Sick Computers... Life Without Them and History, Part I

First let me tell you why I've been AWOL. My computer had been giving me fits for two months; and after first consulting the phone company and having all my lines checked; then, calling the manufacturer and running tests; it was concluded that the baby had to go to the doctor. My hard drive was failing very s.l..0...w....l.....y. Good news! We got to it in time. No data was lost. I still have all of my research and my Work in Progress, undamaged.

Whatever would I do with myself while the baby was in the 'puter hospital?

I had fun! Obviously, I worked on my research for my Science Fiction Romance WIP by studying ancient Sumer, Assyria, and Babylonia. My primary interests were their laws and customs and how I could adapt them to the alien culture which I have been creating. Did you know that they have found the world’s oldest joke book in one of the Sumerian libraries? As you can tell, I'm easily diverted. Six thousand year old jokes, from a civilization, foreign in both time and space, and humor still revolved around the digestive tract and sex. The same tasteless jokes that eleven year olds are still telling. Who’d a thunk it? Technology changes. People don't. Or have they?

Happy imagining. Life Without Them and History, Part II coming soon. Now, I only have about a thousand e-mails to catch up on. ARRRGH!

Frances

Writing Science Fiction Romance

Real Love in a Real Future

Let’s Play “What If?”

All of the anniversaries on this date got me to thinking. As a writer of Science Fiction Romance, when I start thinking, I start playing “What if?” Want to play with me? Then bear with my wandering mind. I’ve been playing with a scenario for a future work.

First Anniversary on this Date:
On late night April 19th and early morning April 20th, 1775, the American Revolution began with the Battles of Lexington and Concord. These were plain farmers and businessmen telling the Brits to quit bullying them. As a revolution, the American Revolution is an anomaly in all of history. It’s the only revolution in the history of the world which did not lead to the wholesale slaughter of the defeated parties. They simply told the Brits to go home. Would that all family squabbles were handled so well.

Several years later, 1789-1799, the French Revolution began in economic turmoil and lead to a blood bath in which several hundred thousand people perished in the arms of Madame la Guillotine. Granted, circumstances were different; but, the French Revolution followed the classic course for most political revolutions: protest; rebellion and change; execution of opposition; dictatorship. The same pattern followed in Mexico in 1910, Russia in 1917 and in China in 1949, all times of economic upheaval. Seven million died in Mexico, and only God knows how many millions died in Russia and China. Domestic violence sucks!

Second Anniversary on this Date:
On this day in 1889, Adolf Hitler was born. In 1933, again a time of economic uncertainty, he became Chancellor of Germany. In less than a year, with barely a whimper of protest, he replaced a democratically elected government with a totalitarian regime in a country that had a long history of education and culture. Fast forward fifteen years and he was responsible for the direct murder of over 17 million people... just as statistic unless you were one of them.

This is the scenario with which I am playing:
I have a planet in the distant future which is rather similar technologically to our own. It has had every advantage which freedom can offer. Why would its people suddenly turn their backs on the freedoms which they have enjoyed for centuries? What type of people would the villains be? What steps would they go through to accomplish their coup with the minimum of initial bloodshed? What would they do to keep power? What type of person would the hero be? What would the heroine be like? What are the good guys doing? What would the villians throw at them? Could they rescue their world? What would it cost them to do so? What other questions do you think that should be asked for a rip roaring good story?

Happy “What if-ing,”

Frances
Writing Science Fiction Romance
Real Love in a Real Future

A Writer’s Inspiration...

Writers are always looking for inspiration. They watch the news for their plots, and study psychology in order to make their characters more multi-dimensional. As a writer of Science Fiction Romance, I do the same, except... I like to watch animals. I’ve always had an affinity for them, and have had some pretty amazing experiences with them.

The other night I watched a marvelous program on NATURE titled the “Mountain Gorilla King.” This program first aired April 2008. It documented the same gorillas in Rwanda with which Diane Fosse began her studies so many years ago. Through war and poaching, Titus, the silverback male, has kept his family safe and helped them to grow. Now, he’s old. What was going to happen to him and to his family, the largest such group known? This is what the program documented.

I watched a surprising thing happen... yet I don’t recall it being mentioned in the script, and that surprised me. I wonder, how many other viewers noted what really happened? For nearly half of his thirty-three years, Titus has preserved his family through strength and intelligence. He had a second on command, Kuryama, whom, for years, he had skillfully kept subordinate. His second was beginning to push, more and more, for command. The situation was becoming dangerous. Finally, Titus took his entire family to the top of a high mountain, where they were in danger from the altitude and low temperature. Then he held them there. Eventually, Kuryama got up to leave, and two thirds of the family left to follow him. Only Titus’s closest intimates remained with him. Transfer of power was complete. He and his smaller family left the mountaintop and continue living successfully. Show ends.

