Against Cynicism: Tolkien v. Herbert

I found an interesting video by a channel called "Jess of the Shire" and I watched one of her videos, "Tolkien's Problem with Dune." The video above is partly my reaction to her video, including a few points where I think her assessment is dead-on, as well as a few points of disagreement. Plus, I add in some of my thoughts about cynicism in science-fiction and futurism, as well.

An Inexplicable Classic: Solaris, by Stanislaw Lem

Hoo boy, this one hurts. It was a few years ago. People kept telling me that Solaris by Stanislaw Lem was a real classic of science fiction.

So I picked up a copy, and read it. I didn't really like it much, but it was short and I wasn't really looking too closely. Back on the shelf it went.

Until recently. I picked it up again. I figured, "Hey, I've been reading a bunch and reviewing a bunch and maybe I'll like it more on a second read." I was wrong. Dead wrong.

The Joy of Low-Stakes Storytelling! Lessons from my First Novel, part 2!

One of the trends I've seen in a lot of modern fiction is the tendency toward the epic. Everybody wants to create this massive, complex, world with amazing, powerful characters engaged in a climactic struggle to save the universe from an unapologetic, existential evil that holds billions of lives in the balance.

God, I'm tired of those.

Tips and Thoughts on Jargon for Writers and Readers

After reading Dune, I spent a little time thinking about the use of jargon in writing--where it's necessary, where it isn't, how to handle it, how it can be used for nefarious purposes, etc.

So, in case you don't know the definition, let's start with What is Jargon? Jargon is technical terminology or high-level language compared to the expected audience of the piece. So, if I talked about Bragg diffraction to a group of physicists, that wouldn't be jargon, but if I put it into a story, it would. This could also include the use of made-up or foreign-language words in fiction, for instance, a random Romanian word in a book not targeted at Romanian speakers.

Sometimes jargon is necessary. We need it when we need a precise description of a thing, such as the cobalt bombs of On the Beach or the psychohistory of Foundation. We also need it when we are introducing unique or novel constructs in our fictional worlds, such as Dune's stillsuits and Feist's Lesser and Greater Path magicians.

It's worth noting that novel jargon can be made more accessible by making compound words like stillsuit; the definition is in the word.

Sometimes jargon is unnecessary but helps to add flavor to the story. Proper names are a good example of this, such as Epasotl in Doomsday Recon. We may also want to show off cultural artifacts or phenomena which are part of the story, such as Clanspeak in Battletech, or unique month and holiday names in the Elder Scrolls setting.

It's worth remembering that whenever jargon appears for a good reason in the story, the author needs to make a good faith effort to explain the jargon either explicitly or through context. Sometimes flavor jargon only appears once, but even then it helps if there is some context to guide the reader's understanding. For example, the fictional month names in the Elder Scrolls world are mostly veiled references to what time of year it is, with references to harvest times, etc.

All of these uses of jargon are valid and can be great boons to your worldbuilding. However, some authors like to use jargon in ways that can confuse the reader or damage immersion.

One example is extensive use of large quantities of jargon which require the reader to spend a lot of time reading and trying to remember the meaning. In The Widow's Son, there were frequent sentences in foreign languages (mostly Spanish) that were often long enough that someone unfamiliar with Spanish would have trouble understanding what was said. Some of the context clues for the meanings of those sentences were too vague or too far away or even missing.

Using jargon when perfectly reasonable English terms already exist is another bad use of jargon. Perhaps one of the silliest and most egregious examples is illustrated here:

Another bad use of jargon is to create an illusion of depth, or to force a particular theme. One poignant example of this is the naming conventions in the anime Evangelion. Throwing darts at a bible in order to name things is neither depth, nor true attention to theme.

As a writer, here are some things you can do to ensure your jargon is reasonable:

Ask yourself... 

• Is this jargon necessary?
• Is the reason behind it justified by the plot, characters, or setting?
• Is it organic and supported by context?
• How much am I asking the reader to memorize?
• Can I simplify it or make things easier to read somehow?

As a reader, you might ask yourself these questions instead:

• Is the jargon slowing me down?
• Do thematic elements of the jargon actually fit?
• What jargon do I actually need to remember, and which can I let slide by?

Jargon is a powerful tool, which can add precision, originality, and color to your writing. As a reader, you should also be open to being taught interesting, original, and useful things in your reading.

However, it can also be used to confuse or dupe the reader. Therefore, writers must be aware and respectful of the reader's time, and readers should distinguish between jargon that serves the story and jargon that confuses things, and actively avoid the latter.

Fun with All Men Are Brothers!

The Water Margin Story, a famous Chinese novel that goes by several different names here in the West, is so freakin' crazy.

The Plague of Bad "Localizers!"

Trying to create a little topical content each day over on YouTube, and today's rant was relevant.

Talkin' about bad "localizers" and how they use a few difficult issues in Japanese to gaslight people... I'm a mediocre reader of Japanese, but I go through and cover the things that make Japanese a little tricky to translate and provide some references for you (if you want to get into the language yourself).

All the Old Novels Are Shorter (A Rant)

Photo courtesy Patrick Tomasso, via Unsplash

I just finished reading a relatively new science fiction story and I'm working on a review. The story I read is supposedly a very highly rated, very strong-selling example of "hard science fiction," and, spoiler alert, I was pretty disappointed by it. More on that later.

However, for the time being...