Steven R. Southard's Blog, page 6

On The Evolution of Alien Species

Aliens have come a long way. Not real aliens—I don’t even know if they exist. I’m referring to aliens in literature. Inspired by fine articles authored by Ian Simpson and Joelle Renstrom, I’ll describe how aliens evolved with science fiction.

Image from Pixabay.comThe Law of Alien Fiction

First, though, I’ll emphasize a non-intuitive law of alien literature: Alien stories aren’t about aliens. They’re about humans. Even stories populated only by non-human characters are about humans. A s...

We Want These 14 Improbable Technologies Now

Science fiction literature has provided many fun and interesting technologies that lie beyond our current abilities. Let’s look at a few.

Waterfall, by M.C. Escher

I’m calling these technologies improbable rather than impossible. One person’s impossible often becomes a later person’s accomplishment. The technologies on my list aren’t available now, and some violate known laws of physics, but scientists are researching all of them, and breakthroughs can occur.

Faster than Light (FTL) Trav...

How To Help Readers Understand Complex Topics

You science fiction writers and technical writers face a difficult problem. How do you convey complicated information to an average reader in an understandable way? The late Dr. Richard Feynman may have your answer.

Who Was Richard Feynman? Dr. Richard Feynman

Feynman (1918-1988) studied quantum mechanics, helped develop the atomic bomb, foresaw nanotechnology, investigated the Space Shuttle Challenger accident, and won a Nobel Prize in Physics. For purposes of this blogpost, Dr. Feynman...

Write Better with Steve Jobs’ 10-Minute Rule

You’re stuck. You’ve written your character into a plot hole. Or you’re not sure where to go next with the story. Or you can’t decide on a setting or character name. The late Steve Jobs of Apple has a method of solving your problem.

The Problem

You’re determined to write the story. The flame within you still burns, but it’s sputtering. Whatever form the roadblock takes, you can’t seem to drive past it. You’ve sat for ten minutes focused on the problem, but you’re getting nowhere and feelin...

Why I Don’t Write the Hemingway Way

Ernest Hemingway offered advice to writers and the folks at Open Culture did a wonderful job collecting and condensing his tips.

I don’t believe Hemingway intended these as eternal rules, engraved on stone tablets. Like most authors, he knew what worked for him, and also knew other writers succeeded by following their own, opposing rules. In that spirit, I’ll give my take on the seven Hemingway tips for writers.

1. To get started, write one true sentence.

To me, this sounds like a t...

If Authors Named Football Teams

Teams in the National Football League received their names in various ways, but most don’t derive from literary references.

The Baltimore Ravens stand out as a sole exception. Taken from the mysterious talking bird of the Edgar Allan Poe poem, that team name epitomizes the city where Poe lived.

What works for Baltimore might work for other NFL cities as well. Let’s find out what could happen if they left team-naming up to fiction writers.

Arizona

The Cardinals would become the Ari...

9 SciFi Predictions for 2025

Author Alan Cox said, “I figure [making] lots of predictions is best. People will forget the ones I get wrong and marvel over the rest.” Today, Poseidon’s Scribe will make his predictions about the science fiction to be written in 2025. Next year at this time, you can do some forgetting and marveling.

In the past, I’ve tried crystal balls, tea leaves, tarot cards, astrology, palmistry, and ChatGPT, but none of those worked. This year, along with a partner, I used a Ouija Board.

That met...

Looking Back, My 2024 Predictions Assessed

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…when I judge how well I did at foretelling the attributes of science fiction books in 2024.

In past years, I’ve tried and failed with various techniques, but last year at this time I used a sure-fire method—the AI known as ChatGPT by OpenAI. Let’s see how well I did:

Prediction: AI Ethics and Rights

As artificial intelligence continues to advance, science fiction writers may delve into the ethical considerations and legal rights surrounding s...

Writing Performance Review for 2024

My boss chews me out this time every year. He’s ornery, demanding, harsh, and knows me too well. He’s me.

The Scorecard

Time to assess my writing for 2024. As in past years, I’m using The Writer’s Performance Review scorecard by book coach, Jennie Nash.

To use this scorecard, you rank each attribute from one to five. One = below expectations. Two = partially meets expectations. Three = meets expectations. Four = exceeds expectations. Five = far exceeds expectations.

You’re compar...

The Barbenheimer and Glickéd Approach to Novels

In 2023, the movies Barbie and Oppenheimer got released at the same time, and the simultaneity struck audiences as funny. A cultural meme exploded—”Barbenheimer.” Rather than competing for audiences, promoters of the films capitalized on the meme.

Now in 2024, the movies Gladiator II and Wicked spawned their own portmanteau—Glickéd.

What if this weird cultural phenomenon had happened with novels? What if the two best-selling novels for each of the last ten years got combined the same w...