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Question: Is reading fiction a window into knowledge?
I understand that reading “fiction” in general helps you to accumulate a larger vocabulary and allows us to use our imagination. But other than that, what is it good for? How could it make you smarter, would you say that it does? Wouldn’t it be more beneficial to read a book that teaches you about science and math? Wouldn’t that make you smarter, not a fiction book?
Answer:
Answer by arokh72
What do you mean makes you smarter, there are various forms of “smart” not just book smarts or science smarts? A good fiction novel can get you thinking about things in a different way. It’s one reason I love alternate reality novels so much as it gets me thinking on those alternatives and how our world would be different. Also a decent fiction novel can have some basis on real things, especially if the author has done some decent research. Take Lord of the Rings for example. It is said to be an example of the world around Tolkien’s time and how the world he lived in influenced LotR (he denied it however). For example the the destruction of the Old Forest by Sauraman’s forces can be said to be linked the industrialisation of England during Tolkien’s time. Also the Elvish language is based on a tribal Finnish language and the entire trilogy has links back to various ancient European mythologies. So yes if you take the time from a novel to look deeper and maybe learn more about them they can increase your knowledge on various items. Another example is Empire of the Sun, a novel set in WW2 China with a British national, lead me to learn more about th lesser known parts of the WW2 such as the Rape of Nanking (aka Nanjing) by Japanese forces in WW2, or the fate of Europeans living in the Bund district of Shanghai at the time.
Question: Is it a sin that I giggle every time I go into Books A Million and walk past the “Christian Fiction” section?
Answer:
Answer by Brillian† Babe Ruthless SLS
Kirk Cameron is gonna smite you, Miss Snark…=0)
Question: When a literary agent says: “I take literary fiction and genre fiction.” Does science fiction fit into those?
I’m trying to get my finished novel published, and to do this I am trying to find an agent. But every time I look at an agents expectations, it doesn’t say science fiction, it says literary/genre fiction or the like. Is this because all the agents I’m looking at don’t like science fiction, or does science fiction fit into these categories?
Answer:
Answer by Steve
Well, science fiction is considered a genre, AFAIK, so I’d say the agent should consider it. But if you can find someone who specifically says they take science fiction, query him in preference to someone who just says “genre fiction”.
When I get older, I want to be a fiction/realistic fiction writer. What would be the best college for me to attend?
can someone plz help me , i have this essay that needs to be done by today or else i wont pass
When you are writing an article you must be sure of the subject that you are writing about. Choose whether you are writing as an observer with a view to critique or comment on the notion of a country’s progress. Your thoughts should flow in a way that keeps the reader drawn to you.
1. Introducing the topic
This is the most important aspect when deciding how to write an article. Your introduction can be conversational, as in, “A little boy cleaning the wind-shield of my car…”, to evoke a picture in the mind of the reader and retain interest. An alternative is to state comparative facts about the numbers below poverty line a few years ago and how they stand now. Let your introduction give the reader an idea of what to expect ahead, your feelings or an analysis of facts.
2. Talk about the present situation
When you think of how to write an article, consider the present. Are things looking better? Are many agencies at work? Talk about the initiatives that have been taken and how things are looking better. Efforts to bring the poor into the mainstream are successful in some areas while they fail elsewhere. Are social barriers or apathy coming in the way?
3. State your view
Consider the positives and negatives of the activities and gauge their impact to provide insight when you look for ideas on how to write an article. Conclude the article with your views and planned initiatives to overcome the flaws you have stated earlier.
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If your readers don’t care about your characters, you’re sunk. Readers don’t necessarily have to like all of your characters, but they have to care about what happens to your main character, or there’s no reason for them to keep reading.
Which means you have to care about your characters, and you have to know them, maybe even better than you know yourself. To create characters that live and breathe on the page, you must first create characters that live in breathe in your psyche. This is why you need to know much more about them than you’ll ever have to include in your completed story.
One way to achieve this authentic character history is to put your main character(s) in as many real-life situations as possible. And because thinking is only the first stage and can only get you so far, write these situations out, considering all sorts of details.
When you can imagine your character in different places and with different people, beyond people and places your story requires, you make your fictional people exponentially more realistic within the confines of your own story.
Start by deciding on the basics: your main character’s date of birth and favorite things (such as food, color, activity, place, song, movie, book, friend, family member, possession, game, animal/pet, amusement park ride, season). Remember: these are details you’ll want to work out, even though they may never need to be discussed in your story.
