Jul 29, 2011

Display Driver Stopped Responding and Has Recovered.

The above tech message is one I've been getting everyday lately. Siigh. Yes, brand new computer. I know enough to understand it's pointing at a software issue. Sometimes I really hate technology, it plagues me like space debris orbiting the Earth. Nonetheless, it's something that is always present, a part of life. Whether that tech is a rock driving a stake into the earth, or hands converting plant fibers into rope, or dark wizards conjuring up an army of golems, or a curious society launching a spaceship, technology is part of our lives and the world.

This week, Friday Fantastic Writers are buzzing about technology. Both science fiction and fantasy use technology. In fantasy it might be crystals and spells and cauldrons, but it's still technology.

In both, there is something that works outside the norm, whether Hogwarts or Stargates, some bit hovers outside our present understanding and technological advancement to drive the story in some way. So, how does the writer deal with this?

I consider technology one of the cores to world-building. Technology should mesh with the culture and status of the society. It should make sense with who they are. A true peace-loving people should not have developed weapons of mass destruction without a solid, logical reason.

As to tech making sense, I go beg the husband unit for help. He loves gadgets and that sort of thing, knows how to build them and fix them. I imagine what I want, he designs it. Usually.

Technology is something that needs as much care and attention by the writer as the main character, the mc's arc and plot. If you don't make a plausible argument or world for what you create, you could very well lose your audience.

In reality, technology often drives me crazy. In writing, I find inventing it to be another creative outlet. Do you ever invent tech for your stories?

See what other Fantastic Friday Wrtiers have to say: Alex J. Cavanaugh, Elizabeth Mueller, Anastasia V. Pergakis, J.D. Brown, Deirdre Eden Coppel and Jeffrey Beesler.