Sometimes the real pleasure of writing – and reading - isn’t about a well-crafted tale with a fast-moving plot involving intriguing characters set in a well-described landscape. After all, penning such a story entails a lot of sweat, and for readers, they expect nothing less than a well-developed piece. Instead, the real smile comes when the author leaves a special treats for the reader, such as hiding some surprise not germane to the story. These surprises are called “easter eggs”, a term science fiction writing workshops have borrowed from the jargon of computer programming.
For example, an author might encode, with the first letters of consecutive sentences, some message to the reader. In other instances, the author may use obscure allusions, such as what James Lecky does in his recently published “The Season Without Sun”. In the Lecky’s story, the antagonists are a people called the “Dajzyn” - the Tuva word for “enemy.” Tuva is a Russian republic on the central steppes of Asia, which one theory posits is where homo sapiens came from when moving into Ice Age Europe, the apparent setting of this story.
The pleasure for the author is akin to being part of an inside joke. The pleasure for the reader comes in possessing a deeper understanding of the piece – or at least in knowing that he’s one of the few who got the inside joke! It strengthens the bond between writer and reader.
If placing an easter egg into your story, remember that it usually is hidden deep within the text. It shouldn’t disrupt the narrative’s flow. After all, the easter egg often is superfluous to the story. In addition, don’t sacrifice time crafting and polishing the story to hide an easter egg. The reason a reader opts to look at your story is to enjoy a quality tale. The easter egg is just a fun surprise.
You Do It
Look back at a story you’ve been working on. Is there a way you can hide an easter egg by giving the name of a character, an alien species or a locale a special meaning and that adds textured meaning to the story, say by using a word from another language? Ask yourself what the character, species or place symbolize and using online dictionaries, look for non-English words that would might be used.
Visit my Web site about writing science fiction, Inventing Reality.
(c) 2008 Rob Bignell
Tags:
allusion, cookies, style, symbolism, tuckering
Posted at: 02:19 PM | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink
| 
| 
del.icio.us
Science fiction often has been called “the literature of ideas” because it examines deep, philosophical concepts by placing characters in extraordinary situations where viewpoints and the logic behind decisions are tested. One powerful way to explore profound ideas is through the use of metaphor.
A metaphor is when a word or phrase that usually designates one thing is used to mean another, thus making an implicit comparison, as in Fredric Brown’s “Arena”: “Slowly his mind cleared as, slowly, the mind of a man wakening from a nightmare clears away the fear-fabric of which the dream was woven”. The metaphor is the comparing of a nightmare to a cloth that has been weaved together with the fabric of fear.
Metaphors can occur within stories, as a form of imagery (such as Brown’s example), or the story itself can be a metaphor. For example, the Martian invasion in H.G. Well’s “The War of the Worlds” often is seen as a metaphor for Victorian colonialism – the superior air the Martians hold toward the natives, the invaders’ technological superiority, their indiscriminate destruction, even their replacing of local fauna with that brought from their home.
When writing metaphors, be sure to follow a few guidelines:
n Don’t mix metaphors - A mixed metaphor occurs when two incongruous, contradictory objects are compared, as in “Brilliant sunshine rained down on Tau Ceti V”. Sunshine and rain are incongruous.
n Avoid metaphoric clash - Sometimes an otherwise perfect metaphor results in the wrong impression, as in “Zell searched through the ruins for his beloved fiancé with the intensity of a Puritan priest on a witch hunt.” Hopefully Zell doesn’t intend to burn his fiancé at the stake once to show his undying love!
n Choose an appropriate metaphor for the scene/environment - Sometimes the metaphor’s comparison collapses under analysis, as in “Ramtal spoke diplomatically to the Pavonians, a drill instructor conversing with his recruits.” Drill sergeants don’t speak “diplomatically” but with gruffness. An inappropriate metaphor should be reserved for comedy.
You Do It
Create some metaphors of your own. Describe these objects by comparing them to something else (do not use “like” or “as”, however: alien lizard-like creature, a visible force field, a massive space-borne telescope array, interior of an interstellar spacecraft, an antimatter bomb explosion.
Visit my Web site about writing science fiction, Inventing Reality.
(c) 2008 Rob Bignell
Tags:
figurative language, symbolism, theme
Posted at: 09:01 AM | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink
| | del.icio.us