Writing Near-Future Science Fiction

Today I welcome author Stephen Tremp on tour for the re-release of his novel, Breakthrough. Take it, Stephen!

The Information Age is moving at breakneck speed. Discoveries in areas of science that were once fodder for science fiction are now becoming part of our everyday life. Due to the explosion of technology, access to real-time information, and an ever-changing geo-political landscape, our immediate future is unforeseen. We live in an exciting and certainly unpredictable world. There is no shortage of inspiration for near-future science fiction.

What is Near-Future Science Fiction: Near-future science fiction is set in the present day or in the next few years. Elements of the setting should be familiar to the reader, and the technology may be current or in development. Stories about theoretical physics, nanotechnology or genetics often fall into this category.

Is it any wonder weaving elements of sci-fi into a present day action thrillers is so popular with mainstream America? Perhaps, sci-fi writers are merely prophets, proclaiming in advance what we will see and use in the future, or the very near future.

Problem: Science fiction is fun, but often unrealistic. Solution: Near future sci-fi can use theoretical physics, what some physicists believe may be reality, but have yet to confirm through rigorous testing. To write a realistic near sci-fi story, it’s as important to identify and eliminate certain elements as it is to include them. Example: light sabres used in Star Wars. Cool, but not very realistic. In reality, the laser would beam for miles and slice through the spaceship or building the fighters may be in and everything else in their path.

Where Can A Writer Gain Inspiration: one way to gain inspiration is to follow what the government is doing. According to an article by David Montgomery in The Washington Post titled U.S. Mission for Sci-Fi Writers , Homeland Security is boldly going where few government bureaucracies have gone before and is enlisting the expertise of science-fiction writers.

What I Follow And Research: as a writer, I doesn’t have to build a particle accelerator in my garage or my Mom’s basement in order to perform research in physics. Rather, there is so much free, real time information available at our finger tips. The Internet and the Science, Discovery, and History channels all give us a more information, in layman’s terms, that we can ever hope to use. One can also follow leading physicists who make information readily available like Dr. Brian Cox , Prof. Stephen W. Hawking , Dr. Michio Kaku , and Prof. Brian Greene among many others. Even YouTube has hundreds of informative and interesting clips.

I also follow events coming out of CERN and Fermilab . What else could be exciting is a breakthrough someone discovers in their garage or their mom’s basement. Think of revolutionary ideas and companies started this way. Hewlitt Packard, Apple, and Atari among others.

Please join me tomorrow as I visit Arlee Bird at Tossing It Out as we talk a little about Hyperspace and Hyperbings.

Stephen Tremp is author of the action thriller Breakthrough . You can visit Stephen at Breakthrough Blogs .

And Diane had asked me some questions about my blog tour - my answers are up today at her site, Spunk on a Stick’s Tips