An Interview With Ian Benke
Finally, epic moments make for compelling stores in sci-fi and fantasy stories. These genres are all about those epic moments, the big reveals, and the tipping points, so writers should pick their moments wisely. A lot of times, writers assume they have to do everything all at once and include as much as possible, but the truth is that it is quality over quantity. Absolution is driven by the characters and connection with the humanity of the immortals. The handful of epic moments move the plot along and reveal major plot twists and turns, but to have a compelling story, writers don’t have to do everything. We just need to be selective and make the moments count when they arrive for a storytelling moment.
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 Rachelle Storm.
Rachelle Storm is a self-proclaimed fandom geek who builds new worlds readers won’t want to leave. A Black scholar holding a doctoral degree in Writing Studies, she researches rhetoric and writing in popular culture. In truth, Rachelle never isn’t writing or sharing her work. Wanting to write multiracial, diverse main characters she wished would have been available when she was a young reader, Storm’s stories share her message that what we are taught to believe and told we are in the world are not the only things that define us as people. Absolution is available now at Amazon.com and BN.com and the sequel, Absolution: Revelations, will be published July 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 have been a daydreamer ever since I was a little kid. I would dream about fictional worlds in faraway places and spend hours thinking about characters that were doing all the things I thought were fascinating, saving the world and changing how the people in it see themselves. It took me a while to realize that writing was my passion. I really didn’t embrace it fully until I was a sophomore in college and started reading fanfiction. I was amazed that readers could just fall in love with characters and fandoms and write them in ways that called to them. Soon, I started writing fanfiction and realized that it was a great way to play in worlds that were not mine to work on my craft as a writer. I remember being in a class one day and not paying attention. While the professor thought I was actively engaging and taking notes on the lecture, I was actually writing fanfiction that took on a world of its own. The first fanfiction I posted was the first time I felt seen as a writer and was a great first step as a novice still learning how to turn my daydreams into written works.
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?
Daydreaming, determination, and reflection all play a big role in my work and how I write. I am the type of author that needs to sit with a story or character and let them play around in my head for a bit. I daydream about the story, backstory, and tidbits that will most likely not make it into the published manuscript. A lot of my characters are the same way. They are daydreamers like me. I got the idea for Absolution while I was listening to my favorite Muse song, “Map of the Problematique.” The first scene of Chapter One popped into my head and played out like a movie. After that, I just started obsessing over the characters, the story, and planning out how many novels would be in the series. I didn’t write down the ideas for days, but they were stuck on repeat in my head.
Daydreaming only goes so far though, so every writer has to be determined as well. Rejection and the concept of failure by unrealistic standards still pop up from time to time for me. I wrote Absolution in 2009 and didn’t publish it at first because I was afraid of failure, but that is absurd when you think about it from the standpoint of a writer or storyteller. I create to share stories with an audience. I can’t do that if I refuse to share the work. As long as I am putting stories out there, that isn’t failure. My determination to overcome my fears and imposter syndrome made me finally decide to just push send and get the story circulating.
As for reflection, it is not just an important part of the writing and revision process, but for character development and world building. I reflect on the way the characters are situated in my mind, how they will be situated for readers, and what conversations the characters may find themselves in. I am as reflective as Chris and Joanie are in Absolution. I want to make a change in the world and often sit with how I can do that. I find that writing the representation I have always yearned for in mainstream fantasy genres is a step in the right direction. No story happens in a vacuum and the ability to reflect on representation in my characters, plot, settings, and all its other forms continues to be a key to my success.
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?
I am currently working on the sequel to Absolution. I’ve had the story roaming around in my head for so long that it is exciting to finally get it out. My following for the series continues to grow and I have already gotten great feedback from readers of the first novel. The most invigorating question I can get as an author right now is, when do we get a sequel? It is nice to know the readers want the story to continue as much as I do and I look forward to sharing it with them next year.
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?
For me, speculative fiction covers a lot of different genres, including sci-fi and fantasy. It is an umbrella term that simply means it is a story, timeline, and/or setting that doesn’t naturally exist in the real world. It has real world elements, but isn’t rooted in the same contexts of fiction that is set in our world. Fantasy is about world building beyond the realms of reality and filling in those gaps or suspending belief by including otherworldly elements, like immortals with superpowers. Fantasy is about creating rules and parameters for the world the author creates and letting the reader get lost in that world, no matter how mythical it may be.
