%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 The FSFS Newsletter is written by FSFS members covering everything Fantasy and Sci-Fi |
The "Fantasy and Science Fiction Society" welcomes you to  Welcome to the August edition of the Newsletter. Apologies for its lateness, I have been without broadband for the past 3 weeks. Now I've got access to the internet properly, I will catch up on emails etc... If you applied to the FSFS or submitted a request for the Review Board then I will respond to that soon. Contents 1. Month Summary 2. Urban Fantasy 3. Methods of Conducting Writing Research 4. In Memorium - A Guest Star on Babylon 5 5. Book Review: The Tar-Aiym Krang 6. Things to Do 7. Newsletter Challenge  July saw an exciting new contest for FSFS members. Brain to Page had entrants write an article on any subject of their choice then write a short story based on someone else's article. We had 7 articles and 3 stories on varying subject matters. Check out the Things to Do section and Newsletter Challenge to find out how you can involved.  In the city, past, present and future, fantasy rules! Think about it, in the city you can't help but interact with people, places, things both tangible and intuited. Intuited = that's the feature that makes for urban fantasy stories and verse. So, how do we define urban fantasy, show its differences, as opposed to, say, high fantasy? In the city, an urban environment, where the fantasy arises, among magic or strange creatures. The city lives in the past, Victorian, Depression era, today, or tomorrow (not necessarily post-apocalyptic). As long as the fantasy is of the city, the city an integral part of the fantasy, I would call it urban fantasy. I think it need not be a major city (i.e., New York, London, Madrid), but small towns, and villages can host an urban fantasy story. The city, itself, is a character in the story - either protagonist or antagonist. Its streets, hotels, stores, subways, elevator shafts (I like that image - talking elevators with mechanical voices - what if one day they spoke a real sentence). When magic and weird things are seen from the corner of the eye while walking (or running) down a thoroughfare, or a parking ramp, where magic is not the norm, there thrives urban fantasy. Everything appears normal until you walk down a particular alleyway after sunset on the last day of the month. The person sitting across from you on the train appears normal, but you feel a breath of cold air as he turns to look at you, taking a sip of your thoughts, feeding on your anxiety. The majority of the people who live in the city have normal lives, oblivious to the magical all around them, hidden in plain sight. Mythical entities and creatures come to life, taking on the main street, reinventing themselves in sub-basements and elevator shafts. Gods and goddesses, dragons, fae, monsters both inhuman and once-human walk the streets, take rest in four-star hotels, and interact with mortals, only some of whom see who or what they really are. Consider Neil Gaiman's American Gods  .Urban fantasy walks across genres. Fantasy meets paranormal romance meets science meets .... Fantasy and science battle it out or combine to create (or destroy) the precepts of residents of the city. Fantasy feeds the horror of things that prowl the night, unseen by all but the most perceptive eye, an alternate night life of magic those who walk in the mundane may sense, but not understand. Romance between mortals or immortals; clash of culture, sentient beings seen, unseen, built of metal or formed of flesh, abide in the city of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Take a walk down the street, dodge a car running a light, smell the hot dog in the vendor's stand, see the ipod earbuds blowing a hole through the somnambulant jogger. Then imagine a dragon in pigeon form swooping not to leave its calling card but to seize the essence of a person's thought, a fear perhaps, and carry it away to feed its hatchlings in the airshaft of a high-rise. What will your character, who saw it happen in real street time, do? You decide, it's your city, and your fantasy  Methods of Conducting Writing Research Writing research is the cornerstones of good story telling. As a writer of science fiction, fantasy and creative non-fiction, research is important to the story writing process. I create entire worlds, often with technology that is not commonplace to the everyday reader, but which needs to be understandable to them in order to enjoy the story from a myriad of researched details from many sources. I tend to not research my stories before I begin writing. I like to let my characters to shape the way the plot will go. Once my rough draft is completed, it is at that point that I fill in the necessary details that embellish my stories and allow it to conform to historical events, customs, and locations. As I write my rough draft, I leave document notes in Scrivener to make sure that I double check historical details, research technology or cultural viewpoints. When I am in the revision stage, I will fill in those details to the story, enriching it and gaining word count in the pro cess. Wikipedia The first way that I research a topic is to use Wikipedia. I do not use the information that I find there as confirmed facts, but it is a good way to see how the information in question is viewed by the public. Because what is found in Wikipedia is written in by anyone who wishes, it is usually not the best place to find facts. However, at the bottom of the page in Wikipedia are the sources where this author had gained their information. It is these websites which are the ones I use to research my facts. Often times, these sites will be from universities, libraries or societies that are experts on the subject matter. What you want to find are primary sources of information. People that know the information first hand and then write about it. Biographies, archeology texts, scientific studies and reports are all good primary sources. A secondary source would be a paper about a historical figure written hundreds of years after the man or woman in question was dead and all information taken from other sources to compile into the text. Books After Wikipedia, I research topics by buying a