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gsemones
Joined: 13 Aug 2007
Posts: 268
Location: The Ramtop Mountains
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 Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2010 9:11 pm Post subject: Speculative fiction is the last great bastion of .... |
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In today's Daily Kick, David Farland addressed the "core question" in the SF/F genres. I particularly liked the late Algis Budrys' quote, and thought those here would agree.
If you want to subscribe (free) to the David Farland's Daily Kick emails, go to http://www.davidfarland.net/members
| Quote: | Yesterday I received the following question in the mail from one of our readers, Philine Tucker: “I am hoping to take one of your workshops soon, and I wondered if you might have time for a general writer's question about the fantasy genre. I was told there are core questions for every genre. Such as in mysteries, the question is always WHO did it? In thrillers it's more HOW can the hero save the president's life, etc? And in romance it's: How can the two characters come together in spite of their great differences? I wondered, can you think of such a core question for fantasy?”
I’ve heard this “core question” idea before, and it is true that there are certain questions that strike at the heart of just about any genre.
For fantasy and science fiction, we almost always have to deal with questions of power for our reader. So if a protagonist is a young wizard like Harry Potter, the core question becomes, “What is the right use of power?” In short, science fiction and fantasy always have to deal with ethics.
I know that some writers suggest that in the future, morality will be irrelevant. This is a philosophy that has been put forward by a number of agnostic or atheistic futurists in science fiction, but I suspect that writers who believe this will instead find their own work to be irrelevant in the future—completely forgotten despite their literary panache.
The truth is that morality is hardwired into the human anatomy. Each of us as organisms must survive individually, and so we have the basic need at times to put our own wants and desires ahead of those of all others. In short, we may want—or even need—to steal, to lie, to cheat, to kill.
Yet we are also herd animals with a need to mate and rear children over a lifetime, and so we must sacrifice our own wants for the betterment of society. We go to work each day and earn our daily bread. We struggle to find time to play with our children. We give up a day of fishing in order to spend time with our wives. We let an old woman take the parking stall closer to the door at the grocery store.
We are all angels and demons. Thus, on a daily basis we are thrust into this eternal war of self vs. society, and we struggle to figure out how to live comfortably within a moral framework.
So the moral question is the core of science fiction and fantasy. Because of this, Algis Budrys used to say that “Speculative fiction is the last great bastion of moral and religious fiction.”
As you consider the core question for your genre, please remember too that there is always a “core emotion” that you must arouse in each audience. In speculative fiction, we typically arouse a sense of wonder. In fact, I’d much rather get rid of genre tags altogether. Romance, horror, and thrillers are already called after the core emotion that they arouse. We could have genres of wonder, comedy, lust, justice, and so on. |
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RLCopple
Joined: 22 Feb 2006
Posts: 794
Location: Marble Falls, TX
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| Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 12:57 am Post subject: |
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Interesting thoughts. I thought he would say fantasy and sci-fi's question was: What if?
But the one he states fits as to why I feel a need to write in this genre. I think it has the potential to communicate in an experiential way a core morality, without hitting anyone over the head with it. And while I enjoy stories like Star Trek, the morality and philosophy underpinning it is antithetical to my own, though parts are similar as well.
So, I figured I'd do more than sit on the sidelines and complain about it. I would help to make a difference, if possible.
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R. L. Copple
Marble Falls, TX
My Blog
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Keanan Brand
Joined: 14 Aug 2008
Posts: 93
Location: Arkansas
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| Posted: Sun Jul 11, 2010 2:25 pm Post subject: |
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Like Rick said, some science fiction has a set of ethics / a moral code that doesn't quite jive with mine i.e. some stuff in "Farscape" -- though I still use the avatar. (shrug)
Way back when I was a kid, and long before I realized there's a certain amount of indoctrination that just seems to naturally occur when one is a long-time fan of a show/book series/author/ whatever, I dealt with conflicts in my personal beliefs -- doubts arising from the contrast between what I was being taught in school or learning from science fiction and fantasy, and what I was being taught at church or reading for myself from the Bible. My mother was not pleased with many of my reading choices, and was not afraid to voice her opinion, but I -- being a cocky kid who thought, "It's not gonna happen to me" -- just blew off her concerns because I thought I was strong enough and smart enough to handle whatever I read. Boy, was I wrong.
However, facing doubts and the conflicts between sets of morals helped me to solidify my own beliefs, and -- I hope -- made me a stronger person, at least on the inside.
So, absolutely, I see how science fiction can be used to address moral issues. And, as a person of faith and a writer, I want my stories to have a point. To quote from David Farland's response to the original question:
| Quote: | | For fantasy and science fiction, we almost always have to deal with questions of power for our reader. |
Whether or not I intend it to happen, that's very often the core struggle: Who's in charge, who's the pulling the strings, and why?
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To read a sample of my work, check out these:
THIEVES' HONOR series here at Ray Gun Revival
"At the End of Time, When the World Was New" (December 2007, DKA Magazine) |
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