It's Not Just Robots! Why We Need Science Fiction

There seems to be a prevalent belief that if it contains robots, spaceships, or aliens, then it's science fiction, and that is all science fiction really is.

The truth is that science fiction need not have any of those things in it, and just because a book, film, or television show contains them it doesn't necessarily mean it's best placed in the science fiction genre.

Star Wars is possibly the best known and most divisive example of that; it's mostly fantasy, but with many science fiction elements which — funnily enough — all fall squarely into the robots, spaceships, and aliens category. The story itself combines two fantasy tropes: "The Hero's Journey" and "The War Between Good and Evil". Everything else is window dressing, and the actual story would probably suffer no ill effects if it were set in Middle Earth instead of a galaxy far, far away.

So how do we tell if something is science fiction, and what use is it anyway?

Crafting Main Characters — Character School Part 2

In the first entry in this series we looked at some general aspects of believable characters, but only in the sense of realistic interactive behaviour.

In this article, we will get down to the important business of how exactly we can create main characters who are credible, memorable, and likeable (or not!)

The main characters of any piece are not just important to the story; they are the story. If they don't work as characters, then no matter how well-written and intriguing your work is, it will not engage the reader. Knowing your main characters inside-out early in your process will not only pay dividends later on, it will actually help you to shape your plot.

This is the most important piece of advice a new writer can receive, yet it's easily overlooked: the main characters — if they are well-conceived, rounded personalities — will actively sculpt the plot for you.

May/June Profits to go to Nepal - Save the Children

Unless you have been visiting another world recently, you will know that an earthquake struck Nepal on 25th April 2015.

More than 7,000 people are known to have been killed, and there are potentially many more yet to be located.

The legacy of this quake is that there are now thousands of people in need of urgent medical attention, food, clothing, and shelter. Hundreds of thousands of homes were destroyed by the quake.

Nepal is one of Asia's poorest countries by GDP, and it is no slur to say that they are struggling with the aftermath of this disaster.

To try and help in any way possible, all of the author profits generated by the Armada Wars universe in May and June will go to Save the Children's campaign for the victims of the Nepal quake.

If you wish to donate to the appeal, but not buy into the Armada Wars brand, you can make a direct donation on the Save the Children Nepal Earthquake Appeal page.