Transcripts-flatDue to a technical failure, tonight’s transcript it in reverse order. Please read from the bottom up. Apologies for the inconvenience.

We have all the transcripts, extra interviews, giveaways, and more at:http://bryanthomasschmidt.net/sffwrtcht/  #sffwrtcht Thanks all for joining us!

.@helleder‘s website is located at http://artifactsofempire.com . #sffwrtchtand of course, she can be found here on twitter.

This fueled the creation of Artifacts of Empire epic fantasy series incl The Universal Mirror & newly released The Jealousy Glass#sffwrtcht

@Wyld_Dandelyon @helleder Yes, and thanks for humoring us until we all realized there was a chat tonight! #sffwrtcht

She has written for a number of magazines, exhibitions and nonfiction publications.#sffwrtcht

Tonight’s guest @helleder is a museum curator and speculative fiction writer. #sffwrtcht

@helleder Thanks so much for joining us and leading the chat today!#sffwrtcht

,@helleder …by our world and well formed by the time we’re even aware enough to pay attention #sffwrtcht

.@helleder I think that’s part of it. Part of it is our concept of the way things should be is subtly subconscious and shaped… #sffwrtcht

And you can always catch me here on Twitter, normally rattling on about history or spec. fic. Have a good night, all! #sffwrtcht

I do have to head out but a huge thanks to you all for a great conversation and to @BryanThomasS for the invitation! #sffwrtcht

@BryanThomasS @helleder #sffwrtcht didn’t realize until halfway through I have your first book on my kindle

. @BryanThomasS Generally heard from angry English teachers first so perhaps that’s why some fail to realize. ;)  #sffwrtcht

.@helleder Gwen, I know you have to go. So let us know when, but thanks for taking charge and leading the discussion tonight!#sffwrtcht

@helleder Me too. I’m not a huge Heinlein fan, though he did come to mind regarding tonight’s topic. #sffwrtcht

. @roberteilers How we turn those into new ideas or a different interpretation is the secondary part of that question, I think.#sffwrtcht

.@helleder I think it’s ironic how often we do that without even realizing it. #sffwrtcht It almost has to be pointed out. :)

Good point, @chippermuse. Kind of an anti-consumerist stance in there too, if I remember right. (It’s been years since I read it)#sffwrtcht

And Animal Farm (Orwell) is a response to living and politics in Soviet Union. #sffwrtcht

If events didn’t influence us what would there be to write about?#sffwrtcht

.@Wyld_Dandelyon It’s also how we see the world. What feels realistic to us is influenced by our experiences. #sffwrtcht

I agree, @BryanThomasS. Sometimes, it’s more apparent than others. #sffwrtcht

How about the 60s, hippies, Charles Manson and Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land? I’d say he was inspired by events. #sffwrtcht

@BryanThomasS That’s true. You can’t help but having the things that affect you in the moment affect your writing. #sffwrtcht

@helleder We will have the first Black Company story w/ a battle from Glen Cook, a new Runelords from Dave Farland, Eliz Moon etc#sffwrtcht

@helleder industrialization, robots, computers, exploration, climate change, medicine, evolution – *everything* at some point ;) #sffwrtcht

.@helleder We have quite a line up and a major publisher involved. But I can’t say details until it’s final. Exciting opportunity #sffwrtcht

I was thinking maybe a walk on the moon but that can’t really compete with sparkling vampires. RT@roberteilers Twilight :) … #sffwrtcht

.@helleder I’d say that in one sense real events/experiences always mold our writing & world-building setting expectations #sffwrtcht

I love military fantasy, @BryanThomasS. I’m all about the swords. ;) #sffwrtcht

.@helleder Well, if it’s of interest, I am negotiating a contract for a military fantasy anthology you all shld be seeing in 2014 #sffwrtcht

So we’ve talked a lot about war but what other events do you think have really influenced speculative fiction? #sffwrtcht

.@helleder I’m fairly sure LeGuin lets real events inspire all her work in some way. It’s the sociologist in her. #sffwrtcht

@helleder We did sort of derail your topic, Gwen! Sorry! #sffwrtcht

@Wyld_Dandelyon WHAT? Your own chat? sniff sniff #sffwrtcht#eatsworms# What will you call it? #chaoschat

.@roberteilers Vets & non-vets both have valid stories to tell,both should explore war in fic. Different perspectives=good. #sffwrtcht

