Interesting article! I tend to agree if I tended to care about whether my predictions were accurate.
I just don't care... :) the story about the people has to be plausible, and the writing powerful. I guess I err on the more conservative side. I've written two near future sf stories--"In the Second Person" for Terra Incognita (which insists on Near Future) and this one, and in both cases the technical inventions were catalysts for the "relationship" story: ItSP was about the highly implausible (and oft-visited!) notion that a couple in love could put their conscious brains (through something like WiFi) into the other's body... and the experiment proves to be disastrous to their identies...because "the body knows its own traumas". The latest story pushes virtual reality feebly into the future, set back by real life emergencies, but that's just the background for Dylan's self-delusions. So what if in 26 years we don't have body-swapping or we do have a virtual reality that makes mine look like PacTac? Or we've overcome disease, and can deal with epidemics? It's why they call it SPECULATIVE. For me, the real story is human kindness, folly, cruelty, humor, grace under fire, or helplessness. I suppose I could write a story in which the technology changes human psychology, but human psychology as it exists now is still something I'm fascinated and bewildered by PS: I've found that Second Life produces new behaviors... but in ways that bring out long hidden but very real First Life desires and secrets that a virtual world can nurture openly. Looking forward eagerly to Wednesday.... ;) Sarah ----- Original Message ----- From: "Alicia Henn" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, September 12, 2008 5:10 AM Subject: Re: Writing near-future SF... > > I would add that near future SF is more difficult to write because > you're proven wrong quickly, as opposed to 100 years after you're dead > and don't care. You have to write something you can live with. > > Alicia > On Sep 11, 2008, at 11:20 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > >> >> >> ...Not so easy: >> >> http://futurismic.com/2008/09/11/why-near-future-science-fiction-is-diffi >> cult/ >> >> >> Frank >> >> Check out my web page at: http://www.geocities.com/stardolphin2/link3.htm >> >> "A perfect test teaches you nothing, but you learn a lot from >> failure." >> - Rocket engineer Wernher von Braun >> ____________________________________________________________ >> Turn your passion into a profession. Click here to find a film >> school near you. >> http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/fc/Ioyw6i3l7QB2DVhbMlsTCkVtE7wCGqNht5rf8IvRqd532iJnswuyJv/ >> >> > > > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "R-SPEC: The Rochester Speculative Literature Association" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/r-spec?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
