The genre of asking "What If" often asks uncomfortable questions. We'll look at ways to use science fiction to speak truth to power: forming good questions, stepping beyond the expected, moral world building, and how to avoid the dreaded "pedantic voice." How do you show injustice? How do you show justice? We'll look at examples from current science fiction and engage in short exercises to make the theoretical concrete.
Instructor:
Marie Vibbert's work has appeared in Analog, Asimov's, F&SF, and many other professional publications. Her short story "Keep Talking" won Apex Magazine's Story of the Year. Marie is a software developer in Cleveland, Ohio. She attended the Clarion writer's workshop in 2013 and joined the Science Fiction Writers of America in 2014. She belongs to the Cleveland Science Fiction writer's workshop headed by Mary Turzillo. She also has been a lineman for the Cleveland Fusion women's tackle football team and has ridden 18% of the roller coasters in North America.