• Hard science fiction places heavy emphasis on fictional technology based on real scientific fact or observations. One might write about worm holes based off of actual theories of what worm holes are like. In hard science fictions, characters and plot must take into account realistic limitations of technology. If you’re going to write this way, be sure to be scientifically authentic. Do your homework.
• Soft science fiction allows more discrepancies between scientific possibility and the plot and setting. For example, all intelligent alien life in the universe might be extremely humanoid, like in Star Trek. There may also be some elements of the story that defy scientific explanation, like the Force in Star Wars. Such stories are usually more concerned with social questions rather than scientific ones.

Most science fiction stories are not strictly soft or hard, but a hybrid. Some people, when writing science fiction, neglect genuine character development and real conflict because they believe that the story has no need to be “real.” Don’t believe that for a second. If you write about characters in a fantastic setting, say, the future, you had better be able to convince the readers that it’s real. In order to do that, you need realistic characters and real conflict.

Avoid the same old stories. There’s plenty of great things to write about out there. Good luck with science fiction. Until next time!

Hearts
By Aubree Holmes and Ray Alston

Rose put down the two of clubs. Joe and Ben both congratulated her, talking over the other to be heard. “That’s my girl Rose!” Ben exclaimed.  “She’s a natural!” interrupted Joe.  Rose blushed faintly. She glanced around her new home. They were playing Hearts in the common room. Lunch had just finished and the food had been mediocre. The common room was full of plastic flowers that fit right in with the staff’s cheerful smiles and artificial kindness. A tall, lanky boy played the old, out of tune piano in the corner. Ben grumbled, played a Jack of Spades, and bragged that he used to be an opera singer. He tried to rasp out some Puccini, only to end with a chorus of coughs. Joe set down a Queen of Hearts and winked at Rose. Rose looked down and shyly examined her heart monitor. The Bald Lady to her left gave her a poke with her cane to signal that it was her turn again.

The game, like everything else, ended quickly. “Sorry boys!” said Rose “Looks like neither of you won this one!” she chuckled at their admiring stares as she stood to leave. After a nurse came and wheeled the Bald Lady away, Joe turned to Ben. “You know she likes me better!” he said, nudging Ben.  “Does not!” Ben protested.

Rick’s New Coat

By: Katie Taylor and Abe Larsen

“Thanks for nuthin’, ya jerk. I guess ya never read the Bible!”

“Looks like today is already goin’ good for ya, Rick. By the way, that’s a nice coat,” Paul said as he sat down on the bench next to Rick.

Paul was a balding man that had an ample amount of facial hair which was matted and tangled.  Rick had a black ponytail and cracked glasses and the girth of Santa Claus at Christmas time.  George was skinny and he had a nervous tick causing him to blink and then jerk his head to the left. Every Tuesday Paul, Rick, and George met up at Demmyre Park.

Looking down at his coat, full of holes, patches, and stains, Rick smiled, showing the brown stains on his teeth. The coat was neon blue with a sunshine yellow streak and a fuchsia circle over the shoulder.

“Thanks. I got it yesterday. It was hangin’ out a dumpster by a doughnut shop. There’s always great stuff there,” said Rick.

“I got a good scroungin’ place too. That’s where I found these shoes. They even got built in air conditionin,” chimed in George.

“Where at?”  Paul asked.

“Ya know the corner of Oak and Pine?

“Yeah, I know the spot,” said Paul.

I found it last year as I was lookin for a new spot to put my box,” continued George. “The corner of Oak and Maple is goin to the druggies. It is givin us respectable bums a bad name.”

“Ya gotta spot, Paul?” asked Rick.

“Well my spot ain’t any of those spots. And I ain’t gonna tell ya where it’s at cause I don’t want ya comin round pinchin my stuff,” said Paul.

“Are ya accusin’ us of stealin?” Rick asked disbelievingly.

“Spose I am.”

“That’s against the bum’s code of honor!”

“I don’t much care.”

Rick got to his feet and huffed as he walked away, “Well, I ain’t gonna stay where I ain’t welcome! Even a bum’s gotta have a little dignity.”

Paul and George glared at each other. They got up and walked off in opposite directions.  Later that day, Paul walked back to his “favorite spot” to go find something for dinner. To his horror, he found his “friends” there waiting for him.

Here’s a few tips for writing good flash fiction:

• Choose a conflict that is not too epic to be resolved in 500 words or less. This doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be complex or that the stakes shouldn’t be high, but a conflict that cannot be resolved in a single setting is likely to be too long for flash fiction.
• Make your writing as concise as possible. Don’t neglect your imagery, but don’t put any in that don’t need to be there either.
• Don’t neglect your character’s development. Because you have limited words, try to have only a few characters, maybe three or less.
• Since flash fiction is so short, you should revise it over, and over, and over again. Anything out of place in your story is going to be noticeable, since there’s not much text for your mistakes and inconsistencies to get lost in.

And there you have it. By the way, flash fiction is also referred to as short shorts, so go out and read some to get a feel for writing them. I’ll post a few examples soon. Until next time.

Perhaps because of our rich comic book history, many of us love villains. They’re fun to read, they’re fun to write, and they can symbolize everything we see as wrong with the world. If you want your antagonist to be personified in one or a few characters, you’ll need to know how to write a villain.

