My novella "Sands of Titan," (Analog Science Fiction and Fact, June 2007, www.fictionwise.com) is a personal favourite because it evolved from simple origins to become something a lot more than intended, inspiring, to date, two sequels. It's also novella-length, which gave me more room to play with themes and subplots than a shorter story allows.
What genre(s) do you consider this story primarily to be, or how would you describe this story?
Character-driven hard science fiction.
What is a published fiction story by another author you would compare this story to and why are they similar?
"To Build a Fire," by Jack London. That story was probably one of the most influential things in my childhood, for many reasons. But its relationship to "Sands of Titan" is simply that both involve a man alone except for a nonhuman companion (a dog, in the Jack London story; a sentient artificial-intelligence in mine), seeking to survive in a hostile (and cold) environment.
There are differences; my AI is a lot more helpful than London's dog, and my character, Floyd, fares better. But there are substantial plot similarities, mostly in the way that each character encounters mounting obstacles . . . and frigid temperatures.
To what extent did you use any pre-existing story formula, template, paradigm, plot design, archetype, or theory or principle of story/plot structure in planning, writing, editing or rewriting this story?
"Sands of Titan," is a man-against-nature adventure, involving a spaceship pilot who crashes on Saturn's moon Titan. He's 100 kilometers from his supplies (which came down in a separate location), with nothing but a spacesuit, 24 hour's air, and his artificially intelligent computer implant to help.
This makes the story a man-against-nature tale, similar not only to London's classic, but the lesser-known 1971 Richard Harris Movie, "Man in the Wilderness," in which the bulk of the story involves the mountain-man hero's attempts to survive, alone in the northern U.S. Rocky Mountains. To the extent there's an archetype/formula for such stories, it's that the goal must be at least potentially feasible, but not too easy. It also helps if the protagonist grows and evolves along the way – though in London's tale, he dies, which, I suppose, is an ultimate form of evolution.
How would you describe the first chapter, scene or section of this story in one paragraph?
The story starts in the thick of the action, with Floyd riding a poorly jury-rigged parachute to the surface, which is rushing up at him too fast, "like a giant flyswatter about to whack [him] out of the sky." From the start, this is a wilderness-survival tale, set on a frigid moon of Saturn.
What makes this chapter, scene or section an effective opening for this story?
First of all, it sets the tone of the story, along with its setting. But what really made the story work is that when Floyd comes down alive, miraculously landing on forgiving surface, the AI crops up in the story for the first time, as follows:
"'Bull's-eye!' a perky voice said, sounding like it was right in my ear. Brittney can do any mood she likes, but perky is her favorite. 'Though it would have helped if you'd bent your knees and braced for impact, rather than screaming all the way down.'"
It's now a two-character story, and Floyd suddenly has a very interesting foil.
What major stages, twists or turns does the story conflict take in this story before the conflict is resolved (or not resolved)?
Classically (at least in science fiction) writers are told to deal with plotting via a "try/fail" cycle in which the protagonist tries one thing, fails, tries, another, fails, then tries a third that succeeds. But because that's taught in workshops, it's a huge cliché. Here, I let the task present as a series of steps. Surviving the first one (getting to the supplies) reveals a new problem (almost everything's frozen solid). Thawing out enough supplies for short-term survival leads to a third problem, which is that Floyd is still a long way away from help. It is, however, still a triplet of problems. There's something innately satisfying in trios and triplets.
How would you summarise the major sub-plot or sub-plots in this story? If this story has no sub-plots, how would you describe the main sub-plot or sub-plots from one of your favourite published fiction stories by another author?
The major sub-plot in this story is the interaction between Floyd and his AI, Brittney. Floyd is a middle-aged loner with an emotionally scared past. The AI, which only recently came "alive," has adopted the personality of an easily hurt (but know-it-all) 17-year-girl. This produces an unusually odd "odd couple," trapped in each other's heads. The subplot is how they forge a working relationship that becomes a true friendship.
What does the story gain from the sub-plot or sub-plots? To what extent would you describe your story discussed here as typical or atypical of your fiction stories?
This story is typical of the ones I like best. The plot is the "excuse" for the story -- and interesting enough to stand on its own. But the "real" story lies underneath. In this one, Floyd has to overcome his woundedness to recognize that Brittany's silicon soul houses a "person" who's as real as he is, and at least as emotionally vulnerable. At the same, time, Brittney steals the show thoroughly enough that the sequel is told from her point of view.
Author website: www.richardalovett.com
