 Fantasy: April 25, 2012 Issue [#5008] |
  Fantasy
This week: Researching, Writing, and Reading Edited by: Prosperous Snow celebrating  
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What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure. ~ Samuel Johnson
When something can be read without effort, great effort has gone into its writing. ~ Enrique Jardiel Poncela
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Writing speculative fiction takes effort because you have to put time into researching, reading, and writing. In this newsletter, I will discuss the researching part of the process. Research can include anything from investigation exoplanets or Mayan mythology to the proper terminology to describing a fireplace. In order to capture the reader, a writer needs to use the proper terms when describing an ordinary object that is important to the plot of the story.
The problem with research is where to find authentic information on a given subject. One place is online; of course, you have to determine if the information on the website is authentic. Another place is the library; most libraries have websites. Some libraries will mail you books or e-mail articles. Other places to start your research are at a bookstore or the magazine rack of a supermarket.
I know that the magazine rack at a supermarket sounds like a strange place to begin research. However, you can find various editions of Scientific America and special editions of U.S. News & World Report. Recently I found a special edition of the above-mentioned magazine, which containing articles about Mars, exoplanets, and asteroids, to name a few of the articles in that edition.
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Excerpt: Back in 1994, a company called Blizzard came out with a game called "WarCraft: Humans vs Orcs." In it, greenskinned orcs fought against pinkskinned humans...
Excerpt: Gabriel Flynn slipped silently like a ghost through the dark shapes of the tortured and twisted trees of the forest. He dodged between the hanging razor vines and avoided the acidic secretions of various bushes. The sounds of the forest din pulsated around him. The pungent smell of rot and decay filled his nostrils. He dropped to one knee and carefully looked at the spore left by the predator. It wasn't far in front of him.
Excerpt: The ocean fog hung still in the air, not a single breath of wind stirred the rigging of the ship as it rested upon the dead calm waters.
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Excerpt: She closed the book, placed it on the table, and finally, decided to walk through the door. As Clara stood, pushing the chair away with the backs of her knees, pain lanced up her spine-the stiffness of half a day spent immobile released in one chokingly agonising spike to her nervous system. But the sensation was soon forgotten, burned away by the memory of the book's final image.
Submitted to the Newsletter
Excerpt: Beth wiped her lips with a red napkin as she walked away from the site of her latest meal;...
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BIG BAD WOLF is Howling  writes: I just write.
Oh, and to answer mr.pennybottomwinkle  's question about a Dystopian story with a male lead- try Terry Brooks' Armageddon's Children. Haven't read it myself yet, but Brooks does good work.
jim1184  writes: Interesting Newsletter. I have written and published a few mission statements but not for fiction writers. I have read many mission statements, I knew were speculative fiction. I did find my fiction/fantasy more focused after I knew what my goal was. One word, Legacy.
Midnight Dawn  writes: Thank you for mentioning Diving for Pearls in your newsletter! As for your question on mission statements, I actually do not have one. I write to entertain, and though I suppose my liberal mindset is pretty obvious, I do not intentionally make it a mission to spread my beliefs. Though if this story makes you put down an aerosol can, I will be pleased. 
I created Diving for Pearls after I'd read an article on global warming. That made me imagine a world where all the dire warnings had started to become a reality, and the people who'd have to survive there.
Does anyone have any suggestions concerning research or any other aspect of writing speculative fiction?
Prosperous Snow celebrating
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