Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} How To Write Science Fiction by Paul Di Filippo Paul Di Filippo. Paul Di Filippo (born October 29, 1954) is an American science fiction writer. [2] He is a regular reviewer for print magazines Asimov's Science Fiction , The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction , Science Fiction Eye , The New York Review of Science Fiction , Interzone , and Nova Express , as well as online at Science Fiction Weekly . He is a member of the Turkey City Writer's Workshop. Along with Michael Bishop, Di Filippo has published a series of novels under the pseudonym Philip Lawson. Contents. Early life Critical reception Bibliography References External links. Antonio Urias writes that Di Filippo's writing has a "tradition of the bizarre and the weird". [3] His novella A Year in the Linear City was nominated for a Hugo award. Early life. Critical reception. Antonio Urias praised the collection The Steampunk Trilogy (1995) in a brisk review, writing in summary that the tripartite book "contains three bizarre and occasionally humorous novels taking the reader from Queen Victoria's amphibian doppelganger to racist naturalists and black magic, and finally the interdimensional love story of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman." The first novella, simply entitled "Victoria" follows Cosmo Cowperhwait the inventor of a human-amphibian hybrid that bares an uncanny resemblance to Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, as well as an insatiable sexual appetite. This is a satire of Victorian mores, politics, and, of course, of the stereotypical mad scientist. . The second novella is Hottentots is ( sic ) less outrageously funny, at least on the surface. This is in part due to the fact that the story is told, for the most part through the eyes of Swiss-born naturalist Louis Agassiz, who is apart from pompous and self- aggrandizing, also a proud unrepentant racist. As a result, Di Filippo adopts a more satirical tone as Agassiz confronts anarchists, voodoo, academic maneuverings, swordfights, and a Lovecraftian horror all without losing a hint of his arrogance or smug assurances. The final novella, Walt and Emily , follows Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman's blossoming love as they join a spiritualist and scientific expedition into the afterlife. More than either of the previous stories, "Walt and Emily" delights in literary references and games. The story is saturated with poetic quotations and the unrepentant silly fun not only of a love story between Dickenson and Whitman but the idea of them visiting the afterlife. [3] Bibliography. Related Research Articles. Steampunk is a retrofuturistic subgenre of science fiction that incorporates technology and aesthetic designs inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. Although its literary origins are sometimes associated with the cyberpunk genre, steampunk works are often set in an alternative history of the Victorian era or the American "Wild West", where steam power remains in mainstream use, or in a fantasy world that similarly employs steam power. John Herbert Varley is an American science fiction writer. John Shirley is an American writer, primarily of fantasy, science fiction, dark street fiction, and songwriting. He has also written one historical novel, a western about Wyatt Earp, Wyatt in Wichita , and one non-fiction book, Gurdjieff: An Introduction to His Life and Ideas. Shirley has written novels, short stories, TV scripts and screenplays—including The Crow and has published over 40 books and 8 short-story collections. As a musician, Shirley has fronted his own bands and written lyrics for Blue Öyster Cult and others. An extensive compilation of songs by Shirley, Broken Mirror Glass was released by Black October Records. His most recent album is Spaceship Landing in a Cemetery , a collaboration with prog rocker Jerry King, aided by a host of musicians. He has written about spirituality for Parabola Magazine and Quest Magazine. Jeff VanderMeer is an American author, editor, and literary critic. Initially associated with the New Weird literary genre, VanderMeer crossed over into mainstream success with his bestselling Southern Reach Trilogy. The trilogy's first novel, Annihilation , won the Nebula and Shirley Jackson Awards, and was adapted into a Hollywood film by director Alex Garland. Among VanderMeer's other novels are Shriek: An Afterword and Borne . He has also edited with his wife Ann VanderMeer such influential and award-winning anthologies as The New Weird , The Weird , and The Big Book of Science Fiction . Damien Francis Broderick is an Australian science fiction and popular science writer and editor of some 74 books. His science fiction novel The Dreaming Dragons (1980) introduced the trope of the generation time machine, his The Judas Mandala (1982) contains the first appearance of the term "virtual reality" in science fiction, and his 1997 popular science book The Spike was the first to investigate the technological singularity in detail. Biopunk is a subgenre of science fiction that focuses on biotechnology. It is derived from cyberpunk, but focuses on the implications of biotechnology rather than information technology. Biopunk is concerned with synthetic biology. It is derived of cyberpunk involving bio-hackers, biotech mega-corporations, and oppressive government agencies that manipulate human DNA. Most often keeping with the dark atmosphere of cyberpunk, biopunk generally examines the dark side of genetic engineering and represents the low side of biotechnology. The New Weird is a