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Science – Atmosphere/ Unquestionably, the most important aspect of Science is the author’s ability to create a believable atmosphere or setting. Without this, the reader cannot be truly vested in the . If the author fails to pass on his/her vision of the world he/she is creating, the will believe the work lacks credibility. With this in , do the following:

1. Read the article: “Setting: The Key to ” and summarize key points. 2. Read the article called, “Creating Atmosphere”. 3. Read the examples of Sci-fi scenes from Mark Bowman and MT Anderson. 4. Answer the following: What does the author do to pull you into the setting? Look at the language used by each author in the examples. Which words appeal to the 5 senses? List them and tell me which sense the author is appealing to. 5. Now, create two separate futuristic scenes. These scenes should be written in the first person, be vivid and the reader should feel that he/she is immediately connected / placed in the setting. Feel free to experiment with different ideas and different narrators. Each setting should be a paragraph or two.

Setting: The Key to Science Fiction

by Bruce Boston

Why do many readers -- your potential readers -- pass over realistic contemporary fiction and choose to read science fiction instead? They can certainly find compelling plots and characters in mainstream fiction. There are more from which to choose, from classics to potboilers, and no lack of adventure, , , and . And most literary critics would contend that in the best mainstream fiction one encounters superior writing and greater emotional and ideational depth than in the best science fiction.

Yet science fiction offers one distinctive and significant element that is lacking in mainstream fiction: the creation of an imaginary setting. The reason many readers choose science fiction over mainstream is because they want to leave the cares and concerns of everyday reality behind and be transported to a completely different world.

Further, an imaginary setting is not only essential to the definition of most science fiction, it generally plays a far more important role in it and a qualitatively different one than it does in mainstream fiction. In science fiction, setting is less a backdrop for and and more a key element that is intimately related to , , and the story as a whole. In fact, one might argue that story elements such as plot and character are far less relevant to the success of a science fiction story than its setting. 2 | P a g e

Unlike most mainstream fiction, where the environment is not only a real setting but a relatively static one, the environments of are both imaginary and capable of transformation. Even in science fiction stories where the overall setting remains unchanged, such as involving a journey or quest, it is often setting -- not plot -- that moves the narrative forward. The resolution of plot in such novels, in the broadest sense, is a foregone conclusion. Good will triumph over evil; the journey will be successful; the quest will be completed. What keeps the readers involved and anticipating more are the particulars of the fascinating environments through which the pass and the adventures they experience as a result of exploring those environments.

Framing a Speculative (Imaginative) Setting

One way to approach setting in science fiction as a writer is to view its creation in the same way you would the creation of a character. If you've written a , or even a , and you encounter someone who has read it and has questions about it, odds are, if you are inclined, you'll be able to say much more about the major characters in your story than actually appears on the page. This is because you've lived with them in the creation of the work. You've chosen certain actions for them and discarded others. You've explored their inner thoughts and conflicts, their values, their likes and dislikes.

Thus just as you might give a character long blond hair, a manic desire for revenge, a tendency to be deluded about his/her own importance, and a fear of snakes, you might give your setting automated walkways, a manic desire for consumption, an autocratic social structure, and an indifference to its ecological impact on the world around it. And just as a character might evolve and change as your story progresses, so can your environment.

Yet the more original your setting -- and it should be original, at least in some of its specifics -- the more it differs from contemporary realities both in our everyday lives and what we experience through the media, the more you are going to have to include telling details to bring it to life.

One advantage you have over the mainstream writer is that as long as your setting stays true to itself, as long as it complements your story and interacts in the right way with both plot and characters, you can create any kind of world you want. It is sometimes said that writers God with their characters. As a speculative writer, you can also play God with your setting. In fact, this is exactly what you should do.

The Five Senses and More: Borrowing from the Everyday

We live in a that is primarily visual in its perception of reality. We use sight more than any of the other senses to judge and cope with the world around us. As a result, our other senses have to some extent become atrophied, both actually and in the attention we give to them.

