As an #sf, #sciencefiction, or #military#fiction#writer, you need the gif image of Tonga exploding in an eruption that can be found in this article. The article is interesting, too.
The MC is employed by her main antagonist, who is an absolute ruler. Theoretically, the MC is second in command, but reality begs to differ. One of the reasons the MC accepted the troubleshooter job is that the MA informed her that her supposedly dead father is actually a political prisoner in a nearby country. In the back of her mind, the MC wonders whether she can use some of the MA's power to pay certain miscreant warlords a nasty visit...
This is a possible sequel I've set up in the current story by having the MC befriend a very talented up and coming military officer.
The main antagonist. This is the person she once considered as the person who ruined her life. She once worked for someone whose stated goal was assassinating her, and didn't care if they succeeded. For the last few months, the MC lived in a roommate situation that made them neighbors. Her roommate was being trained by the main antagonist, but also had a bad relationship with her. Their proximity was always a background tension in the story. In the current story, the MC is now working for the main antagonist and understands the MA's "evil" reasons better, but still dislikes her. The MC could ask for her own suite, free of charge, in the same building but is planning on taking her new salary to live elsewhere.
#WritersCoffeeClub Ch 9 Nbr 08 — When writing technical or scientific detail, how much is plausible versus imagined?
Everything in a story must come across as plausible, full stop. It doesn't matter whether it is imagined or factual. This is as true for writing technical or scientific detail as it is for writing about social interactions. Here's my secret sauce recipe:
If I don't or can't understand the details necessary for the story, I don't write it. I won't write a story about a convenience store clerk because I don't know what that is like, nor am I willing to commit the brain cells to learn. This is one of the reasons I write fantasy and not mainstream or historical stories.
If I understand in layman's terms, I rely on subject matter expert characters to relate what's necessary. For example, I wouldn't explain in a story how the combustion engine works any more than I would explain how the star drive works. I rely on my mechanic, who at the most technical says I replaced a part and here's the bill.
If I am making up the details—which can be how the magic works or the social details for a society that exists only in my head—I rely on consistency and limits to build plausibility.
If something minor occurs that I can't explain, I lampshade it—I hide the bare electric bulb with pretty fabric enough so that the characters in the story believe what happened is plausible. Generally, readers will accept this. See item 6.
If I end up researching something for the story, as I did to write a story about prizefighter, I present only the technical details I know and use items 2 and 4 otherwise. Yes, I learned how to punch a speed bag and train as a fighter, but I'm not one. Since the story involved "mixed magical martial arts," I made s**t up, also, which is item 3.
Most importantly, I work to not stretch the reader's credulity and base everything I can in the common reality the reader shares with me. This promotes plausibility.
Ok so I'm #reading#Hothouse by #BrianWAldiss now, and this is such a strange and mysterious setting I guess I'll keep going with it, just wow.
Only two chapters so far. Earth, 2 million years into the future. The planet no longer spins, and vegetal life has evolved to the top of the food chain.
The latest Robert J Sawyer novel — The Downloaded — was, uh, downloaded to my Kindle today. Easily my favourite SF writer. You might know him as the writer behind the novel that 2009 TV series Flashforward (Joseph Fiennes, Sonya Walger) was based on. Check it out at: https://sfwriter.com. #sf#scienceFiction#CanadianWriter#CanadianSF
[#Lectures] 🧶
Un fil pour me souvenir des livres lus et me motiver à vider ma pile à lire. 💪
Parfois, j'y ajouterai un lien vers un article de blog, parfois non.
Des milliards de tapis de cheveux | Andreas Eschbach | SF
Un roman surprenant, parfois un peu aride, mais qui m'a captivée jusqu'à la fin avec cette histoire de tapis de cheveux offerts à l'empereur et dont personne ne connaît vraiment la finalité.