1. Introduction
2. Essentials of Science Fiction and Fantasy: 2-Character Development and Connection
3. Essentials of Science Fiction and Fantasy Summaries
4. Author Spotlight – Michael Crichton
5. Writing Prompt: The Depth Behind the Mask: A Character Development Exercise
6. Community News
7. Conclusion

Introduction

Welcome to the Myers Fiction June Newsletter. It will be the day after my birthday when this post comes out and I’ll be on a much needed staycation from work. I hope everyone’s writing is going well as we near the halfway mark of 2024 and you’ve been hitting your milestones. Have you finished your draft, editing, or revising of your novel? Wherever you’re at, I hope it’s going well for you.

This month, we’ll focus on Character Development in Science Fiction and Fantasy. We’ll explore Michael Crichton’s work and give you a writing prompt to practice character development.

Essentials of Science Fiction and Fantasy: 2-Character Development and Connection

If you haven’t heard it already, Character Driven Novels are the buzz word/term for the fiction industry right now. In reality, characters are what readers remember more than anything because they love them, hate them, want to be their best friends, and so on. In Science Fiction and fantasy, this is even more important, as you are forcing your readers into new worlds that may or may not resemble the one they live in. You characters serve as a lens through which the reader’s experience the new worlds you’ve created. It’s worth every moment to get to know your characters the best you can so your readers can fall in love with them through key details.

In science fiction and fantasy, well-developed characters are crucial for adding depth to emotions and expanding the fictional world.

When you take your readers to a distant planet with a different species, you’re preparing to challenge their established beliefs. It may not go over well if your characters can’t ground the narrative. What I mean by grounding the narrative is giving your readers a character they can hold on to. This character makes the world seem real to them through their opinions, observations, and conversations. Children’s movies often include characters of different shapes and sizes to help kids relate to the story. Elemental may not have human characters, but it still captures the essence of city life through relatable characters. But the characters can’t only ground the narrative in their reality, they must also make your readers care.

Emotional depth is a challenge for many to infuse into their writing. At least for me I feel like even if I focus on it, I’m always a few cards short. But a well-developed character will get you without even realizing it until they die at the mid-point or third plot point. The emotional depth required to get a response from your readers is a challenge, but prepare to lay your character’s most inner secrets bare. People care about fictional characters because they relate to their emotions, challenges, successes, and joys. Getting readers emotionally attached to characters who die can sometimes make them abandon the series, avoiding the pain of those memories. That’s a more extreme example, but it does happen. In a way, that’s the type of emotional depth you need, one that makes your reader throw your book across the room at the fateful moment.

Intriguing characters are ones who put a lens on the world around them that expands the understanding of the world around them. Life is subjective, no matter how objective we try to be, so don’t leave your characters in objectivity. A truly objective character would be truly frustrating and most likely lose your readers. They want someone with an opinion like Kaz Brekker in the Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugoh. His story is driven by the world he grew up with and the way he found to survive in Ketterdam. Wylan Van Eck becomes Kaz’s contrast character as they come from two different versions of the same city. Conflicting views are a great way to expand your reader’s understanding of the world they’ve entered. It brings up the question of who is right? But it’s all subjective in the end.

Think of your favorite fantasy or sci-fi novel. Now, take every interesting character out of the world and replace them with the most generic NPC, Non-Playable Character. Worlds of magic and advanced technology become a little more dull, don’t they? Though people may not always talk about it, half of the experience of magic is your reaction as the outside party, the reader. If there is no one to show you or tell you how amazing that magic or technology is, then it might as well be another empty glass bottle on the shelf. Fantasy and sci-fi novels depend on compelling characters, whether good or evil, to make the most fantastical worlds thrive. Character development then becomes essential for crafting memorable stories, worlds, and fictional friends.

Characters are a wonderful tool that not only keep your readers engaged, but also, drive the plot forward, provide examples of change and transformation, all while facing their internal conflicts as they explore deeper themes. Don’t skimp on your character development because they are the defining figures of your novel. Your readers will thank you, and so will future you. I still think back to my learning experience of Extoria. I was nowhere near ready to publish that novel, and my lack of character development should have been the first sign. Without that learning experience, though, I wouldn’t be writing the fiction, editing, and creating the story lines I am today. Find out everything you can about your characters before your book’s out in the world and you can’t take it back. You may find that they will connect you to friends you’ll never forget.

