Most science fiction readers don’t think like an academician when reading a story set in space or the near future. They don’t say “Aha! There’s the novum!” when you mention the “time sled”. They do have very real expectations, however, about how you use the “time sled” in your story. Every literary genre follows various conventions and rules, and in science fiction how the author handles the novum is among them, even if the reader can’t list what they may be.
As a writer, however, you need to be cognitive of what those rules are:
n The reader should be able to understand what a novum can and cannot do – Warp drive allows a spaceship to travel faster than the speed of light. Simply using it as a vague propulsion system without explaining its actual purpose (FTL travel) can leave the reader wondering if warp drive really is up to the task of taking characters between star systems and serve as a distraction to your story.
n The novum must be plausible – It must be based on the laws of science as we now know them. For example, with continued research and a few breakthroughs, widespread use of nanotechnology is a very real possibility for our civilization. Humanoid invaders from the planet Venus, given our understanding of that world as a dry and superhot, isn’t plausible.
n The novum must be fascinating – A room in which holographic images are so real that they can deceive a person into thinking he’s actually in the location projected is interesting as it opens a number of dramatic possibilities and possibilities for philosophical introspection. After all, what if the faux worlds created on the holodeck are far more intriguing to people than the real world? What would happen?
n Borrowed novums should be improved upon - It’s okay to borrow novums used in other science fiction works. But the novum should be treated in a new way or the story runs the risk of lacking originality. Indeed, one of the ways our genre grows and remains vibrant is that authors further explore and play off other authors’ ideas and novums. So if a phaser -like weapon is the centerpiece of your story, have it do more than incinerate objects or knock a person unconscious. Have it burn a person from the inside for hours so that the victim dies painfully, creating an ethical dilemma for one of your merciful main character.
Visit my Web site about writing science fiction, Inventing Reality.
(c) 2008 Rob Bignell
Tags:
conventions, ftl, novum, setting
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