Sci (Fi) of Relief : Forum : Define "Too Weird"


Define "Too Weird"

13 Years Ago


The description of the group says, "Afraid that your fantasy/sci-fi stories are too weird? Don't want people to make fun of your writing?"   To you, what does "too weird" mean?  Do you worry that your sci-fi won't be accepted because you set it in the past instead of the future?  Or that it won't be seen as "scientific enough" because one of your characters is a telepath?  Or that readers will be bored because you don't include epic space battles and focus on characterization?   And why are we choosing to write "weird" sci-fi anyway?  Is it a desire to be unique?  Is it indifference to the conventions of the genre?  Is it because the less-than-weird doesn't have room for the worlds we create?   I've been reading a lot of books about science fiction in recent months, and now I'm up to my round little ears in a hundred and two definitions of what various people think sci-fi ought to be, and what they think doesn't belong in this genre.  Now I want to know what you think - what we, as aspiring writers, think.