tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927684037486881914.post4384915086379712956..comments2024-03-01T00:14:52.680-08:00Comments on The Writer in Black: Science, Science Fiction, and the possibleThe Writer in Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00634971729839053990noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927684037486881914.post-88699772613708524742012-03-29T19:38:52.525-07:002012-03-29T19:38:52.525-07:00That's fine in a near-future story or a short....That's fine in a near-future story or a short. But in a larger story set farther in the future that only one or two things are different is itself an implausibility.<br /><br />And when you work with a series of stories set in the same universe what was the "Macguffin" of one story becomes part of the background of a story set later (regardless of in what order the stories were written).<br /><br />I will agree on the deus ex machina instant plot solver. But that generally won't be a problem if you've done your job of building the world and making it internally consistent.The Writer in Blackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00634971729839053990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927684037486881914.post-34208175178067818782012-03-29T18:58:46.278-07:002012-03-29T18:58:46.278-07:00While it is true that we can't predict what to...While it is true that we can't predict what tomorrow will bring, I think there's merit in stories that restrict the imagined changes to the smallest set necessary to tell the story. It's the old John W. Campbell rule of one implausible thing per story. The value of that kind of story is akin to the fair mystery subgenre in the mystery field: the reader gets to play the What If game along with you without having to worry that you'll pull out a new implausibility any time you get the heroes in a jam.<br /><br />On the other hand, Campbell's latest successor Stan Schmidt has authored a book on The Coming Convergence, and his main thesis therein is that the really stunning changes happen when parallel lines of technological development intersect in unexpected ways. Starting with examples from history, he establishes his thesis; and then he considers what intersections we might see in the future. It opens the door for "non-Campbellian" stories in which two or more implausibles meet to produce the ramifications that lead to the story.<br /><br />Me, I'm an all-of-the-above kind of reader; but when I write SF, I'm probably close to the Campbell approach. I like to take the one idea, plausible or implausible or even impossible, and see where it leads me.Martin L. Shoemakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02554126977342152497noreply@blogger.com