Sense of Wonder: A Century of Science Fiction (647 page)

2011 — Feb — “Star and the Rockets, The,” by Harry Turtledove

2011 — July — “Shadow Catcher,” by Ayana R. Abdallah

List of Poems

“A Martian Sends A Postcard Home,” by Craig Raine

“Afterwards,” by Clark Ashton Smith

“Alternate Histories,” by Darrell Schweitzer

“At the Conclusion of an Interstellar War,” by Darrell Schweitzer

Dance Dance Revolution Cathy Park Hong

“Future States,” by D. H. Lawrence

“Future War,” by D. H. Lawrence

“Harbour Whistles,” by H. P. Lovecraft

“Her Lips Are Copper Wire,” by Jean Toomer

“Lunar Baedeker,” by Mina Loy

“Man and Machine,” by D. H. Lawrence

“Men Like Gods,” by D. H. Lawrence

“Nightmare for Future Reference,” by Stephen Vincent Benét

“Oh Wonderful Machine!,” by D. H. Lawrence

“Robot Feelings,” by D. H. Lawrence

“Robot-Democracy,” by D. H. Lawrence

“Saul’s Death,” by Joe Haldeman

“Scientific Romance,” by Darrell Schweitzer

“Sea-Bathers,” by D. H. Lawrence

“Shadow Catcher,” by Ayana R. Abdallah

“The Computer Iterates the Greater Trumps,” by Gene Wolfe

“The Star-Treader,” by Clark Ashton Smith

“The Triumph,” by of the Machine D. H. Lawrence

“Wellsian Futures,” by D. H. Lawrence

“White Trains,” by Lucius Shepard

List of Essays

After the End: Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction, by Irene Sywenky, University of Alberta

Aliens and Alien Worlds Ericka Hoagland, Stephen F. Austin

Alternate History Andrew M. Gordon, University of Florida

American Science Fiction Magazines Hildy Silverman

Avoiding Publishing Scams Leigh Grossman, University of Connecticut

Awards in Science Fiction Lauren Cunningham

Black Women Writing Speculative Fiction Ayana R. Abdallah, University of Houston

Canadian Science Fiction in English Ruby S. Ramraj, University of Calgary

Conventions and Fandom Sheri Giglio

Cyberpunk Don Riggs, Drexel University

Cyborgs Kyle William Bishop, Southern Utah University

Dark Futures and Dystopias Matthew Crom, Pacific Lutheran University

Dinosaurs in Science Fiction Tim DeForest, Ringling College of Art and Design

Disability in Science Fiction Breyen Strickler, Loras College

Donald A. Wollheim Betsy Wollheim

Fan Fiction Karen Hellekson

Gender Images in Science Twila Yates Papay, Rollins College

Fiction and Paul D. Reich, Rollins College

Germs in Science Fiction Laurel Bollinger, University of Alabama at Huntsville

Graphic Novels and Science Fiction Peter J. Ingrao, University of Texas at Dallas

Hard Science Fiction C. W. Johnson, San Diego State University

Hugo Gernsback and His Writers Richard Bleiler, University of Connecticut

Inventing the Future Mike Brotherton, University of Wyoming

James Gunn and the Center for the Study of Science Fiction Chris McKitterick, CSSF

Jim Baen Henry T. Davis with Toni Weiskopf

John W. Campbell and His Writers Zahra Jannessari Ladani, Tehran University

Lester and Judy-Lynn Del Rey Frederik Pohl

LGBT Themes in SF Wendy Gay Pearson, University of Western Ontario

Literary Agents Leigh Grossman, University of Connecticut

Literary Criticism and Science Fiction Donald M. Hassler, Kent State

The Lovecraft Circle Dennis H. Barbour, Purdue University-Calumet

Military Science Fiction James D. Macdonald

The New Wave Darren Harris-Fain, Shawnee State

News Magazines of the Science Fiction Field Ian Randal Strock

Nineteenth-Century Science Fiction Monique R. Morgan, McGill University

On the Baroque in Science Fiction Thomas F. Bertonneau, SUNY Oswego

The Origins of Science Fiction Jennifer A. Rea, University of Florida

Postcolonial Science Fiction Ericka Hoagland, Stephen F. Austin

Religion and Science Fiction James F. McGrath, Butler University

Robots Amerdeep Singh, Lehigh University

Russian and East European Science Fiction Sibelan Forrester, Swarthmore

Science Fiction and Anime Mark Gellis, Kettering University

Science Fiction and Environmentalism Lisa Swanstrom, Florida Atlantic University

Science Fiction and the Hidden Histories of Science Katherine Pandora, University of Oklahoma

Science Fiction Book Reviewing Tom Easton, Thomas College

Science Fiction Film: The Forbidden Genre Daniel M. Kimmel

Science Fiction and Lyric Seo-Young Jennie Chu, Poetry Queens College, CUNY

Science Fiction in Western Europe Sonja Fritzsche, Illinois Wesleyan

Science Fiction on Radio Tim DeForest, Ringling College of Art and Design

Science Fiction on Television Jim Davis, Troy University

Sixty Rules for Short SF Terry Bisson

Space Opera David Steiling, Ringling College of Art and Design

Space Travel in Science Fiction Steven Mollmann, University of Connecticut

Steampunk Burgsbee L. Hobbs, St. Leo University

Submitting a Manuscript Leigh Grossman, University of Connecticut

Survivalism Kyle William Bishop, Southern Utah University

Taboos and Dangerous Ideas in Modern Science Fiction Liberty Stanavage, SUNY Potsdam

Time Travel Ellen M. Rigsby, St. Mary’s College of California

To Tell the Tale: The Science Fiction of Death, Dying, and Grief Kathleen Fowler, Ramapo College

Utopian Science Fiction Samuel Gerald Collins, Towson

World Building Donald M. Hassler, Kent State

Writer’s Workshops Debra Doyle

Young Adult Science Fiction Carol Franko, Kansas State University

A “mainstream” short story can be about anything: a mood, a character, a setting, even a flashy writing style. A genre (SF or fantasy) short story is about an idea. The fictional elements (character, plot, setting, etc) are only there to dramatize the idea.

