Today I'm talking all things science fiction writing with Andrew Chamberlain. Science fiction is one of the largest genres in terms of readership so there are numerous reasons why you should consider writing in this genre. Find out why?
Today I'm talking all things science fiction writing with Andrew Chamberlain. Science fiction is one of the largest genres in terms of readership so there are numerous reasons why you should consider writing in this genre. Find out why?
Hi, and welcome to the writing and Marketing Show brought to you by author Wendy H. Jones. This show does exactly what it says on the tin. It's jam packed with interviews, advice, hints, tips and news to help you with the business of writing. It's all wrapped up in one lively podcast, so it's time to get on with the show. And welcome to Episode 72 of the writing and Marketing Show with author, entrepreneur, Wendy h. Jones. I'm very excited to be here with you again. And I'm even more excited to be interviewing Andrew Chamberlain about writing science fiction today. Now, this is something I don't know a lot about. So I'm very much looking forward to the show until learning more about the genre and about writing science fiction. So what's been happening in the world? Well, next week, I'm going off to Edinburgh for a week, and I'm going to be spending time there doing research for my historical fiction book. And I'm going to be at the National Library of Scotland and I'm also going to be at surgeon's hall museum. And I'm hoping I'll be able to talk to people at surgeon's hall museum as well about what medical training was like in the early 19th century. So that's an exciting trip. I've also had another exciting trip. I've been on holiday now Do you remember those, holidays, I was off in Ayr for a few days last week, and I had a great time and I went and visited the Burns Museum, I went and visited the burns birthplace cottage, and it was a real honour to do that and find out more about him. And I also relaxed for a week, I also managed to brain myself on a cupboard door. And the accommodation in which we were staying, which was a very luxurious caravan, there was blood all over the kitchen floor. So it could double as a crime scene. It was like the slaughter of the innocents. Anyway, I'm fine, it was more dramatic than it was dangerous. But if they brought in the forensic guys, they could have lit the place up like a Christmas tree with the chemicals looking for blood even though we mopped the floor. But we did mop the floor very thoroughly for the next people. So what before I introduce Andrew, I would like to say it's a pleasure and an honour to bring you this every week. And I do so willingly. However, it does take time out of my writing week. And if you would like to support this time, you can do so for just $3 or the price of tear coffee a month@patreon.com forward slash Wendy h Jones. And I would be very grateful and it would make me know that you liked the show and you would like it to continue. And I wanted to continue because I do enjoy bringing it to you every month. So what have Andrew? Well, Andrew Chamberlain is a UK based writer, speaker and creative writing coach. He is the host of the creative writers toolbox podcast, and author of the creative writers to bed to two belts Handbook, which accompanies the podcast series. He has been published traditionally and as an independent author, and has written biographies as well as science fiction and Christian supernatural fiction. In 2019, he published the centauro survivors, a first contact novel, and the first book in the centre ice sequence. I hope I'm writing or saying that correctly is all I can say. But we'll find out in a moment because let's get on with the show and hear from Andrew. And Hi, Andy, how are you? I'm well Hi, Wendy. Oh, it's so good to hear from you again. It's good to be with you again. And we were together in Scotland even though we're not where are you in the world?
Andrew Chamberlain:So I'm in Cambridge, or just north of Cambridge about five or six miles north of Cambridge in a place called impington. That's where I'm based down.
Wendy Jones:Excellent. Just to explain why we're seeing it's good to have you on again. Andy was my very first guest on the podcast. So if you want to hear him talking about podcasting for writers go listen to episode one. Or Episode Two, actually, because Episode One was just me introducing the podcast. But then Andy was Episode Two and he's now Episode 72. So we like to keep the numbers equal. Are you sitting comfortably Andy? I am indeed. Yep. All raring to go. Brilliant. So you're ready for me to interrogate you. I mean, interview you. Do your worst, Wendy. I'm ready. I will. I'm glad you're ready. I've got to find a question. So which I opened up quite nicely. And now I've managed to lose them, which isn't very bright. Right. I found them we're on a winner. So my first question for you know that you're sitting comfortably. It's a nice easy one to get. You're going on day I'm not putting the pressure on. I often get confused between fantasy and science fiction. I'm sure. There's quite a few others out there who do that as well? Can you clarify exactly what constitutes science fiction?
