posted
Would a story about a hurricane surfer set about 40 or 50 years in the future with various technological advancements be classified as science fiction?
I'm considering either have a plane drop the surfers into the eye of the storm, or have them go from a submarine underneath to the surface, and then surf the big waves just outside the eye. It would be televised live, with the judges being in the TV studio. It's the sacrifice story I was writing about in another thread.
Would you guys be able to believe this, or should I find a more contemporary setting and medium for my characters sport?
posted
Sounds hunky-dory to me. Well, okay, it sounds crazy but people do crazy stuff all the time. And yes, it would be science fiction.
Posts: 818 | Registered: Aug 2004
|
posted
I consider science fiction to be a fictional story that makes use of science or technology that does not yet exist, or that hasn't been made practical to use in the context of the fictional setting (robots exist today, but most of us don't own one in our homes.)
Hurricane surfing sounds like science fiction to me!
Most of the ideas I get for book are awfully similar to other works, especially Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World, 1941, Animal Farm, Island by Huxley, and more. Is this bad? Most of what I read in magazines is unlike this I find.
A hub? How do you mean, mike?
I don't like the idea about the net or whatever to protect them from wipeouts, simply because in the climactic scene of my story as I've outlined it, someone is going to wipe out and die to change my protagonist. Maybe I could have use of the shield about to be integrated, but not before the character dies, adding a little irony into the mix.
posted
or maybe the shields exist, but the dude who dies is Out To Prove Something and refuses to use one. Or maybe it malfunctions or is sabotaged.
Posts: 1750 | Registered: Oct 2004
|
posted
Well, we do refer to the HUB a lot, and sometimes you can go back and read that stuff when you're stuck and it kicks you into gear (or at least, it does for me). Did you read the stories Mike linked to? That's how it got started.
Posts: 437 | Registered: Feb 2005
|
posted
The best protective gear for something like this would be some form of advanced scuba gear so that you could dive under the waves and wait it out. The waves aren't the problem, by the way. If you're trying to surf in a hurricane, you're windsurfing whether or not you've got a sail attached.
I'll find it believable if you do it right, and not if you do it wrong. That's the trick, isn't it?
posted
I did a google search for hurricane surfing and found a video of some guy surfing what had to be a 100 foot wave and coming out alive. He rode it all the way to the end, then a jet-ski picked him up and towed him to another..
I don't like the ideas of the suit simply because I have to kill off one of the surfer's to instigate change in the protagonist. Maybe I could have him wear a suit but it malfunctioned on its own and not due to any fault of anyone else.
posted
There's a video out there somewhere about surfing monster waves. I think it was a PBS produced show, so you might stand a good chance of finding it at your library.
Printer-friendly view of this topic
