SF Trajectories

Okay, not quite.  In fact, it’s a while before we see any of this.  But it’s fascinating.  The Casimir force works because the vacuum is bubbling with exotic particles that flitter in and out of existence.  (See the wiki definition:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casimir_force) If two plates are close enough together, the force from the particles that push the plates from the outside pushes against the force from the inside.  The force then pushes the plates together.  This is because there is almost no space between the plates to push back.  Now, if something called a perfect lens is used, which can bend the pressure from the inside outwards, then it can use the exotic energy to keep the plates apart.  In theory, this can work over larger and larger distances.

http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/30670

My friend Chris recommended a book to me which I eventually got around to reading. I’ve been grateful to him ever since. The book is called, Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Brown and Dave King.

To paraphrase Chris, this book “teaches you the basics that you must have before submitting a work for publication”. He’s absolutely right. I strongly recommend it to anyone who is not receiving intelligent critiques. Until recently, I’ve had tremendous difficulty improving my writing. Part of the reason was finding people to critique my stories. Those that have read them have either liked or hated the stories. (I’ve also been accused of being derivative of writers I’ve never read!) But no one has critiqued the stories with the eye of an editor. Writing in isolation, the best I could do was practice my writing and improve merely by intuition. A sentence ’seemed’ better when written a certain way. And, although the bookstores sold a lot of books on writing characters, plots, etc, they didn’t sell books on improving the writing itself.

This book does that. It tells you much of what you need to know. Here are some chapter titles:
Show and Tell, Characterization and Exposition, Point of View, Proportion, Dialogue Mechanics and much much more.

So go buy it. Right now. Learn what they tell you. Your writing will improve drastically. It will appear professional.