literary genre that emerged in the 1990s through early 2000s with characteristics of weird fiction and other speculative fiction subgenres. M. John Harrison is credited with creating the term "New Weird" in the introduction to The Tain in 2002. The writers involved are mostly novelists who are considered to be part of the horror or speculative fiction genres but who often cross genre boundaries. Notable authors include K. J. Bishop, Paul Di Filippo, M. John Harrison, Jeffrey Ford, Storm Constantine, China Miéville, Alastair Reynolds, Justina Robson, Steph Swainston, Mary Gentle, Michael Cisco, and Jeff VanderMeer, among others. Tuckerization is the act of using a person's name in an original story as an in-joke. The term is derived from Wilson Tucker, a pioneering American science fiction writer, fan and fanzine editor, who made a practice of using his friends' names for minor characters in his stories. For example, Tucker named a character after Lee Hoffman in his novel The Long Loud Silence , and after Walt Willis in Wild Talent . The Parsec Awards are a set of annual awards created to recognize excellence in science fiction podcasts and podcast novels. The awards were created by Mur Lafferty, Tracy Hickman and Michael R. Mennenga and awarded by FarPoint Media. They were first presented in 2006 at DragonCon and have since become "one of the most recognizable honors in science and fiction podcasting". Nova Express was a Hugo-nominated science fiction fanzine edited by Lawrence Person. Nova Express is named after William S. Burroughs' Nova Express and the fictional magazine Nova Express in Alan Moore's Watchmen . It remained in publication between 1987 and 2002. Steampunk (2008) is an anthology of steampunk fiction edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, and published by Tachyon Publications. It was nominated in 2009 for a World Fantasy Award. Refugees from an Imaginary Country is a collection of dark fantasy short stories by American writer Darrell Schweitzer. It was first published in hardcover and trade paperback by W. Paul Ganley and Owlswick Press in March 1999. Necromancies and Netherworlds: Uncanny Stories is a collection of dark fantasy short stories by American writer Darrell Schweitzer in collaboration with illustrator Jason Van Hollander. It was first published in hardcover and trade paperback by Borgo Press/Wildside Press in August 1999. It was nominated for the 2000 World Fantasy Award for Best Collection. Maurice Broaddus is a fantasy and horror author best known for his short fiction and his Knights of Breton Court novel trilogy. He has published dozens of stories in magazines and book anthologies, including in Asimov's Science Fiction , Black Static , and Weird Tales . His steampunk novella Buffalo Soldier was released in 2017 by Tor. A list of the published work of Paul Di Filippo, American author. Nebula Awards 30 is an anthology of science fiction short works edited by Pamela Sargent, the second of three successive volumes under her editorship. It was first published in hardcover and trade paperback by Harcourt Brace in April 1996. Nebula Awards 25 is an anthology of award winning science fiction short works edited by Michael Bishop, the third of three successive volumes published under his editorship. It was first published in hardcover and trade paperback by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich in April 1991. Nebula Awards 24 is an anthology of award winning science fiction short works edited by Michael Bishop, the second of three successive volumes published under his editorship. It was first published in hardcover and trade paperback by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich in April 1990. Universe 3 is an anthology of original science fiction short stories edited by Robert Silverberg and Karen Haber, the third and last volume in a series of three, continuing an earlier series of the same name edited by Terry Carr. It was first published in paperback by Bantam Books in April 1994. A Year in the Linear City is a 2002 weird fiction novella by Paul Di Filippo, published by PS Publishing. Paul Di Filippo bibliography. Raphael Aloysius Lafferty was an American science fiction and fantasy writer known for his original use of language, metaphor, and narrative structure, as well as for his etymological wit. He also wrote a set of four autobiographical novels, In a Green Tree ; a history book, The Fall of Rome ; and several novels of historical fiction. Michael Lawson Bishop is an American writer. Over four decades and in more than thirty books, he has created what has been called a "body of work that stands among the most admired and influential in modern science fiction and fantasy literature." Philip Lawson may refer to: Steve Aylett is an author of satirical science fiction, fantasy, and slipstream. According to the critic Bill Ectric, "much of Aylett’s work combines the bawdy, action-oriented style of Voltaire with the sedentary, faux cultivated style of Peacock." Stylistically, Aylett is often seen as a difficult writer. As the critic Robert Kiely suggests, his books tend to be "baroque in their density, speed, and finely crafted detail; they are overcrowded, they dazzle and distort and wait for us to catch up with their narrative world." Jeffrey Thomas is a prolific writer of science fiction and horror, best known for his stories set in the nightmarish future city called Punktown, such as the novel Deadstock and the collection Punktown , from which a story was reprinted in St. Martin's The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror #14 . His fiction has also been reprinted