Science Fiction For Dummies

By Jave Harron

Forward: Table With Content

Welcome, readers, to my column Science Fiction For Dummies. This column has lasted about three years, and still going. The reason is I update whenever I feel like it. However, whenever I feel like it could be three days or three decades. Rest assured, reader, what I’ve written so far should be more than enough to suit your needs…and besides, there’s still many, many topics I need to cover.

Now that’s over with, here’s the reason I’m adding an introduction like this. There’s so much in the column, it becomes overwhelming for new readers to navigate. Say you want to read my column on creating alien and fantasy races, but you can’t find it based on the short title alone. If you see something I don’t cover, or something you want covered again, stop by my forums. I’ve also got some role-playing campaigns there that need players, but be forewarned: None of the settings are what you’d normally expect. And if you’re not already a sci-fi or fantasy geek, I wouldn’t assume you’d be reading this. But even if you have no interest in science fiction or fantasy, I do think I cover enough details to help with other settings, scenes, and genres, such as politics, historical, and so on. You don’t need fantastic elements to have a good story. Conversely, just because you have fantastic elements doesn’t mean it’s a bad story. If you don’t like my writing style, hit the “Back” button on your browser and go on your merry way.

As a disclaimer: Personally, I think everything after “Mechanics 101” gets the most interesting and well-written. (My personal favorites are Conspiracy, Transhumanism, Uprising, Logical Alien Invasion, and Xenogenesis.) Oh, and as a warning, I bash the French, the far right (especially neocons), the far left (especially New Age or communist flakes), politicians and lawyers in general, Nazi scum, criminals, terrorists, fascists, communists, hippies, racists, religious fanatics, Goths, and emo kids quite frequently. So if you’re none of those groups, feel free to read! Even if you are one of those groups, also feel free to read! This column is for dummies and non-dummies alike. I also tend to use some foul words every-so-often. If you’re curious about which words I refer to, see what sort of face your parents make when you say it. Remember, you didn’t hear it from Jave, folks! Without further ado, here’s the list:

(Old) Introduction: Not very useful and full of lame attempts at humor.

Basics of Creativity: An attempt at brainstorming a simple story and an outline of the creative process.

Drop and give me 20! Military scifi: A quick intro to military science and some ideas.

Steaming Mad: Explains the terminology of steampunk, a sort of retro sci-fi in the vein of Jules Verne and HG Wells.

Long Time Gone: Post-historic: Explains post-historic, a sci-fi niche genre similar to Jack Vance’s Dying Earth series where superscience and magic blur towards the end of time.

Special Column: Explains a few minor villain clichés, but nothing major.

Off the Deep End With Depth: Just how much depth and detail do you want in your story, and how to avoid infodumping.

Shrugging Off Project Atlas: An analysis of the creative process applied to my story Project Atlas.

Fantasy, Scifi, and the Fallacy of Genre: Why it is stupid to stick to clichés of fantasy and science fiction.

Villains and Vileness: A more in-depth analysis of antagonists and villains.

All Guns Blazing: Different sorts of weapons and firearms you can use, and how you can use them.

Alien Racial Profiling: How to avoid making aliens according to clichés, such as “a race of traders” or a “race of lawyers.” Covered in much more depth later in “Xenogenesis.”

Human Stereotypes In Space: How to avoid ethnic and other types of vile stereotypes.

A Myth of High Technology: High tech doesn’t always mean victory or success, and here’s why.

Tactics For Dummies: A basic list of military terminology, such as how logistics is important, and the differences between tactics and strategy.

Oh, The Horror!: Some horror clichés and suggestions on improving them. Covered much better in “Supernatural Selection.”

Does Not Compute: Stereotypes and misconceptions involving computers and artificial intelligences. The “Transhumanism” section covers many topics here better.

Dawn of a New Age: How to avoid New Age crap when writing about the supernatural and that beyond what puny humans know. There’s also a rant on why New Age fanatics suck.

Historical Revisionism 101: History can be written so that certain facts are minimized and left out. Here’s how your revisionist historians can hide the past, or work to expose the truth. Also fun with the “Conspiracy Theory” section.

Getting a Kick: Dispelling myths about martial arts, as well as a list of several common styles. Also, instructions on making your own, and why to put martial arts in your stories.

