As I attempt writing a science fiction story (whether it will be a novel, novella or something else remains to be seen) I find topics about writing across the internet and will post them here on diddly's internent.  One thing I haven't considered is book covers.  Here's a nice, and yet cutthroat funny, site showing why authors should get someone else to do their covers... And by someone else, I mean someone else with talent.  Enjoy:

http://lousybookcovers.tumblr.com/

FYI the January 11th cover should strike a particular chord with Diddly.

Another thing to take note of; Names of the books.  

I see what you mean!  Here's my lousy book covers.. which kinda reinforces the point of the linked site.  

That's why I didn't bother to do anything with the cover.  I just assumed my covers would be worse than anything I've seen on that site.

Some of those books actually have reviews on amazon and have sold.  One is listed as 600,000 on the kindle best sellers list.  Some of those titles are rather bad... and as I scrolled through I felt as if mine would feel at home there.  A bit discouraging... then I read an excerpt of one.  I'm not saying I'm Shakespeare or even Dan Brown, but I believe I can write better than what I read.

So, I've been writing my SciFi novel and having a great time doing it.  Some days I write 600 words, other days, 200 or less.  My goal is to actually do some writing everyday.

With having written a first draft of a fantasy novel and getting into this scifi novel I can now comment a little on the similarities and differences between writing fantasy and scifi... or more specifically the differences between my fantasy novel and my sci fi novel.

One, is that with Fantasy I create the world in a way that is not reliant on our Earth.  I can create the continents and countries and religions and peoples.  But, in a sci-fi, if I want to write a believable one (and I do) I have to understand some of the cutting edge technology that we have now and extrapolate it into the future.  Is it necessary? I think so.  Will I be writing endless paragraphs of techno-babble? No, or at least I hope not.  In the end if I understand what is happening here and now I can project it into the future more easily and then can write about something that is kinda possible from our present day perspective.

Two, knowing present day situations and concerns and historical trends also helps with a science fiction novel...  With the fantasy novel, I could just create a history at a whim when I needed it (the key there is to remember it down the line to ensure continuity).

But, what I have since discovered as well, is that today's fears about technology conflicting with religion, privacy, and society in general may not necessarily be the same fears of the people in the hypothetical future I'm concocting.  

So, in short, i have to build up the society in a way that makes sense and is a logical extension of today's technology and then create a catastrophe to rip it down.  Build to destroy.

What's the same?  Well character development is the same.  I have mushroom characters that have sprouted up and already changed my thinking on the novel itself.  And I have onion characters where you need to peel back the layers...  Above all, I want a compelling story, much like any other writer in the history of this planet.

One excellent piece of advice I read in a writer's book regarding Sci Fi, is to remember that to the characters in your story, technology is taken for granted.

Quoted Text

As was standard on all hovercabs of the day, Cliff had to follow a multi stage authentication sequence to start the vehicle.  Cliff first pressed his thumb on the print reader affixed to the door.  A keypad next to it lit up, to which he then entered his personal code.  This much was required just to open the door.  He could hear the locking mechanism disengage while he waited for the door to swing open.  Once inside, Cliff reached into his jacket and pulled out his pocket breathalyser.  He blew into it hoping it didn't detect the one beer he had drank, and was much relieved when the big start button on the dash that had replaced ignition switches lit up green.  He slapped the button and the hybrid electric-nuclear motor whirred into life.  "Twenty Two Elmwood Place," he told the built in navigational computer.  It chirped understanding and extended the safety harness around Cliff before taking off.

Or

Quoted Text

Cliff reached his hovercab.  After unlocking the door and getting inside he blew into his pocket breathalyser, hoping it wouldn't catch the one beer he had drank.  It was a relief when the big start button on the dash lit up green.  He slapped it and announced his destination, "Twenty Two Elmood Place."  The navi-comp chirped understanding and they were off.

In the book it used the example of unlocking and opening the front door to your house.  You wouldn't go into much detail there, so doing so for future tech (even though you have to know how it works) actually pulls the reader out of the story.