in Daw's The Year's Best Horror Stories XXII , The Year's Best Fantastic Fiction and Quick Chills II: The Best Horror Fiction from the Specialty Press . He has been a 2003 finalist for the Bram Stoker Award for Monstrocity , and a 2008 finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for Deadstock . Paul Di Filippo is an American science fiction writer. He is a regular reviewer for print magazines Asimov's Science Fiction , The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction , Science Fiction Eye , The New York Review of Science Fiction , Interzone , and Nova Express , as well as online at Science Fiction Weekly . He is a member of the Turkey City Writer's Workshop. Along with Michael Bishop, Di Filippo has published a series of novels under the pseudonym Philip Lawson. Del Rey Books is a branch of Ballantine Books, which is owned by Random House and, in turn, by Penguin Random House. It is a separate imprint established in 1977 under the editorship of author Lester del Rey and his wife Judy-Lynn del Rey. It specializes in science fiction and fantasy books, and formerly manga under its Del Rey Manga imprint. Bruce Boston is an American speculative fiction writer and poet. The bibliography of Philip K. Dick includes 44 novels, 121 short stories, and 14 short story collections published by American science fiction author Philip K. Dick during his lifetime. Keith Brooke is a science fiction author, editor, web publisher and anthologist from Essex, England. He is the founder and editor of the infinity plus webzine. He also writes children's fiction under the name Nick Gifford. Nova Express was a Hugo-nominated science fiction fanzine edited by Lawrence Person. Nova Express is named after William S. Burroughs' Nova Express and the fictional magazine Nova Express in Alan Moore's Watchmen . It remained in publication between 1987 and 2002. A Reverie for Mister Ray: Reflections on Life, Death, and Speculative Fiction is a collection of nonfiction work by American writer Michael Bishop published in 2005 by PS Publishing. It includes essays and reviews from 1975 to 2004, originally published in a wide variety of newspapers, magazines, literary journals, and fanzines. Most of the pieces concern the speculative fiction genre. The book was edited by Michael H. Hutchins. Sharon Lee is an American science fiction, fantasy and mystery author who lived in Winslow, Maine from 1988-2018 before moving to nearby Waterville. She is the co-author of the Liaden universe novels and stories, as well as other works, and individually the author of several mystery and fantasy novels. Chris Beckett is a British social worker, university lecturer, and science fiction author. He has written several textbooks, dozens of short stories, and six novels. MonkeyBrain Books is an independent American publishing house based in Austin, Texas, specialising in books comprising both new content and reprinting online, international, or out-of-print content, which show "an academic interest," but which "reach a popular audience as well." The bibliography of American science fiction author Bruce Sterling comprises novels, short stories and non-fiction. The Emperor of the Ancient Word and Other Fantastic Stories is a collection of fantasy short stories by American writer Darrell Schweitzer. It was first published as a trade paperback by Wildside Press in May 2013, with an ebook edition following in October of the same year. A Year in the Linear City is a 2002 weird fiction novella by Paul Di Filippo, published by PS Publishing. Academic Exercises is a collection of fantasy short stories and essays by British writer Tom Holt, writing as K. J. Parker. It was the first of two Parker collections from Subterranean Press, and was first published in hardcover and ebook in July 2014. sensawunda n. Gerrold’s skimpy three-paragraph intro is a glorification of the sensawunda, and reads with the anonymous hyperbole of a blurb. It gave me that initial jolt of Sensawunda, the first high that sends you craving for more, even though you will never attain such an emotional peak again. If you don’t get your full complement of sensawunda from this tale, you’ve been tamed and declawed by too much literary canoodling. So we could conclude that Steampunk reinvigorated readers with that old-fashioned gosh-wow sensawunda we had as teenagers first discovering science fiction and fantasy. How To Write Science Fiction. The complete title of this work is: How to write wild-eyed, overstuffed, multiplex, maximalist, recomplicated, high-bandwidth Science Fiction, or, “realize I don’t wanna be a miser/how come everybody wanna keep it like the Kaiser?” Don’t expect this book to be a traditional “How To”. It’s a travel into the Science Fiction. “Science fiction is the literature of ideas? Sure it is—on a tightly rationed basis! The truth is, most writers of science fiction and fantasy are naturally stingy. We tend to hoard ideas, like the dragon Smaug lying on his treasure. We parcel them out in dribs and drabs. One notion per story. Maybe two High Concepts per novel. Why do we do this?” ABOUT THE AUTHOR. "Paul Di Filippo (born October 29, 1954 in Providence, Rhode Island) is a science fiction novelist and short story writer of wide genrebending influence, as well as a journalist, a sometimes comics writer, a mail art fiend, and a bunch of other things that are probably very hard to describe. Also, the first person to use the word “Steampunk” in a book title. " [Warren Ellis] Vaguely Borgesian. Paul Di Filippo is a science fiction writer born October 29, 1954 in Providence, Rhode Island. He is known for being a