Here are the rules for the SF (or Fantasy) short story:

1. Keep it short . It can and should be read in one sitting. That’s the first rule.

2. The novel’s timeline is folded into the reader’s real time. The short story is itself a real-time event. That gives the form a certain “Hey, you!” authority, like a fire or an arrest. Use that authority.

3. The SF reader is a gamer who brings a problem-solving intelligence to the story. This is the SF writer’s one great advantage. Use it.

4. The more extraordinary the idea, the more ordinary the language. Experimental writing is for quotidian events. James Joyce and Virginia Woolf understood this.

5. Keep your timeline simple. Flashbacks are out of place in a short story.

6. Never write in present tense. It makes events less, not more, immediate. Past tense IS present tense.

7. No dialect. Jargon is OK but only if doesn’t have to be explained.

8. One world only. Dreams are out of place in a short story.

9. Fantasies are out of place in Fantasy.

10. The stranger the idea, the realer the world must seem to be.

11. A few objects make a world, the fewer the better. William Gibson’s good at this. It’s called art direction.

12. No info dumps. The short story IS an info-dump.

13. The short story is the controlled release of information. Let the reader know from the first line who is in control.

14. Be stingy. Generosity is out of place in the short story.

15. Don’t be chatty. The novelist makes friends with the reader. The SF reader is both accomplice and adversary but never friend. Think of it as a contest in which he is pleased only if he loses.

16. Genre is a matrix of expectations. They are yours to grant, deny or delay, but you must know what they are. Don’t be writing SF if you haven’t read it.

17. One idea is enough for a story. Two is more than enough. Three is too many.

18. One POV is enough. Two is more than enough. Three is too many.

19. Watch your POV and keep it consistent. Be strict. If you relax, your reader will too.

20. The main character should be a little stupid. This flatters the reader.

21. One character should never tell another character the story. Conrad could do this but you can’t.

22. If you have more than one character, make them work at cross purposes. You can kill one if you like.

23. Too many little impediments make a story seem jiggly. One or two big ones are better.

24. A short story should cover a day or two at most. A week is stretching it.

25. One setting is best. Movement is not action.

26. Action is overrated anyway.

27. Every character has a history, but most don’t belong in the story. This is Hemingway’s rule.

28. Know who is telling the story, and why. This can be the hard part.

29. Even a story without a narrator has a narrator.

30. Polish. Short stories are like poems in that they may be read more than once. A really good short story will be read several times. Beware.

31. Polish. Your readers should fear you, a little.

32. Use your characters to release the information. This is what they’re for. Try not to have them read it in newspapers.

33. Make their dialogue do double or triple duty. Small talk in SF is like carbonation in wine. It detracts.

34. Humor is OK but only if it seems offhand. Never pause for a laugh.

35. No funny names, please.

36. No magic carpets or Once Upon a Times. A fable is not a short story. A joke is not a short story.

37. No wizards or dragons. They will make your short story seem like a part of a longer, less interesting piece.

38. Don’t meander or digress. You can pretend to meander for misdirection. See below.

39. Misdirection is interesting. SF readers like puzzles.

40. Fights are only interesting in real life. They are boring in stories.

41. Novels are made out of characters and events. Short stories are made out of words alone. They are all surface. Polish.

42. Plot is important only in time travel stories. They must have a paradox. This limits their range severely.

43. Symmetry is more important than plot. A short story must make a pleasing shape, and close with a click.

44. Sex is out of place in a short story, unless it has already happened or will happen after the story is over. See 40, fighting, above.

45. Surprises are good, but only if they appear to be planned.

46. Try to put something interesting on every page. This is Gene Wolfe’ s rule.

47. Telling can be better than showing. It all depends on who’s doing the telling.

48. Racial and sexual stereotypes are (still) default SF. Avoiding them takes more than reversals.

49. Space breaks regulate timeline. They make a story look modern but also conventional.

50. Go easy on character descriptions. Nobody cares what your characters look like. They only need to be able to tell them apart.

51. Repetition is good for symmetry but must be used carefully, like Tabasco.

52. Never write about a writer. It makes you seem needy.

53. Leave stuff out. It’s what’s left out that puts what’s left in to work.

54. Withhold as much information as possible for as long as possible. When the reader knows everything, the story is over.

55. After you finish your story, go back and cut your first paragraph. Now it is finished.

56. Imagine a reader both sympathetic and cruel. Pretend you are that reader when you edit.

57. Read your story aloud. It must run under a half an hour. This is about 4000 words. Anything longer than this and people start to fidget.

58. Don’t do voices. A dry, academic reading style is best unless you are John Crowley or Gahan Wilson.

59. Ignore these rules at your peril.

60. Peril is the SF short story writer’s accomplice, adversary, and friend.