Points of View
01/07/2003 . Source: Geoff Willmetts 

Amazing. Considering I practically took no prisoners last editorial, I had less flak than I had off the Galactica fans. Either the majority of you agreed with me, weren’t bothered, didn’t care, didn’t read or maybe thought I was out for material for an article for the next update.

Amazing. Considering I practically took no prisoners last editorial, I had less flak than I had off the Galactica fans. Either the majority of you agreed with me, weren’t bothered, didn’t care, didn’t read or maybe thought I was out for material for an article for the next update.

Doesn’t really matter. I can be all things to all people. Maybe I should have put such comments in my ‘(Not So Serious) After-Thought’ and you’d all take me seriously?

A tool in any writer’s arsenal is the ability to take on someone else’s point of view to see the opposite side of the argument. To do such a thing doesn’t depend on emotional reaction. More an understanding of what drives the argument at the intellectual level. To rely on anger or other emotion to fuel an argument tends to blot what the problem is about, let alone come up with some viable alternatives or solutions.

Doing such an act can make it possible to stand on the fence. Occasionally, it’s more like wanting to knock both sides’ heads together and offer alternatives to both points of view. Doesn’t mean emotion is totally ignored in the equation, just that it is not really used at this stage.

I find this tool particularly useful when writing articles. In my formative years, I frequently had comments that I was very difficult to argue with on paper because I didn’t give a one-sided argument. My reply was considering the opposite viewpoint was just being sensible and showed I hadn’t forgotten anything. It also reduced the mailbag somewhat as well but that was besides the point. I just never considered taking one side without looking at the opposing rationales to see if they had a point.

This approach can and has to be applied to story-writing as well. In this day and age, one can’t have antagonists who twirl their moustaches ready to commit crime or atrocity at the mildest of whims. It is possible that they have a motivation as strong as the protagonist. Saying that, the protagonists' reason for doing anything shouldn’t be written just because they’re ‘nice’ or ‘good’

You’ll notice I’m not calling either side heroes or villains. To have them that sharply defined is the same as thinking ‘good’ and ‘bad’ are simple definitions. If our reality is that complicated so it should follow within stories there should be a lot more grey areas between protagonists and antagonists.

What makes them compete against each other then requires a lot more thought and imagination for setting up the circumstances. It is often the sum of their parts that decides the characters’ positions and should be possible for the reader to decide what is either more right or wrong.

Understanding each side’s point of view allows for greater depth for either side. It also opens up the possibility of even showing possible answers that doesn’t mean the death of an antagonist. Whether or not the antagonists will change their minds is debatable but it certainly allows more options.

It is often said, frequently by British members of the acting profession, that playing the hero is usually the most boring choice to make as there’s little lee-way in being anything but a goody-two-shoes. It also shows how limited the range can often be on TV or in films.

With so many adaptations from books these days, it is important that such depth is played out in the stories if it is to follow into film or TV material. That’s not to say such characters don’t exist. They do. Just that there aren’t enough of them.

Now, not all of you out there are writers but there’s always lessons to be learnt in thinking about this outlook. The ability to look at both sides of an argument can be useful in all walks of life in the real world. It doesn’t mean that it will change your mind about anything but it can leave you more open to seeing a different point of view.

You might even avoid the fence completely and take aspects of both sides of the argument as making sense. Something I tell anyone who writes for me is:-

If I can’t defend my argument adequately, it deserves to be changed. It doesn’t necessary follow that I will agree with you but I will revise the reasons for my opinion.

Of course, I expect the same thing back as well. It also tends to keep everyone on their toes and surprisingly, no one thinks of it as a means to have a battle of wits with me - although whether that will change after this editorial is debatable. Usually, it is an argument over whether a point is valid rather than one driven by emotional content.

It is rare to make a stand on something that really doesn’t matter one way or the other. A lot of the time, my experience tends to kick in with the feeling that something doesn’t feel right and then work out why before offering constructive thoughts. A useful tool editorially but when it come to writing stories or articles, you end up going in capable of looking at both or all sides of any argument.

It ceases to be merely your or my point of view but everyone’s POV. There is something there everyone can recognise.

