I Heart Sci-Fi
Author Raphyel M. Jordan
opens up why he loves the science fiction genre so much and what to write the
genre.
"On August 6, NASA
sent a mobile lab that had to travel over 154 million miles away, landing on
another world in order to learn if there was ever a remote possibility of life
on it." Hmm, funny. Had I written that sentence a century ago, this
probably would've been found in a science fiction novel. However, we're living
in a time where such a statement is being read in magazines, on
websites, and other forms of information across the world. Looks like what
visions we write for fun today may very well be what our descendants will be
considering headline news in the not-so-far off future.
"Fist man lands on
mars."
"First Martian
colony."
"First human-friendly
exoplanet discovered."
"Mankind discovers FTL
possibilities."
Sure, the further the
imagination goes, the less possible it seems. Still, someone had to think of it
first, right? Some kid had to read the idea in some article he/she read, or
maybe in some summer reading he/she had to for school.
Nowadays, writing such
books as a sci-fi writer is a heck of a challenge, for me at least! What
fictional items I might have thought were groundbreaking in my books could
actually be a common thing to hear in three years because our knowledge and
technology are advancing so quickly. So, what can I possibly do to keep ahead?
Well, for me, I try to think big, on a galactic level.
When I used to write
stories as a kid, they were usually fan fics, inspired from characters already
well-established. As I got a little older, around the age of middle school, I
wanted to make stories that branched away from other people's creations since I
figured following someone else's establishment was limiting my own creativity.
Even with that simple
logic, I had no idea that I laying out the foundation that would expand my
imagination in the years to come. At the age of 9, when I was making a picture
book about ant colonies going off to war, I never imagined I was going to tell
the journey of a young alien girl shaking the foundations of her world due to
war like I did when I started writing my first published novel, Prossia, at
the age of 19.
That's what makes mankind
so amazing, as a whole. We want to challenge ourselves by not. . . well,
limiting ourselves. When one generation says it's virtually impossible, the
next will want to ask "Why not?," while the one after that will have
that stubborn-yet-awesome audacity to say "You were all wrong, and we're
going to prove it."
The reason why I write
science fiction is not only for the young people I see anticipating the wonders
of the future now, but also for the generation of teachers, engineers,
presidents, prime ministers, and kings and queens leading our species to the
greater heights yet to be seen.
My favorite quote comes
from Aristotle, saying "We are what we repeatedly do. Greatness then, is
not an act, but a habit."
And what is the human
race's greatest habit? To dream, to hope. To think the impossible. To obtain
the unreachable. To touch the untouchable. Let's think big on that galactic
level, and there's no telling what amazing discoveries were once called science
fiction will become science fact.
About the Author: Raphyel
Montez Jordan grew up in a household sensitive to the creative arts. As a
child, his hobbies were drawing favorite cartoon and video game characters
while making illustrated stories. This passion for art never left and followed
him all the way up to his high school and college years.
It wasn’t until college when he underwent a personal “renaissance” of sorts that Jordan took his interest in writing to another level. When he was 19, he started writing a novel for fun, taking inspiration from the constant exposure of different ideas and cultures that college showed him while staying true to the values he grew up to embrace. However, when the “signs of the times” influenced the story and the characters to spawn into universes of their own, he figured he might possibly be on to something.
As he studied graphic design at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, Georgia, Jordan also used his electives to study sciences like Astronomy, Psychology, and Biology in order enhance the reading experience in his story. He eventually made it a goal to have the story published after he graduated, and dubbed the goal “Operation Prosia,” the very same project that would develop into his first published book, “Prossia.”
Even though his novel is not necessarily a religious book, Jordan utilizes his Christian faith by urging people to encourage, not condemn, in his story. Best known for ending his PSFC newsletters with “Unity Within Diversity,” he hopes “Prossia’s” success will inspire people to consider and support the positive outlook in the difference human kind can share, whether it be race, religion, or any other cultural difference.
Where to
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