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Bizarre, v. 4, issue 1, Janurary 1941
Page 8
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Page 8 BIZARRE The viewpoint of a given plot is as much the author's style as word or phrase. Point D: The use of an idea is the final point in making a story go over. Ideas, per se, are such small change as to be of inconsequential value. You can write a story without plot, without idea, without action, as a matter of fact. But "slant" on an idea is the best aid an author can get; the idea itself is as unimportant as the use of any particular typewriter. In defining what I mean by the use of an idea, I can talk best about my own stuff. I know the mental processes that lead up to it. "Blindness" (March '35 Astounding) was an excellent example of what I mean by "use of an idea." The story went as follows: An old scientist who had tried vainly all his life- he was about 80- to crack the secret of controlled atomic power, decided the only solution was to get near enough to the Sun really to study its processes, and learn from that. Spaceships capable of going to the Sun were known- but none was capable of return. Unless he gets atomic power, he'd be unable to return. Further, so near the Sun, static made radio reception impossible. But he had to find some way of protecting the ship from Sun's heat. That almost stopped him, but finally he invented a magnetic alloy-thermlectrium- that flopped its magnetic poles under the influence of heat, so that a coil of wire wrapped around it converted the heat-energy to electric power which could be disposed of readily. He made the trip, studied- and lost his eyesight due to solar radiation- finally got the answer. With his one assistant, he made the trip home, driven by atomic power now, bringing the fruit of his endeavor back to Man. He was greeted by a tremendous ovation as he landed on Earth- and died of a broken heart when he found that no one wanted his atomic power and the great power plants it meant. They were greeting him for the immense boon of the thermlectrium which cooled the tropics, powered every truck, car, plane, and factory as well as private home for nothing a year! A unit cost $10 to make and lasted for ever, cooling in summer and heating in winter. The idea in that was the "thermlectrium" unit. I started off with that concept. What to do with it? New ways of generating power are, in science-fiction, definitely corny. I thought- for about three months, off and on- of a hundred schemes. Mines on Mercury- heat-rays of the enemy invaders neutralized- the dear old standby of the vicious power company- all as corny as the idea itself. Somewhere I had to find a trick that would give me something to wrestle a story out of that. The idea was useless unless I could find a twist that would, first, fit the style of my particular viewpoint- sympathetic- and, second, be different enough to interest Editor Tremaine. That usually happens. It took me 18 months to find something to hang "Frictional Losses" (July '36 Astounding) on- the idea of the anti-friction beam. I thought of- and even started- everything from straight wide-open farce (see the incident of the clothes coming to pieces) to international and interplanetary war action. I spent nearly three years on something that would give some value to the idea behind "Forgetfulness" (June '37 Astounding) : Would we be able to recognize another type of civilization if it were really radically different? Finally, in summary- the art of being a writer consists largely in knowing how to do things the right way- and then skillfully doing them wrong. The customer can think of the obvious answers for himself; to sell him something, you've got to think of answers he hadn't That generally means wrong answers. But you've got to show him it's the right answer at last! Announcement... This issue of BIZARRE is dated January, 1941 The next number will appear January 1st and be dated March
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Page 8 BIZARRE The viewpoint of a given plot is as much the author's style as word or phrase. Point D: The use of an idea is the final point in making a story go over. Ideas, per se, are such small change as to be of inconsequential value. You can write a story without plot, without idea, without action, as a matter of fact. But "slant" on an idea is the best aid an author can get; the idea itself is as unimportant as the use of any particular typewriter. In defining what I mean by the use of an idea, I can talk best about my own stuff. I know the mental processes that lead up to it. "Blindness" (March '35 Astounding) was an excellent example of what I mean by "use of an idea." The story went as follows: An old scientist who had tried vainly all his life- he was about 80- to crack the secret of controlled atomic power, decided the only solution was to get near enough to the Sun really to study its processes, and learn from that. Spaceships capable of going to the Sun were known- but none was capable of return. Unless he gets atomic power, he'd be unable to return. Further, so near the Sun, static made radio reception impossible. But he had to find some way of protecting the ship from Sun's heat. That almost stopped him, but finally he invented a magnetic alloy-thermlectrium- that flopped its magnetic poles under the influence of heat, so that a coil of wire wrapped around it converted the heat-energy to electric power which could be disposed of readily. He made the trip, studied- and lost his eyesight due to solar radiation- finally got the answer. With his one assistant, he made the trip home, driven by atomic power now, bringing the fruit of his endeavor back to Man. He was greeted by a tremendous ovation as he landed on Earth- and died of a broken heart when he found that no one wanted his atomic power and the great power plants it meant. They were greeting him for the immense boon of the thermlectrium which cooled the tropics, powered every truck, car, plane, and factory as well as private home for nothing a year! A unit cost $10 to make and lasted for ever, cooling in summer and heating in winter. The idea in that was the "thermlectrium" unit. I started off with that concept. What to do with it? New ways of generating power are, in science-fiction, definitely corny. I thought- for about three months, off and on- of a hundred schemes. Mines on Mercury- heat-rays of the enemy invaders neutralized- the dear old standby of the vicious power company- all as corny as the idea itself. Somewhere I had to find a trick that would give me something to wrestle a story out of that. The idea was useless unless I could find a twist that would, first, fit the style of my particular viewpoint- sympathetic- and, second, be different enough to interest Editor Tremaine. That usually happens. It took me 18 months to find something to hang "Frictional Losses" (July '36 Astounding) on- the idea of the anti-friction beam. I thought of- and even started- everything from straight wide-open farce (see the incident of the clothes coming to pieces) to international and interplanetary war action. I spent nearly three years on something that would give some value to the idea behind "Forgetfulness" (June '37 Astounding) : Would we be able to recognize another type of civilization if it were really radically different? Finally, in summary- the art of being a writer consists largely in knowing how to do things the right way- and then skillfully doing them wrong. The customer can think of the obvious answers for himself; to sell him something, you've got to think of answers he hadn't That generally means wrong answers. But you've got to show him it's the right answer at last! Announcement... This issue of BIZARRE is dated January, 1941 The next number will appear January 1st and be dated March
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