Future Guests 12/26 Triumph Over Tragedy Anniversary 1/2/13@ECMyers 1/9 Tom King 1/16 @dwgrintalis 1/23 @andrewmayer#sffwrtcht

Future Guests 12/26 Triumph Over Tragedy Anniversary 1/2/13@ECMyers 1/9 Tom King 1/16 @dwgrintalis 1/23 @andrewmayer#sffwrtcht

. @chippermuse I hadn’t thought of that. I think Lathe of Heaven was for sure. #sffwrtcht

@BryanThomasS If we didn’t like you, we’d make our own chat.#sffwrtcht

Exactly.I just finished reading Asimov’s first 3 Foundation nvls which deals with society as whole and how they deal with events.#sffwrtcht

LeGuin… Is it accurate to say Left Hand of Darkness inspired by Cold War? #sffwrtcht

.@BryanThomasS I think the #sffwrtcht group shows love by teasing and causing chaos, if that’s any consolation. #probablynot

. @chippermuse True. Interesting though given changing perceptions of war that it does line up like that. #sffwrtcht

@BryanThomasS Not complaining, just saying I have enough for life to be fun and stimulating. #sffwrtcht

@helleder Lest we forget, there’s also LeGuin, Huxley, etc. – classics, not military @princejvstin @chippermuse #sffwrtcht

@chippermuse @PrinceJvstin @helleder Nice to know someone loves me… Here I thought it was the mustache… #sffwrtcht

Vets do know latest military tech, so SF may be better fit for them than fantasy, with all its swords. #sffwrtcht

@Wyld_Dandelyon What’s that? Are you complaining about chaos then? Ha! Pot meet kettle! #sffwrtcht ;)

. @roberteilers True. I don’t think fantasy is yet used as much as it could be in terms of reflecting a possible future. #sffwrtcht

SF tends to be more issue-driven, extrapolating from events and issues. Fantasy more about good-evil, so war is a natural fit.#sffwrtcht

@BryanThomasS I’m having enough chaos trying to pay attetion to you all, my daughter, and my foodie friend. #sffwrtcht

. @PrinceJvstin @chippermuse @kodermike I don’t know for sure but I bet military SF is probably higher there. #sffwrtcht

@helleder @roberteilers Also where we are headed if continuing on a present course…which could mean war. #sffwrtcht

. @Wyld_Dandelyon Maybe depended on where. 1932 was a bad year on the West Coast tho. I’m now blanking on the book I read it in.#sffwrtcht

@PrinceJvstin @chippermuse @helleder Yeah, right, That’s it. It was totally the blizzard. Yeah, I have no power. HELP HE… #sffwrtcht

@chippermuse @kodermike @helleder there’s something. I wonder about the proportion of vets who write SF versus Fantasy #sffwrtcht

@kodermike @PrinceJvstin @helleder Heinlein was the first that came to mind. Starship Troopers! #sffwrtcht

. @roberteilers We sometimes glorify those two types of visions in different ways. #sffwrtcht

.@roberteilers Wonder if part of this is that SF is about visions of the future and fantasy visions of the past. #sffwrtcht

@Wyld_Dandelyon You want chaos? And look what I come back to find. It’s all organized like. #sffwrtcht

@helleder I understand White Zombie came out before the bread lines…or so says my horror-reading foodie friend. #sffwrtcht

@helleder Absolutely. My sincerest apologies for not doing my job. Sounds like you’re doing fine though. #sffwrtcht

. @Wyld_Dandelyon *nods* Don’t think we see as much of that in fantasy as SF. @roberteilers brings up godd point about machines.#sffwrtcht

@chippermuse @BryanThomasS @helleder heard it could be a blizzard that edges a bit into the Minneapolis Metro. Glad you’re okay#sffwrtcht

LOL! I was worried your power was out already. Glad it’s not.#winterstorms #sffwrtcht @BryanThomasS @helleder

Was tonight the roundtable or what? Taking a quick break from my writing tonight. #sffwrtcht

Walmart brought it to mind but 1st zombie movies were inspired by 30s breadlines. What events do you see influencing genre now?#sffwrtcht

Well that’s a first, the host totally forgot #sffwrtcht. Sigh. We have a storm coming in and I was preparing. Apologies to @helleder et al

