Science Fiction for the Ages
By James L. hill (aka J L Hill)
When people think of Science Fiction they picture a distance future world with spaceships, laser death rays, and robot armies. It has been the bread and butter of the genre for many decades. But I challenge you to write a science fiction story in the Age of Kings, or The Bronze Age, or even in Ancient Greece.
Before you yell, “been there, done that, and have the T-shirt to boot!” I’m not talking about time traveling, another staple of the sci-fi world. I am talking about building a world in the actual time period based upon the science of the day. For example, you heard the saying, ‘don’t bring a knife to a gunfight.” Suppose you write about the first person to bring a gun to a sword fight.
It goes something like this. You’re a cannon maker; the king comes in your shop and says, “Your cannons are the best on the battlefield. But every time I get them set up and fire a few shots, my enemy moves and attacks from another direction. It takes hours to reposition my cannons and in the mean time my soldier are getting slaughtered.”
You reply, “check out my latest invention, a personal cannon small enough for one man to handle, yet powerful enough to stop a man dead in his tracks.”
“What do you call it?”
“I named it after my son Gunter; I call it the Hand Gun.”
How about building your world around ancient Greece and the Archimedes’ death ray? I know what you historical fiction writers are saying, “keep your hands off my genre!” But that’s only true if I write about Archimedes. If I write about one of the soldiers holding the mirrors, or how the mirrors works (A bit of history – the Romans sailed on Syracuse, Archimedes home state. He in turn built a giant mirror and used the power of the sun to incinerate their ships at sea. People have tried to prove or disprove the claim) you take it out of the realm of history and focus on the science. (Pun intended)
So another important aspect of world building is the age in which you build your world. Sci-fiers do not limit your selves to a time far into the future. And you need not jump into your way back machine to write about the past. I loved the Mr. Peabody and Sherman cartoon when I was a kid. Imagine what it might have been like to stand in the sands of time and experience the first time a new invention was revealed. If you concentrate on the ‘what’ and ‘how’, instead of the ‘who’ and ‘why’, then you are writing historical science fiction. You will build a world that exists in the mind and heart of the readers.
Since world building is an integral part of science fiction, I will from time to time touch upon this subject with aspects that will help you create viable worlds for your characters to thrive in.
By James L. hill (aka J L Hill)
When people think of Science Fiction they picture a distance future world with spaceships, laser death rays, and robot armies. It has been the bread and butter of the genre for many decades. But I challenge you to write a science fiction story in the Age of Kings, or The Bronze Age, or even in Ancient Greece.
Before you yell, “been there, done that, and have the T-shirt to boot!” I’m not talking about time traveling, another staple of the sci-fi world. I am talking about building a world in the actual time period based upon the science of the day. For example, you heard the saying, ‘don’t bring a knife to a gunfight.” Suppose you write about the first person to bring a gun to a sword fight.
It goes something like this. You’re a cannon maker; the king comes in your shop and says, “Your cannons are the best on the battlefield. But every time I get them set up and fire a few shots, my enemy moves and attacks from another direction. It takes hours to reposition my cannons and in the mean time my soldier are getting slaughtered.”
You reply, “check out my latest invention, a personal cannon small enough for one man to handle, yet powerful enough to stop a man dead in his tracks.”
“What do you call it?”
“I named it after my son Gunter; I call it the Hand Gun.”
How about building your world around ancient Greece and the Archimedes’ death ray? I know what you historical fiction writers are saying, “keep your hands off my genre!” But that’s only true if I write about Archimedes. If I write about one of the soldiers holding the mirrors, or how the mirrors works (A bit of history – the Romans sailed on Syracuse, Archimedes home state. He in turn built a giant mirror and used the power of the sun to incinerate their ships at sea. People have tried to prove or disprove the claim) you take it out of the realm of history and focus on the science. (Pun intended)
So another important aspect of world building is the age in which you build your world. Sci-fiers do not limit your selves to a time far into the future. And you need not jump into your way back machine to write about the past. I loved the Mr. Peabody and Sherman cartoon when I was a kid. Imagine what it might have been like to stand in the sands of time and experience the first time a new invention was revealed. If you concentrate on the ‘what’ and ‘how’, instead of the ‘who’ and ‘why’, then you are writing historical science fiction. You will build a world that exists in the mind and heart of the readers.
Since world building is an integral part of science fiction, I will from time to time touch upon this subject with aspects that will help you create viable worlds for your characters to thrive in.
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