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?
People love escapism and there is no escapism quite like a novel or written fiction. It is different from social media, streaming services, or entertainment that urges you to consume, but not always imagine, process, and think. Sci-fi and fantasy genres in written works allow the reader to go on a journey and imagine what the world and elements of that realm exist as for that story to work. It takes an active engagement that some of the newest technology doesn’t call for because it is unnecessary. Unlike in some of the newer technologies, reading fiction is a meaning-making activity that depends on the reader’s engagement.
In your opinion, what are the benefits to reading sci-fi, and how do they compare to watching sci-fi on film and television?
This goes back to what we were just talking about. The meaning-making and escapism make it worth reading and that is not to say that we do not gain a lot from watching as well. However, when we read sci-fi or fantasy, we create a version of those worlds in our mind. That version may differ from what another reader may imagine or even what the author fully intended, so it embodies a piece of readers in the process. When we watch something, what you see is what you get. There is no room for that imagination in terms of setting, visuals, character appearance, and voices. We know exactly what we are getting and are only left with the flow of the scenes and plot in TV and film to keep us occupied. When we read, we aren’t let off the hook. We decide based on descriptions how the characters look to us, how they sound, what the world around them embodies, and where it differs from ours. There is an active participation in reading that gets diminished by simply watching and that participation is quite personal to the reader. That is why readers become so passionate and vocal about what these worlds looks like to them.
What authors and artists, dead or alive, inspired you to write?
There quite a few and I am still not sure how they all work together and synthesize in my mind, but Maya Angelou, William Shakespeare, and even Sigmund Freud helped me conceptualize character dynamics, relationships, and development. I am inspired by bands and artists, like Muse and Paramore, who use current events and life experiences to tell life stories through their music. I draw inspiration from a lot of storytellers because I embrace the concept in cultural rhetoric’s that narrative is research. By sharing our stories, we connect with others and create new knowledge about the world that results in more information about the way we all exist in and see it. I am inspired by a lot of authors, poets, musicians, and theorists who dare to explore the ontological questions. Why are we here? What does it mean to truly exist?
If you could ask your favourite Science Fiction and Fantasy author a question, what would it be?
If J.R.R. Tolkien knew at the time that his work would set standards for an entire genre, what would he add, change, and/or clarify? I am always curious about how publishing is like a snapshot that you cannot undo. It shows the world what was on your mind as an author, what you wanted to share and thought was important at the time. His work makes such an impact and reinforced tropes that transcend just one genre. I wonder if he knew he would make such an impact in fiction, would he tweak or change anything, if given the chance?
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?
I like to blend epic moments of action and fantasy with sarcasm and humor. I have always been the reader who thinks about the real world challenges that characters could face in fantasy worlds, so being able to have a moment full of fantasy elements and otherworldly aspects mellowed out by a moment of clarity in the form of comic relief or sarcasm is quite interesting. I enjoy making readers suspend belief, but also experience moments of tension eased by humor. For example, in one scene of Absolution, Joanie is in danger and can sense that something is wrong, but when she drops her phone, she doesn’t just focus on the bigger issue at hand. Sure, a threat is looming, but that doesn’t mean she wants to just destroy her phone in the process of worrying about what is going on. It’s a moment of absurd clarity that anyone who has ever messed up a phone and gone through the process of fixing it or filing an insurance claim can at the very least sympathize with as a consumer. Of course, her life is more important, but running her phone over with her car? Not exactly a win in her book either.
When she arrived at her house, she was confused. Chris’s car was not in the driveway and he was nowhere to be found. She figured he would be waiting on the porch for her. Instead, she felt an eerie sensation as she got out of her car. All of the lights were off in the house and she forgot to turn on the porch light before leaving for the carnival. It was dark and cold out; the wind began to swirl around her, and she shivered. She grabbed her phone from her car and started typing out a text to Chris.
