W = War

War has served as a major plot device in several works of alternative history. As the catalyst behind the branch into alternative timelines in many of those works, it has driven some of our most interesting takes on our past, present and future

Ground Zero is set roughly 30 years after a Third World War. In it the Cold War between the US and USSR had escalated into a brief but deadly exchange of nuclear firearms. The soviet nation was all but obliterated as a result, while the city of New York was destroyed by a salted bomb that also transformed much of the American east coast into an irradiated wasteland.

The story explores the aftermath of the war, and how it had shaped the lives of the survivors living just outside Ground Zero. Theirs is a world that must be explored through the safety of hazmat suits, but it is ultimately one that is quite familiar, although hauntingly so.

Ground Zero is just one of the 10 stories featured in the IWSG Anthology, and I sincerely hope you enjoy reading them all, when the anthology launches next week.

V = Victory

Victories should be included in every tale. Don't get me wrong, I'm not implying you must have a happy ending, but if the main character never succeeds at anything, never accomplishes anything, then the story will become stale and fall flat.

Sometimes victory comes at great cost. These victories are a great way to add tension to your story.

In "WIN", my main character sees first hand what victories can accomplish, and cost, people.

All ten tales in our anthology show great examples of victories, some of them small ones, some of them larger, and some of them still being struggled towards.

What are some of your favorite examples of victory in stories?

O = Other Worlds

Do you love alternate realities or other worlds?

As a young reader, I couldn't get enough of them, although they looked something like this:

And now they look more like this:

Source

In The Mirror People (my contribution to the Parallels anthology), my other world looks like this:

The concept started out as an idea: What if it was someone's job to mimic their reflection? I sat down to write and these words glared back from the computer screen:

Every day I stare into the eyes of a cold-blooded murderer.

Well THAT wasn't a direction I'd considered going. Regardless, I had to see who this narrator was and what was going to happen to him. Jak appeared on the page and I have to say, he's one of the best characters I've ever had the privilege of transcribing. (I say transcribing because our journey together didn't feel like writing. He told me his story, no reservations.) What if two dimensions were actually dependent on one another, but only one side was aware of the relationship?

Yeah, bend your brain around that one, eh?

Do you have a favorite dual reality story?

(Remember, comment and be entered to win one of 10 copies of Parallels.)

J = Juxtaposition

Juxtaposition – comparing two items side by side in an effort to point out the ridiculousness or power of one of those things.

I once had a professor tell our class that if we ever used this word, then we didn’t really understand what it meant. No offense to that professor, but I believe society understands this term very well, we just don’t use the term in our every day vocabulary.

The truth is that beauty and ugliness coexist in every setting. The constant contrast gives each one more power than it would have alone.

Authors use this in their writing when they want to heighten the tension, or bring special attention to a scene or character.

Examples:

   1)      In dialogue - “I hate loving you,” or “I love to hate him.”

   2)   Novels, movies, plays, and even comics often feature characters with opposite attributes or personalities in order to create interesting conflict - Betty and Veronica, Felix Unger and Oscar Madison, Beauty and the Beast, Carl Fredricksen and Russell, Buzz and Woody, as well as so many others.

   3) Opposing forces of good versus evil - even within the same character is another popular choice.
   4) Setting and circumstances can be opposites as well.

I  In "WIN" I used human fascination with technology, and contrasted it with a groups inability to access that technology. How might those people be different? Which would be better for society - more or less technology? 

The Parallels anthology explores these aspects through ten different tales. We hope you’ll dive in and share your thoughts with the authors. How did our use of juxtaposition help or hinder the stories?

What are some of your favorite examples of juxtaposition in other books and movies?

Don't forget, every comment you leave is a chance you have to win one of ten copies of Parallels: Felix Was Here.

G = Gore

G IS FOR PRESIDENT AL GORE

The alternate history affecting the story, Ever-Ton, in the IWSG Anthology Parallels: Felix Was Here, was the election of Al Gore for President in the year 2000.

The setting is the year 2050. The world has changed and the inhabitants are leaving. 

Photo Copyright

Ever-Ton

Yolanda RenÉe

Excerpt:

The line seemed to stretch on forever but moved fast. Several people in wheelchairs, children with disabilities, and worried parents talked in hushed tones as the line moved forward. A lovely woman in a wheelchair pointed to the picture of former President Al Gore on the wall behind the counter. "I wonder if he knows how many people he saved."

I smiled, and said, "I believe he does. I really do."

She nodded. "I do, too."

In the 1970s, scientists had warned of the dangers of global warming, but nothing happened until the year 2000. President Al Gore couldn't get the legislation passed that would curb the dangers caused by fossil fuel, but he found the funding for the New World Aeronautical Organization - NWAO. They began the search for a New Earth.

Terrifying storms, devastating droughts, and unimaginable diseases took the earth to the levels of an apocalypse that no one foresaw, not even President Gore. The building of survival units in the highest mountains became a top priority.

Now, in 2050, the world's atmosphere had grown toxic. The city of Ever-Ton, meaning Everlasting Mountain, sat high in the Himalayas. We were the largest and last community of survivors trying to leave earth.

***

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C = Cheese

Okay, okay, what does cheese have to do with speculative fiction, you ask. Bear with me for a moment.

C is also for Crystal. (A word I'm particularly fond of.)

In Napoleon Dynamite, the crystals are a mystical element that will power a time travel device. They're a symbol of magic. (Hey, does that mean I'm a symbol of magic? Score!)

Life is full of symbolism.

What is the first thing you think of when someone says, "Cheese!"?

Source

That's pretty much it for me too. Actually, my picture is more like this:

Cheese is a symbol (like crystals). For me, it means something so much more than food or smiles. It represents the true essence of happiness. This last picture is my special needs brother, the happiest, most loving person I've ever known. And yes, he was obsessed with cheese. It's because of him I insist that:

Cheese is the best food on the planet. Cheese=happiness. Cheese makes the world go round.

Symbols are all around us in life and thus all throughout literature. They're a subtext that conveys greater meaning in everyday life. In THE MIRROR PEOPLE, the mirror is a symbol, an element meant to make us question the inner demons we face. Symbolically, are we like Jak, trapped by his twin identity, or are we the type of people who define our own worlds--like my brother?

Due to symbolism, cheese is my happy place.

What's your cheese?

(Remember, every comment is a chance to win a copy of Parallels.)