Day: August 25, 2017

Friday Fun-Day Writing Prompt: Alien Origins

Happy Friday, movers and shakers! The weekend’s finally here. Today I’m going to propose a writing prompt specifically tailored for science fiction fans. In particular, I want to have people take a closer look at alien origins.

I’m not a big fan of stories detailing initial human/alien encounters. Still, I’ve found myself reading two such books recently, one which I will review on this blog much later today. These two books, while both focusing on initial encounters, take quite different approaches to aliens and their interactions with humans. One deals with a more enlightened Earth joining a league of other enlightened beings throughout the universe; the other involves reptilians from the Roswell UFO crash. Both of these books, nevertheless, have caught my attention. Why? Because, while mostly in line with classic science fiction, these stories have unique views of aliens which I haven’t often encountered.

I have a complicated relationship with the UFO and alien phenomenon. I don’t think that all UFOs are alien space craft. In fact, I’m not sure that even a small percentage is extraterrestrial in origin. I just think they’re unidentified flying objects, hence UFO. However, I do think we’re not the only inhabited planet in all the universe. I can’t imagine what the other beings might look like and I don’t know if we ever have or ever will make contact with them, but I think that they’re out there, beyond our reach.

I know more than I would like to admit about the pop culture trend. I watch shows on supposed alien encounters, sometimes out of curiosity and sometimes for a laugh. There seems to be, at least to me, three prominent species of alien people claim to encounter: grays, humanoids, and reptilians (all of which you’ll find on People of Earth).

This affirmation leads me to today’s writing prompt. You see, many pop culture stories focus on the alien invasion rather than the aliens and their home planet (with some exceptions, such as Avatar, although we’re the invading aliens in that one). The books I am currently reading try and address why certain aliens look and act the way they do. That, more than anything, fascinates me, and that’s what I want people to focus on during this exercise.


Here is the only known sketch of Kelly’s little green men based on actual eyewitness accounts. What sort of conditions would such beings come from?

Image retrieved from High Strangeness

Take a famous alien–Roswell grays, humanoids, reptilians, Kelly little green men–and jot down some physical characteristics reported about these species. Once you have these physical attributes, imagine the sort of planet these aliens must come from. Why did they adapt such traits as enormous eyes and gray skin? What do their civilizations look like? How do they communicate? Do they compete with other creatures on their home planet? All animals, humans included, look and act the way they do as a result of evolution; what conditions did these aliens have to work with in order to necessitate their evolution?

If you want to make this exercise a little more thorough, think about the aliens’ initial encounter with Earth. Why did they come here? How? What do they think of the planet and the beings that live on it?

With this information, write a short story or, if you want a bigger challenge, a field report about the aliens which incorporates some or all of the origin theories you listed in the first part of the prompt.

If nothing else, this prompt will help you develop world-building skills and character development. You’ll really get to know your alien buddies in this exercise, which you should do with all major characters in your stories. It might take a little time but it’ll enrich your stories in the end.

Did you come up with something particularly interesting? Encounter any unusual problems? Have an idea for a future writing prompt? Leave your thoughts on this prompt in the comments below.

 

Designed by Stephanie Hoogstad circa 2011

The New York Times Bestseller Dilemma

I’m all for creative self-promotion in book sales, especially for first-time and small-print publications. Book signings, local meet-and-greets, even paying a blogger to read and review your book honestly (I cannot stress that qualifier enough; if the reviews aren’t honest, they’re just publicity fluff, which I deplore). However, one YA book far overstepped the line separating the gray area from the black. What did they do, exactly? They cheated their way onto the New York Times Bestseller list.

I’m sure you’ve all heard this story by now, but I’ll provide a recap for those who haven’t. For twenty-five weeks, Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give had dominated the YA category of the New York Times Bestseller list, and rightfully so. A drama filled with tension that hits close to home for the current U.S. political climate, the YA community has been all a-buzz over The Hate U Give. There’s even a movie in the works. No one stays on top forever, but it would be a pretty impressive feat to knock this titan down.

The book that took its spot, Handbook for Mortals by Lani Sarem, however, does not fit the bill.

Handbook for Mortals is published by the publishing branch of the website GeekNation. In fact, Kayleigh Donaldson of Pajiba pointed out that it’s the debut novel for GeekNation. Now, it’s not unheard of or unacceptable for a book from a small publishing company to make the New York Times Bestseller list. It’s a reason for readers and writers to rejoice; after all, some amazing books come from small-scale publication and yet are overshadowed by the mainstream conglomerates. Nevertheless, the sudden popularity of Handbook for Mortals is surprising, especially considering the buzz outside of GeekNation’s press releases (and, now, this scandal) is non-existent. Even the reviews on Amazon and Goodreads carry red-flags, such as duplicates and low-quality reviews.


Image retrieved from Entertainment Weekly
I won’t bore you with all of the details. To read the entire story, I recommend going to Donaldson’s article, “Did This Book Buy Its Way Onto The New York Times Bestseller List?”

Here’s the meaty part of the story: thanks to detective work conducted by YA writer and publisher Phil Stamper, we’ve learned that an incredibly in-depth and complicated “bulk buying” scam that seems to be partly be a publicity stunt for a movie being made out of the book (with the author of the book as the main character, BTW) may be responsible for this novel’s mighty leap.

I’m not going to lie, all of this gave me a headache, so I highly recommend reading Donaldson’s article; it’s thorough and well-researched. I had originally learned of this scam on Twitter but her coverage of it includes much more information, all of which is simultaneously infuriating and amusing.

So, why am I so perturbed by this scandal?

Clearly, these people tried to cheat a deserving writer out of a very high honor. No, it’s not technically illegal to buy your way onto the New York Times Bestseller list, but it is a cruddy and indecent thing to do.

I’d also like to point out that, in hindsight, the scam was quite obvious. I mean, you’ve already gone through this much time and effort, why not think it through a little bit more? Maybe, for example, not have your book skyrocket to #1 about a month after you’ve announced that you’ll start publishing books? Readers would rip that plot hole to shreds if a writer tried to use it in their book.

My other big issue with this book is the destruction of authorial integrity brought on by this stunt. Writing isn’t about the awards and recognition. Yes, it’s amazing to make the New York Times Bestseller list and it would make a writer’s day to be asked for an autograph. And yes, we often have to create works with “commercial appeal” in order to pay the bills, but those things aren’t the biggest reward of writing.

Writing and having others read our writing are the biggest, and most pleasing, rewards. We write to relieve the tension in our head, shut up the voices for a while, spread our thoughts and values to others, raise awareness of an issue, and even just to bring joy to other readers. When people pull stunts like this one, it degrades the genre and, often time, the entire writing/publishing industry.

I know what you’re thinking: I get paid to review books on my blog, so how is that different? The difference is that I write honest reviews. I’ve given three stars to books I’ve reviewed before and I’m not too shy to point out what I don’t like about the book. I put thought into my reviews and I always want to do good by my readers. My integrity comes before the money. Besides, honest reviews make for more curious readers than fluff.

Marketing and promotion, especially for first-timers and small publications, is a huge gray area. Some people approve of paid blog reviews, others don’t. Interviews and meet-and-greets generate attention for you and your work, but they take time away from our writing and can seem too commercial. Nevertheless, all writers have standards. Hiring bloggers who will review our books honestly is one; not neglecting our work or changing it to meet public expectations is another. And, of course, not buying our way onto the New York Times Bestseller list is near the top.

What do you think? When does creative self-promotion stop and cheating readers begin? Is it acceptable to buy your own books in bulk to pull yourself to the top? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

 

Designed by Stephanie Hoogstad circa 2011