George Ochoa - The Writers Guide to Creating a Science Fiction Universe

Books

Abell, George O. Exploration of the Universe, 3rd ed. New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1975.

Ashpole, Edward. Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, The. London, UK: Blandford Press, 1990.

Asimov, Isaac. Asimovs New Guide to Science. New York, NY: Basic Books, 1984.

Barlowe, Wayne Douglas. Expedition. New York, NY: Workman Publishing, 1990.

Barlowe, Wayne Douglas and Ian Summers. Barlowes Guide to Extraterrestrials. New York, NY: Workman Publishing, 1979.

Beatty, J. Kelly, Brian OLeary and Andrew Chaikin. New Solar System, The. Cambridge, MA: Sky-Publishing Corp., 1982.

Card, Orson Scott. How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy. Cincinnati, OH: Writers Digest Books, 1990.

Dole, Stephen H. Habitable Planets for Man. New York, NY: Elsevier, 1970.

Dozois, Gardner, et al. Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy. New York, NY: St. Martins Press, 1991.

Drexler, K. Eric. Engines of Creation, The. New York, NY: Anchor Books, 1986.

Edwards, Gabrielle I. Biology the Easy Way. New York, NY: Barrons Educational Series, 1984.

Goswami, Amit with Maggie Goswami. Cosmic Dancers, The. New York, NY: Harper & Row, 1983.

Gould, Stephen Jay. Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Co., 1989.

Halberstam, David. Next Century, The. New York, NY: William Morrow, 1991.

Isaacs, Alan, et al. Concise Science Dictionary, 2nd ed. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1991.

Jackson, Steve and William A. Barton. GURPS Space. Austin, TX: Steve Jackson Games, 1990.

Keeton, William T. Biological Science, 2nd ed. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Co., 1972.

Lovelock, James. Ages of Gaia, The. New York, NY: Bantam Books, 1990.

McDonough, Thomas R. Space: The Next Twenty-Five Years. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, 1989.

McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology, 6th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill,1987.

Miles, Frank and Nicholas Booth. Race to Mars: The Harper & Row Mars Flight Atlas. New York, NY: Harper & Row, 1988.

Minsky, Marvin. Society of Mind, The. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1986.

Moche, Dinah L. Astronomy: A Self-Teaching Guide. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, 1989.

Nicholls, Peter, ed. Science Fiction Encyclopedia, The. New York, NY: Doubleday/Dolphin, 1979.

Nicholls, Peter, ed. Science in Science Fiction, The. New York, NY: Crescent Books, 1982.

Oberg, James Edward. New Earths. New York, NY: New American Library, 1981.

Pagels, Heinz. Cosmic Code, The. New York, NY: Bantam Books, 1981.

Pagels, Heinz. Dreams of Reason, The. New York, NY: Bantam Books, 1988.

Preiss, Byron, ed. Planets, The. New York, NY: Bantam Books, 1985.

Preiss, Byron, ed. Universe, The. New York, NY: Bantam Books, 1987.

Sagan, Carl. Cosmos. New York, NY: Random House, 1980.

Sagan, Dorion. Biospheres. New York, NY: Bantam Books, 1990.

Schell, Jonathan. Fate of the Earth, The. New York, NY: Avon Books, 1982.

Shipman, Harry L. Space 2000: Meeting the Challenge of a New Era. New York, NY: Plenum Press, 1987.

Stableford, Brian. Future Man. London, UK: Granada Publishing, 1984.

Stableford, Brian and David Langford. Third Millenium, The. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1985.

Toffler, Alvin. Powershift. New York, NY: Bantam Books, 1990.

Trefil, James. 1001 Things Everyone Should Know About Science. New York, NY: Doubleday, 1992.

Voyage Through the Universe: Stars. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1988.

Voyage Through the Universe: The New Astronomy. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1989.

Voyage Through the Universe: Spacefarers. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1989.

Voyage Through the Universe: The Sun. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1990.

Voyage Through the Universe: The Near Planets. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1990.

Periodicals

Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact. New York, NY.

Discover. New York, NY.

Futurist. World Future Society, Bethesda, MD.

Natural History. New York, NY.

New York Times, Science Times section. New York, NY.

Omni. New York, NY.

Scientific American. New York, NY.

Electronic Sources

Groliers Academic American Encyclopedia, Online Edition (on CompuServe).

NASA Online Archive (on CompuServe).

SimEarth: The Living Planet. Orinda, CA: Maxis, 1991.

George Ochoa, author of reference books on many subjects, has been an SF fan since his days as president of his high school science fiction club. He studied English (and astronomy) at Columbia University, and received an M.A. in English from the University of Chicago. With his wife Melinda Corey, he is the coauthor of the New York Public Library Book of Answers series, including The Book of Answers, Movies and TV, and Literature. Ochoas history books for young people include The Assassination of Julius Caesar. A New York native, he and his wife live in Brooklyn.

Jeffrey Osier is a life-long reader and fan of science fiction. He has published almost two dozen horror/dark fantasy stories and has finished his first novel. He is the writer, editor and/or producer of many educational science films, on topics ranging from plate tectonics to lunar and solar eclipses to the workings of the heart, immune system and kidneys. He is also an illustrator. Both his fiction and artwork will be featured in his upcoming collection, Driftglider and Other Stories from Montilla Press.

Copyright 1993 by George Ochoa and Jeffrey Osier. Printed and bound in the United States of America. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

Published by Writers Digest Books, an imprint of F&W Publications, Inc., 1507 Dana Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45207. 1-800-289-0963. First edition.

This hardcover edition of The Writers Guide to Creating a Science Fiction Universe features a self-jacket that eliminates the need for a separate dust jacket. It provides sturdy protection for your book while it saves paper, trees and energy.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Ochoa, George.

The writers guide to creating a science fiction universe / George Ochoa and Jeffrey Osier.

ISBN 0-89879-536-2

1. Science fiction Authorship. 2. Science in literature. 3. Technology in literature.

4. Literature and science. 5. Literature and technology. I. Osier, Jeffrey.

II. Title.

PN3377.5.S3024 1993

808.38762 dc20 92-44258 CIP

Scientific Consultant: Ronald J. Bonnstetter, Ph.D., Director of Secondary Science Education,

University of Nebraska Lincoln.

Edited by: Mark Garvey

Designed by: Paul Neff

Cover illustration by: Paul Neff

TO MELINDA, WHO BRIGHTENS MY FUTURE.

George Ochoa

TO RACHEL AND GREGORY OSIER, WHO WILL SEE SO MUCH MORE OF IT THAN WE EVER WILL, AND TO ESTHER OSIER (1909-1992), WHO LIVED TO SEE THE WORLD REDESIGNED MORE THAN ONCE.

Jeffrey Osier

A book that aims to bring together all of science and science fiction is necessarily indebted to many people. We thank especially Dr. Ronald Bonnstetter, Director of Secondary Science Education, University of Nebraska Lincoln, for his careful review of the manuscript. We thank also Jake Winemiller, physics instructor at Southeast High School in Lincoln, Nebraska, for his consultation. All errors and omissions are ours, not theirs.