) and how "civilized" it is. Write it down.

'Kay, time to research the types of animals you'd find in that kind of habitat. Once you find them, list the individual features on either small pieces of paper or index cards. Take the stack and toss it on the table, shuffle them around. Pick up three to five.

That is your species.

It's a creative, unique, and spontaneous way to build creatures...and I'd doubt any other writer would end up with the same type of animal.

Good writing all!

City Building

Need some world building inspiration? Feel like what your building is a little stale and small scales...not innovated enough?

I was working on my story tonight and found myself a little drained with a new space city my characters are heading too. So I clicked on one of the favorite sites, Popular Magazine and found a great article, Environmental Visionaries: The Urban Remodeler.

This engineer and engineers like him might be of help to you. These people build cities of the future based on their vision of where today's technology will be in 100-150 years. This kind of research can be a great launching point for the city ports of your story's future.

Take a look at the article's sample vision proposal...I know, totally awesome!
If you want to see more about this kind of visionary engineering, check out the Terraform1 site.

Leading Couples

On my current sci-fi WIP I'm working with a couple different romantic dynamics. One of them is a couple. In chatting with a writer friend, she was surprised 2 of my MCs were already in a relationship.

"It won't sell," she commented.

"Why?" It seemed a very odd statement to me.

"Good stories are about characters who meet, fall in love, and have that new relationship conflict."

What? "That's silly."

It is silly, but in my research last night, I found that there is a stereotype couple characters are boring in books. The biggest argument seems to be they lack in passion and intrigue.

Well...I'm deciding to balk at this stereotype. What made the reading masses think a relationship can't continue to be passionate and intriguing? No wonder the divorce rate is what it is!

There's nothing more passionate than a lover who knows your body. It's actually more passionate because EVERY sensual scene is going to be a "hit", but with the added bonus of a depth and connection new passion can't match.

And what's more intriguing then riding that relationship through the bumps and adventures of life and learning new aspects of their character?

Lastly, conflict - in my opinion - is more in a relationship because the characters have something they don't want to lose. Through the progression of the story there's internal and external conflict threatening to tear them apart, destroy them, or break their spirits.

Okay, my little rant is over. If you have a chance to build a great story with a couple, try it. I think you'll find it very rewarding.

Good writing all!

What Does it Mean?

I received a link from Writer Beware with January's report from The Association of American Publishers sales statistics. Here's the summarized bullets of the fiction categories for you:

When I look at these stats it tells me a couple things (domestically, not internationally). Now, remember these are my own conclusions. You read the article and let me know your ideas on where the industry is trending.

In regards to the overall book sale declines, this could just be an indication of the Christmas spending period ending in December. It's not a big percentage and ties in the the national spending dip in January every year.

I do have a little concern with the Adult Hardcover, but since the paperbacks and e-books are increasing my thoughts are purely economic. People won't or can't afford to buy the elaborate hardbound books and are opting for the cheaper version. It's the same story, just different medium.

The Children's/YA hardcovers and paper backs shows a dramatic trend away from traditional reading methods. My inclination is that these younger readers are part of the mass increase in e-books and are reading from their generation-specific technologies.

And moving to that amazing percentage in the e-books category...WOW! I think this is the biggest alert for the industry of the direction reading is going. Just like the last days of the CDs. People were in denial about the MP3 and Ipod's...but it came and it came quick. Now look at the CD sales.

Paper books are just on the end of their life cycle. It's not bad. It's not good. It just is. We have an eco-friendly society that is on the technology advancing bandwagon. The good thing is reading is not going with the paper formats. It's still there, just different.

I'm going to keep an eye on these figures. It plays a lot into my publishing goals, marketing/promotion strategies, and target market objectives.

Good writing all! (No matter what format you work ends up in.)

Know Your Worth

Know your worth as an aspiring writer, my friends. Yesterday evening I received an email from a publisher...or so called publisher. Thank goodness for the resources and networks I've built up in preparation for my novel submissions.

In just two weeks they read through my whole manuscript (or so they say) and deemed it "worthy of publication". Imagine how grateful I felt. They'd attached an agreement, marketing plan, and publication schedule, along with a FAQs page.

I read through the contract and other attachments and let me tell you, it was the best fiction I've ever read. Here's some highlights:

• I purchase all copyrights, but give up all rights to my story for ten years
• A whopping $25 advance
• Mandatory 100 copies purchase that I have to make
• No advertisement, promotion, or marketing budget/plan or obligation by them (the marketing plan was what I should do with the 100 copies I have to purchased from them)
• A "No Sue" clause
• They have absolute control over changes and edits with no approval needed by me
• No out clause for me if they do not hold up their end of the bargain
• 3% royalty for hardback, 10% for paperback, 25% for ebooks, but they then take out the costs of production and manufacturing from that and I get what's left
• And no actual payment schedule for royalties I earn

I laughed reading through this and my hubby joined in. I then crafted a very clear response and reported them to two sites that are invaluable to all writers.

