I’m going to delve into purely Five Rivers house style. We have an aversion here to the overuse of quotation marks and italics to create emphasis on a word. If you’ve written your sentence or scene well, emphasis will be implied without any additional gimmick by way of quotation marks or italics. Again the rule, less is more, should apply.
While we’re dealing with speculative and science fiction, I’m going to deal with overdone dystopia in SF literature. Just as the evening news focuses on catastrophe, so does SF literature focus on a future that’s gone to fiery regions in a wicker contraption. In fact dystopia has become so common in SF that it’s simply an accepted scenario.
We either see sex scenes that belong in an issue of Hustler, explicit in detail and street language, or love scenes reminiscent of saccharine romances. It’s rare to find a debut manuscript that handles erotica of any kind with a deft hand and subtle impact.
I’m afraid I’m a tyrant about good research.
I’m guilty of this, I have to admit. I love words. I love language. Sometimes I get so carried away with descriptors I forget about advancing the plot, and sharpening prose to a keen edge.
Too often I receive a manuscript without a strong and consistent point of view. Writers, particularly novices, tend to shilly-shally about with point of view, narrating their story from a cool and distant omniscient perspective so that the reader falls into Tina Toughie’s thoughts, and then Excellent Elizabeth’s.
There seems to be a preoccupation among writers to describe the colour of eyes. Perhaps this is because eyes play such an essential role in communication for the sighted. In crafting a story, however, it’s crucial to ask oneself if this information is necessary to the advancement of the plot, or to the development of character.
In varying degrees I’ve previously written how to prepare a manuscript for submission to Five Rivers. Given the experience both Robert and I have had over the past few years, an updated discussion of some items to watch when submitting fiction seems warranted.
It was back in 1985 I first ventured into publishing, releasing a small book of poetry by Vaughan G. Harris, The Cabinetmaker’s Art, under my then wee imprint, Keystone Press. I published a few other chapbooks of poetry and short fiction. And quietly drifted away.
Recently there was a discussion among SFCanada members regarding historical authenticity and credible fantasy in writing fiction. In light of that discussion, I thought I’d revive an essay I wrote back in 1997 for Serve it Forth, an historical culinary periodical.