• Like all characters in your story, your villain must have a want. And don’t just say “to destroy the world.” Your antagonist’s wants must be clear and plausible in order for them to drive the plot. Even chaotic villains, like the Joker from Batman comics, have motives for what they do. That doesn’t mean that their motives have to make sense, mind you. Irrational motives often make an evil deed.
• Giving your villain a back story can change the way your audience is affected by them. Often, when villains have a back story to explain the reason why they’re evil or whatever, it deflates them. This might be what you want. Goob, from Meet the Robinsons, was meant to be deflated, because it was important that in the end he showed that he was nothing more than a man with a rough history. However, if you want your villain to have a more striking effect on your readers, if you want him or her to constantly remain truly, truly evil, conceal their stories. The Joker in The Dark Knight does this well, for he never seems to quite remember how he got his scars. He comes across as wonderfully insane.
• Your hero must be motivated by more than a desire to defeat the villain. As cool as your antagonist is, he or she cannot be the only thing driving the plot. Your other characters must have wants of their own, otherwise your story is about nothing more than a petty grudge.
• Be careful of what your villain symbolizes. Villains often become the subjects of political, social, and religious criticism. If you don’t want your villain to symbolize big business, be careful having them be the head of a large corporation that runs everything for the sake of profit. However, you might be out to make such a statement, in which case, don’t have your villain symbolize too much. Overloading your villain with social commentary means making him cliché, which is a grievous sin in fiction writing.

Now that you know how to do it, go do it. Personally, I love villains. I think they make epic stories and strong heroes. Avoid rewriting the same old villains, too. There’s enough evil in the world to write more good ones.

A common element in all stories, like characters and plot, is setting. Stuff has to happen somewhere. Really bad writing often leaves the setting ambiguous and the readers frustrated. Naturally, when we visualize a story, we must have a backdrop for context. Sometimes, your setting can be largely implied. If you say a story is happening in a kitchen, for example, we might assume that the kitchen is in a house in America on planet Earth some time close to the present. If any of that is not the case, the reader needs to know. In science fiction and fantasy, for example, setting is often unusual and important, so more time is spent on describing setting than in literary fiction. This is also true of historical fiction, which depends on specific locations and times to be authentic. Here’s a few tips for writing your setting:

• Establish your setting within the first paragraph or first few sentences of your story. It’s important that your readers understand the context of the story immediately, and that means knowing where and when stuff is happening.
• Instead of telling your audience what the setting is, try showing them. Use concrete images to make it clear, like describing kitchen appliances to say it’s happening in a kitchen, or the Empire State building to say it’s in New York.
• If your setting is very specific, do a little research to make it real. If the story takes place in a real place, like the Vatican, for example, don’t just make up buildings and street names. Google search a little and give your story a little credibility. This is one of the few things that Stephanie Meyer did very well in her Twilight series, and something Tom Clancy does in every single book.
• If you’re writing science fiction or fantasy, you have a special responsibility to your setting. These settings are often implausible, like a distant planet or a mythical realm that never existed. It’s your job as a writer to make them plausible, so put as much thought into your setting as you do your plot. A poor setting will break a great plot.

Setting plays an important part in storytelling. Be sure to use it to your advantage. Now go and write. Fly, my monkeys, fly!

Virtually every university creative writing program teaches their students to write like Hemmingway. The reason why is obvious if you’ve ever read the guy’s work. The man could write. And virtually every great writer to follow wrote like him. To help you understand, I’d advise that you read a few of his short stories, like “The Faithful Bull,” “Hills Like White Elephants,” and his novella, “The Old Man and the Sea.” They’re really easy reads, and wonderful stories to boot. Once you’ve read some Hemmingway, you can start to learn how to write like him. These steps will get you started:

• Leave out any descriptions or images that aren’t completely necessary for the reader to understand. If the guy is old, no need to describe his wrinkles. Just say he’s old, or that he looks old. We’ll get it.
• Don’t worry about saying “he said,” after every line of dialogue. If your dialogue is distinct and natural enough, we’ll know who said it. That doesn’t mean don’t do it ever, just be sparing. Every once in a while we can use the reminder, especially in the middle of long conversations.
• Try writing your own Hemmingway hero. These are often heroes who undergo some great hardship and display an incredible amount of endurance. They’re usually victorious in some way, even if they don’t succeed at what they set out to do at first. Instead of undergoing a transformation themselves, they usually inspire it in others. Think of Rocky Balboa, or the nameless father from The Road.

With these few tips you’re on your way to emulating someone who bears emulation. Hemingway discovered some really great things about writing, and shame on you if you don’t take advantage of those.

The first thing that you need to develop as a creative writer is a sense of humility. That doesn’t mean that you have to think that you’re a bad writer, you just need to know what your writing is and what it isn’t.

For example: your writing is not finished after a single draft. You need to revise, however proud you are of your work. Revision is the process of rewriting, where we read, analyze, and correct our writing to best reflect our intentions as a writer. I say “intentions” because since we are writing something that already exists in our head, we need to be sure that our readers see what’s in our head too, and not just what our stories might accidentally say. In short, our thought-to-text translation is not always perfect on the first try, so we need to go through it again and again until it’s good enough.

Here’s a few tips on how to revise:

• Don’t worry about grammar and punctuation until later. There are more important things that need your attention on your second draft.
• Look at your plot. Is it clear? Is it consistent? Is it plausible? If it’s not all three of these rewrite it until it is.
• Develop your characters. Are their wants clear? Does their dialogue sound natural when you say it out loud?
• Look for sentences or phrases that feel awkward. Try to rewrite them so that they’re concise, varied, and meaningful.

Never, ever neglect your revisions. They’re the place where your best writing will happen.