I’m A Sci-Fi Kinda Guy

To put it very broadly, sci-fi* stories typically fall into one of two bins:

1. The future / world we want to live in.

2. The future / world we don’t want to live in.

I’ve been a sci-fi fan most of my life.  The very first comic book I bought with my own dime was DC Showcase no25 featuring Rip Hunter, Time Master but even before then I was enthralled by dinosaurs, fascinated by Buck Rogers, and following Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck as they ventured under the sea / into space / on lost islands.

While I’ve certainly written my fair share of sci-fi short stories, TV episodes, and comic books, my attempts at novels have been for the most part mainstream efforts.

I think I’ve written two complete sci-fi manuscripts, neither of which survive as neither were any good.

Most of the longform works I’ve written -- and failed to sell -- fell into the thriller category, typically focused on one central character trying to cope with one single problem, but recently I find my interests turning to less violent fare.

My latest work, my current work-in-progress, and the next one on deck are all mainstream stories set in contemporary times or recent past, no murders, no mayhem.

They’re less about individuals and more about communities.

It recently dawned on me that all three reflect the kind of world I would like to live in.

They are, in spirit if not in fact, sci-fi novels.

They’re not Pollyanna-ish utopias.  None of them end with things being made perfect; they end with people learning how to live and cope with one another.

They’re off kilter and (hopefully) humorous, and they’re about communities that I wouldn’t mind living in if they existed in real life.

Not ideal worlds, but livable worlds, fun worlds.

The kind of world I’d like to leave behind when I finally lay down my pen.

© Buzz Dixon

*  Yeah, there are a lot of folks who recoil at “sci-fi” preferring “science fiction” or even “speculative fiction” but me, I’m a sci-fi kinda guy.  To my eyes and ears, “sci-fi” implies fun and enthusiasm and a sense of wonder, and I try to live my life that way.