June 5, 2022

Okay, now that I've decided to concoct my writing with a Speculative Fiction flavor, nuanced with all the sub-genres it encompasses, where do I start?

Well, naturally, I could just begin from square one: brainstorm and formulate an idea, something new, within the framework of my targeted genre.

But I've already got a number of ideas, I whine, - contemporary, mainstream settings (dare I say, "literary") - that I've been carrying around for what feels like forever! What am I supposed to with all those? 

Then I recall a blog post I wrote in March of 2015, The Genre Game. Here's a snippet:

"...the genre game is merely about packaging and presentation, a superficial veil to entice a given demographic. Let's use my book, Gospel for the Damned, as an example...

The basic premise is: a journalist is chosen to spend three days in the quarantined city of San Francisco and experience how people cope with a seemingly hopeless situation. There's some speculative aspects to it, a sprinkle of dystopic sci-fi, and hints of a mystery to be solved...

Now, I could have written it with a strong emphasis on the mystery and marketed it as a bio-tech thriller...Or I could have built a wall around the city, like a fortress where all the infirmed of the planet are placed, thus pushing the dystopian elements to the hilt. Or, if I placed the events in the time of Europe's Black Death, I could've played an historical fiction angle. Throw in some airships and steam-powered technology and - abracadabra! - I'd have a steam-punk novel. The story itself would never have to change. It would all be a matter of how it's presented."

So, what's to prevent me from taking any one of these concepts I currently have and molding them into something Speculative-esque? 

Nothing! Nothing, I tell you! Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!

In the months to come, I'll go into how I'm doing this with what was going to be my next self-published novel, Rite.

Stay tuned, and thanks for reading.

Gordon Gravley

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