Go Ahead — Write This Story: Ideas, not dumps

[mount_oregano]

Science fiction is "the fiction of ideas," neat ideas that evoke a sense of wonder — but avoid infodumps, evil expository lumps that merely explain the idea and stop the plot dead. Keep your stories focused characters trying to solve a conflict involving the neat idea. A few carefully chosen details or a scene that shows the idea at work might be enough to create a wonderful universe for your readers. Never stop telling the story. If you need an idea, here's one, and a few more are scattered throughout this ‘zine.

• This is a shocking story about the first marriages between humans and non-terrestrials in the U.S., which federal law promptly declares illegal because of beliefs that the humans have been coerced.

• This is a first contact story that begins when the Moon suddenly disappears, taking with it Tycho Colony.

• This is a story about a pregnant veterinarian in Chicago who realizes that something has caused animal babies to mutate — and it might have affected humans.

— Sue Burke