A Glossary of Writerly Jargon, Part 2

Posted in Writings about Writing by storytellergirlgrace

Some time ago I wrote a post sharing some writerly jargon: terms that writers use that you may or may not be familiar with. To follow up on that post, here are a few more terms that you’ll likely encounter in the author world:

In Medias Res

Latin for “in the middle of things.” It means to start a scene or a story in the middle of the action. Not necessarily in the middle of a heated battle, but for example, in the middle of a conversation or the middle of some other activity that matters to the story. Stories that begin with the main character waking up, getting out of bed, eating breakfast, and so forth can get things off to a very slow start and you risk boring your reader with unimportant actions.

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30Apr2021

Writing Technobabble: Z is for Zathras

Posted in Babylon 5, Writings about Writing by storytellergirlgrace

Welcome to my guide on how to write technobabble! Every post will start with one letter of the alphabet, from A to Z, and cover tips and ideas for all you writers of sci-fi. Whether you’re writing about near-future science fiction, far-flung alien worlds, or historical steampunk adventures filled with advanced technology that never was – these posts are designed to help you write convincing and unique tech for your story!

Z is for Zathras

So what does Zathras mean? Zathras is a character from the TV show Babylon 5. He is an alien who helps to maintain the Great Machine—an ancient and advanced piece of tech on the otherwise-desolate planet that the Babylon 5 space station orbits.

For this particular A to Z Challenge about technobabble, what Zathras represents goes along with the “X” and “Y” posts. He represents something “other” and strange, and he represents the author just plain having fun with worldbuilding. Zathras is a comical yet enigmatic character who is not very good at explaining how his tech works (or explaining anything, really); but he is wise, intelligent in his own way, and masterful at building and fixing advanced tech, even if he can’t explain how it works.

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29Apr2021

Writing Technobabble: Y is for You’re in Charge

Posted in Writings about Writing by storytellergirlgrace

Y is for You’re in Charge

As we come to the end of this blogging challenge, and all of the tips, tricks, and advice I’ve given, this is perhaps the most important: you’re the author, so you’re in charge.

Yes, there are guidelines and expectations for the different sub-genres of science fiction. Yes, you should read some writing craft books to get good at basic storytelling techniques. Yes, you should write and re-write, get feedback from critique partners and beta readers, and get an editor for your story—not just hit “publish” on Amazon after cranking out a first draft of your first attempt at a sci-fi novel.

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28Apr2021

Writing Technobabble: X is for Xeno

Posted in Writings about Writing by storytellergirlgrace

X is for Xeno

I mentioned the word “xeno” in my P is for Prefixes post. Xeno is originally from an ancient Greek word that means “stranger,” “alien,” or “foreign.” It’s usually used as a prefix to create compound words. For example, the word “xenolith” is used in geology and it refers to any type of rock that is different in type and composition from the surrounding igneous rock.

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27Apr2021

Writing Technobabble: W is for Worldbuilding

Posted in Writings about Writing by storytellergirlgrace

W is for Worldbuilding

Building a fictional world—especially in a fantastical genre like sci-fi—encompasses way more than just technology. If your story is set in the present world, or a real place and time in history, then research is your friend for worldbuilding.

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