My SciFi novel

[nattybumpo]

I am in the process of writing my second novel, although this will be my first science fiction effort.

My first novel was critically acclaimed, but a commercial failure. I am fervently hoping that with this novel I can retain the critical acclaim, but add commercial success as well.

I would like to get some input from the members of this forum. I have a relatively simple question.
What do you think of the name "Star Legionnaires" or "Star Scouts" for a title?

[admin]

I don't know if it is still true, but old time sf writer Edmund Hamilton said that he could always increase his sales about 50% by putting the word "Star" in the title, so your titles are probably good. And if you've already sold a mainstream novel, that should get your foot in the door. You probably already know that the competition is fierce. The mistake that most mainstream writers make when they turn to sf is to get the science disastrously wrong. One writer who asked me to read his sf novel had his heroine open the door of her spaceship and leap to another spaceship, carrying a broadsword but not wearing a space suit. Good luck!

[nattybumpo]

Thanks for your comment.

I'm not quite that bad on the science. For example, I've included something called Alcubierre Drive. Have you ever heard of it?

I'm a little weak on biodomes though.

[admin]

You don't have to be really good at science to write sf. You just have to know the basics. You can learn everything you need to know by watching Star Trek.

[Brightonian]

Arthur C Clarke had someone jumping through a vacuum.

[admin]

Yes, but he didn't carry a broadsword.

[slaven41]

How important the science is depends on the kind of scifi you're writing. Connie Willis has written some excellent science fiction with almost no science in it. On the other hand, Robinson's Mars trilogy would have been a disaster if he hadn't done his homework. (And I think KSR's degree is in literature, not science.) It sounds like the OP is writing something military, which probably places it somewhere in between the two examples above.

I would say if you're writing military scifi, the two most important things are to understand some relativity, and to understand the difference between how spaceships move and how airplanes move. (As much as I love Star Wars, I'm glad I didn't know any physics in 1977. :-)

--Dave

[nattybumpo]

My novel is military sci fi. My method of propulsion is something called Alcubierre Drive.

[cdecho]

How does yours differ from Warp Drive or does it?