book on the subject, preferably a primary source book, but secondary is acceptable depending on the topic or availability of the subject. For each container universe in a story series, I tend to purchase at minimum a dozen books to support my research. I go through each of these books and write notes from them that I feel are useful. It is the notebook of notes that I use while writing, but I like to keep the original book handy on a nearby shelf or in my kindle library in case I want to double check a small detail. Classes Another way I research is to take a class on the subject. This method takes longer and time dedication, but often times an instructor can shave off days or weeks of search by providing you with an overview of the subject. The included list of further reading or links on the web to accelerate your research. For me, the savings of time and to have someone to ask questions of is often worth the price of the class. Experience One of the more powerful ways to research is to experience the activities of your characters in a personal manner. For instance, I took a semester course in fencing in order to get a feel for handling a sword. I am not by any stretch of imagination a good swordswoman, but by taking the course I learned what muscles I would use in match, the basic moves of fencing, what it is like to be in a modern fencing tournament, and most importantly, what it feels like to be a person who is fencing. I have taken courses in sailing, horseback riding, dancing, metalsmithing and other activities that all combine to give me a feeling of what skills a person in a fantasy setting might feel on a day to day basis. I also take trips to locations that are similar to ones that I'm writing and take photos and notes of the places, trying to take in the feel of the place more than the facts. These sensations are easily applied to characters that I am writing about. Google can always tell me the facts, but it can't always provide the little details that the experience itself does. Whenever it is possible, I recommend that you experience the activities your characters would, or at least a safe close approximation. Google Earth Hand in hand with travel is Google Earth. Using this application you can zero in on most places on the planet, you can check street names, landmarks, and develop walking, driving and public transit routes. This can be helpful when writing about a place you have never been and discovering travel times between locations or the appearance of buildings in the area. While it is always preferable to visit the location and gain the sights, sounds and smells of the place, Google Earth is a handy substitute that lurks inside your computer, always at hand. Conclusion Writing research is a necessary part of creating a novel. Some genres take more research than others, but ultimately, every story needs facts to help flesh it out and ground it in a semblance of reality. How much is too much? Only you the author can decide. I believe that the key to keeping your research in control and not overwhelming your story process is to do most of it after the rough draft is completed. Do not allow the small details of history to swamp your original plot. If you keep this in mind, you should have an effective course of research using the above tools.  The actor Theodore Bikel passed away on July 21, 2015 at the age of 91. I happened to have met him about ten years ago, and had the opportunity to ask him a few questions. You see, I’m a Babylon 5 fan and Bikel played a number of Mimbari, one of the major alien races, and also a Rabbi on the show. As a Rabbi he paid a "shiva" visit to the second in command at Babylon 5, who had not mourned the passing of her mother. He traveled across the galaxy to help her deal with a loss she shared with no one. I asked him how he landed those roles. He answered, “Well, you see, if you are not in Hollywood when they call and answer the phone, you don’t get the part… I just happened to be in Hollywood and answered the phone.” I've always remembered that meeting with him fondly. I think it's both funny and in a lot of way prescient. It's often literally being in the right place at the right time that things happen... and he was a great, very dignified, Mimbari and a wonderful Rabbi on Babylon 5. I am sure others will remember him for many other wonderful roles. I'm just happy remembering being at the right place at the right time with someone gracious enough to answer a few questions one morning. Hmm, I guess there's a lesson in that, too. Mr. Bikel, you will be sorely missed. - D.H. "In Memorium - A Guest Star on Babylon 5" by Highmage - D.H. Aire   Book Name: The Tar-Aiym Krang Author: Alan Dean Foster First Published: 1972 Alan Dean Foster was born in New York City in the year 1946, but he was raised in California. He received a B.A. in Political Science in 1968, and a M.F.A. in Cinema from UCLA 1969. He worked as a copywriter for two years after graduation for a small advertising and public relations firm in Studio City, California. It was during this time that he wrote a Lovecraftian letter and sent it into a bi-annual magazine called The Arkham Collector. Much to his surprise, the editor published it as a short story. Sales of short stories to other magazines soon followed. His first attempt at a novel, The Tar-Aiym Krang, was bought by Ballantine in 1972 and it incorporated several suggestions from science fiction editor John W. Campbell. Imagine for a moment that George Lucas approached you to write the novel version of Star Wars: A New Hope in the early 70s. At the time, the movie was unknown. Your name would not be on the cover and the payment would be a mere $5000. Do you take the job as a ghostwriter for this unknown filmmaker? Two authors said no. Alan Dean Foster said yes. And the rest, as they say, is history. When Star Wars became a hit and more novels were needed, Foster was the first to be called in to write them. His first spin-off novel of Star Wars with his own name on the cover was Splinter of the Minds Eye (1978). He has gone on to write countless Star Wars movie novels, including the pending Star Wars: The Force Awakens that will be released in late 2015. He has a story credit for the original Star Trek: The Motion Picture, many