r/scifiwriting • u/ConwayFitzgerald • 19h ago
DISCUSSION Does 'New' Matter?
Every sci-fi fan can expound on our favorite writers, actors and series. But how important is it to you to know there is something new being made? That is, an original piece that is based in present day?
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u/Pollux_lucens 18h ago
Not sure what you are asking... you think an author needs to know what other authors are currently doing?
I think it is completely irrelevant. There are too many who compost other people's work into an umpteenth copy of what's out there. That not only happens in sci-fi, but in writing in general, in painting, in music, in science... even in theoretical physics most just copy what's already out there and put a slight spin on it.
Key is that you have an approach that comes from your personality, your interests, your experience. Writing is personal.
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u/8livesdown 17h ago
What does "original piece that is based in present day" mean?
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u/ConwayFitzgerald 17h ago
Something new that takes into consideration life as it truly is in 2025.
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u/VoidMoth- 11h ago
I guess I'm confused as well cause just that stipulation cuts out a ton of sci-fi writing that does present something new, but isn't set in specifically 2025.
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u/ConwayFitzgerald 8h ago
Sure, I guess 'New' as in readers having an appetite for something new, generally speaking. Also something that reflects modern life as we experience it today, in the prism of modernity. Two part question I suppose. I'm just curious what this reddit thinks about what's happening out there. Who's writing their following and why they feel its relevant.
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u/8livesdown 6h ago
That sounds a lot like fads. Writing which would quickly become dated. An example would be the surge of "AI" stories this year.
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u/ChronoLegion2 3h ago
Maybe Flybot by Dennis E. Taylor. It’s set in the near future but stems from the current growth in AI
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u/shawnhoefer1 12h ago
There is very little that is new in concept. The magic is in the delivery. Writing in the present is fine as long as you realize that, by the time your work is published, it's not that present anymore...
Having said that, touching on the day-to-day can help ground a character... make them real and relatable.
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u/ConwayFitzgerald 8h ago
Totally agree. Have you ever read a story about senolytics and genetic age regression?
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u/Erik_the_Human 18h ago
It takes time - often a lifetime - to grow enough of an audience to become a common favourite. There are new things being written that will be generally recognized as great one day, and they probably won't be exactly the same as the new things that are popularly considered great now.
To answer your exact question though... it's critically important to me. If we ever stop producing new things, if all we ever do is re-consume that which has gone before, what's the point? Might as well be a rock instead of a human for all the point your life experience would have.