But think about the ramifications of this for a moment. This was a move worthy of the wisest and wiliest of political strategists. Titus had manipulated a complete change of political power democratically, and without violence... where the opposite is the norm, involving much bloodshed and the killing of babies. Not only was Titus able to ensure the future of his family without violence, it was also without anger. It was then revealed that Kuryama is his son. Titus recognized his growing limitations and knew when it was time to step aside. Even though divided, there has been no war. Would that humanity could act in such a civilized manner.

In researching this article, I have since found that there have been new developments which are equally amazing. Titus has brought his small family into the group now ruled by Kuryama. Titus has assumed the second in command position, and not only has there has been no conflict, he is given respect by his son as well as the group at large.

Writers gain their inspiration from the most amazing sources. Isn’t it wonderful.

Happy hunting for your inspiration.

Frances
Writing Science Fiction Romance
Real Love in a Real Future

For the Love of Words

“The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” ~ Mark Twain

There is something about finding the precisely correct word that makes the heart sing. Poets are the consummate masters of the craft. Every word that a poet uses must be dense, with multiple layers of meaning; and, the poet deserves the highest praise, for his very reason for writing is to make his reader’s heart sing.

On the other hand... there is little that is more jarring to a reader than to be cruising through a book, and to encounter a word which is obviously taken from a Thesaurus, with little understanding of the nuances of the word. The glaring intents of this scenario are: 1) not to repeat a word too often; or, 2) to show that the writer knows some 'really big' words. The result is generally ludicrous.

“Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. There are no exceptions to this rule.” ~ Stephen King

As you can see, some authors seem to advocate throwing the Thesaurus away. But, that may not be absolutely true. It would be rather like throwing the baby out with the bath water. Thesauruses are wonderful tools for expanding one’s mind and vocabulary, to say nothing of being sheer fun. It's just that like ‘a little knowledge is a dangerous thing’, Thesauruses should be used with caution... AND A DICTIONARY! A writer who does not fully understand all the implications of the word which he/she plans to use, is playing with fire, or perhaps a bucket of water when the real intent was to light the fire. Wrong in either case.

One must be drenched in words, literally soaked in them, to have the right ones form themselves into the proper pattern at the right moment. ~ Hart Crane

I make no claim to the mastery of words that a poet must exercise. All that I can say is that I love words. I am a merely writer of plain prose. I simply try to choose the correct word to convey my ideas in the clearest possible manner. The correct and careful use of words is one of the foundation stones of civilization. We need to be careful of anyone playing fast and loose with our language.

May we all be discriminating in both our reading and our writing,

Frances

Writing Science Fiction Romance
Real Love in a Real Future

My Journey to the Stars Begins

Once upon a time, long before the dinosaurs roamed the earth, there was a little girl who wanted to know about the stars. But, even before there was that little girl, there was a little boy who ran away to sea to become a ship’s officer. He was my father, and he had wonderful stories to tell about traveling the world, and navigating by the stars. I liked the idea that you could know where you are, anywhere on Earth, simply by looking at the stars.

“Which stars did you use, Daddy?”
“Why, we used Polaris, and Arcturus, and Betelgeuse, and others.”
“I want to see?”
“Arcturus is that star right up there. See it?”
“Where Daddy? I can’t see it.”

It never occurred to anyone that I needed glasses. I got my glasses; yet, I could never quite get the stars. However, I didn't forget how very much I wanted to know them. I did learn to recognize the Big Dipper and Cassiopeia. Because I had found the Big Dipper, I found Polaris, but that was about it. The rest of the sky was beyond me. I read everything that the Encyclopedia Britannica and the National Geographic offered, but I just couldn’t seem to make sense of those star charts. For years, my secret desire languished. But, my time was coming. I was writing a book! Science Fiction Romance Writer was on the case.

Spring Star Note:

Just after dark, get the darkest location that you can find. Look North by Northwest (Thank you, Mr. Hitchcock), and depending upon your latitude, you will see the Big Dipper. It's a ladle or plough shaped group of stars. In England, it is called the Plough. If you are in the Northern Hemisphere, it will be high in the sky. If you are in the Southern Hemisphere, it will be low, or partially below the horizon.

The Big Dipper is supremely important to navigators, not only because the two stars on the end of the bowl, or of the plow, point directly to Polaris, the North Star, but also because the stars in its handle point to Arcturus. Follow the arc of the handle, and the next bright star is Arcturus. It will be just to the East of the highest point in the sky for those in the mid northern latitudes, or high in the northern sky for those of you south of the equator.

Every civilization in the history of the world has used Polaris and Arcturus to navigate the seas. Our modern astronauts, space station, and telescopes are irrevocably tied to the Argonauts of ancient Greece, as well as the voyagers of ancient Polynesia. Cool, huh?

Happy viewing and writing,

Frances

Writing Science Fiction Romance

Real Love in a Real Future