An Interview With Ian Benke
Know what your story is: I know it’s a general rule. I’m not even saying you should have an outline. I’m only saying you should know what the tone is, and what the endpoint is. It will probably help to have some plot point to connect like dots.
Science Fiction and Fantasy are hugely popular genres. What does it take for a writer today, to write compelling and successful Science Fiction and Fantasy stories? Authority Magazine started a new series called “How To Write Compelling Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories”. In this series we are talking to anyone who is a Science Fiction or Fantasy author, or an authority or expert on how to write compelling Science Fiction and Fantasy.
As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Declan Finn.
Declan Finn is the author of thirty published novels, the bulk of which are science fiction and fantasy. Having been a New York native all of his life, his friends insist that he should be a Southerner at heart. He is a three time Dragon Award finalist, and is shooting for a fourth time in 2022.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share a story about what first drew you to writing over other forms of storytelling?
I started with writing Fan Fiction. I didn’t even know there was a term for it back then. I was going to write one lousy short story. 15 months and 4000 pages later, I had a space opera that had very little to do with the original product. After that, writing became compulsive. If I take too long without writing, I get headaches.
You are a successful author. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Trait one: See above for being compulsive.
Trait two: I take this seriously enough to run it like a job, from 9–5 every day. I roll out of bed and into my office, and start typing.
Trait three: I’m too stubborn to give up. I don’t think there’s a story for that.
Can you tell us a bit about the interesting or exciting projects you are working on or wish to create? What are your goals for these projects?
Let’s see, what am I not working on?
One project I’m on is wrapping my my Saint Tommy NYPD series. It’s Urban Fantasy / horror centered on a cop who has the miraculous abilities of a Saint — smelling evil, bilocation, et al. He has this bad habit of attracting demons, and they would all like to mount his head on their wall.
I hope to republish my Love at First Bite quartet through Three Ravens Press. It’s my version of vampires, where I explain them with microbiology and Thomist metaphysics, and create vampire biographies with my history degree. Why yes, I am a huge nerd with a bottomless well of normally useless facts.
After Love at First Bite comes back, I have a sequel series that I’m working on right now called Honeymoon from Hell. It’s in the same universe, but the characters wanted more room to grow. And heck, I spent four books getting my lead heroes together, I want to have the payoff of a wedding. If they survive that long.
I’m also working on the continuation of my space opera, White Ops…. basically, space Templars.
My goals for the projects are all the same: sell books, entertain the readers, make money.
Wonderful. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. Let’s begin with a basic definition so that all of us are on the same page. How do you define sci-fi or fantasy? How is it different from speculative fiction?
Speculative fiction: techno-thrillers, with plots that could happen today, or at least in the next give years.
Sci-fi relies on technology we don’t have to stretch what can be done during the story.
Fantasy requires magic… which could be considered science fiction with different mechanics.
It seems that despite countless changes in media and communication technologies, novels and written fiction always survive, and as the rate of change increases with technology, written sci-fi becomes more popular. Why do you think that is?
We’re living in a science fiction future. Try to think back to the year 2000. Were smartphones even something we could fathom back then? Computer tablets, Google glasses, smart watches were literally science fiction until recently.
Right now, science fiction is showing us what’s next. Don’t believe me, ask Elon Musk why he’s got an Iron Man statue outside of Tesla’s headquarters.
In your opinion, what are the benefits to reading sci-fi, and how do they compare to watching sci-fi on film and television?
You can always do more with sci-fi in a book than in filmed media. Books can explain technology better. Books can give you cultural or personal backstories. Books can allow the plot to breathe in ways that are restrained by the time frame of a tv show or film. And, as with any genre, books can tell you what the character is thinking without needing them to talk to themselves.
What authors and artists, dead or alive, inspired you to write?
J. Michael Straczynski, Timothy Zahn, David Weber and John Ringo inspired my science fiction. My urban fantasy / horror was inspired by the creator of urban fantasy, Fred Saberhagen, and his Dracula series.
If you could ask your favourite Science Fiction and Fantasy author a question, what would it be?