“What is taking you so long?” she mumbled to herself as she typed, but a deafening crackle of thunder above made her yelp and drop her phone. She sighed and shook her head at herself for getting so startled. The sound echoed through the forest and she looked up at the sky, but did not see the lightning or storm clouds she expected. She looked around for Chris again before kneeling to pick up her phone. She cursed under her breath when she spotted it under the car and tried to reach for it. The sound of thunder roared through the trees again and she made it back to her feet.
“Please don’t roll over your phone. Please don’t roll over your phone,” she chanted, as she got back into her car and started it. Joanie put the car in reverse and eased off the brakes until she could see her phone in front of her on the pavement. She sighed in relief, turned off her car, and couldn’t help but jump again as a fresh wave of thunder boomed. This time, the clap of thunder was accompanied by a flash of lightning in the sky and she screamed when it slashed across the forest.
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.
The first thing, and for me, it is the most important, is to focus on world building. The world writers create is the world readers will engage with, so it should be memorable. Whether it is a universe that is vastly different from our reality or just vaguely, writers should spend a lot of time building a world with intriguing rules and parameters. What works in that world that differs from ours and what is the same? For example, Absolution is set in a fictional town in a real region of the US. There are historical events that are mentioned, but it is set a few years in the future. It is real enough to hit home and yet enough fiction to escape into, so the world building focuses on the fantasy elements and where the world of Anderson, North Dakota diverges from reality.
With that said, world building only matters if you have compelling, developed characters to exist in that world. Writers should have characters with interesting stories to tell and backstories to discover. This may seem obvious, but it isn’t just about readers relating or connecting to your characters. The best fiction includes characters with layers to peel back, slowly, methodically. In Absolution, Chris and Joanie are the two main characters, but their backstories have more questions than answers at first. By the end of the novel, there is so much left to understand about them and layers to peel back. There will also be differences depending on if these characters will exist in one novel or in multiple. For a series like Absolution, their story is told over four books, so with each additional story, a layer will be peeled back and the readers learn and grow with them. Another aspect of compelling storytelling that relates to this is embracing the gray as a writer. Characters and plots that muddy the waters are compelling because they leave the reader wondering what the rules, morals, and consequences of breaking the rules are in the universe a writer builds. Characters and situations do not necessarily need an all-encompassing good and evil, even if the focus of the story is the Ultimate Good versus the Ultimate Evil. The journey is in the gray and the more writers can play with it, the better.
In addition, the setting for the story needs to be more than just the backdrop. It should be its own story of sorts. It plays a role as much as the characters, plot, and action, so writers should choose settings wisely and let them be meaningful. Anderson, North Dakota isn’t just some random town I chose. I wanted to include a fictional town to offset some of the real-world aspects of the novel. I chose a small town because it embodies everything the Harris Brothers are not, warm and bursting with humanity. It causes them to slow down and look at the humans around them because they are not just random faces. They are faces that will appear in the town square, the grocery store, and the diner. They pop up at different times throughout the novel. The setting of a story takes up space, so let it work for you as a writer.
Finally, epic moments make for compelling stores in sci-fi and fantasy stories. These genres are all about those epic moments, the big reveals, and the tipping points, so writers should pick their moments wisely. A lot of times, writers assume they have to do everything all at once and include as much as possible, but the truth is that it is quality over quantity. Absolution is driven by the characters and connection with the humanity of the immortals. The handful of epic moments move the plot along and reveal major plot twists and turns, but to have a compelling story, writers don’t have to do everything. We just need to be selective and make the moments count when they arrive for a storytelling moment.
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 🙂
This may seem random for an author to say, but I would love a meeting of the minds with Lizzo because she is a storyteller through her music. She responds to the world she lives in, shares her experiences, and does so in such an entertaining way because she is so talented. She does an amazing job creating compelling narratives and embodying everything diversity in voices should be about. Picking her brain and talking about the nuance of her approach would be fascinating.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
The simplest place is my website, rachellestorm.com. I post videos, character features, book news and updates, and even have a playlist readers can listen to as a soundtrack of sorts for the series. All of my information about book releases, social media, and so forth is also there. It is essentially the one-stop shop for my work.
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 Rachelle Storm On How To Write 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.