Andrew Chamberlain:It is actually, it feels like an easy question. But it's slightly more difficult than it seems only because there are so many sub genres in science fiction now. And it covers such a wide scope. And to make things a little bit more complicated, fantasy and science fiction do do blur into each other, they blend into each other at the edges. So there isn't, I don't think a very hard line between what is fantasy and what is science fiction. There is a there are kind of general principles, I would say. So the way I think about it is, if you think about a story, when you look at where, where there is, where there's power in that story, so and by power, I mean, the power to move something or the power to, you know, when when a fight happens, or the power to make something happen. When something happens, the power behind it, how is how is that explained? Is it explained by science, even if it's future science? Or is it explained by fantasy by magic, for example. And that should broadly give you an idea as to whether you're in the realm of science fiction, or fantasy? And that's, that's a definition. That's one that's one way to kind of mark each other. Mark these two things out.
Wendy Jones:Yeah, that's a good way of putting actually, you're right, you know, I mean, when we think of science fiction, we always think of things like Star Trek and stuff like that, you know? Yes. And, and there is power, and it happens differently. But it could be future science, you know? Yes. And it's,
Andrew Chamberlain:and that's a good example. So Star Trek, for example. This is why I say, the reason the reason behind the power in the story is presented as or explained by either science or fantasy. So the science in Star Trek doesn't exist, yet. A lot of it. But it's presented in the story, as science, it's presented as science and engineering has created this thing that the Starship Enterprise or whatever it is,
Wendy Jones:yeah. Excellent. Well, I think we were quite clear what science fiction is. And but often when we think of science fiction writers, people like Jules Verne and HG Wells springs to mind are what they do for me, which means I'm probably rooted in the past somewhere. So how did they set the scene for the science fiction revolution?
Andrew Chamberlain:Well, science fiction's history is obviously rooted in the past. And in fact, you can argue that science fiction goes back even further into the mists of time than HG Wells and Jules Verne so that the novel Frankenstein was written in 1818, or published in 1818. So nearly, you know, 200 years ago, I Oh, just over 200 years ago now. avani is arguably a science fiction novel, and perhaps one of the first ones so science fiction has its roots, as some people can trace it back even further than that, in fact, but if you mean, you mentioned Jules Verne and HG Wells, so Jules Verne was, was alive, a little bit, he's a little bit earlier than than HG Wells, but 19th century French novelist, and he, I mean, he actually represents, I suppose, one, one aspect of the genre of science fiction in that when you look at his work, he loves the idea of journeys, and adventures. So you know, he talks about journey to the centre of the Earth, for example, and for him, science fiction was, and for many people still is a sense of, we're going somewhere, we're going on a journey, we're going to the centre of the Earth for him, or we're going to another planet, or another star, when we're going on a journey. And it is an adventure and the the concept of a story is an adventure, obviously, is very ancient one. It's been around for 1000s of years, but science fiction draws on that. So that's, you've got Jules Verne with that kind of tradition, which you see today, HG Wells, a British writer who was alive at the end of the 19th century into the 20th century, I think he would be remembered best as the person who broadened out science fiction into questions around society and culture. And he he was probably more of a kind of thinker in terms of how what what would happen in a society what would happen amongst a group of people if something happened. So what would happen if a character can be invisible, he wrote the invisible man. He and for him, there was though that aspect of thinking about the way in which science and science fiction can impact on societies cultures. And that, again, is another massive part of what science fiction is today. So even if you go back to those guys, you can see how there were different areas on the science fiction landscape. And there are many more of them now.
Wendy Jones:Yeah. I mean, it's really interesting, you know, and it's interesting what you say about Frankenstein. I've never thought of Frankenstein as science fiction. But of course it is it really when you when you really think about it today, here's an interesting fact about Frankenstein. Mary Shelley was in Dundee for a length of time when she wrote Frankenstein. There you go. That's an interesting fact. So, hey, Dundee was part of the science fiction revolution and I never knew that.
Andrew Chamberlain:And you are a big fan of Dundee or you live in Dundee. So yeah, I would think I am a big fan of Dundee. You do fly the flag for your home city, anybody who knows you will know that you are a big fan of Dundee, the city.
Wendy Jones:Dundee is great. You know, we've even we've even shifted the science fiction revolution and claim to fame, another claim to fame. But I'm not quite sure how she came up with Frankenstein walking along the banks of the river tear but she did. I'm not sure what it was about the river tear that made her think of Frankenstein. But hey, there you go. That's what it was. That's my tip. Dear, Anyway, moving swiftly onwards, okay, from Mary Shelley, and Frankenstein. And when we think of different genres, they all have tropes, what are the tropes that readers would expect from a science fiction novel?
