The technology/science Vs magic/esotercim is something that could be really interesting premise to me. Would like to see tech that appears to be magical and knowledgeable magic that matches outperforms the latest science.
I think I would be a sucker for a new clash of genres work.
I often get surprised by works that come from genre publishers that turn out be something very different. Gemma Armor's Full Immersio is recent delight. Also A Canticle for Leibowitz a more classic example.
I think my two constraints on what I write in this field are - two different metaphysics could mean a lot of talking about metaphysics. And the idea that comes up at workshops that "I - alone of every human that has ever lived - I am the first person to put magic and science in the same story" I do remember how fabulous the Shadow of the Torturer was in being everything you want in a fantasy except it's ancient science and alien science in a dying world.
Here's an analogy that only came to me as I was considering my response to this post. Consider a meteor impact. There will be a crater at ground zero, and there will be a splatter zone of decreasingly severe consequences as you move away from the centre.
The ground zero of the story is what a story is "about", like, a stranded alien boy on Earth. The core premise. The splatter zone are the things you can expect from the core premise, becoming less and less likely the further out you go. Psionic powers are within the splatter zone. Wizards are not. So, one belongs in OCftS and the other doesn't.
To take another example: Alien. Say you knew nothing about the way the story was going to develop. It would not have been unreasonable for more of the crew to survive. For another ship to come to their aid. For more aliens, even, to come to their aid. None of these things would have been out of place in the splatter zone. However, it would have been too far out for a time traveller to appear out of nowhere in a blue box and save the day.
Of course, if the story was about said time traveller - a concept with a very extensive splatter zone - it would have been quite in order for him to arrive on the ship.
I'm glad you took the fantasy out of Our Child of the Stars; I can see how it could have been confusing. Cory's psychic powers were sufficiently within the splatter zone that it didn't jar. It was also important that you put limitations on those powers - that he couldn't handle them with finesse, and were by no means a get out of jail card for any occasion.
Yes, exactly. Cory species's powers evolved and can be harmed by damage to specific parts of the brain (and artificially enhanced through tech). The existance of fantasy elements would cause a rational reader to ask questions that might jerk you out of the story - is this story actually happening? Is some science explicable thing creating these hallucinations of fantasy entities? Using brainpower better spent on worrying about other parts of the story. As for limiting powers, I GMd roleplaying games in my 20s and you learn the hard way... And in the splatter zone, ancient Greek plays can have a god descend from the sky and sort it all out. Because that was ostensibly their world view
The technology/science Vs magic/esotercim is something that could be really interesting premise to me. Would like to see tech that appears to be magical and knowledgeable magic that matches outperforms the latest science.
I think I would be a sucker for a new clash of genres work.
I often get surprised by works that come from genre publishers that turn out be something very different. Gemma Armor's Full Immersio is recent delight. Also A Canticle for Leibowitz a more classic example.
*Immersion
I think my two constraints on what I write in this field are - two different metaphysics could mean a lot of talking about metaphysics. And the idea that comes up at workshops that "I - alone of every human that has ever lived - I am the first person to put magic and science in the same story" I do remember how fabulous the Shadow of the Torturer was in being everything you want in a fantasy except it's ancient science and alien science in a dying world.
My current WIP is "A Seven Year Itch" x "Oh no someone is going to die" x Spooky
Here's an analogy that only came to me as I was considering my response to this post. Consider a meteor impact. There will be a crater at ground zero, and there will be a splatter zone of decreasingly severe consequences as you move away from the centre.
The ground zero of the story is what a story is "about", like, a stranded alien boy on Earth. The core premise. The splatter zone are the things you can expect from the core premise, becoming less and less likely the further out you go. Psionic powers are within the splatter zone. Wizards are not. So, one belongs in OCftS and the other doesn't.
To take another example: Alien. Say you knew nothing about the way the story was going to develop. It would not have been unreasonable for more of the crew to survive. For another ship to come to their aid. For more aliens, even, to come to their aid. None of these things would have been out of place in the splatter zone. However, it would have been too far out for a time traveller to appear out of nowhere in a blue box and save the day.
Of course, if the story was about said time traveller - a concept with a very extensive splatter zone - it would have been quite in order for him to arrive on the ship.
I'm glad you took the fantasy out of Our Child of the Stars; I can see how it could have been confusing. Cory's psychic powers were sufficiently within the splatter zone that it didn't jar. It was also important that you put limitations on those powers - that he couldn't handle them with finesse, and were by no means a get out of jail card for any occasion.
Yes, exactly. Cory species's powers evolved and can be harmed by damage to specific parts of the brain (and artificially enhanced through tech). The existance of fantasy elements would cause a rational reader to ask questions that might jerk you out of the story - is this story actually happening? Is some science explicable thing creating these hallucinations of fantasy entities? Using brainpower better spent on worrying about other parts of the story. As for limiting powers, I GMd roleplaying games in my 20s and you learn the hard way... And in the splatter zone, ancient Greek plays can have a god descend from the sky and sort it all out. Because that was ostensibly their world view