Push and Pull Factors

(This post originally appeared on The Reading Cafe when I did a guest post as part of their review of Green Bank.)

From Black Holes to Broken Hearts: The Journey of Writing My Debut Sci-Fi Novel

Over ten years ago, I had the inkling to write a book—sci-fi, specifically. This inkling was melded together with push and pull factors. The push factors were 1) nurturing a drive to finish what I start and 2) getting out of my 9-to-5 headspace, finding a creative outlet. The pull factors were 1) deep interests in black holes, dark matter, and consciousness and 2) wonder with the complexity of relationships.

Push Factor 1: Finish What You Start

Whether it is a book, a house project, marathon, or some other goal, we often confront milestones that we truly want—or need—to achieve. As with many things in life, it’s easier said than done. Well, writing a sci-fi novel was my milestone. I thought of the idea of this book over a decade ago and started actually writing it eight years ago. Several times I thought of abandoning it, fearing it was not worthwhile. But with each page completed, that path became clearer. Anytime I needed a boost, I just looked back at what I had done thus far. You can always assure yourself that you are that much closer once you’ve made the slightest progress.

Push Factor 2: Get out of Your Headspace

I may never be able to support myself purely as an author, and that is perfectly fine. I enjoy my career, but there are times when I just need a blank slate upon which I can just create. In my orderly, time-bound jobs, I rarely get the opportunity to just create art. But it is an extremely important outlet for anyone. Music, sculpting, woodworking, and more all provide an outlet for people, sharing their views of and experiences in our collective world. Given how impactful storytelling has been for me as a reader, I felt a certain level of obligation to return the favor in the best way possible.

Pull Factor 1: Black Holes, Dark Matter, and Consciousness

Sci-fi begins right where our current understanding of the universe ends. That’s why it is my favorite genre—you get to take that step into the unknown, letting creativity grow from theories and accepted truths. Black holes and dark matter arguably fascinate (perhaps terrify, too) anyone that really dwells on them. And they have appeared heavily throughout books and movies, but I wanted to take a different approach to them both. Weaving in consciousness allowed me to explore another opaque field of science and create a delicate bridge between the deep mysteries of the universe and everyday people.

Pull Factor 2: Complexity of Relationships

The core of any good story is the impact of the characters. Regardless of wild, exotic concepts, action, themes, etc., the characters usher the story along. I wanted Green Bank to fascinate a reader while keeping them grounded with plausible characters navigating life in fathomable ways. Specifically, I wanted to explore relations amongst the characters, showing how the experiences that they have with one another readily impact decisions they make in the future. And as complex as relationships may be, you can distill them down to basic drivers. These drivers also serve as key inputs to surveillance technology present in Green Bank.

I hope this post serves not just as a catalyst to read Green Bank but also as motivation for anything you have been seeking to do in your life. At one point in time, my story was just neurons firing off in my head. But with patience and consistency, it became a published book. Never has holding a book in my hand felt so meaningful, let alone people actually reading it and, hopefully, liking it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Stay curious. Keep exploring the magic you still have to share with the world.

All the best,

Kyle

Will AI put authors out of work?

With the advent of ChatGPT and countless other AI tools, I constantly wonder what jobs and industries are ripe for disruption. I have heard that AI will not put someone out of work, but a person using AI could put someone out of work. That makes logical sense and would be a less frightening scenario. But there are plenty of opinions and blurred lines on the matter for sure…only the future will tell.

I did play around with ChatGPT, specifically, asking it to write scripts for some of my favorite shows. The output was decent, considering it came from a machine in a matter of seconds. Yet, it did lack the depth and nuances of the original shows. That is, it mimicked the feel of the show but did not truly recreate the show. Sure, we’d have to see it performed and played out as an actual show to truly judge; however, it just did not resonate.

