NOT using the
panel discussions of the most recent World Science Fiction Convention in San Jose,
CA in August 2018 (to which I be unable to go (until I retire from education)),
I would jump off, jump on, rail against, and shamelessly agree with the BRIEF
DESCRIPTION given in the pdf copy of the Program Guide. But not today. This explanation
is reserved for when I dash “off topic”, sometimes reviewing movies, sometimes
reviewing books, and other times taking up the spirit of a blog an old friend of
mine used to keep called THE RANTING ROOM…
So
– I’ve been trying to do this for a while now.
Take
a real incident from my own life, place it elsewhere, usually in the future;
add aliens or not; then write it.
My
unpublished short story, “And After Soft Rains, Daisies” is an example of it. I
took my experience with my father, who was an Alzheimer’s patient, and extended
it into a future where an AI might be able to create a happier, virtual world
for him; then there’s a biological apocalypse and he’s alone and the AI has to
decide whether to keep him alive or not.
“Kamsahamnida,
America” I wrote after spending a month with my son and his family in South
Korea. Avid “tourists”, they took me everywhere in the country, and as I was a
science teacher, they made sure we hit the museums. I discovered that South
Koreans have created a culture that expects a Korean presence in space; not
just as a partner, but as an active force. This story, written using advice
from Lisa Cron’s book, WIRED FOR STORY will appear in a 2020 issue of ANALOG
Science Fiction and Fact. I have ideas for more stories in the future. In fact,
it will link into a novel I wrote…
Still
others like “The Daily Use of Gravity Modification In Rebuilding Liberian
Schools” (currently called, “God Bless You Gravity Modification” – I probably
need to change that and the name of the town (which is actually a real name, on
the map, in Liberia, outside of Monrovia…which is most likely offensive to
people who know nothing about Liberia…) are based on my time there and my
belief that it will be small countries that will take advantage of technologies
China, the US, and Europe ignore because they’re focused on “big and flashy”
projects. One of my main characters states that outright. (Sensing a theme here:
I seem to be placing more hope on the [current] underdogs than I am on my own
super power country (or the other super powers), whose time may, in fact be “over”).
My
current work-in-progress stems from a trip I took with my son to North Carolina.
It was the first time I’d ever spent actual time in the former Confederate
States of America. We stopped at lots of Battlefields, toured a Barony
(actually did that with our traveling friends), and read lots of placards. On
our way home, my son (mentioned above as an “avid ‘tourist’”) spotted a sign
and we turned off. Expecting an impressive Confederate Cemetery, we found
instead a pathetic field, mostly overgrown with trees and weeds, the ground lumpy
and untended. My son was outraged, saying, “They were soldiers. They deserve
respect!” Which got me thinking…you can read about where those thoughts led
here: http://faithandsciencefiction.blogspot.com/2019/07/writing-advice-startling-experience.html
Another
piece I’m working on is the second part of a triptych, exploring what would
happen to Humanity if the test imposed on us by an interstellar civilization
for membership was looking for the ability of Humans to be charitable. I’ve
finished “Panhandlers”, I’m starting “Immigrants”, and the central panel of the
work is going to be a bigger, broader story called “Hermit”. ALL of them draw
on experiences in life and I’m going out on a limb for me – I’m telling the
story in first person. I’ve done it only rarely and (I don’t think) never had a
first person story published.
At any rate, we’ll
see what happens. The first triptych probably won’t raise eyebrows, but I have
no DOUBT that the second one will given the current political climate. However,
instead of looking at the “big picture” that involves legislation and
high-powered congresspeople and even higher powered guns, I want to look at it
from a personal level. Through “my” eyes. I’m excited – and oddly – scared.
But Charlie Jane
Anders (of i09 fame), looks at this as well, so I can’t be TOO crazy for
working this angle: https://io9.gizmodo.com/10-ways-to-turn-your-real-life-experiences-into-science-1672787624
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