Andrew Chamberlain:So the tropes would depend on the genre of science fiction, I think that you're reading so for a lot of people, if you say science fiction, I think our spaceships. That's what that's about and going off into space. And it is. So space opera is is absolutely a sub genre of science fiction. But it's only one sub genre. So in as I said, in that particular case, the idea of spaceships and where spaceships go and what happens on on spaceships. That's, that's absolutely one of the tropes of science fiction, kind of connected to that you've got the idea of encounters with aliens with alien worlds with other other physical places, and other people. And I use the term people in the broadest sense. These are all familiar tropes within science fiction. So you've also got many stories, which look at unusual environments, and their social effects on people and by unusual environments. I mean, if you took it, you can you can take a community of people and put them into a story, which is 50 or 100 or 1000 years in the future, and say, how would those people behave in a very different way in a very different environment? And what would the cultural and social effects beyond them, and that's absolutely the province of science fiction. And then the other thing I'd say, certainly with more contemporary science fiction is the concept of a changed identity. So if you change somebody in some way, I mean, certain practices, not just contemporary science fiction thinking about it, because actually, that's Frankenstein, you take a person and you change them in some way, some fundamental way. And you then look at what happens. So you take you you make, like, Frankenstein makes his person his monster. HG Wells makes an invisible person. There are there are lots of stories in science fiction, where where somebody changes their identity. And this, in fact, you know, this can become controversial for some people. But it's, it creates the crucible for a story when people change their identities. That's the realm of science fiction, I would say.
Wendy Jones:Yeah, yeah. There are a lot of different tropes. And it's a part Oh, yeah. Yeah, that's just a few of them. But yes, the right, yeah, yeah, we'd be here all night if we talked about all the tropes. So the next one, you'd want to excuse my ignorance here. But we're not just one start writing a science fiction story? Well,
Andrew Chamberlain:I suppose the slightly irritating answer is where you would start with any story, just with an idea. So where do you start a fantasy story? Where do you start a murder mystery? You know, I could I could ask you that question. Probably.
Wendy Jones:Dead body
Andrew Chamberlain:with a dead body. So yeah, yes. And and, yeah, I guess there's, there's more of a kind of fixed point is, if you have a murder mystery, you probably have to have a murder, I guess. Yes. But with science fiction, I would say. You can start by asking the question, What if? So, what if a scientist made their own person? Or what if somebody was invisible? Or what if we could visit another planet? Or what if we could visit another galaxy? So that's, that's that can be a starting point. Because if you as soon as you say What if you were let you've you've then opened up a million, millions of possibilities for where your story could go. And it's even for me as well, I think just nurturing a sense of wonder nurturing a sense of wonder about the solar system or the galaxy that we're in, or the universe or whatever, just looking up. I mean, thinking about that question, when you mentioned it to me earlier in, in your email to me, I was thinking the answer is really you start by looking up? or looking out at what there is around you and say, what it what is that you can look up in the sky, and you can see the moon? So you can ask yourself a simple question, what would it be like to just go to the moon, and now, people have gone to the moon. So in a sense, we've, we've kind of done that, in some ways, you can look further you can look at the planets, people may not even realise it. They think they're looking at stars in the sky, but they're looking at the planets in our solar system. You can you can get a telescope, which isn't that expensive and point it out there and look at the nearest galaxy to us millions of light years away and say, Well, what if we could go there? And those, so those are good ways to start science fiction stories is to say, what, what if? What if something changed? Or what if we could reach something? And then you develop it from there?
Wendy Jones:Yeah, that's a good way of starting to actually what if? And to be honest and joking apart? That's probably the way you start any story? What if you know, even with your dead body? Its what if?
Andrew Chamberlain:Yes. What if there was a dead body? Yes. and off you go for one of your murder mysteries.
Wendy Jones:Is there any specific type of story that lends itself to a science fiction take?
