tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844784446912062670.post2125477645116056019..comments2024-03-27T08:14:40.699-07:00Comments on Indie Writers Monthly: How speculative does 'speculative fiction' have to be, or should I have had the tortoises shooting lasers?Brianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01616494058636881575noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844784446912062670.post-24394395511479947532014-07-24T20:12:01.675-07:002014-07-24T20:12:01.675-07:00Well, yeah, I call them fantasy but, since it'...Well, yeah, I call them fantasy but, since it's set in the "real world," people have a hard time with it as fantasy and want to call it something else. Like magical realism.<br /><br />It's still weird to me though, since they don't, for instance, call the Dresden books magical realism. No, those are urban fantasy.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844784446912062670.post-49824777958780880342014-07-24T20:03:28.544-07:002014-07-24T20:03:28.544-07:00I would think the House books would be straight-up...I would think the House books would be straight-up fantasy. They've got wizards and ogres!Brianehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01616494058636881575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844784446912062670.post-46566705082636805872014-07-24T20:02:44.199-07:002014-07-24T20:02:44.199-07:00I like 'spec fic' because it fits a lot of...I like 'spec fic' because it fits a lot of what I do. "the After" isn't really 'magical realism,' which I think of as a story that basically could happen with some magical elements thrown in, versus spec fic, which I think of as a fantasy story that's got a lot of real-seeming components. A story like "Happy Happy" is hard to categorize. It's definitely not Lovecraftian. Not that I mind having a hard-to-categorize story, but you've got to say it's SOMETHING. <br /><br />The labels do overlap, though. Horror usually has a huge chunk of either sci-fi ("The Passage," "The Stand") or fantasy. Or both. Brianehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01616494058636881575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844784446912062670.post-25587028364542568342014-07-24T20:00:11.845-07:002014-07-24T20:00:11.845-07:00Lasers, Jean. I'm positive that's where i...Lasers, Jean. I'm positive that's where it's at.Brianehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01616494058636881575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844784446912062670.post-82622603319713548082014-07-24T19:59:57.355-07:002014-07-24T19:59:57.355-07:00I agree about genre being marketing. In that sens...I agree about genre being marketing. In that sense, I think they just meant "It's not for our readers."Brianehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01616494058636881575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844784446912062670.post-82646264152186541552014-07-24T11:02:34.356-07:002014-07-24T11:02:34.356-07:00Oh, also, magical realism is also considered spec ...Oh, also, magical realism is also considered spec fic.<br />Just to mention it.<br />Especially since people often want to classify House as magical realism, which I'm actually okay with.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844784446912062670.post-76066287951142477072014-07-24T11:01:23.785-07:002014-07-24T11:01:23.785-07:00First, as I've said many time before, I hate t...First, as I've said many time before, I hate the term speculative fiction. It's too all-encompassing to mean anything. Everything that is not precisely true is speculative. So biographies are not speculative and history is not speculative and literary fiction is generally not considered speculative, but basically everything else is. ALL of fantasy. ALL of sci-fi. ALL of horror. ALL of historical fiction. ALL stories with talking animals (so Tony is 1000% wrong). And I could go on with that list, but, basically, any story that hinges on the question of "why" or "what if" or has the thought "I wonder" is speculative. Unless it's something so normal as to not actually require speculation. Something like "I wonder what would happen if my MC held up a bank and shot a cop" is not speculative, because that happens. Turtles, however, do not talk, so that makes it spec fic.<br /><br />And just to add to my rant, spec fic is barely even a real thing. It's just a term that genre writers have started throwing around recently (the last decade or so at most) to make them sound more legitimate. Screw that. If you write sci-fi, just freaking say you write sci-fi. If you write weird fiction (and, yes, that is an actual genre (developed largely by Lovecraft)), say you write weird fiction. I have never once told anyone I am a spec fic writer. I tell people that I what I write, mostly, is fantasy of one sort or another, because everything I have out so far (except the cookie story) has fantasy elements. At some point, I will become a sci-fi/fantasy writer, but my sci-fi thing isn't finished, yet.<br /><br />Anyway, that you were rejected on the basis of that not being spec fic is ridiculous, and you shouldn't want your thing published in a thing where someone would say that, because that clearly shows that those people don't know what they're talking about and probably don't know what they're doing.