Ask the Author: Meike Torkelson
Answered Questions (3)
Meike Torkelson
When I was a teenager interested in science and mathematics, I had this idea that if I got really good at engineering, I'd make a great science fiction writer.
I got pretty darn good at engineering - there are some aircraft out there using code I've written! But I've learned even for science fiction, it's not the world, it's the people who live on that world who are your story.
I spent about six months researching how I felt a Lunar colony could work in 2003, wanting to make the world as realistic as possible. You get it there, and you add people, and weird stuff starts happening. Those BioDomes for growing food and recycling air become prime areas where couples want to get back to nature and make out. The places where you go to look at the Earth ... well they also become places to make out. Taking your first walk on the Moon in an EVA suit becomes a big 'coming of age' like passing your driving test.
That's what fascinates me about my Lunar colony - not just the technology, but how people live inside it, often not so different from us! And it's what keeps me coming back to the keyboard to explore a little more.
I got pretty darn good at engineering - there are some aircraft out there using code I've written! But I've learned even for science fiction, it's not the world, it's the people who live on that world who are your story.
I spent about six months researching how I felt a Lunar colony could work in 2003, wanting to make the world as realistic as possible. You get it there, and you add people, and weird stuff starts happening. Those BioDomes for growing food and recycling air become prime areas where couples want to get back to nature and make out. The places where you go to look at the Earth ... well they also become places to make out. Taking your first walk on the Moon in an EVA suit becomes a big 'coming of age' like passing your driving test.
That's what fascinates me about my Lunar colony - not just the technology, but how people live inside it, often not so different from us! And it's what keeps me coming back to the keyboard to explore a little more.
Meike Torkelson
I get asked this a lot - all writers face it sometimes. I feel that writing is a creative process, and sometimes we have to "get creative" when we write.
Unlike a lot of writers, my process for my third book (in progress) is different to my second, different to my first. Keep trying things, and see what works? If you're using a routine which doesn't work for you - throw it out!
I find when I feel stuck, I'll often use Brian Eno's Oblique Strategy cards - to try something new and try and break the impasse. Google them now, and tell them Meike sent you! ;-)
Unlike a lot of writers, my process for my third book (in progress) is different to my second, different to my first. Keep trying things, and see what works? If you're using a routine which doesn't work for you - throw it out!
I find when I feel stuck, I'll often use Brian Eno's Oblique Strategy cards - to try something new and try and break the impasse. Google them now, and tell them Meike sent you! ;-)
Meike Torkelson
Back in 2003, I was going through a rough time, amongst other things looking at a big move. As part of that move, I ended up going through a lot of my old things, most of a book of short stories by Arthur C. Clarke.
I imagined a young girl taking an even bigger journey that me, trying to cover her doubts from her family, and just really nervous of hell underneath. And that was how I met Melody, a constant companion ever since. It's taken a while to work the story out, but she was never far away.
I imagined a young girl taking an even bigger journey that me, trying to cover her doubts from her family, and just really nervous of hell underneath. And that was how I met Melody, a constant companion ever since. It's taken a while to work the story out, but she was never far away.
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