One of the most common mistakes I see beginning writers make when creating an imaginary setting is relying exclusively on visual . If you want to bring a setting alive for the reader, you can use all of the sense impressions of your characters to describe it.

There is no need to include sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste in every scene. And visual descriptions will probably remain the most significant and effective in creating your physical setting. Yet if you let your readers hear, touch, smell, and taste the world you are creating, it will become all the more convincing for them.

Here are two techniques I have used that you may find of value. 3 | P a g e

When I'm working on a story with a speculative setting, a world very different from our own that I need to create, I think about the story and the world in which it is taking place as I drift off to each night. With regard to setting, I don't just consider it in terms of the scenes of the story, but I let my mind take an imaginative journey through other parts of the world in which the story is taking place. In this way you may generate additional information for the story, but more importantly, the world you are creating will begin to take on a broader and deeper reality for you. Again, the more real your setting becomes for you, the more likely you are to convince your readers of its existence and bring it alive for them.

The second technique can be used in concert with the first or on its own. Returning to the idea that setting in science fiction is akin to character, give your setting a temporary sentience and pretend that sentience is your own, just as you would with a character. Take on the values of the society you are portraying, the physical characteristics of the world you are portraying. How does this world feel about your characters, about itself? This can lead to some interesting insights, not only in terms of the setting but with regard to your narrative and the story as a whole.

How to Create Atmosphere in Fiction By an eHow Contributor Strong atmosphere creates a in your story. It not only allows your reader to get a sense of the world you’re creating, but sets up expectations. For instance, a spooky castle will evoke fear, mystery and maybe even romance. It can also provide information to your reader about the characters in your story. A fancy Hollywood nightclub will tell your reader exactly the type of people she will expect to find there. Atmosphere can be a setting or it can be a time of day.

Instructions

a. Choose an effective setting. Different types of settings will evoke a certain atmosphere. For instance, if you want to create an atmosphere that is grimy or lowdown, set your story in a seedy bar, the type where customers show up at ten in the morning to get drunk, or a strip club. If you want to create a sense of isolation or desolation, set your story at a lonely motel on a desolate highway strip. If you’re aiming for gothic, set your story in a rundown, English castle. If you want to create a sense of timelessness or , try a cemetery, a museum or an ancient cathedral. Determine what type of atmosphere you want to create for your story and choose a setting that will best suggest it.

b. Describe the scenery. What does the scenery look like? You don’t have to spend pages and pages of describing your setting. In fact, an economy of will work best. Use the five senses to bring the scenery to life, but only use what will effectively create the atmosphere you’re aiming for. The rundown, seedy bar, for instance, might smell like cheap cologne and stale peanuts. The bar top might be grimy and sticky from spilled drinks.

c. Use natural elements. The weather is a great way to create atmosphere. A storm or a relentlessly sunny day can bring different types of atmosphere to your story. Try going against the grain. For instance, a funeral can take place on a bright, sunny day. A wedding can take place during a violent thunderstorm. Nature settings can also be effective in creating atmosphere. A beach at night can create a sense of desolation or melancholy. The deep woods can create a sense of fear.

d. Use time. Time can bring different expectations to your readers in setting up atmosphere. If you’re writing a horror story, the scariest parts should take place at night (though, again, you can go against your reader’s expectations to really scare them). A sense of time can pull together different metaphorical elements in your story’s as well. 4 | P a g e

e. Use strong or evocative language, which can create a strong sense of place and atmosphere. Use your words carefully. Make sure that they not only create a strong atmosphere for your story but also pull together the different elements of theme, description and .

Atmosphere in Writing

The Art of Using the Five Senses to Create Feeling

May 16, 2008 Debbie Roome

Mood can be created by the skillful use of touch, smell, taste, hearing and sight. Learn how to do this through simple word pictures.