The basics is great place to start, but to create the most vivid, memorable characters, you’ll need to stretch your imagination and go beyond the basics.
The following exercises will get you started in developing rich, believable, interesting characters. Choose the exercises you’re most drawn to, and really let yourself go—don’t worry about polished sentences or grammar or mechanics. (You can’t plumb the depths of your imagination when you’re worried about comma placement.)
STRENGTHS/WEAKNESSES: List emotional, intellectual, and physical strengths and weaknesses for your character. Include any special talents or aptitudes. Get your hands on an IQ test and take it from your character’s perspective, not yours. (Tricky, but fun and worthwhile.)
DINNER AT OUR HOUSE: Imagine a family meal at your main character’s dinner table. Write a short descriptive scene revealing the average evening meal at your main character’s house.
Now revisit that meal scene and add tension. (After all, tension makes fiction go ’round.) Perhaps the school principal called Mom that afternoon and therefore Mom has some serious lecturing to do (or some serious disappointment to relate). Or maybe Dad lost his job that day and — over meatloaf and green beans — tells the family that they’ll have to be uprooted (again). Perhaps the teen daughter brings home a dinner date who only Mom (an undercover detective) recognizes as a convicted felon.
The point is: think of an emotionally-charged piece of information that will make this meal very different from the one above. Write this scene, paying attention to specifics.
WHAT WOULD S/HE DO? Imagine an ethical dilemma that your character finds himself/herself in. Maybe your character was offered a job promotion or a large bonus based on a task s/he didn’t carry out alone. Does s/he tell the truth and share the credit with the colleague or keep quiet about it and bask in the glory solo? Choose a moral quandary, plunk your character it in, and write a short, thorough, descriptive scene. Be sure to tap into your character’s thoughts, fears, conflicts, and ultimately how s/he arrived at the final decision.
DEAR DIARY: Write three diary/journal entries from your main character’s point of view, fully in his/her voice and in his/her head. Make the entries occur on different days and have them deal with different events and emotions. Try to include a whole range of feelings — joy, sorrow, rage, uncertainty, anxiety, to name a few.
DOCTOR, DOCTOR: Write up your character’s last physical exam report, as it would be written by the family physician. Include all relevant details, along with any physical complaints the character might mention.
Then write up some clinical notes from a psychologist who has been seeing your character in therapy. Perhaps your character has discussed his/her worst fear with the doctor. Reveal as much background to that fear as you can: when and why it began, how it’s manifested, how your character struggles to cope with it.
DEAR AUTHOR: Your character writes you (the author) a letter, instructing you quite specifically in how s/he wants to be portrayed in the book. Make your character’s personality come through loud and clear in this letter. Try to set yourself aside as you write it.
JOB APPLICATION: Get your hands on a job application (or create one of your own), and fill it out from your character’s point of view. Include work history, schooling, references, as well as the character’s statement explaining why s/he would be perfect for the job.
Always remember to have fun with these. The minute you’re not having fun, stop. The looser and more relaxed you are when you try these exercises, the more you’ll get from them. You’ll discover things about your character you never thought you knew, which translates to a more fully realized, believable person alive in your story.
To discover additional ways to make your writing habit more enjoyable, satisfying and productive, visit http://ManuscriptRx.com and sign up for “Write Through It,” the FREE monthly e-newsletter that offers practical writing advice and anecdotal wisdom.
Lucia Zimmitti, a writing coach and independent editor, is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and the Editorial Freelancers Association. Her fiction and poetry have been published in various national literary journals, and she has taught writing at the high school and college levels.
The evolution of science fiction movies over the last 50 years can be attributed to much more than the advances in special effects and movie-making technology (although those changes have had an effect); the biggest influence on scifi during this time period are the events that occurred in the real world. These past five decades leading up to today have been subject to an ever-accelerating onslaught of technological achievements and world-changing events.
While every movie is subject to the trends of each time period, science fiction has an intimate connection to both technology and the real world. The very definition of science fiction references the impact that current and past events have on the genre. As defined by scifi author Robert A. Heinlein, science fiction is a realistic speculation about possible future events based on the past and present knowledge of the real world. For these reasons, the cause of the evolution of science fiction movies is the real world, stated in another way: science fiction comes from reality.
