Why Speculative Fiction?
One thing I took away from the Conference this weekend is that Speculative Fiction is a niche market. It is, despite what I may think, not mainstream.
This led to the all important question, why write Speculative Fiction, in particular the nicheiest (yeah ok, I just made up a word, maybe I’ll write my own language like Tolkien) of the niche market, Science Fiction?
I had to think about that a bit. I mean I like other genres when I read them. I like Fantasy, Urban Fantasy and Fantasy about Dragons, I like Mysteries, especially contemporary mysteries or ones with an element of the supernatural. I even enjoy the occasional light hearted romance, especially ones that are paranormal in nature, or a Chick Lit story or two. Huh, as I look back over that list I realized that most of what I enjoy reading falls under the umbrella of Speculative Fiction in one way or another.
Why not try one of these other genres?
Well, frankly, those genres are not out of the question. But I love Science Fiction. It is what I grew up on, and it’s where my passion is.
I grew up with my imagination fed by Star Trek, then later The Next Generation. I remember reading one snowy day, literally stretched out in front of our fireplace reading Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonsdawn. Let us not forget the Holy Trilogy, my family taped Jedi on our VCR – it took two video tapes. I watched it over and over and over changing the tape midway without complaint.
The genre ingrained itself in me.
I love it still.
I want to contribute something to this amazing genre of literature and imagination. Science Fiction has the ability to tackle hard problems without becoming preachy because it doesn’t deal with the contemporary. It deals with the fantastic. Science Fiction has the ability to tell amazing, fantastic stories without seeming preposterous because it is rich with imagination and invention. Science Fiction has the potential to be filled with characters people will love and love to hate, because it is not limited to the archetypes of other genres, we can invent an entirely new race of beings should the need arise.
So for the time being, I will stick with my first love, Science Fiction. Perhaps in time I will branch out to other stories, there are some Fantasies rattling around in my head, but hey, that still falls under the umbrella of Speculative Fiction. J
I guess I just can’t escape the genre, nor do I want to.