• Preditors and Editors
• Writer Beware

Before you start any submission, make sure to read up and know what you're getting into, because snakes like this company are everywhere in the business. Research, research, research. Knowledge in powerful and helps you maintain cool and calm in what will be a long and interesting journey into the world of publication and authorship.

She did get one thing right in her offer email...my story is worthy of publication. However, it's worthy to be published by a house who will treat it and me with worth.

Science Updates

Space Taxi's for NASA Astronauts. I know a lot of people are worried that privatizing shuttle launching and exploration will start capital exploitation of the galaxy but I don't. Some of the greatest advances in history came from the private sector. They had gumption and geeky passion to excel where government programs were bogged down with red tape. Mark my words, this will be the rebirth of space exploration interest that we've been needing.

Restoring Human Vision. Can you imagine? Being able to correct blindness in our lifetime. If this new advance in cell regeneration continues at this rate...it'll happen. I'm so excited that we won't need La Forge's head gear to accomplish it.

Parenting License? Now, there are some parents I see throughout the day that I think, "Oh man, there should be a license to become a parent." But when I think about it, it's based on the maturity and responsibility of that person...not their genetic make-up. This test is a little scary because it resonates hints of Hitler's drive to "purify" the human race. The technology behind this rides a very thin slippery slope. But hey! It's great as a story concept.

End of the Aging Process. Vampires beware. Humans are also nearing the ability to live forever, and we won't need damning our souls or sucking blood to do it either. Or would we be damning our souls? It depends on your beliefs on the purpose of life. For me, this could really end the meaning of life and human development. In short, it would stunt human growth and evolution. If you get a chance read The Boat of a Million Years by Poul Anderson. Very good approach to this very topic (maybe I'll do a review of it).

Well, that's what I found interesting and possible points for future stories. Hope they weren't too boring.

Good writing all!

Let's Talk Government

I see you on the verge of yawning. Don't do it! I'm telling you...don't. Okay. Fine. Yawn. But I'm telling you, this topic is very important in developing a realistic science fiction novel.

Most science fiction books are symbolic of a resulting consequence of societal, government, and cultural decisions happening today. Even if you're going to write a chick-lit/romance/light-hearted science fiction story you have to get the basics down to attract the science fiction peeps.

And the Sci-Fi masses love the "I told you so, People" moment. That second where, when they turn the last page, they look at the nearest person and say, "Ah ha! That's why I said we shouldn't genetically mix birds and whales! I knew it!"

...All right, that last sentence kinda detoured into a weird place. Let's just step out of AR's la-la land and get back on topic.

Governments are a main driver of societal change, whether it's City, County, State, or Country level. They start a society, trigger the end of a society, and drive the rebirth of a society. In writing, you can stay with today's current balance of governments but two things: one, it's boring and two, it's unrealistic.

Come on people! We're talking about a huge solar system...universe depending on how far in the future you're going. There's no way the G5 can maintain and sustain that kind of territory. Nor would the cultural and social framework thrive in such a widening of distance and expect to abide by detached government structures.

Look at history. As we evolved and spread out from Africa - or from hybrid chambers on some space ship where we were then "planted" onto Earth and given a send off kiss...whichever - our societies started to seed, spread, and split. It's like a drop in the water; the ripples go on until it dilutes back.

Your space frontier group will be separated. Their society will evolve to thrive within its new infrastructure, which will change its values, moral, and ethics. This will all be flexed off the government that oversees their ethical boundaries.

As a result, the society's culture will evolve and break off to some extent from the society they left and create a new (really recycled) government body. Then, when the various new societies throughout the solar system grow and start to bump hips, their conflict and dynamics will flex and strain once again. This will kick the cycle back around, merging, dividing, and remolding them. Humans and their governments are always similar to the analogy of "something new from the ashes".

So use the imagination to see the historical cycle of society and human development starting over again. Look back to go forward. Just make sure you've really thought out the details or the story will bite you in the rear and the least opportune moment.

Here's a couple links to get started on the various government systems/bodies.

Forms of Government from Scholastic (don't knock the elementary lessons, man. Have you seen "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader"?)
Government Systems and Political Ideology
Types of Government
Nations: Forms of Government from the History Guy

Good writing all!