<br /><br />And, by the way, I liked the story.<br />But it would have been cool if they'd had lasers. Like The Plague Dogs except Plague Tortoises. Or something.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844784446912062670.post-25076074486977567912014-07-24T07:33:12.295-07:002014-07-24T07:33:12.295-07:00I had a story rejected a couple months ago because...I had a story rejected a couple months ago because it wasn't speculative enough. Maybe I should have add a couple talking turtles. But apparently that's not speculative either? Darn it. Now what shall I do?Jean Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02047709505502621618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844784446912062670.post-88102290832878756682014-07-24T07:22:52.369-07:002014-07-24T07:22:52.369-07:00I've always thought flash fiction was 1000 wor...I've always thought flash fiction was 1000 words or less, but I guess there's no firm definition of the term.Sandra Ulbrich Almazanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15365908651235829765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844784446912062670.post-29928817851364481282014-07-24T07:17:13.590-07:002014-07-24T07:17:13.590-07:00Sentient talking turtles sound like fantasy to me ...Sentient talking turtles sound like fantasy to me (though if they were genetically/neurologically enhanced, that would make them SF). There was an article on time.com yesterday showing that animals do share more emotions with people than we realize, so who knows? Perhaps turtles really do decide if they want to approach each other or retreat, but they may do so nonverbally.<br /><br />Genre is more of a marketing tool than anything else, a way to help people find the stories they want to read. IMO, Magical realism is a term used to get people who normally wouldn't read fantasy to read it. That said, I'm more likely to read a magical realism book than something labeled mainstream fiction. <br /><br />I hope we can all agree on the most important point: it's a good thing these turtles don't eat pizza.Sandra Ulbrich Almazanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15365908651235829765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844784446912062670.post-48653707276439416272014-07-24T06:27:17.087-07:002014-07-24T06:27:17.087-07:00But I agree: a story on why turtles live so slowly...But I agree: a story on why turtles live so slowly would also be interesting. It's just not the one I felt like writing.Brianehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01616494058636881575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844784446912062670.post-17352356419238265802014-07-24T06:26:28.863-07:002014-07-24T06:26:28.863-07:00It's amazing how many things I've written ...It's amazing how many things I've written that were inspired by something you said or did, Rusty. You truly are my muse.<br /><br />We should post those rejections here.Brianehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01616494058636881575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844784446912062670.post-21413449313705042082014-07-24T06:26:02.048-07:002014-07-24T06:26:02.048-07:00For me, Tony, the speculative part was that the to...For me, Tony, the speculative part was that the tortoises were talking and thinking. While they might actually do that, we don't know, so I was speculating as to that.Brianehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01616494058636881575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844784446912062670.post-66406517221528467652014-07-24T04:52:45.768-07:002014-07-24T04:52:45.768-07:00And before you say so, I realize that turtles are ...And before you say so, I realize that turtles are not tortoises. But I was thinking turtles instead of tortoises when I wrote my response. Speculating that turtles <i>are</i> tortoises in some secret way would also be acceptable speculative fiction.Tony Laplumehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07854455859399339169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844784446912062670.post-52095277232086861592014-07-24T04:50:18.773-07:002014-07-24T04:50:18.773-07:00I feel famous. I'm in block quotes and everyth...I feel famous. I'm in block quotes and everything. I think there should be a website that collects ironic rejections. I had a 2000 word short story rejected, mostly, because the editor didn't want flash fiction. <br /><br />And that seems pretty spec ficky to me. Also very good. Rusty Carlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09887821877521181811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844784446912062670.post-77174043294565288532014-07-24T04:49:33.937-07:002014-07-24T04:49:33.937-07:00But that's not speculative fiction. It's ...But that's not speculative fiction. It's a reflection on the lifespan of turtles. If you, say, speculated on <i>why</i> turtles age the way they do, or <i>if they age that way for a reason</i>, that would be speculative fiction. But what you wrote isn't. The publication was accurate in its determination.Tony Laplumehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07854455859399339169noreply@blogger.com