That made me chuckle. Great advice thanks and yeah, I tend to go to far into an explainathon. Sometimes I forget the readers don't care how something works as long as the story is engaging and the plot keeps moving forward. I'll look forward to that video 😊
I do that too, though I think I’m getting better at it. Posted a science fiction focused world building video. It’s a bit more general, but does include an example of designing a ship and crew (in this case for a role playing game, but it’s the same idea).
In retrospect, that voice for Ayo did not work well. It sounded good with headphones, but has a very distant, distorted sound when it plays through small speakers. That's another pro tip: listen to the audio on different speakers.
I struggle with world-building on the futuristic technology side of things. I have no problems conjuring up crazy-looking alien creatures and weird and wacky planets but I seem to have this mental block when it comes to the practicalities of spaceships and all the stuff that's supposed to go inside them! I also struggle with the research in regard to how things work. I've done lots of research but sometimes it's difficult to know how far to take it. I want it to be feasible and have a basic knowledge of physics but I tend to get carried away and end up making my head spin when trying to figure something out. Readers are smart and sometimes I feel like I have to be some sort of magician! I couldn't reply to your comment above for some reason so giving a separate one
I understand how that goes. Hopefully the PhD astrophysicist who volunteers at SETI on the weekend isn’t your main audience. Most readers won’t be experts either so a little hand-wavium can go a long way. The best two tools I’ve found are to be consistent: once you decide a thing works a certain way, or a certain technology is possible, stick to it. The other is to avoid detailed explanations of things you don’t really understand. If the ship goes faster than light, give it some rules and imagine how FTL affects society, but don’t try to write a dissertation on HOW it it works. It works, and most readers will just go along with it. What’s the famous saying…a sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. At some point the details just don’t matter anymore. But this gives me an idea for a sci-fi episode. I’ll put that together and see what people think.
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That made me chuckle. Great advice thanks and yeah, I tend to go to far into an explainathon. Sometimes I forget the readers don't care how something works as long as the story is engaging and the plot keeps moving forward. I'll look forward to that video 😊
I do that too, though I think I’m getting better at it. Posted a science fiction focused world building video. It’s a bit more general, but does include an example of designing a ship and crew (in this case for a role playing game, but it’s the same idea).
In retrospect, that voice for Ayo did not work well. It sounded good with headphones, but has a very distant, distorted sound when it plays through small speakers. That's another pro tip: listen to the audio on different speakers.
I struggle with world-building on the futuristic technology side of things. I have no problems conjuring up crazy-looking alien creatures and weird and wacky planets but I seem to have this mental block when it comes to the practicalities of spaceships and all the stuff that's supposed to go inside them! I also struggle with the research in regard to how things work. I've done lots of research but sometimes it's difficult to know how far to take it. I want it to be feasible and have a basic knowledge of physics but I tend to get carried away and end up making my head spin when trying to figure something out. Readers are smart and sometimes I feel like I have to be some sort of magician! I couldn't reply to your comment above for some reason so giving a separate one
I understand how that goes. Hopefully the PhD astrophysicist who volunteers at SETI on the weekend isn’t your main audience. Most readers won’t be experts either so a little hand-wavium can go a long way. The best two tools I’ve found are to be consistent: once you decide a thing works a certain way, or a certain technology is possible, stick to it. The other is to avoid detailed explanations of things you don’t really understand. If the ship goes faster than light, give it some rules and imagine how FTL affects society, but don’t try to write a dissertation on HOW it it works. It works, and most readers will just go along with it.
What’s the famous saying…a sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. At some point the details just don’t matter anymore.
But this gives me an idea for a sci-fi episode. I’ll put that together and see what people think.
Would love to see a video geared towards science fiction writing. UA-cam doesn't have many
That’s mostly what I write, and I can certainly make some SF focused videos. Any area in particular you struggle with or want to know more about?