prolific, wide-ranging writer of everything from steampunk to cyberpunk, and for his gonzo writing style. He has been published in Postscripts. He is also a regular reviewer for almost all the major print magazines in the field, including Asimov’s Science Fiction, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Science Fiction Eye, The New York Review of Science Fiction, Interzone, and Nova Express, as well as online at Science Fiction Weekly. He is a member of the Turkey City Writer’s Workshop. Dear Paul, thank you for agreeing to do this interview for us. Could you please tell us a bit about yourself and how you started writing? I’ve been an inveterate reader since age 5, starting with all the usual talismanic works: Dr. Seuss, the Hardy Boys, Tom Swift, and then, upon discovering hardcore SF at age 10, rapidly exploring that genre. Somewhere along the way, I got the notion that creating such works would be a fun and noble enterprise, and that I could do the same. I began my writing career by producing satirical essays for my highs school newspaper. (At this time, I was living in Lincoln, Rhode Island.) In college, I wrote a few similar pieces for THE ANCHOR, the paper of Rhode Island College. During the same period, I sold my first short story to UNEARTH MAGAZINE, and an opinion essay to THE NEW YORK TIMES. These affirmations from editors convinced me that I was not entirely deluded about my own talents, although it would take another ten years or so before the rest of the world began grudgingly to concede the same. If they even do so today at all! What’s a “typical” writing day for you? When I first began writing, I used to dive right in around 8:30 or 9 AM every morning, finish by 1:00 PM, then go out to enjoy the real world. Nowadays, I’m at the computer at the same early hour, but spend two hours goofing around online! Then I write from about noon to 3:00 PM, whereupon I venture out into society. I used to aim to produce 1000 words a day, based on Ray Bradbury’s famous manifesto, and I often still do. But I’ll happily accept a 500-word day too! I try to work on only one fiction project at a time. I find that immersion in a single imaginative world is about all I can take. But reviewing handily fills in the gaps. You’ve been a writer for more than 20 years. What are some of the highlights of those years? Well, selling that first story to UNEARTH felt splendid. The same feelings, perhaps even intensified, occurred when I almost simultaneously sold to TWILIGHT ZONE MAGAZINE and F&SF for the first time, at the true start of my career, circa 1985. Placing my first book, THE STEAMPUNK TRILOGY, with Four Walls Eight Windows was a milestone moment. And lately, seeing the Jerry Ordway art for my TOP 10 comics script for the first time was mind-boggling. My few awards nominations have generated a warm glow, tempered by the realization that my chances of winning are slim. Generally, I try to remain unjaded, and not take any experience, positive or negative, for granted. How would you describe your stories to a reader who is only now learning of you? I’m all over the map. I do serious stuff, gonzo stuff, fantasy, science fiction–call me a gadfly or polymath kind of writer. If this hypothetical reader picks up my collection THE EMPEROR OF GONDWANALAND AND OTHER STORIES, he or she or it will get a sampler book designed to highlight almost all my facets. Do you have favorites from the short stories you have written? I’m fond of “The Mill,” because it’s quasi-autobiographical. It’s about an alien textile mill, and my relatives (and me!) all worked in that trade. I think one of my newest pieces, “Wikiworld,” is quality hardcore SF, creating a tangible world out of solid, realistic speculations. Generally, like a lot of writers, whatever I’m working on currently is my favorite. M. John Harrison recently wrote a blog entry that generated some controversy on a few sites that said “Every moment of a science fiction story must represent the triumph of writing over world building.” What do you think Harrison meant by that and would you agree or disagree with that statement? That’s a killer statement from MJH which I had not yet seen. Basically, I think he’s amping up Chip Delany’s famous notion that “style” or word choice and syntax, etc., is both a writer’s only unique stock in trade, and also the necessary and inevitable lens through which any reader perceives the narrative or story. If this is MJH’s point, then I’m solidly in his camp! How much, if any, of an effect has your personal experiences have on the tales that you have written? A recent reviewer called my story “Wikiworld” an “economic fantasy,” leading me to realize that my own struggles for an income have caused me to focus on this theme: how does one stay monetarily afloat and what are the social structures that determine wealth and poverty? If I had been independently wealthy, I’m sure none of this would matter quite as much to me! If you were given the One Ring, what would be the first thing you would do? I’ll have to offer multiple options here: 1) Get all the sexy elf ladies into bed 2) Cast a glamour spell that shaved fifty pounds off my appearance 3) Fill my hobbit burrow with a year’s supply of delicious Shire foodstuffs 4) Enforce world peace with an iron fist. If you were to own several monkeys and/or midgets, how many would you own, and what would you name them? I would have to opt for helper monkeys, such as the one that Homer Simpson once employed. I’d take five, and name them Groucho, Harpo, Chico, Zeppo and Gummo! Thank you for your time and patience, Paul. We wish you the best of luck with your work.