I’d ask Timothy Zahn for his perfect casting for his book series.
We’d like to learn more about your writing. How would you describe yourself as an author? Can you please share a specific passage that you think exemplifies your style? Based on your own experience and success, what are the “Five Things You Need To Write Compelling Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories?” If you can, please share a story or example for each.
1) Coherent world building: You don’t need to be Tolkien, with historical details for every rock and branch, but you need to know the basics of the world. You can make the details up as you go along, but you need to remember the details so you don’t contradict yourself.
For my Saint Tommy NYPD series, I have a cheat sheet. I’m using the rules for demons set down by the Catholic church. From one point of view, I’m still writing fan fiction… all of the rules are already laid out for me, I just have to operate by them. Since this is secret history (meaning that these monsters are in our world), I just need to make certain nothing contradicts reality.
2) If you have aliens or sapient fantasy creatures, you have to have an idea of their culture — again, not Lord of the Rings level detail, but they need to have a distinct feel. If you have no non-humans in your world, but you should focus on human cultures and perhaps history.
For example, I’m a historian. When I was creating my aliens, the Renar, I stole the medieval cultural layout to create a caste system: knights, peasants, religious and merchants. Their religion is based on Aristotle’s philosophy. As a cultural imperative, everyone is armed, with weapons commensurate to their station… I stole “everyone is armed” from Switzerland.
3) Know what your story is: I know it’s a general rule. I’m not even saying you should have an outline. I’m only saying you should know what the tone is, and what the endpoint is. It will probably help to have some plot point to connect like dots.
For example, my current project is Honeymoon from Hell. I knew where I was going. I was going to have a wedding… so I needed elements going into a wedding, like invites and the wedding party. I was going to have a zombie attack, so I needed a necromancer for a villain. Unfortunately, since these characters refused to fit into an outline, the plot spiraled, requiring elements from two different short stories, which provided the story with several elements that I needed to finish the plot. Sometimes, it all fits.
4) Don’t worry about “realism.” Most books that think they’re “real” come off just being … miserable. They remove beauty and make a fetish out of ugly. You’re writing a story with aliens, or the far future, or werewolves. They’re the focus of the story. You can have poverty — the poor you will always have with you, because poverty is relative — but if you’re going to focus on constant misery, why are you writing the book?
Do I need to point out novels that have done this? Books that endlessly focus on endless snow and endless death? Plots that run on character death to the point of lunacy? I have one series that is a dystopia, The Last Survivors. There are the poor, the rich, the middle class, and people who are just trying to survive from time to time.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Entertainment, Business, VC funding, and Sports read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we both tag them 🙂
Well, I did see Elon Musk complaining that science had gone ou of science fiction lately. I wonder if he’d want to produce his own TV show or film. I have the books to base off of.
As Jim Butcher once said, the best part of the (failed SyFy channel) Dresden Files TV show was that he gained a million new readers.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
I’m a writer, so I need the widest possible audience, hence I am on every platform, whether I like it or not. Twitter, Facebook, Parler, Gettr, Gab, blogger (declanFinn.com), Substack, MeWe. I’m still trying to figure out how BitChute works, so that’s not the best method to contact me. I’m certain I’m missing something, but darned if I can remember what.
I recommend just following me on Substack or the blog. Social media is to watch me rant, be cranky, or share bizarre jokes and / or memes.
Thank you for these excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent. We wish you continued success.
About The Interviewer: Ian Benke is a multi-talented artist with a passion for written storytelling and static visual art — anything that can be printed on a page. Inspired by Mega Man, John Steinbeck, and commercials, I.B.’s science fiction writing and art explore the growing bond between technology and culture, imagining where it will lead and the people it will shape. He is the author of Future Fables and Strange Stories, the upcoming It’s Dangerous to Go Alone trilogy, and contributes to Pulp Kings. The CEO and Co-Founder of Stray Books, and an origami enthusiast, Ian is an advocate of independent, collaborative, and Canadian art. https://ibwordsandart.ca
Author Declan Finn On How To Create Compelling Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.