Tuesday, February 18, 2014

All Things Writing ~ Susan Says




Welcome to another addition of All Things Writing. I have a special guest here today to share her thoughts on GENRE. Susan Gourley/Kelley has published novels in multiple genres and crossover genres. If you aren't following her blog, I urge you to give her a read. Her blog is one of my favorite stops in this Blogger journey. She doesn't write solely about writing, but covers a broad range of topics... including writing.

Susan, thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts today.  Without further ado... Susan Gourley/Kelley from Susan Says.... 

Some Hard Speculation

My last two romances and my current WIP are all science fiction novels. My publisher labels them futuristic, and they are that, but I prefer the science fiction label because I, well, I love science. Though my college major was health and physical education and my masters is in health education, I also carried a minor in science. I even taught biology one year. So when I write my futuristic romances, there is some real science in there along with the science I crafted during my world building.

When people talk about science fiction novels they often distinguish between them using the words, hard-core versus soft. There are many ways to describe those two types of writing but I taught high school for quite a few years so I know how to make things simple.

In hard-core science fiction, a large portion of the story is about the technology and how it’s used. There may be long descriptions of guns or space vessels. Battles may be determined by the level of advancement in an enemy’s weapons. The characters take second place to the plot’s factors in the futuristic world.  Usually the story revolves around the ‘hard’ sciences like chemistry, physics and astronomy. Writers and readers of hard-core term biology, psychology and ecology as vague or soft sciences.

In soft science fiction, the story revolves around the characters and their growth and personal challenges. The world around them may be filled with big guns and fast space ships, but the plot is about the personal battles and struggles of the characters. Writers and readers of this kind of science fiction never call it soft but usually will call it by one of its subgenres like dystopian, steampunk, or perhaps space opera.

There are fans of both types and some fans who overlap when a novel manages to combine both intriguing technology and world building with vibrant, engaging characters. One point I should make is that hard-core or soft, the science can be just as realistic in either type of writing.

In my science fiction romances, I try not to break any real laws of physics, but if a novel is going to involve space travel, some science must be invented. A long-burning fuel source would be needed for space travel, so my intergalactic space vessels use a mineral called crystallized iron. But one of the metals they need to build their technologies is iridium. And just like on Earth, the deposits my characters discover are from meteor strikes. It’s still a rare element in my futurist setting as dramatized in my most recent release, The Marine’s Heiress.

A lot of the science I use in my Recon Marine series is biology, specifically genetics. Mankind is discovering new things about our genetic codes and how our DNA determines our intellect, ability to fight diseases and more things about our health and well-being. My Recon Marines have been genetically engineered to be perfect soldiers. The drama ensues when the marines decide they no longer want to be used as weapons of war.

The definitions I’ve applied to science fiction are my own opinions and you know what they say about those. I’m sure a hundred writers could come up with one hundred different descriptions. Speculative fiction is a term that covers a lot of area so maybe we should use that one. 



The Marine's Heiress, Book #2 of The Recon Marines, takes up the story of Vin. If you read the first book, you know who Vin is. At the end of the first book, Vin left his marine brothers, alone in his anger and need for revenge. The second book will delve further into the origins of the genetically enhanced soldiers and the people responsible for their creation and downfall. Can there be a happily ever after for a man who believes his one chance at a normal life has been lost.

33 comments:

  1. Obviously I am more of the soft kind of science fiction, as I couldn't even tell you what fuels my spaceships. (I do know what makes the teleporters work though!)

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  2. Well, I love science fiction, and your books sound interesting. My stories involve hard scifi as well. Nice to know more about you and your writing, Susan.

    Thanks Robin for featuring Susan, and sorry about missing the last BOTBs. I was having pc issues while converting to a new one. . .

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  3. Thanks for stopping by Alex and D.G. I think teleporters are in our future, Alex, but I don't think they'll work like yours do.
    Thanks for having me, Robin.

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  4. Great explanations, Susan! I don't think I've read any hard science fiction yet. I enjoy the sci fi that you write as well as Firefly, which I believe falls under the Space Opera heading.

    Nice to meet you, Robin! We both agree on how awesome Susan is!! :D

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  5. Thanks for stopping by, Ava. Firefly is one of my favorites too.

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  6. Those Marines books sound great, and have already been added to my wishlist.

    I don't think I've heard of science-fiction romances before. I mean unless you count the fact that I somehow bewitched my wife (who is hot) into marrying me and staying married to me (who am not). But that's more fantasy, I suppose.