Then, I just asked ChatGPT point blank: Will AI put authors out of work? Its response was, essentially, no. It stated that AI lacks the creativity that is innate to humans and cannot replicate it in a way that readers would enjoy even though AI can certainly help with writing (e.g., editing, building an outline, helping with research). I did appreciate the self-awareness, recognizing where it falls short. On the surface, I agreed with its response, but I may be biased as a new author trying to break out….(ok, I definitely am biased). I’m not overly worried for now at least. Some of the best writing comes from the life experiences through which we grow and learn. At this time, I don’t see AI experiencing life the way we do, which is a key ingredient for great storytelling.

What Can We Learn from Sci-Fi Novels?

Stories of science fiction range from the outlandish and imaginary to the concrete and believable. Across this spectrum, you will find stories for just about anyone. There are stories with worlds built from scratch, providing a rich exit from the world in which we live. And there are stories grounded in modern day science that sharply engage readers, leaving them purposely uncertain of where plausibility ends and fiction begins.

Science is intricate to our lives, including our daily activities. Is there anything in which we can engage that cannot be explained by science? We may think there is but it’s likely because we just have not heard the pertinent concepts and theories. The gap between the ideas in scientific journals, university research projects, etc. and the everyday person is often too far. My undergrad is in physics, but I’m still confounded as I read an article on dark matter or black holes, let alone an article on a subject I never studied.

Hard sci-fi novels (those that are “less fiction”) distill these complicated topics into reachable stories, metaphorical characters, and rich themes. In doing so, we can bridge these gaps, or at least improve our perspective, to the concepts and theories at the core. The use of analogies is key to getting an audience to effectively understand complex topics. A good sci-fi novel makes use of this method, leaving the reader with an entertaining story that lingers on through a slightly better understanding of how and why our world (and universe) behaves the way it does.

What are Launching Thoughts?

Starting an author website is just a first step. I want to, also, create a conduit of updates, insights, and more. Something that pertains to the who/what/when/where/why/how of writing, including the book I’ll (self) publish this fall. Even though Launching Thoughts itself boils down to just a blog, I didn’t want to call it that (it’s got no pizzazz). But I had to ask myself what the point of my “blog” would be. Why take the time to write anything, and why should anyone take the time to even read it?

I arrived at two answers.

First, it is a way for me to keep on track. I mean, I can write notes all day long and leave them around the house, but nobody really knows if I followed through or not. After spending years on the book, I knew it could collect digital dust should I never really hold myself to a goal. This meant putting aside time to do the less exciting things (e.g., editing, submitting query letter after letter to prospective agents…more on this in future Launching Thoughts). If I openly share these details and goals, then I’d have a little more fire under me.

Second, Launching Thoughts are just that – thoughts that are meant to launch a reader. Whether it be motivation to write your own book, create your own website, take your hobby to its next step, or *shameless plug alert* read my book, it should provide something of value to the reader in return for their time and focus. Just for my publishing research alone, I’ve read and leveraged the free advice and insights from several authors and agents. If nothing else, I can return the favor to the larger community.

Thanks for your time and support. Looking forward to sharing more Launching Thoughts with you.

Early work…

There is a writer in all of us. The major hurdle is just figuring what to write about. An earlier work came to me as a broke college student trying to find the right gift for his mom’s 50th birthday. Here’s to many more works ahead, but for now, I’d like to share this early work with you all. It’s a poem delivered several years ago this day, and perhaps it can provide further comfort to anyone hitting a major age milestone.

Turning Fifty…Around the Galaxy

Today my dear Mom turned fifty,

Which she does not find quite nifty.

So, I must undermine the terror of this number

By showing conversions that will ease her slumber.

Here on Earth, my sweet mother is fifty,

But this is only one planet you see.

Place her on Jupiter and she’s just four years old,

The carefree age of a preschooler I am told.

But wait, it certainly gets much better

Because on Mars she’ll be unfettered.

On this planet, my mom will be lost in bliss.

Wouldn’t you be at the age of twenty-six?

If you feel brave enough to venture,

Pluto is our next planet to measure.

With a simple toy, she’ll find loads of fun

Like all humans under the age of one.

By now, I certainly hope my mom can see

That age should mean nothing to both her and me.

However, what truly matters

Is that she’s the one that gave birth to me.

A gift I hope I can repay

With love larger than any galaxy.