Well that’s a first, the host totally forgot #sffwrtcht. Sigh. We have a storm coming in and I was preparing. Apologies to @helleder et al

Wikipedia (I know, Iknow) says Joe Haldeman & David Drake are vets. I’m sure they use their experience. @PrinceJvstin @helleder#sffwrtcht

@helleder Like stories about mercenaries or knights in peacetime, or where kings negotiate marriages to avoid wars… #sffwrtcht

SF tends to deal more with machines and society. #sffwrtcht

@chippermuse @helleder there is plenty of mil-sf, true. But secondary world fantasy often seems to be *just* war as conflict#sffwrtcht

. @Wyld_Dandelyon Good point. Can you think of many peacetime fantasies? I think that’s harder to come up with. #sffwrtcht

@helleder In fantasy, U have some stories set in war or peace, but more where war is just taken for granted as present than in SF#sffwrtcht

I read much more fantasy, can’t just SF as much. But there’s plenty of military SF. #sffwrtcht @PrinceJvstin @helleder

. @PrinceJvstin My thinking too though if you throw in urban fantasy, that might not be quite as true. War & fantasy fits well #sffwrtcht

@helleder In SF, you tend to have space marines or other WAR stories, and stories in peacetime. #sffwrtcht

. @chippermuse @Wyld_Dandelyon @talekyn Walmart (or any shopping this time of year) makes me want to start writing horror. lol#sffwrtcht

@chippermuse Oh–hey Talekyn, count me in. I can DM you too!#sffwrtcht

@helleder @chippermuse war is something Fantasy gets a heck of a lot more than SF from my observation #sffwrtcht

. @chippermuse Might be unanswerable but it’s interesting to contemplate. I think of it in fantasy but that could be my reading.#sffwrtcht

. Here’s a question, @chippermuse, do you think that war has a bigger impact on fantasy than SF? Or is it about the same?#sffwrtcht

@Wyld_Dandelyon Walmart… I think @talekyn needs to buy us something. I can DM my address. LOL! #sffwrtcht

@helleder It was actually a prompt from a current event I received in a newsletter. Tentative title is Ugandan Angel. #sffwrtcht

. @PrinceJvstin I think some basic experiences (loss of love, birth of a child, etc) translate to any environment. #sffwrtcht

Lots of SFF inspired by real events. LOTR and Narnia both inspired by world wars, for example. @helleder #sffwrtcht

. @PrinceJvstin In 1 novel, it was taking events from history (daVinci’s dissections) and replacing his purpose (art) to magic. #sffwrtcht

. @PrinceJvstin Depends. In some cases, I’ll take a single ordinary element and replace it with an extraordinary thing. #sffwrtcht

. @roberteilers That sounds fascinating–how did you decide to use that setting? (and what’s the story title?) #sffwrtcht

@talekyn Walmart–ewwwww, those people are bad employers. Hmm…I suppose that might inspire a horror story or two… #sffwrtcht

I wrote a short story based around a Ugandan cafe bombing that happened during the World Cup. #sffwrtcht

@helleder @chippermuse how do you best transmorgify such experiences to exotic environments, such as in your fantasy world?#sffwrtcht

Anyone have a favorite example of a spec fic work that was inspired by a real event? Either historic or in the author’s life? #sffwrtcht

. @chippermuse Doesn’t have to be your own. Oral histories can provide authenticity for those experiences we can’t have. #sffwrtcht

. @chippermuse @roberteilers I find it easier to give a story a life by taking everyday experience and turning it into SF/F. #sffwrtcht

@roberteilers @helleder Yes. There’s always truth in what we write. So in a way, we write what we know, no matter the genre. #sffwrtcht

The first thing to throw out there, I think, is the phrase “Write what you know”? Do you think this applies to SF&F? #sffwrtcht

I hope that I’ll be forgiven for just diving in but tonight let’s discuss using events, historic and otherwise, in fiction. #sffwrtcht

@helleder Hi, Gwen. Nice to meet you. Surprised by how quiet#sffwrtcht is right now. Making me question what day it is today!

A little background for those who may not know me irl: I write fantasy novels but also work at a museum, thus tonight’s #sffwrtcht topic.

Is the chat going on tonight? I’m not seeing anything in my Twitter feed… #sffwrtcht

Almost time for #sffwrtcht! Tonight’s roundtable is about worldbuilding using real events. Come join the conversation. It’ll be fun!