Is Science Fiction Hard to Define? [Genre]

I often hear how science fiction or speculative fiction is hard to define, but I don't really think it is. Wikipedia describes it this way:

Science fiction is a genre of fiction with imaginative but more or less plausible content such as settings in the future, futuristic science and technology, space travel, parallel universes, aliens, and paranormal abilities. Exploring the consequences of scientific innovations is one purpose of science fiction, making it a "literature of ideas". Science fiction has been used by authors and film/television program makers as a device to discuss philosophical ideas such as identity, desire, morality and social structure etc.

Emphasis is mine. Speculative fiction incorporates scientific elements that don't really exist yet. If you're writing about a man who can travel through time using a machine or a drug, it's science fiction. If you're writing about a man who can travel through time by using his mind or waving a magic wand, it's fantasy.

But scifi does encompass a lot of different elements. It can range from a story about robotic warriors battling aliens on a spaceship to a story about a modern-day woman who falls in love with a man traveling through time. That's more what's come to be hard and soft science fiction. We'll talk more about that later.

Still, there are authors like Margaret Atwood and Kurt Vonnegut, who write about futuristic dystopias and time travel, but refuse to call their work "science fiction." I find a reluctance in some authors to define themselves as scifi is more about the author's reluctance to pigeonhole themselves than about the genre itself.

What do you think? Can you define science fiction? Or is it a term that has no meaning?

The Importance of Flaws in Characters

I'm working on a second draft of my upcoming novel, Drug Run. I originally put the book aside, because I thought the main character John Avery didn't feel real. I thought he didn't have a personality or motivation. He just made his way through the story, things happened, and he responded, but it all felt shallow. I didn't really understand who he was. I couldn't see the story from his perspective. I knew the problem was that he's supposed to be an action hero, and action heroes don't really have an arc. I mean, Indiana Jones doesn't grow and change in Raiders of the Lost Ark, right? Besides, sometimes I love a character so much that I'm afraid to give them a flaw that will weaken them in the eyes of the reader.

But this time around, I took a hard look at the novel, and realized there has to be change. Avery goes through a physical journey, but not an emotional one. I bit the bullet. I did give John Avery a flaw; his lifelong hesitation to rock the boat. He avoids conflict all his life, because of a terrible accident that happened to him as a child. He's afraid of what will happen if he unleashes himself. He's an action hero who's been trying not to be an action hero. Now, faced with a threat to his family, Avery is forced to take action to defend his family. He needs to unleash the fury within him.

I'm only on the first chapter of the revised draft, but it's made all the difference. Suddenly, I can write internal dialogue, and include the motivation for the things Avery does. He's taking control, and changing parts of the story to suit his needs. I just want to say to all writers, be sure that your main characters have flaws, something they need to overcome. It makes the story so much richer.

At least, I hope so. We'll find out when I actually finish the novel.

Six Sentence Sunday: "Dead Links"

Today's Six Sentence Sunday comes from my technothriller, Dead Links. If you're not familiar with it, the idea is to post six sentences from a work in progress or published novel.

Get down," Amanda screamed, and didn't wait for Campbell to comply.

She grabbed his Hawaiian shirt by the collar and hauled him under the table. As he ducked, banging his head on the way down, Amanda knew from the angle of the waiter's arm that he aimed for Campbell. She had to draw the waiter's fire. Amanda yanked her legs out from under the table and pushed off to launch herself out of the booth in the opposite direction. 

If you'd like to read the rest of it, you can get the full novel at the Amazon Kindle Store.

I'm joining the Insecure Writer's Group! [Bloghop]

Now that I have an author's blog, I can do something I never could with the Geek Twins; I'm joining the Insecure Writer's Group! Created by Alex Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writer's Group is a bloghop of authors who discuss the insecurities of the writing life every first Wednesday of the month. I'll be posting February 6 (Wednesday) about my darkest fears as an author. And believe me, I have plenty of them.

Will you be joining the Insecure Writer's Group?

Machine of Death: "Alien Abduction" [Short Story]

The following short story was written for the second volume of the sci-fi anthology, Machine of Death: A Collection of Stories About People Who Know How They Will Die. The story was rejected, so I'm presenting it here for free. If you're not familiar with it, Machine of Death is a collection of short stories about a machine that takes a drop of blood, and prints out a card with a phrase that tells you exactly how you will die. It doesn't say where or when, and sometimes the card is so vague that you don't even know what it means, but it's never wrong. The title of every story is taken from a machine of death card. So here's my take on it:

Alien Abduction
by Nigel G. Mitchell

By the time Thomas Wiseman found out his wife was dying, the debate was almost over. At the moment the hospital struggled to keep her alive, Wiseman prepared to give his killing stroke.

Wiseman drew a small, blue, octagonal card out of his coat pocket. He held it up in front of his face so it could be seen. The audience gasped at the distinctive shape and size of the card. Even so, Wiseman still said, "This is my prediction, produced by a death prediction machine at my doctor's office, just twenty-four hours ago. If the camera could zoom in, I think the viewers will find it enlightening."

Technothriller: "Dead Links" [Novel]

My first novel for Amazon Kindle is the technothriller, Dead Links. Here's a short summary:

The owners of popular websites are dying, and freelance journalist Amanda Katt wants to know why. Along the way, she discovers a horrifying secret about the most popular website on the Net: someone has found a way to make it more addictive than any drug. It can make people do anything, including kill. As her fiance' Lesley Grant falls under the website's spell, the only way to save him is to find the secret of its power. In the process, Amanda discovers a terrifying plot that could threaten the world.

It's available as an ebook that you can download it right now on the Amazon Kindle Store.