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@Mark-Kamibaya thanks for all this. I’ve not said much but I’ve been following it. Very useful. 😉
@mark-kamibaya These have been great. Thanks for doing them.
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@mark-kamibaya I agree. Thanks so much for all this, for your time and energy! I really appreciate it!
☀ ☀ ☀ ENFP ☀ ☀ ☀
You know, @mark-kamibaya , I especially liked what you said about the overused proper-noun. I almost did that this morning, then remembered reading this. 😛
The Dark One shall plunge the Earth into the Darkness, the Disease which has penetrated the Protective Orb of Time since it was created by the King.
Oh dear.☀ ☀ ☀ ENFP ☀ ☀ ☀
@dragon-snapper That’s great! Lol Glad you got something out of this series of posts.
@daeus @kate-flournoy Thanks for following the posts. I didn’t really know if anyone was really reading them, but now I know there were.
There’s probably no other genre that I can do this type of series on (besides fantasy, and it’s really not my thing). So I second what @jayniecatgirl08 said. RIP Sci-Fi Month.
I blog on story and spiritual things at mkami.weebly.com
Seconding what everyone else said. There was some great advice in this thread. Also a number of things I was guilty of, like that proper noun thing. =P Thanks for doing this!
Editor-in-Chief Emeritus. Guiding authors at Story Embers.
[quote quote=36126]Sci-Fi Tips Part 15 Random Sci-Fi Character Types Deconstructed The Lone Gunslinger As you may have guessed, the Lone Gunslinger is a character type borrowed from Westerns. The character type works well in science fiction, specifically space operas, because there are many parallels between Westerns and science fiction space operas including the discovery and exploration of new lands, indigenous people, and rampant lawlessness. The name “Lone Gunslinger” fits the character type well, because he is both isolated from society and a highly skilled combatant. A bleak backstory is optional, though some stories embrace him as an outsider in a fun, quirky way. At his core, the Lone Gunslinger is a drifter who wants to do good. I understand when others say this character type is clichéd. The Lone Gunslinger has crossed over to many different genres with little variation. But I believe that’s why this is a convention, not a cliché. Since the Lone Gunslinger works so well in different genres, there must be a strong appeal for this character type. Of course, the widespread use of this convention attests to the opinion that it’s a tired trope. That may be true, but I will still enjoy this character type as much as I can. Rebellious Youths You’ve heard the story before. A (usually unqualified) youngster steps into a dangerous environment in which only the elite survive. All the odds are stacked against her. However, using just her wit and will, she rebels against authority and sidelines rules resulting in a shocking triumph. Bonus points if she proves herself to always be right. Add sci-fi bonus points if she has a fling with an alien or is excessively serious (or snarky, just as long as they’re excessively something). This character type has grown in popularity in the past couple years. And I’m sick of it. It seems that every young person must start a rebellion and prove to be right. It’s as if authors are scared that teens won’t identify with a young person who isn’t rebellious know-it-all. Maybe they are. Hopefully, storytellers can prepare this clichéd convention in a unique way. Add pinch orthodoxy. A dash of humility. Age her a decade or two. Place the character into the heat of trials until she becomes multifaceted. And there you have it. Enjoy your restyled rebellious youth. Strong Military Women Strong military women are the classic well-muscled heroes of action movies, but re-imagined as females. Except they aren’t. They are literally male action movie heroes but with a female name. The problem is twofold. The military action genre relies on bazookas and blood to attract the reader. Therefore, while the plot may be an exciting rollercoaster ride, one-dimensional characters abound. In defense of the genre, characters of depth aren’t really needed. The closest you get to a complex character is the hero’s three-dimensional muscles. Science fiction storytellers are also to blame. The male action hero can use brawn and bullets to solve problems. However, a change in gender must lead to a change in story, because women are not men. They approach problems differently than men. This does not mean that women cannot sprint towards the enemy with guns blazing. They can do that if necessary, but their motivations, mindset, and sentiments must vary at least a little bit. Including Strong Military Women in a science fiction story used to be a profound statement. Now it’s just falling into the cliché that a woman in a man’s world must think like a man and act like a man in order to win like a man. It’s insulting to women . . . and men too. Mad Scientist Just like the Lone Gunslinger, the name of the famed Mad Scientist describes the character type quite well. He is mad and he is a scientist. The mad aspect of this character is not as one-dimensional as it seems. The madness of the scientist may be subjective, reasonable, obsessive, or just plain crazy. When combined with the brains of a scientist, madness yields serious, far-reaching repercussions. This is the appeal of the convention: the danger that appears when madness affects a genius, and the puzzle of a crazed mind. Unfortunately, the Mad Scientist character convention, after many years of dilution, is usually written as a caricature. Very few stories capture the layers and depth this convention provides. I believe that is why most see the Mad Scientist as a cliché. However, if more authors infuse this convention with its original essence—the mystery of what lies in the mind of a mad man—the Mad Scientist will prove to be the great convention it truly is.[/quote]
Apologies for dredging up this dinosaur, but what you described here are two examples of tropes:
Single biome planet, and Planet of the Hats.
Basically a planet that is labeled “Jungle,” “Ice,” “Rock,” “Water,” etc. is a single biome planet. Tatooine, Hoth, Felucia, Kamino, and Endor are (seemingly) examples of single biome planets.
Sometimes it’s justified, like a rocky planet being rocky because it can’t support life, or an ice planet being icy because it’s far away from its star, but otherwise, it’s just unbelievable. Even if a planet is predominantly a certain biome, E.G. Jungle, it would probably have a few mountainous regions, oceans, volcanic regions, grasslands, and ice caps. Planets should be a patchwork quilt, not a white bedsheet.Planet of the hats is where you take a certain “hat” (can be figurative or literal) for anything, whether a culture or an alien race, and make it their defining trait. E.G. Klingons are a Proud Warrior Race (another trope), Asians are good at math, humans are idiots, or everyone on Kingdom Pen is a girl. 😛 …When in reality, Klingons can also be good scientists (sometimes treating discoveries as a victory in battle), not all Asians are good at math, not all humans are idiots, and me, Daeus, and Mark are not girls. 😛
So… Aliens/other cultures should be a patchwork quilt, not a white bedsheet… 😛
And those are things I want to go out of my way to avoid in my writing.
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