No one, myself included, is ever 100% right in any opinion. It can change subject to all kinds of extra information or circumstance. It can also be affected by the effects of childhood and prejudice. We can also be led by mistaken beliefs until it is replaced by factual information.

To be flexible one must always keep your options open to everything. A point of view that is too fixated is far too restricted to change. We’ve seen far too much of that in the past. Let’s ensure that it’s not part of our future. As Science Fiction readers we think of ourselves as being a little more intellectually aware than other peer groups. Keeping our point of view open will ensure that it stays that way.

Be happy. Be safe. Enjoy the rest of the website.

Thank you and good night

Geoff Willmetts

editor: SFCrowsnest.com

PS For those keeping up with my health. Anyone want a head cold? I’ve got another one.

(Less Serious) Thought For The Month # 1: What’s in a name? Has anyone ever thought that there might be a connection between the blonde secret agent Cinnamon Carter from ‘Mission: Impossible’ and blonde Major Samantha Carter from ‘Stargate SG-1’? I mean, just because they’re blonde, intelligent, cool under pressure doesn’t mean they couldn’t be related...and did I say blonde?

(Less Serious) Thought For The Month # 2: Humans suffer jet-lag when travelling from continent to continent. As it’s something I’m not likely to do, I’ll have to take your word for it that such activities have to be slept off as your body adjusts to local time. I make the late Isaac Asimov look like a travelling fool in comparison.

OK, so why don’t humans suffer time-lag when they journey in time? I mean, you’d expect disorientation from cultural shock, unable to understand the local language or customs but what about the physical stresses to the body? Wouldn’t you want to curl up in a ball and sleep for a few hours to get over the upheaval to your body systems? You could even do a Rip Van Winkle and sleep until you returned to the present so don’t mess up the time-line.

(Less Serious) Thought For The Month # 3: I was pondering over the pilot and repeat in the opening credits of the late 70s series ‘Kung Fu’ and the thoughts going through Kwai Chang Caine as he moved that bowl containing hot embers. I drew the conclusion that he probably followed the long line of Shaolin monks wishing someone had invented handles.

(Less Serious) Thought For The Month # 4: With the proposed resurrection of the old Gene Roddenberry pilot, ‘The Questor Tapes’, and those old enough to remember watching it, now is the time to think. When Questor awoke, he went to a wall where he selected various parts to attach to his body so that he would resemble actor Robert Foxworth.

Up to that time, he was obviously sexless and yet was supposed to be fully functional later when he introduced himself to a Countessa later in the story. Considering how every body accessory was heat-sealed on, it must have been rather heartening to Foxworth that he didn’t have to demonstrate the genitalia attachment without wincing.

PS If you’ve survived this far in the editorial, let me reiterate something from the website newsletter. As you can see from the main page, we have one of the biggest SF/fantasy/horror monthly reviews column.

Our success has increased the number of books that comes in and our policy is to read everything before giving a review. We roadtest books so you have some idea of what you’re letting yourself in for when all you’ve got to go by is the cover and promotional blurb.

If you like reading books in the genre, think and can show you can write a decent review and, most importantly, live in the British Isles (sorry, expense and distance travelled prohibits elsewhere), contact me below for my ‘Reviews Flyer’ - put this in the subject ebox and we’ll see if you’ve got what it takes. We can’t pay you but a review for the price of a book has to be a good incentive. We have one of the most popular SF review columns on the Net. Think you’re up to writing a review??

PPS: For those keeping track, I’m still about 18 months (late July 2001 now if you’re still thinking I’m just repeating the same message every month) behind with going through the ebook samples. Thank you for your patience but let me know if you’ve sold elsewhere so I can reduce my pile or if you’ve changed address, especially e-mail address.

I’ve looked through a few recently who’ve vanished. This isn’t much of a repeat, just to show you’re not forgotten. Those sending in samples, be prepared for a wait and read the Guidelines elsewhere on this website. They are there to help you do some of the right things and reduce the number of times I’m repeating myself over silly grammatical errors.

I also have a confession, the above paragraph hasn’t moved much this time around. For once, I’ve had one of those months. Just when everything seems to move, it didn’t. Sorry. Will do better in July.