We live in a pretty cool world, riding a wave of technological advancement that science fiction writers never accurately dreamed a century ago — though they tried. Do you know what I can do right now? I don’t even have to get up from my computer, but I can go to Netflix and with a few clicks, have a movie playing in the background while I work on this blog post. (I won’t because I find it distracting, but I could.)
I like movies. I like TV. They get a lot of flack, probably because they are still new and the consequences of long-term exposure to these things are not well understood. But basically, they do the same thing books do — they entertain. Most movies and TV shows are stories, told with light, sound, special effects, and human actors portraying the characters. Done well, movies can captivate. They can make me laugh, and make me cry, and unlike books, they more fully engage my senses. I get sight and sound.
In fact, I have come to a point in my life where I realize that I enjoy a lot of science fiction more on TV and in movies than I do in books. (Oh! Did I just say that out loud? And here I am, trying to convince people to buy the science fiction novel I wrote!)
Ok, so here it is, straight up: Science fiction is cool. “To explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilization…” (You know the rest, both the sexist and non sexist version. 🙂 )
But if you’re trying to tell me a story, you need to choose the best medium for it. A story that is more about settings and things than it is about character comes alive in a movie or TV show. These days, I often see writers, especially new writers, using what I like to call a cinematic style, in which they essentially follow a camera as if it is shooting a movie. Well, I’d rather watch the movie, if it’s all the same.
Books can compete, but writers have to play to their strengths. The thing that books can do that movies cannot is get us inside the mind of a character. We can really get to know him or her, for good or for evil. Why is the evil villain so evil? Let’s get inside his mind and find out! Let’s ride with our hero as he struggles to survive, learning new things about himself and those around him on his way.
Books leave more room for us to imagine ourselves in a role. In a movie, I am always watching someone else, which can be exciting, but I’m never truly one of the characters. In a book, I’m right there, making the journey myself.
So my tip: Writers, play to a book’s strength, and don’t forget the characters! Science fiction movies can show me what a strange new world looks like. Science fiction books can show me what if feels like to settle there.