Essentials of Science Fiction and Fantasy Summaries

• World-Building and Why We Care
  • Maintain consistency and immersion within the rules and logic of the world you’ve created. Ensure that the details, such as technology, magic systems, and societal norms, align with the established world-building elements. Contradictions or convenient plot choices that defy the world’s internal logic can break the reader’s suspension of disbelief.
  • Craft a detailed and immersive world that serves as a foundation for characters and stories to unfold naturally. World-building elements like geography, culture, history, and systems of magic or technology should impact the plot, character actions, and thematic exploration. Well-developed world-building can create opportunities for conflict, character development, and thematic depth, while also providing an engaging escape for readers.
• Character Development and Connection
  • Ground the narrative and provide an emotional connection for readers through well-developed characters. Characters serve as a lens through which readers experience and perceive the new worlds you’ve created. Fully fleshed-out characters with inner struggles, emotions, and unique perspectives help readers invest emotionally and make the fantastical elements feel real.
  • Use characters to expand the reader’s understanding of the world and its complexities. Give characters contrasting viewpoints, opinions, and subjective experiences of the same world. This highlights different facets of the world-building and raises thought-provoking questions, enriching the reader’s immersion in the fictional universe.

Author Spotlight – Michael Crichton

Michael Crichton (1942-2008) was an American author who became one of the most popular and commercially successful science fiction writers of the late 20th century. He was born in Chicago, graduated from Harvard College, and received a medical degree from Harvard Medical School, but he never practiced as a doctor.

Crichton’s big breakthrough came in 1969 with his novel The Andromeda Strain. This techno-thriller introduced Crichton’s unique combination of science, action, and excitement, which he continued to use in his later novels. The Andromeda Strain published while he was still a medical student.

Some of Crichton’s other major works include the sci-fi classics Jurassic Park (1990) and its sequel The Lost World (1995), as well as the cautionary tales Sphere (1987), Rising Sun (1992), and State of Fear (2004). Many of his novels, such as The Terminal Man (1972), Next (2006), and Prey (2002), explored the boundaries and ethics of technological and scientific advancement.

Crichton was a master at making complex scientific concepts into thrilling stories with clear writing and fast-paced plots. His stories often served as warnings about the dangers of unchecked human ambition in areas such as biotech, computer science, and ecology. His meticulously researched scientific details lent his books an aura of plausibility that amplified the thrills.

What are some of your favorite Michael Crichton stories?

Writing Prompt: The Depth Behind the Mask: A Character Development Exercise

Take one of your existing characters or create a new one for this exercise. Then, follow these steps to develop their inner life, backstory, and emotional connections.

1. Describe their appearance, including any special markings, traits specific to their species, and their fashion sense.
2. Give them a tragic backstory event or hardship from their past that has shaped who they are. This could involve loss of a loved one, overcoming adversity, mistakes they regret, etc.
3. Decide on their core values, motivations, and goals. What matters most to them? What are they striving for?
4. Determine their personality type and human flaws/weaknesses. Are they introverted or extroverted? Patient or impulsive? Consider contradictory traits that make them complex.
5. Describe their living situation, social status, career/occupation in the world you’ve built. How does their role connect to the world around them?
6. Give them an intense fear or phobia stemming from their backstory that could manifest in the story. How does this vulnerability make them more relatable?
7. Create a close friend or loved one that they would go to great lengths to protect. Describe this relationship.
8. Write a scene where the character faces a tough dilemma that tests their values, exposes their flaws, and pushes them to confront their fears. Use descriptive details to convey their emotional state.

The aim is to create a well-developed character that feels real, has relatable challenges, and is connected to your story – someone that readers will care about and understand as they follow the plot.

Community News

• ProWritingAid’s Crime Writers’ Week – this is a free four day online writing conference. If you haven’t been to any of their others before, the format and content is amazing so check it out June 17-21, 2024. Click here if you’re interested.
• Writers of the Future – I found this organization at my most recent LTUE in-person writer’s conference. They provide a contest four times a year. The current, 3rd quarter 2024, deadline is June 30, 2024. Check out more, and enter your short stories here.
• Havok Flash Fiction Contest – I just barely learned about this today, but it is free and the deadline is monthly. Just be sure to check out their season themes and submission guidelines pages first. If you have a 300-1000 word flash fiction in mystery, science fiction, comedy, thriller, or fantasy, learn more here.

Conclusion

Creating compelling characters is crucial for crafting memorable science fiction and fantasy stories. Well-developed characters offer an emotional anchor and relatable perspective for readers in fantastical worlds, propelling the plot and delving into deeper themes.

As seen in the work of Michael Crichton, fully fleshed-out characters with unique perspectives can elevate stories of advanced science and speculative scenarios into thought-provoking narratives.

By dedicating time to authentic character development – including rich backstories, flaws, relationships, and emotional depths – authors can form lasting connections with readers and build extraordinary fictional universes inhabited by characters who resonate long after the story ends. In the end, exceptional characters are what ground extraordinary worlds.

Previous Post: Crafting Plausible Technology: Enhancing Your Sci-Fi Narrative

Previous Newsletter: May 2024

Next Post: Writing Time Travel Stories: Paradoxes, Plot Holes and Plausibility

Next Newsletter: July 2024