I've Got It! A New Acronym for SFR

Laurie's Journal

I think I've got it!

The whole "Should we Still Call it SFR?" debate seems to be firing up, and we're kicking around a few new labels and acronyms for our subgenre (that may be emerging from subgenre status).  The theme most often repeated in our discussions is that it's character-driven SF.  Love the description, but it's more than a mouthful to say. So how can we shrink that down?  When someone asks us what we write, what do we tell them?

CDSF 

Followed by an explanation that stands for Character-Driven Science Fiction: Science Fiction about the characters, or as one eloquent writer recently put it [paraphrased]:

Not about the buttons, but who's pushing them...

And not only that but why are they pushing them? And, perhaps most important of all, for whom?

The interpersonal relationship(s) in our SF are at least as important as the science, technology or sociology. Our characters can be caught up in intergalactic wars, apocalyptic futures, alien confrontations, extra-dimensional adventures or alternative history explorations (to name a few)--with scenarios that can capture and stretch the imagination--but ultimately, the stakes are just as much personal as they are historical. And often the personal stakes conflict with the historical stakes.

And that, my friends, is what makes a great CDSF story.

So what do you think?

Ping Pong

Sharon's post on G+ (and suggestion I try it out) has been a boon for me. I now have almost 200 people in my circles including readers, writers, publishing industry professionals and a dedicated circle just for SFR Brigaders. I absolutely adore Google+!

Donna, let me also answer your question by saying this is a great place for you to start in connecting with thousands or others readers (and writers, which are voracious readers) to see what you think.  It's easy to use, gives you much more control than FB and to some degree, Twitter, and I think those are reasons a lot of people are going to move over.

I also found this article which explains why G+ may become the most used social networking platform in the future, The Top Five Ways Google+ Will Take Over the Web.

My Journey

After some real soul-searching, I've decided I'm all in for the Golden Heart. I registered all three manuscripts for the 2012 competition. *hyperventilates* Now the real work begins. Putting together six, as-close-to-perfection-as-possible printed entries of each novel, proofing, tweaking, re-proofing, printing and proofing again, before final preparation to check each and every page is there, in order and is in the correct format. It's an OCD nightmare. And then there's the chore of trying to silence the nagging little voice in my head that says the stars aren't going to align again and it will all be for naught. Well one thing is sure. You can't final if you don't enter. No guts, no glory. Cowabunga!

Discoveries

Readers Rule! The Ultimate Gatekeepers of Publishing and the Rise of the Author
Maybe it's time to put emphasis where emphasis is due. It's the readers who control our destiny. That's the message behind a blog post by Bob Mayers (the Atlantis series). Well worth a read at Write It Forward.

Happenings

Zoom, zoom, zoom
Even closer than the Moon, Moon, Moon!  

That's how near asteroid 2005 YU55 will come to Earth this week. (Thanks to Katy Perry for the borrow/mangle of her lyrics.) Another year, another near miss. Is it really happening more often, or were we just blissfully unaware of these close passes in years gone by? History tells us another strike is inevitable, so these rocks that pass so near we can feel the breeze is definitely something to make us sit up and take note.

For an animation of the asteroid's course by NASA, click here.

Great Quotes

No one promised it would be easy...
                 they just promised it would be worth it. 
                                                    - Sean Combs


Love that.