At some point in its history, the term 'sci-fi' picked up a somewhat negative undertone. Probably it made people think of dodgy b-movies where you could still see the strings.
And I have largely avoided using the term in relation to my writing because it appears to me that sci-fi nowadays is acceptable when it comes to TV and movies (thank you, SciFi Channel) but sf is generally used in connection with the written word. Maybe that is to encompass the broader genre of speculative fiction, or maybe it's just because well-read science fiction geeks want to separate themselves from casual Doctor Who fans.
Personally, I don't do fantasy as a rule, so I just sat on the fence and used 'science fiction' most of the time.
Which brings a whole new set of problems when you're talking about Christian science fiction: do you mean Christian science fiction, or Christian Science fiction? I would hope that a brief look at the contents of this blog would be enough to tell which I'm interested in, but it's a comment I've heard a few times, and it's true it might scare off a passing visitor. I skipped the issue in my website previously by calling it Biblical science fiction, which is arguably more accurate for stories based on the Old Testament, but is not really a widely used term.
The point of all this rambling is to say that I'm no longer concerned with being literary about my sf writings. Redeveloping my website seemed a good excuse to reconsider my stance, and I have decided: I'd far rather be considered a bit of an amateur when it comes to being a science fiction fan and author than have people think I'm anything other than the Bible-believing Methodist-Pentecostal Christian I'm trying to be.
Sci-fi is no longer a rude word.
2 comments:
Nor is "Christian Science" a rude word (or phrase), to those of us who have been helped and healed by it...! :)
There actually has been some "Christian Science" fiction written, early last century...but not, as far as I know, any Christian Science science fiction. So could be a new market awaiting? !
All the best with your writing.
Tony L.
I would like to apologize to the person whose comment I just removed from this post. This isn't because of any vendetta I have against Christian Science, but because I have issues with the content of your blog. This is my problem, not yours, and the best way to deal with it was to delete your comment.
I also don't mean any offence towards Christian Science generally, but it doesn't agree with my faith and I don't wish my beliefs to be misunderstood.
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