Post #109 January 29, 2018

“Fear and Wonder in Genre Writing”

As of this post, I’m working on two books at once.  One is science fiction (The Farpool series) and one is an older horror story (The Specter) I’m rewriting and editing for release later this spring.  Working in both genres at the same time has caused me to ponder the differences and similarities of the two.

The central dimension by which we can analyze sf and horror comes in how the reader relates to and reacts to the ‘unknown.’  I view science fiction as a genre that put the reader in the position of an explorer of the unknown.  What comes to mind when we think science fiction?  Here are some ideas:

1. Sense of wonder
2. Big ideas
3. A (semi) logical approach to narrative
4. Often grounded in some kind of (possibly extrapolated) science.  To wit:  If this goes on….
5. No magic.  Harry Potter is not science fiction.
6. Often places the reader in a different, alien world (even if it’s Earth)
    
   I view horror/mystery stories (and some could quibble that there is a difference between horror and mystery…but that’s for another time) as a genre that puts the reader in the position of being a victim of the unknown. What comes to mind when we think horror?
    

1. Fear: an expectation or anticipation of danger
2. Dread (not quite the same thing as fear but close)
3. Foreboding
4. Engaging characters you care about (to be honest, sf should have this as well)
5. Blood and gore
6. Often places the reader in a seemingly familiar world but emphasizes the dark side of that world (there’s menace everywhere)

Clearly there are both similarities and differences.  Think of it like this: Arthur C. Clarke’s 2001: A Space Odyssey versus Stephen King’s The Shining. 

Author Stephanie Saulter has written a nice post on her website about another way to look at the difference between horror and science fiction.  I quote:

“All three genres posit a reality that is different than the humdrum, everyday “real world” that we all inhabit; the writer has to create that reality and draw the reader into it. But there are some key differences between these categories of the unreal. I find them in the measure of internal coherence required of the fictional world; the degree of continuity between it and the “real” world; and the amount of explanation that needs to be provided to the reader.

“In horror, the reader is given little or no information about the hidden mechanics of the story world; it often appears to be the same as the “real” world (and therefore to require no explanation), until weird things start to happen. Then the inexplicability of events, and their disconnection from a rational, coherent framework wherein they make sense in relation to other events is what drives the sense of apprehension and terror. (A caveat: this applies more to modern horror writing. Classic novels such as Frankenstein and Dracula were written following what we would now think of as a science fiction or fantasy approach to worldbuilding.)

 

“In fantasy, the reader is given a greater degree of explanation for how the world of the story works, which is necessary as it is usually immediately obvious that it is not the “real” world. These explanations are often elaborate and detailed, but they only need to be internally coherent – in other words they only need to make sense within the covers of the book, within the world of the story. The laws and logic of the fantasy world can be completely disconnected from the “real” world, as long as the story obeys the special rules of the fantasy world.

 

“In science fiction lots of explanation is required, and it needs to be both internally coherent and to have some continuity with the “real” world. The physical reality of the science fiction story needs to follow the same basic rules as the “real” world, or at any rate to provide a rational explanation for any discrepancies. Science fiction need not always be set in the future; but wherever and whenever the story occurs, and however profoundly different the world it inhabits, the reader needs a plausible connection between the “here” of the real world and the “there” of the science fiction world. A fantasy world does not require the same degree of plausibility.”

So we can compare and contrast science fiction and horror along the dimension of how the reader relates to the unknown described in the story.  And another axis of comparison (as Saulter describes it above) is how much explanation the reader is given about the world of the story.

Each genre makes somewhat different demands of the reader and each places the reader in the fictional world of the story in a different way.  They both require a certain amount ‘world-building’ by the author but the nature and purpose of the world-building differs.

Both can be a challenge to write and both can be rewarding (in very different ways) to read. 

Do you want to be amazed or terrified?  Some books bridge these dimensions and work in the nether world between the genres.  A good example of this is Stephen King’s novel November 22, 1963, which has elements of both.

The next post to The Word Shed comes on February 5, 2018.  See you then.

Phil B.