During the 1960s, radical revolutions in technology and related technological achievements, such as the moon landing, had a significant impact on science fiction movies. In addition, the Cold War, JFK’s assassination, Martin Luther King, the Vietnam War, and Woodstock all influenced science fiction movies during the decade. Some of the most notable science fiction movies of the time included 2001: A Space Odyssey, Fahrenheit 451, and The Time Machine, each impacted in some way by the events that occurred during the 1960s. More specifically, the look and feel of the spacecrafts featured in 2001: A Space Odyssey were very similar to the spaceships being used during the 1960s.
Improvements in film making and the success of science fiction in the 1960s rapidly advanced the development of science fiction movies during the 1970s. Achievements in technology during the 1970s included many that changed the everyday life of many people, including the pocket calculator, car airbags, barcodes, Sony Walkman, and the home computer. Other influential technologies included the Space Shuttle, Neutron Bomb and the supersonic Concorde. A population explosion to 4.4 Billion people as of 1978 also had an impact on the genre. The hedonistic atmosphere of the decade was featured in the 1976 scifi movie Logan’s Run, while concerns about overpopulation were featured in the 1973 movie Soylent Green.
With the proliferation of computer technology in film-making, new, more advanced movies began to be produced in the 1980s. These new technology were used to produce some of the most mind-blowing special effects ever featured in science fiction movies, as seen in Predator, The Terminator, and Flight of the Navigator. Blade Runner was one of the first scifi films that featured a dystopia, rather than the all-out apocalypse seen in The Road Warrior or The Terminator future. One topic that seemed to be featured repeatedly was the concept of the evil, all-powerful corporations that rule the world and beyond. This concept can be found in Robocop, Aliens, Blade Runner, and the Terminator.
Huge technological strides and discoveries were made during the 1990s, all with the potential to significantly impact science fiction movies. Just some of the achievements included gene therapy, the World Wide Web, text messaging, global positioning, genetic modification, computer generated films, deep space photography, cloning, and the International Space Station. The disappearance of the threat of World War III with Russia had been replaced by an increasing amount of smaller conflicts. The first significant ground war since the Vietnam war, the first Gulf War, occurred, featuring some of the newest military technology ever used in battle. Computers began playing a more important role in special effects and movie production, featured in revolutionary movies like Jurassic Park and Men in Black. Natural catastrophes were a recurring theme, with disaster movies like Armageddon, Deep Impact, and Waterworld, as the now-prominent topic of global warming and saving the world started to have an influence. The Matrix was released in 1999, heralding a new age of science fiction movie making using complex plots, cinematography, and special effects.
The 2000s have been a busy decade for technological achievements related to space travel and astronomy. New solar systems and Earth-like planets have been found, countries like China have launched people into space, several robots have landed on and explored Mars, new moons have been found in our solar system, we’ve collected and retrieved comet dust, and dozens of unmanned probes have been launched throughout space by organizations around the globe. We’re seeing the advent of space tourism and the commercialization of space travel. In addition, the political climate has rapidly shifted following the events of 9/11 and we’ve had one of the most momentous presidential elections in history. With no shortage of technological achievements and world-changing events to influence science fiction movie-makers, a variety of new scifi films have been released.
Worldwide natural catastrophes were themes in Artificial Intelligence: AI, The Core, and Sunshine; genetic engineering and cloning in The 6th Day; Mars in Mission to Mars and Red Planet. There have also been numerous movies created from comic book characters, super heroes, and video games, including X-Men, Resident Evil (1, 2, and 3), Iron Man, The Hulk, and many more. New movie making technologies were used in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. Donnie Darko is a modern-day cult classic featuring a mysterious antihero and Children of Men is said to be a modern-day Blade Runner.
So what does the future hold for scifi movies? What will the 2010s be all about? If the past is any indication, I believe we’ll see influential events of the next three years impact the 2010s greatly. Terrorism will be a recurring theme along with futures rife with economic hardships. A fear of people will grow as the current global recession influences crime rates, murders, war, and every other type of violent event. People’s concern for the planet, which has been prevalent during the recently slayed high-oil-price age, will be replaced by a concern for personal safety. As the jobless rate climbs and companies go out of business (events that further complicate the housing debacle), the political climate will be strained even further than it currently is. Formerly growing power-houses like China, along with every Arab nation that benefited from high oil prices, will fall back to Earth as reality sets in, disappointing every one of their citizens that caught a glimpse of the good life. In short, I think we’re on the brink of World War III, which will be created as the worst economic-stimulus package ever devised.
So, buckle-up, I’m guessing that we’ll be seeing some of the most original and mind-blowing science fiction movies ever produced!