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Science Fiction

4 Top Tips To Build A Fantasy World #MondayBlogs #Amwriting

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I re-wrote Keepers three times… from scratch. I won’t be doing that again. It breached all acceptable tolerance levels of inefficiency. So much so, I developed a permanent twitch, and I’m pretty sure I herniated the moment I realized I had to start again… for the third time.

Part of the problem was the world building. See, writing in most genres, you use the real world as the world your story is set in. But as a fantasy/sci-fi writer, your world could be populated by angry hooman eating marshmallows. The sky could be on the ground and the ground in the sky. Suffice to say we get to push our sleeves up and play book-god. But playing book-god is hard. There’s a lot of shit to create.

You can’t just pluck a sword made of magical fish fins, that’s about to reign down a plague and cause world ending genocide, out of thin air. There’s got to be a reason, context, and history. Why? Because it has to mean something to the reader. I mean psssht, magical fish fins indeed. How do they even work?

The problem is, unless your George R.R or Tolkien, you only have three hundred or so pages to convey your entire world and all its constructs. Not an easy task.

So how in the glistering fudgemuggins do you do it?

Well, dear reader, I’m glad you asked. Here are my 4 top tips for building a fantasy world. [Read more…] about 4 Top Tips To Build A Fantasy World #MondayBlogs #Amwriting

A Writers' Guide to Science Fiction vs. Reality – Alien Species

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Alien SpeciesI was always more of a star trek than a star wars fan. Specifically, Next Generation, with ol’ Captain Jean-Luc Picard. He was ‘da man’ according to my dad. To which, of course, I immediately wanted to rebel against any such assertion, so I insisted on calling him Captain Plackard for the better part of half a decade.

In both those franchises, there are more creatures and ugly aliens than puss filled spots at a 15th birthday bash.

But what of ‘real’ aliens? And what if you wanted to add a pinch of reality to your science fiction?  [Read more…] about A Writers' Guide to Science Fiction vs. Reality – Alien Species

3 Reasons To Use Crop Circles to Build Worlds – Weekly Wonder #11

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Crop CirclesI’ve always wanted to find a crop circle. I mean, realistically I’d find it, do a flappy hand jig, then pause and have a horrible “oh” moment as I realise I’d have to be in the air to actually appreciate. But still. It’s on my bucket list.

They’re works of art, whether they’re made from the hand of a human or from the oddly artistic feet of an alien space craft, there’s no doubt they still look awesome.

But what is the significance of them? Why do they cause such controversy? and why the shit is it relevant to my writing? [Read more…] about 3 Reasons To Use Crop Circles to Build Worlds – Weekly Wonder #11

F*** Fermi – I Never Liked A Paradox Anyway

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Fuck FermiI get questioned a lot on whether or not I believe the stuff I write in my weekly wonders. Mostly, I just like writing controversial or thought provoking stuff. But primarily, I research it cause it inspires my own stories.

But, one thing I don’t mind admitting, is that I am 100% certain we are not alone.

You can’t tell me in that infinite void we call the universe, no one else climbed out of the primordial slime. No chance. I mean, does anyone actually believe that any more?!

But then, if there’s life out there… where the hell is it?

And that’s the question Fermi tries to answer with his paradox. [Read more…] about F*** Fermi – I Never Liked A Paradox Anyway

Lunar Waves and the Mystery of the Holographic Moon

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Lunar Waves & The Mystery of the Holographic MoonI was going to write about the Hollow Moon theory in light of the post I wrote about Hollow Earth, but as a result of last weeks Flat Earth post, and a future post I am writing as a follow up to that, where I have a real life discussion with Mark Sergeant – creator of the Flat Earth Clue videos, I decided to focus instead on Lunar Waves, and the video footage that is going viral over YouTube.

Have you ever done a presentation in front of a projector screen? You know, the ones with a pull down plasticky screens that shoot up into its roll if you don’t secure it properly, then sending an endless ripple across your carefully crafted powerpoint presentation. Well hold on to that thought whilst you read and watch this:
[Read more…] about Lunar Waves and the Mystery of the Holographic Moon

Flat Earth & The Great United Nations Cover Up

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Flat EarthThere are a couple of films that after the first time I saw them, I felt a little bit less sane. The two biggest culprits being: The Matrix and The Truman Show. They messed with my head, my perception of reality in a way I cannot explain. In my defence I was only 12 when they were released in 1999. It’s weird though isn’t it. When something so ridiculous, so controversial it couldn’t possibly be true, sews just the tiniest seed of doubt.

220px-Flammarion
Curtsey of Wiki: The Flammarion engraving (1888) depicts a traveler who arrives at the edge of a flat Earth and sticks his head through the firmament.

For a few thousand years, we thought the world was flat. All 5 big religions, had accepted and promoted theories of a flat Earth. They believed the Earth was flat and at the edge was protected by something called the firmament – whilst they might have differed in their beliefs, they were united on this.

It wasn’t until Copernicus in the 16th century realised the world spun at over 1000mph and 60,000 mph round the sun, that he proposed the globe model. From these calculations he surmised the world was round. That’s it. No more proof no more evidence, it was accepted into mainstream society and still is to this day.

It’s one of those fundamental ideas we are taught on the first day of primary school; the world, is 100% round.

But, humour me, what if it’s not round? What if we got it right the first time? The Earth is flat. As conspiracy theories go, this one takes the biscuit.  [Read more…] about Flat Earth & The Great United Nations Cover Up