novels based on episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and he has also written ten novels for Star Trek the Animated series. Other movie tie-in books include the Alien movies, The Black Hole, and Starman. It is little wonder that Alan Dean Foster has won the 2008 Grand Master award from the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers. He continues to write and has well over 100 novels to his credit, both movie tie-ins and his own original series. Currently, Foster lives in Arizona with his wife, but he enjoys traveling because it gives him opportunities to meet people and explore new places and cultures. “…Who would have suspected it? The Krang is both a weapon and a musical instrument.” – Alan Dean Foster, from The Tar-Aiym Krang The Tar-Aiym Krang begins on the world of Moth, a planet with “wings”, two golden clouds of dust suspended in space around it. On this world many travelers come. Hardened space-sailors, merchant buccaneers and the insect race known as the Thranx are the targets of the young orphan boy Philip Lynx “Flinx” and his mini-dragon pet Pip, an empathic flying snake that shoots a corrosive and violent neurotoxic venom. Flinx has odd empathic talents that help him live as a thief on the streets of Moth. One day, he steals a starmap off a dead body that really didn’t need it any longer. Flinx thus starts an adventure that takes he through the reaches of space to a strange alien artifact on an abandoned world. ### The first book I read by Alan Dean Foster was Splinter of the Mind’s Eye. I was a huge Star Wars fan (still am) and anything I could read to further those adventures was like gold to me. Splinter came out two years before The Empire Strikes Back and doesn’t read as canon any longer, but at the time I loved it and it brought this author to my attention. When I spotted Foster’s first original novel The Tar-Aiym Krang, I found it to be a light-hearted space opera filled with dead ancient alien civilizations, uncharted worlds and majestic ruins and the search for an artifact that could threaten the galaxy. It is easy to see why the Flinx and Pip novels were very popular. I began reading more of the Humanx Commonwealth Series and they put a smile on my face. The only problem I can see about the novel is that the female characters are not as well-developed as the male characters. They are little more than window dressing in the story. This was somewhat typical of the times when science fiction was geared toward adolescent boys instead of a wider adult audience. The book tends toward a YA level, but there are a few sexual situations that might make it considered to be more adult. Still, it is a well-paced book that is a fun read. If you are looking for a book to experience Alan Dean Foster as an original author, The Tar-Aiym Krang is a good place to start and then continue in your exploration. Don’t stop with the Humanx Commonwealth. Foster has several good original series including The Spellsinger Series and The Damned trilogy. Humanx Commonwealth Series (Pip & Flinx) The Tar-Aiym Krang (1972) Bloodhype (1973) Orphan Star (1977) The End of the Matter (1977) Snake Eyes (Short Story) (1978) For Love of Mother-Not (1983) Mid-Flinx (1995) Flinx in Flux (1988) Reunion (2001) Side Show (Short Story) (2002) Flinx’s Folly (2003) Sliding Scales (2004) Running from the Deity (2005) Trouble Magnet (2006) Growth (Short Story) (2008) Patrimony (2007) Flinx Transcendent (2008)
Three great prompts. Three sets of prizes. Go write!
Vote for your favourite articles and stories from the Brain to Page contest. Voting is open to all WdC members.
The FSFS is proud to be affiliated with Quantum Myths. This new group is a one-stop shop for all things Speculative Fiction related. At the bottom of the page (click the orb) is a list of groups, contests and items relating to Speculative Fiction. If you join, there is a monthly newsletter keeping you up-to-date with Speculative Fiction around the site. The FSFS will submit any site-wide contests and activities to be listed here. It looks set to be a great resource for those writing in the genre.
The FSFS Review Board is open! All WdC members can view the list on the group homepage, "Fantasy and Science Fiction Society" . FSFS Members can view the list from the homepage, Review Board page and the Hub. To post on the board you need to review at least one other item on the list.
If you are not already a member and are interested in fantasy and science fiction writing, please read through the group homepage and apply using the application form. The only pre-requisite is that you have a fantasy or science fiction item in your portfolio. If you want to advertise in the FSFS Newsletter please contact me, Matt Bird MSci (Hons) AMRSC   .Newsletter Challenge  Each month I set a Newsletter Challenge. This challenge is open to the whole of writing.com, so you don't have to be an FSFS member to enter. Invalid Merit Badge #201075 In "July 2015" I asked you what motivates you to write. I am pleased to announce the winner (chosen by a random number generator) of the FSFS Merit Badge is.... ENB This month's challenge open to all of WdC is: The Brain to Page vote is open. To be entered into the Merit Badge draw this month, you need to read the entries, review at least one of the articles and/or stories (minimum character count w/o WritingML is 500). If you enter before Sunday 16 August you should also vote for your favourites. After the 16th you only need to review. Each review you send (assuming they are good quality) will add an entry to the draw. If you review all the articles and all the short stories I will reward you a Reviewing merit badge. Reviews should all be good quality. You should list all your reviews in a comment on this Newsletter. Thank you to all the members who submitted articles to the Newsletter. If you submitted an article that wasn't included, don't be offended. I can only fit so much in the Newsletter. Please submit it again when I send the call out for articles. Please comment on this Newsletter if you enjoyed it, or if you have any suggestions for future editions. |
un: 
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Community Feed
Puzzle Hub
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
