Bridges of Madison County in space…

[Stephen4444]

Most of the advice I have been given is to “Move the plot along to keep the reader interested.” Do you think a SF reader would put up with several chapters of character development? What about an entire book of SF character study?
I started a SF book that seems to be turning into a personal development story. Think What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. Should I stop before I have more time invested?

 

[Karn Maeshalanadae]

That's an...interesting...image.


If you do things very well, then they could perhaps forgive the Gilbert Grape analogy, but you don't ever want to spend too much time on a slog of character development. You're meant to show glimpses of a character's personality peppered throughout the story, from how they might react to getting a wrong coffee order to how they handle threats from the enemy to how they might try to exert their control/opinions/whatever upon the group they're with. Nobody wants an infodump of any kind. It's not so bad with character development as it can be with setting or time period, but it can still be pretty stodgy to stay awake with.


I wouldn't say that any project should ever truly be given up on forever, not unless you absolutely know for certain that it'll end like a trainload of dynamite being driven into the White House, but if you feel like you need to rethink the project, then you should probably shelve it for a while and come back when you're more confident on how to go about it.



Oh, and the title of this, Bridges of Madison County in Space? That would be an awesome combo!

 

[Grinnel]

A science fiction or fantasy story is just that: a story. It is the same as any other story (romance, adventure, self discovery) except that it uses science fiction as its medium. A good story is a good story.

BUT

To quote R Buckminster Fuller: "The Medium is the Message" Your readers will have certain expectations of a book in the Sci-Fi section. If it is not entertaining to them, it will not sell. There are lots of Sci-Fi books that have life lessons, romance and personal growth in them, but it needs to be couched with enough Sci-Fi to meet their expectations.

Wuthering Heights and Aliens.

 

[notveryalice]

Eat, Prey, Spawn

 

[James Coote]

I think you'd have to be very careful about how you introduce the sci-fi elements. You've got to make them seem almost... boring and part of the scenery otherwise the reader will get excited about that, rather than your characters.

 

[Abernovo]

I say go for it, Stephen. See where it leads. I think some people sell science fiction readers short (in fact readers of all speculative fiction). Good literature and science fiction can be the same thing. Read some Kim Stanley Robinson, or Margaret Atwood, to name only a couple of 'literary' sf writers. Philip K Dick could also be argued to be in this category. Orwell, Huxley, Banks?

Literary sf may not be for everyone. Some readers may want more straightforward stories, which is fair enough. There's room for different tastes - the main thing is that people read. But, the idea of Madison County, or Brideshead Revisited, in an sf setting appeals to me.

As to a 'personal development story', that's perhaps similar to Bildungsroman - a novel about a person's formative years or education - sometimes called a coming of age story. A story about development doesn't need to be confined to childhood or adolescence either. Notveryalice's example for instance, although, I think I'd prefer her version to the insipid, self-satisfied tosh that was the original. (Apologies if anyone liked it - just my opinion.)

The main thing, at the end of the day, is to have a good story, as Grinnel says.

 

[Bowler1]

The main thing, at the end of the day, is to have a good story, as Grinnel says.

Now Abernove and me.

I love ray guns and aliens, and I take every oppertunity to tell you all just that. But that does not mean I read just SciFi, or that I can't handle a slow moving plot. Write what you want to start with, fingers crossed after that it sells. Good character development and storytelling is always interesting.

But if you can get in a ray gun and lots of aliens, then that would be good too...

 

[prizzley]

Most of the advice I have been given is to “Move the plot along to keep the reader interested.” Do you think a SF reader would put up with several chapters of character development? What about an entire book of SF character study?

Most characters develop as the plot thickens. I wouldn't have a problem with your scenario. In fact, I'd probably prefer it to many novels. As long as there isn't too much navel-gazing.

 

[Ursa major]

Now if it were 'Mrs Bridges of Madison County in Space', you'd be able to appeal to that important Downton Abbey/Upstairs, Downstairs demographic.

​