Opus is my favorite character! Yay for Opus!

D'oh. Why didn't I proof read my comment. As we all know, Opus is a Penguin. What I was was rattling on about is a NOVUM.

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. BrownCoatCat, I will definately be mentioning the Opus now, thank you for bringing it to my attention. Ill also try to find the time to visit that site Kalathena.

I think what Im going to try and focus on is the sheer amount of what sci-fi CAN be as opposed to what it usually is. I know some very creative people who could be masterful science-fiction writers but they are completely turned off to it because its all violence and techno-babble to them. This is one of the primary reasons Im showing Shindig.

I want to try to open up the fact that sci-fi is a setting for the story, not the story itself. That you can have a classical romance or a good drama in a a sci-fi setting.

Oh well, Ill have some more time to think about it when I go on vacation Friday. Hmm, going straight from a cross-country flight to teaching a high-shool class, thats appealing.

The power of science fiction is that it makes you look at a situation from a different angle. There is usually an element in the story that radically differentiates the universe the story is set in from our own. This is known in ther field of Science Fiction Stuies as the Opus. For instance, Zoe's comment about living in a spaceship would not be an Opus, as there is technically little difference between a spaceship and an ordinary ship. On the other hand, the value placed on food suppliment bars in "Serenity" is an Opus, as it undermines the notion that all wealth is based on the value of Gold.

As for the science, that takes a number of forms:
1) Hard Science (the real deal)
2) Imaginary Science (looks very good)
3) Pseudo Science (sleight of hand)
4) Scientific Patter (Complete Garbage)
Naturally, SF has to have one of the four, but it is there to support the story, not be the story.

As you can see, I am fascinated by this subject, so much so, I am doing a Degree in Science Fiction Studies.

My husband's site should have some ideas about how to teach breaking into writing and stuff. He's both an author and an HS teacher. His site is at http://www.sff.net/people/spiziks/

Good luck!

I say have a creative session where you go around the room student by student and each adds a little bit to a story you are creating, much like they do in the RP...could be a good creative writing exercise, and even if not, it's sure to be fun!

I suggest you listen to some of the commentaries to get a feel for what the 'process' really was.

H

ok, i don't really know much that about sci-fi, or teaching, so feel free to ignore me or even make fun of me (but only if you're good at it--i won't stand for subpar humilliation!)...

i guess to me, there are 2 important aspects to composing sci-fi:

1) the science and 2) the fiction.

i'll give a blerb on #2 first... to me, the fiction part just means anything is possible. it's fiction, right? so space cowboys (swoon!), evil mega-corporations, nanotechnology, cyborgs, genetic monsters, talking animals, superheros, microscopic civilizations, space travel/colonization, metaporphisis contraptions, "magic" rayguns, actual magic (sci-fi based on alchemy?), cloud worlds, divinity, anything and everything else is possible. (of course, i'd recommend not getting too involved in a million fictionary aspects right away. get used to it first, and find something you like, and things that compliment each other).

and #1... the science. know it! you don't need to be good at science to learn enough to justify some things, use right terms, and keep space silent! but there are 3 approaches to the science. the old science (you could rewrite old sciences... this would be more difficult to do, but could be pretty interesting), the current science (this would take the most work as far as researching what's going on now, and what it could mean to a sci-fi story), and future science (this is where all the wacky stuff comes from... you don't need to understand current science so much for it, but it helps an amazing amount in creating that magical sci-fi feel).

i dunno. i'd just try to explain this and get people unafraid of doing weird things, and to be unafraid of science (physics is fun!). then give some examples and stuff. lots of firefly. yes, plenty. supply them with information on buying the DVDs, and this site... you could come up with some sort of creative-juice-producing activity or something. that could be fun. and then watch some firefly.

oh yes, don't forget to mention that in science fiction, everyone is totally dead sexy! just look at the crew of serenity!!! it may be sci-fi, but it's all about the sexy!

Well, you could bring in some fanfics, or maybe short stories of Arthur C. Clarke or something. I love his short story book, Tales from the White Hart. You could break down an episode. There's a short story I love by Harry Turtledove called "Nasty. Brutish, and..."