Even in fiction, a little knowledge helps make connections.
Have you ever read a book, watched a TV show or movie, and come across something so implausible that it ruined the story?
Lots of fantasy and sci-fi are built on largely impossible things. Superheroes aren’t real, faster-than-light travel violates current physics, most people can’t do flips in mid-air from flat ground, and so on.
I was taught that much of fiction is based in the idea of suspension of disbelief. In many instances, this is easy because the story/show/film offers just enough credulity to keep you engaged.
But then, sometimes, it fails. When that happens, you might still accept it – like the bridge of a Star Destroyer burning as it impacts the Death Star in Return of the Jedi, or oxygen-breathing Superman flying into space without a suit.
But then, sometimes, it’s just too far gone. The implausibility of what you are reading or seeing is so badly glaring that it takes you out of the story completely. The science is utter crap, the costuming is wrong, the character does something massively out-of-character, and so on.
Yes, this is totally subjective. For example – I love the movie A Knight’s Tale. But I know people who cannot get past the terrible costuming choices and other glaring anachronisms.
This is why I am conscientious of the line between hard sci-fi and sci-fantasy. If I’m writing a hard sci-fi story set in the future, there won’t be implausible explosions in space or notions with zero scientific potential.
When it comes to sci-fantasy – this is less important. But I am still going to be mindful that I am within logic and reason in ways that tie into reality.
Science in science fiction
Void Incursion is sci-fantasy. For that series, I’ve been a lot more fast and loose when it came to certain elements.
When I started creating Forgotten Fodder, I knew that I wanted to do something different from my usual. I wanted to write a more hard-sci-fi story than my usual inclination.
To do that, I did a bunch of research. I looked for known/expected exoplanets within less than 100 light-years from Earth. Looked up information on genetics and the Alcubierre drive idea. I wanted to be certain that I put some science into my sci-fi.
Why does this matter? Because if I am telling a story taking place just over half a millennia in the future, I don’t want it to strain credulity too hard. My reader should be able to find the premises I suggest as plausible.
Are those exoplanets fit to sustain us? Maybe – but we don’t know. In the story, I suggest that some were, while others were terraformed.
The Alcubierre drive needs more power than we can generate now. I suggest it uses antimatter (which is not implausible).
I have a passing, basic knowledge of genetics. When I hit something beyond that knowledge, I checked to make certain I wasn’t making it up out of whole cloth.
Not only have I gained some knowledge I didn’t have before – but I wanted to keep the suspension of disbelief within plausible levels.
Knowledge empowers – even in fiction
I love to learn.
Learning is how I grow and evolve. And there is ALWAYS something new to be learned.
Some knowledge comes from life experience. Other knowledge can be gleaned via study. Still other knowledge comes from doing.
For example – I have always wanted to learn to play the guitar. Thus, for my birthday, I received a beginner’s guitar and am very slowly learning how to hold it, strum it, and attempt to play it. This is knowledge I do not have already have – but am excited to learn.
When it comes to writing – I’ve done a lot of different work to gain knowledge. For sci-fi and fantasy, I’ve read many novels and watched a lot of sci-fi TV and movies. When it comes to my nonfiction writing, I have listened to or read many different books, programs, and the like on meditation, consciousness, mindfulness, self-improvement, and the like.
When I am writing fiction – even when I have something like magic – I attempt to give it an element of plausibility. For example, in The Vapor Rogues, magic/sorcery is the manipulation of the elements. You can’t generally create something from the void – there must be an existing element.
When you have knowledge, it’s easier to impart knowledge. But it’s also important to remember that nobody knows everything about anything.
A wise man once said nothing
There is always something to be learned. Even in creating fantasies and other fictions, we can develop notions that might become reality.
How many tools from Star Trek are real in the world today? How many writers envisioned something like the internet more than half-a-century ago?
Today’s fiction is tomorrow’s real world. Gaining knowledge to share for plausibility can go a long way towards keeping your reader interested.
There are lots of things about sci-fi that are not possible at present. But I am still certain they’re plausible.
For example, I believe faster-than-light travel is possible. Artificial gravity can be created for both hovering vehicles and space travel (without using centripetal force). I think exoplanets capable of sustaining life are out there – and/or we can terraform a planet to support us. Cloning technology could produce artificial, healthy organs a body won’t reject.
Impossible today? Perhaps. But that doesn’t make it utterly implausible. A little knowledge can go a long way. And in fiction, that knowledge helps make connections to engage the reader/viewer.
What new knowledge have you gained today?
Thank you for being part of my ongoing journey, for joining me, and for inspiring me and my craft.
This is the one-hundred and twenty-sixth article exploring the ongoing creative process. Please take a moment to check out the collection of my published works, which can be found here.
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