Andrew Chamberlain:Well, I suppose I suppose we've, we've kind of touched on this in some way with some of the things we've already been talking about. So speculations about the future, and speculations about future cultures or societies or speculations about how we might be as people in the future, how we would be as human beings in the future. And who we might encounter. as we explore our world and other worlds, these are the kinds of stories that absolutely lend themselves to science fiction. So there are and there are plenty of stories which actually overlap. So there's science fiction stories that have a strong fantastical element in them. There are science fiction stories that have murder mystery in them as well. You know, if you, I guess, if you think about those classic murder mystery tales, we like if we think about the Agatha Christie stuff, where you know, people go to the country house for the weekend, and they're all there in a sealed space. And you can then do a kind of who done it, but actually one of the best sealed spaces in which to do who done it is a spaceship. Because nobody can get all kinds of stories happen. But I would say stories that want to speculate about us as people, human beings, individuals, the future where we could go, that kind of stuff, but those are, those are good starting points. And the good kind of good places to think about science fiction.
Wendy Jones:No, yeah, that's really interesting to think about the fact that, you know, you cross genre does work really well with salutely. Yeah, I think it does. Yeah. So I'm curious, actually, is world building important in science fiction? And if so, how do you go about building a realistic world?
Unknown:So to answer your first, the first of those two questions, yeah, absolutely. It is. science fiction? Well, building is critically important. And I mean, some people might say, when they when you think about fantasy and science fiction, you what you might think, well, fantasy world building isn't that important, because you're making it all up. But in fact, it's almost more important than any other genre. Because Because you are making it up to a certain extent, the things that you don't make up the things that have to hang together. And the things that the reader has to be able to recognise are really important. So world building, absolutely has to work and be done really well, I would say, for science fiction. So for example, if you write a story, like my, my science fiction novel, has a concept that there's there's a ship going to the nearest star to our star, so our star, the sun, the nearest star to that is another star, which is just over four light years away. So we don't have the technology as a race to send anybody there yet. But if we did, we would have to think about, okay, how would that ship work? And how long would it take to get there? So there are some things there are things that you can think about, around the story, which even if the science and engineering doesn't exist yet, you there are still things that you want to try and get right. And, in fact, there's a there's a trick which as a writer, HG Wells used to use which science fiction writers can use very much now, which is what he used to do. He would write these fantastical stories about time machines and invisible people and whatever. But he would put very familiar and mundane details into that story. So he'd seed those things in. And it gave the whole story, a sense of familiarity. And a sense of, there's almost a subconscious thing going on in the readers mind when they go out. I completely understand this. two characters together on a spaceship, they have a conversation, which anybody could have anywhere. And the reader thinks, Oh, I get that. Because that's the kind of conversation I could have. And, and by implication, I now believe in this spaceship, or I believe in the story. So but you can only do that. Well, if you get your, your world building. Right. So yeah, that's the long way of saying it's absolutely critical.
Wendy Jones:Yeah, it's critical by the sounds of it. Yeah. So what would be your top three tips for anyone considering writing science fiction?
Andrew Chamberlain:So I'd say first of all, read other science fiction, read classic science fiction from the past, but read contemporary science fiction as well. There's, there's a lot of science fiction out there. Read the kind of things which you enjoy, but also perhaps things which are not absolutely squarely where you would want to write yourself. But it's like, I suppose if you said, What's your top tips for? If you want to write a murder mystery, go and read some of the murder mysteries that have already been written. So there are there are some science fiction writers around them, and very, very different science fiction writers around now. But look at who's winning awards, look at what some of the most popular science fiction contemporary books are, and go and read them. So the other things I think, which I would say, which are more, more kind of personal advice would be would be, be curious. So if you want to write science fiction, be curious. Look at, look at what interests you. So if, for example, the idea that we might be able to build an there's a, there's a, I'll give you an example, there is a telescope, which is going to be launched in a rocket in October, called the James Webb Space Telescope. And it's, it's taken the people that are building it years to build it, it's cost billions of dollars, they're going to send it out into space in a few months time. And pocket, like a million and a half kilometres away from Earth, or in exactly the right place, where they can sort of put all the radar and antenna out and listen and look out into the universe. And if that's the case, now, for some people, some people when they hear that they go, That's brilliant. That's what I really want. I'm really interested in that. Other people go, that's nice for them, you know? Thanks. And it just wouldn't be so understand. The point I'm making with that is that each of if you're going to write science fiction, try to understand what it is that excites you which aspect of the genre, because if something doesn't really get you something, if doesn't, doesn't excite you don't try and write about it. Right about the stuff that and so be curious is the second thing and that then kind of leads into the third thing and connected to it, which is, don't be afraid to try out your own ideas. So yeah, whatever, whatever is being written at the moment, that's fine, but tries if you're, if you're interested in something slightly different. Try that out. Don't be Don't be afraid to have a go. So those would be my those would be my three things. Read some other sci fi be curious. Don't be afraid to try out your own ideas.
