Why I Write Unscientific Science Fiction
In the writing world, lots of advice gets flung about. Show, don’t tell. No prologues ever. Write with the reader in mind. One bit of dogma oft-repeated is that if you’re thinking of a genre story, ask yourself what makes it genre. Why does it need to be, say, science fiction? If it can occur just anywhere, why put it in outer space? Putting aside the implied stigma of “oh noes, don’t write genre if you don’t have to!” it’s actually a legitimate planning question. I’m all for chasing inspiration, but one should be sure it’s inspiration one follows, and not merely habit. So why am I writing SF? Especially unscientific SF, or as a friend on Twitter recently put it, “fantasy-ish stuff?” Even in the slums of genre, you see, a pecking order exists, and space opera is pretty low in the ranks. SF is about ideas, some will announce, forgetting the origins of SF in the pulp magazines. SF is about science, some will sneer. Faster Than Light travel is fantasy.* Why am I, then, writing stuff that makes me that oddest of creatures, a Turtleduck?