Science Fiction

Many of you know that I write science fiction. I've been writing science fiction since the summer of 2006, when I wrote my first novel - it was designed to be the first in a series of three. I subsequently wrote the second (which is mostly complete) and started the third about a year and a half ago. Over the entire time I've been writing, it has been a struggle to figure out what to do with it. On one hand, it would be nice to have the recognition that published authors get.

You might have heard, there is somewhat of a kerfluffle about the new science fiction movie, District 9. There have been a few blog entries either asking the question, or outright saying that the film is racist. And I don't disagree with many of the characterizations of the movie that some bloggers have.

I'm quite excited - I'm on my way to WisCon, a feminist Science Fiction Convention. I'm doing a writing workshop on Friday, which I'm really excited about, then there are lots and lots of things going on until Sunday night. It's my first scifi con, which is kinda funny, since I've been a science fiction fan since I was a little kid. Somehow I missed the con circuit earlier in life. I guess perhaps because I never was the fannish sort. This should be exciting, and it has given my writing a burst of energy - now I just need to find the time to use it!

Here's a new SF books meme, which, I think, is better than the last meme, which had no women authors. This is a longer list, and has some women in it.

I got this from Lou Anders. This is the Science Fiction Book Club's list of the fifty most significant science fiction/fantasy novels published between 1953 and 2002.

As a long time science fiction fan, and a new science fiction writer, there is no question that a very formative influence on me was Star Trek, which is celebrating it's 40th year. I watched TOS (The Original Series) as a kid with my mom, and watched each series as it came out, except for the last, Enterprise, which started around when I stopped watching TV regularly, and also I heard it wasn't great. I've seen every Star Trek movie at least once, some a number of times. I have my list of favorite episodes, and favorite movies.

I've always considered myself creative, even though I don't consider myself an artist, per se. I spent a lot of my childhood creating worlds in my head, at the same time as I read countless creations of worlds done by many science fiction writers. This summer, I became a world creator. I have created a new sci-fi universe, and finished a novel based in it. It was one of the most amazingly fun things I've done in a long time. I got to explore in depth a variety of issues that I think are important in the world, and have fun creating characters, plot, and new worlds.

I just read a great essay by Pam Noles about, among other things, the adaptation of "A Legend of Earthsea" by Ursula LeGuin by the SciFi channel last year. I read about this essay in BoingBoing, and there has been some interesting commentary on it.