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  7. Thanks, Briane, for visiting. Hope you like the books.

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  8. Susan,

    I appreciate how well you distinguished the two types of science fiction. I wasn't aware of the difference. Yours sounds like something I could read and understand.

    Robin, just wanted to say thank you for stopping by my blog again. Your comment meant a lot. =)

    Elsie
    AJ's wHooligan in the A-Z Challenge

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  9. Great post, Susan! Even "soft" science fiction needs to have its science screwed on right! I prefer the softer kind myself. One of my big favorites is the Miles Vorkosigan books by Lois McMaster Bujold.

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  10. Hi, Susan. Great to see you here at Robin's. I like your descriptions of science fiction.

    Hi, Robin :)

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  11. I am so not a science person, but have great admiration for those that are. Plus I now know the difference between hard and soft core sci fi:)

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  12. There does seem to be different distinctions within sci-fi. I'm not a fan of Star Trek, for instance, but I do love movies and some TV shows set in the future. Depends how it's handled. And I'm a HUGE Twilight Zone fan, which can sometimes be classified as sci-fi, sometimes horror...

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  13. Elsie, I'm not sure the lines are definite between the two but it does come up in the field a lot.
    Dianne, I like Bujold sometimes also.
    Thanks for stopping by Carol and Sandra.
    Stephanie, I love the new Star Treks and I like seeing the comparisons of the old ones to our current technology. It's all coming true.

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  14. It is great fun having someone else write the post. They get to also cater to the comments! Hahahaha. Thank you everyone stopping in and I hope that you go visit Susan regularly at her blog. I promise that you won't be disappointed!!!

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  15. Those that have the lingo down can really confuse many a reader and be a put off indeed

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  16. That sounds fairly accurate. The only detail I object to is calling true space opera soft science fiction. I feel it's too heavily a fantasy/sci-fi crossover to be called either hard or soft. There are those tricky ones though, like Speaker For the Dead by Orson Scott Card, which I consider a cross of space opera and soft science fiction.

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  17. I did not know there was a difference between soft and hard science fiction. This is such an interesting post!

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  18. My college professors did an excellent job of pointing out the limited use of genre labels. Writers should write their stories that are in them, genres be damned! Interesting post!

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  19. Since so much falls under the science fiction spectrum, I'm glad that you explained the difference between the soft and hard-core versions. I'm sure that I would appreciate your interesting genetics storyline. Robin, thanks for hosting Susan!

    Julie

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  20. I don't read a lot of science fiction, but you have intrigued me. I imagine you spend a lot of non-sleeping time pondering the science behind the fiction.

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  21. I'm not much of a fan of hard-core science fiction, since I'm much more character orientated than anything else.

    That said, I have huge respect for people who can take hard scientific facts and create stories around them. :-)

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  22. Pat, I've read SF that puts me off by the odd names for things.
    Good points, Steven and Patrick. Genre labeling is very subjective.
    I hope you learned something interesting, MJ and Empty Nester.
    Liza and Misha, fortunately, I love science so I don't mind delving into scientific facts.
    Thanks, Robin, for having me here.

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  23. It's important to set your own definitions so the readers know where you're coming from!! Nice to meet you, by the way!! :)

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  24. One of my favorite authors is Anne McCaffrey, and her work falls into the soft side. Even with stories like The Ship Who Sang, it's about the people not the ship.

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  25. Great article. My books are soft science fiction with scattered showers of hard core sci-fi set in an action adventure book.

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  26. Hi, Robin & Susan,
    Soft Sci-Fi sounds like I'd understand it a lot better that the hard-core version. I guess those stories would be more attractive to people like me who like a little romance, but can take or leave the sci-fi part of things.

    Like the thought of genetically-modified soldiers. Interesting stuff.

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  27. I will check out Susan's blog right now. Thanks for the lead.

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  28. It's interesting to learn these terms and the differences between hardcore and soft sci-fi. I know so little about sci-fi. Now I know a little more than that. Thank you Susan and Robin.

    xoRobyn

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  29. Just stopped by to say, 'hey', Robin and Susan.

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  30. Thanks for stopping in JJ and Sandra. Hey right back at you.
    Glad you learned something, Rawkrobyn.

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  31. OK, this was very interesting. I'm going over to visit her blog and see what she has to say. Maybe my own WIP could use a little touch of science fiction to jazz things up?

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  32. The delightful thing about speculative fiction is the many varieties available. I like both hard and soft SF -- so perhaps I'm an over-easy SF fan! lol

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