Wendy Jones:Fantastic tips, especially the one about being curious. It's so true, really. I know you write science fiction books yourself, hence the reason I invited you on here, tell us about those and your other books.
Andrew Chamberlain:So my, the sub the science fiction, I've written some science fiction stories, short stories, which are published, but my science fiction novel, which is out at the moment, which is called the centaury survivors, which actually is, as I as I mentioned earlier, it's it's a story which looks at what would it be like if we were able to travel to the nearest star system? So the there's the Centauri star system just over four light years away? What would happen if we travelled to it if we discovered that there was a habitable planet, amongst those stars? And what then could happen after that, and I won't say more than that, but that's, so that's the centaury survivors, which is the first book in in that series. So the centaury sequence is the name of the series. That's my science fiction books. So if you're interested in science fiction, you're interested in a bit of space opera and a bit of exploration, space exploration. That's the book that I recommend out of the ones that I've written for you So that's my science. That's my science fiction book, as well as some short stories that I've written. other books I've written. So I, some some people listening right now I've run a creative writing podcast for a number of years, hoping to start it up again soon, actually, that ran for about six years called the creative writers tool belt. And I've published a book, which accompanies that, which basically took the first 100 or so episodes to the very best bits out of all of those, and put them all into a book. And so that's the creative writers talk about handbook. So there's the creative writer, tool, belt podcast. And then there's a handbook, which is, which accompanies the other writing that I've been doing, which am fact there's two books, which I've got coming out this year 2021. And that is for people that that are interested in Christian supernatural fiction. And that's those two books are called the master series. So they and they've, they, they aren't that complete that series those two books. So the first one urban angel is out on the first of July. And the second one, which is called Kane's redemption, will be out on the third of September. Wow, that's those, those two are coming out. So. But if you're interested in science fiction, since this is a science fiction episode, then it's the centaury survivors.
Wendy Jones:Excellent. Wow. I'm looking forward to your supernatural ones coming out as well, though. Hey, and the creative writers toolbelt is excellent. So very good book. Thank you. I've got a copy. And you have been a guest on it, at least probably a couple of times, actually. Yes, I've been on the podcast. So finally, because all podcasts have to come to an end, at some point, where can my readers find out more about you readers, listeners, find out more about you and your books.
Andrew Chamberlain:So if anyone who's interested in finding out a little bit more about me, or maybe getting in touch for finding out, buy my books, whatever, just go to my website, everything is there. It's Andrew j chamberlain.com. So that's, that'll be the place. And if there's any of this that has interested, anybody, just go go there. And what I will also say for anybody who happens to be around or near Cambridge in England, this so we're recording this in June, but in September, I'm running a for Christian writers, I'm running a writer's conference at Ridley Hall. in Cambridge, we're going to have a day, looking at both writing biographies. What's it like to be an independent writer? Looking at genre fiction, romance, fantasy science fiction, we're going to have a great day. That's Saturday, the fourth of September. So again, you could just look that up on the internet. It's the you'll find fun reference references to it, the independent Christian writers conference on.
Wendy Jones:Well, thank you very much, Andrew, it's been a pleasure having you on the show. Oh, it's a pleasure to chat to you, Wendy. And all the very best with the launch of your book on the first of July remind me What's it called?
Andrew Chamberlain:It's called urban Angel. It's a reprint of a book that I was published a number of years ago. It's been revised a little bit new cover. And the other said the sequel for It has also been written now.
Wendy Jones:Excellent. Well, I shall look forward to that. Take care and enjoy the rest of your day. Thanks, Wendy. Cheers. Bye bye. That brings us to the end of another show. It was really good to have you on the show with me today. I'm Wendy H. Jones. And you can find me at Wendy H jones.com. You can also find me on Patreon where you can support me for as little as $3 a month which is less than the price of a tea or coffee. You go to patreon.com forward slash Wendy h Jones. I'm also went to h Jones on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. Thank you for joining me today and I hope you found it both useful and interesting. Join me next week when I will have another cracking guest for you. Until then, have a good week and keep writing. Keep reading and keep learning