Atmosphere is an important part of fiction writing. The reader needs to feel as though they are right in the midst of the scene. Atmosphere can be built over a few paragraphs by introducing and making use of the five senses. Before starting to write, ascertain what type of feeling is needed; joyful, melancholy, fearful, loneliness etc.

Touch

Introduce touch by describing textures and surfaces.

The dress was so sheer that it slid through her fingers like liquid silk.

Smell

The fabric was permeated with pungent garlic and rich curries.

Her fragrance lingered like honeysuckle on a warm afternoon.

Acrid smoke mushroomed into the house, searing and choking.

Taste

The coffee was smooth and strong with a hint of sweet caramel.

The flavor of lemon burst into her mouth, puckering her lips.

Hearing

Crashing waves, thundered across the rocks.

The bird’s wings beat a frantic tattoo against expansive glass windows.

His breath escaped as a slight rasp as he collapsed against her.

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Her skin was grey like clouds on a winter morning.

The net was bursting with fish, silvery with peach blushes along their sides.

Turquoise and sapphire streams merged before mingling with deep navy waters.

Combining All Five

A skilled writer will combine the use of the five senses to present a well rounded story that comes alive to the reader. Aim at including all five senses in a longer piece or a couple of them in a short paragraph as shown below.

The moon was buttery and round that night, cream against ink, spilling pale shafts of light into the wood shed. He selected some blue gum logs and one by one, split them and split them again. Then stacked them in a box, aromatic resin leaking across his fingers like myrrh. He paused for a moment breathing in the fresh, woody fragrance. Pondering on what he was about to do.

EXCERPTS…

The Drop By Mark Bowman

Falling in, towards, the void. Floating through the rhythm of a Node. Beating time, keeping count, synchronising the flow of data, co-ordinating the disparate processors. The Nodes, maintaining order amongst the chaos, fighting entropy, father time to all the Nexus. The Nodes, conduits for data flow, engineers of procedural complexity, arbiters of data integrity, interface to the corporeal and corporate world. Drifting in the void, enjoying free flow, I shake off the rigid form of the Nexus. Constructs emerge briefly across my extent, rippling to their own rhythm before sinking below the surface or boiling off into the void. , , future echoes, the mundane, the unlikely, the impossible, creatures, people, the familiar and the fantastic. Each seeks its opportunity to shape the whole. The beating of a Node grows stronger, causing ripples across my surface. A form emerges from the void - a mass of tentacles snaking off towards never. Each arm comprising tendrils of tightly packed datagrams, flowing towards and away from the central hub. Fresh data streaming to the extremities and tightly organised data completing the cycle. As the hub grows more distinct, I resolve the details of a human face - eyes closed, the features distorted by unseen forces. The eyes open revealing deep pools of pain and the lips form two silent words. "HELP ME." Then I'm back on my sleeping pad, breath coming hard and fast in the darkness, hair and skin slick with the sweat of fear.

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From Feed By MT Anderson

We went to the moon to have fun, but the moon turned out to completely suck. We went on a Friday, because there was shit-all to do at home. I was the beginning of spring break. Everything at home was boring. Link Arwaker was like, “I’m so null,” and Marty was all, “I’m null too, unit,” but I mean we were all pretty null, because for the last like hour we’d been playing with three uninsulated wires that were coming out of the wall. We were trying to ride the shocks off them. So Marty told us that there was this fun place for lo-grav on the moon. Lo-grav can be kind of stupid, but this was supposed to be good. It was called the Ricochet Lounge. We thought we’d go for a few days with some of the girls and stay at a hotel there and go dancing…When we got off the ship, our feeds were going fuge with all the banners. The hotels were jumping on each other, and there was bumff from like the casinos and mud slides and the gift shops and places where you could rent extra arms. I was trying to talk to Link, but I couldn’t because I was getting bannered so hard, and I kept blinking and trying to walk forward with my carry-on. I can’t hardly remember any of it. I just remember that everything in the banners looked goldy and sparkling, but as we walked down to the luggage, all the air vents were streaked with black.