Size Does Matter: Nanotech: Nanotech is a technology that often is distorted through fiction. This chapter is dated, though useful at explaining common myths and terms. Notable technologies I missed here were nano-factories (vats of chemicals that have nanobots creating a schematic you need), and I overestimated the threat of Gray Goo (runaway nano-replicators that can theoretically eat anything). Bacteria can theoretically eat anything, but environmental constraints, predators, and limited food keep their ranks from consuming the entire world. Nanobots are not indestructible, and ecophagy isn’t as bad as some technophobes make it out.

Favorites: A list of some of my favorites. The formatting got messed up, and most of those writers aren’t even on FP anymore.

Keeping Pace: This is just a quick bit on how to properly pace your story, and some good music to listen to while writing different types of scenes.

Space War: Physics in space are much different than Star Wars. For once, I’d like to see spaceships move like spaceships, rather than naval battleships, or worse, WWII airplanes that make sounds in the void. This explains some good ways to put good physics and logical space tactics on. After all, three dimensions and no gravity and no air drag makes for fun dogfights.

A Short Word: Quick reflections on sci-fi and nothing really interesting here.

Mechanics 101: Here, I go into the basics of engineering, and how a handful of modern devices and social structures work. Did you know, for instance, that planning a device beforehand reduces the cost of materials and construction time than just throwing random parts together? Engineers in science fiction need to do more engineering for once.

Let’s Play Fantasy!: Basic fantasy world building, and how to avoid some more common world-making clichés.

Culture Shock: Want some inspiration and suggestions for making your own cultures? This chapter also contains a list of overused real cultures and some that would be fun to explore.

Logical Alien Invasion: How an alien warlord should invade Earth (or any inhabited planet) for once. Why send down troops to an ecosystem your biochemistry doesn’t agree with, when you can blast them from orbit?

Utopian Dreams: This explains why certain social orders don’t work, such as socialism. It also explains some common uses for idealistic political visionaries, and how to crash their social orders against the rocks of reality. It also explains why Tolkien is a racist Nazi fuck. This attracted the most flames of any other section.

The Conspiracy Theory: Here, I go into different types of conspiracies, and (mostly) fictional examples of secretive conspiracies, societies, and cults. I also explain some organizational concerns on making a realistic conspiracy, and why Dan Brown’s novels are so predictable. Why write the next DaVinci Code when you can blow it out of the water? The truth is out there…

Mechanical Jams: This chapter I explore cliché devices that don’t work, and that are so impractical, they suck. For instance, orbital lasers, giant tombs, giant robots, and emo kid soldiers are discussed. Especially emo kids in giant robots.

Colonizing The Galaxy: Many writers simply assume humans settle in colonies without mentioning how. Here, I explain some good ways to settle your sci-fi galaxies through self-aware machines. How, is a question I leave to you to answer.

Transhumanism for Dummies: Transhumanism is a philosophy that states technology can be used to upgrade and improve humanity as we know them. It can be used for good or evil, and there’s many ways to upgrade we fleshbags, from cybernetics to genetics to nanotech. It also explains different currents and schools within the transhumanist movement.

Supernatural Selection: Here, I go over modern fantasy and the supernatural genre, and different ways to use them, as well as make more common creatures unique. It’s time for something other than angsty emo vampire stories.

The Uprising: Different sorts of rebellions. I cover political activism to terrorism to guerrilla warfare and then some, as well has how they differ and overlap. A good story to look at with lessons here applied is The Infowar, as well as the Infowar forum.

Xenogenesis: Alien and Fantasy Races: This is a comprehensive chapter on how to make alien species and fantasy races that are unique and memorable. Haven’t you had enough of elves, Vulcans, and Tolkien races? Hymn of Steel and Might is where lessons from this chapter are applied.

There will likely be future ones added as well. Topics I’m considering are economics and sociology, psychology, creating consistent types of (meta) physics in more fantastic stories, and many others. Have a preference for one of those or another type? Drop by my “Science Fiction” forum (or any genre-specific ones in particular) and cast your vote! Or just flame my engineering-supremacist rear.

As for other columns with a similar focus, check out ones by Ebcrab, Haku, and Alankria. Too bad they update about as often as politicians tell the truth. But hey, if you think you can write a better sci-fi column than me, go right ahead! Since communism sucks, competition in capitalism will benefit the consumer, or in this case, the reader. For now, sit back and relax.