>>The monthly bingo fests don't always work for me as the themes are sometimes further out of my comfort and skill zone is doable, but I may make myself custom bingo cards from the maker, and play around with size of cards as well.<<
There are dozens of prompt lists on the bingo maker. Pick any of them. You can also insert any comma-separated list into the blank field to make your own.
>>I suspect I would need to do a fair amount of research to do SF justice, but it might be an interesting thing to try. It's certainly not something I considered before, so it gives me a new direction to try things in.<<
That depends on: * how much science you already know * how much detail is in the reference you start with * how long or complicated a piece you want to make.
It sounds like you already know a good amount of science. So if you choose a reference with decent details and you don't try to make something huge, you may not need more. Conversely if you want to do worldbuilding, that benefits from a lot of research (unless you've memorized the basics).
For comparison, I have written many poems and some stories based on a single article or panel or some random tidbit I came across. If I need more detail, I know how to look it up, but a short piece often doesn't need it. I've taken to cramming footnotes with my narrative poems, but that's because it's the most effective form of activism I have discovered. Fuck it, I'll do what works. It's not always needed to write the thing, although it helps with the precision.
I do recommend that you write from the core out, rather than the surface in like most people seem to. (The first two steps are interchangeable though.) Scott McCloud gave a great description in Understanding Comics, which is an excellent book about the craft of storytelling whether you use words or art to tell it. A sample is here: http://gangles.ca/2009/01/20/the-six-layers/
Re: I'm going to try
There are dozens of prompt lists on the bingo maker. Pick any of them. You can also insert any comma-separated list into the blank field to make your own.
>>I suspect I would need to do a fair amount of research to do SF justice, but it might be an interesting thing to try. It's certainly not something I considered before, so it gives me a new direction to try things in.<<
That depends on:
* how much science you already know
* how much detail is in the reference you start with
* how long or complicated a piece you want to make.
It sounds like you already know a good amount of science. So if you choose a reference with decent details and you don't try to make something huge, you may not need more. Conversely if you want to do worldbuilding, that benefits from a lot of research (unless you've memorized the basics).
For comparison, I have written many poems and some stories based on a single article or panel or some random tidbit I came across. If I need more detail, I know how to look it up, but a short piece often doesn't need it. I've taken to cramming footnotes with my narrative poems, but that's because it's the most effective form of activism I have discovered. Fuck it, I'll do what works. It's not always needed to write the thing, although it helps with the precision.
I do recommend that you write from the core out, rather than the surface in like most people seem to. (The first two steps are interchangeable though.) Scott McCloud gave a great description in Understanding Comics, which is an excellent book about the craft of storytelling whether you use words or art to tell it. A sample is here:
http://gangles.ca/2009/01/20/the-six-layers/