Ask Melissa Ann Conroy about Steampunk Writing discussion

Greetings everyone! I'm Melissa Ann Conroy and I am glad to meet you all. Browsing around on Goodreads, I've seen many ardent steampunk fans and some wonderful interest in the genre. As a leading question, let me ask all of you: how did you get into steampunk? What drew you to the genre.

A second question, how do YOU define steampunk? I run into many people who have heard of the genre but are a tad unclear about what it means. So, tell me how you define steampunk. I am interested to hear what you say!

I first stumbled across the genre several years ago at the library. I was in the children's section with my daughter and a book of the Staff Picks display caught my eye. It was Larklight by Philip Reeve. I loved it and the sequels. I researched the author and encountered the world of steampunk.

And I define steampunk as alternate history where the laws of physics are a bit different and steam power rather than electricty is dominant. And England is usually still the super-power of the "modern" world.

Ladysaotome wrote: "And I define steampunk as alternate history where the laws of physics are a bit different and steam power rather than electricty is dominant. And England is usually still the super-power of the "mo..."
Very well put! Also, as far as I have been able to tell in research, England was the super power of the world. It certainly dominated the trade and shipping industry. I'll be exploring this more in the Aether Saga.

Melissa wrote: "Greetings everyone! I'm Melissa Ann Conroy and I am glad to meet you all. Browsing around on Goodreads, I've seen many ardent steampunk fans and some wonderful interest in the genre. As a leading q..."

I became aware of the term Steampunk in an abstract manner years ago, but I never really paid it much attention. A couple weeks ago I was looking through Silver Stream Publishing's submission calls and I came across a call for Steampunk. I was curious so I looked up the word on Google and found a Wikipedia article about the sub-culture. My interest was piqued, so I searched for clothing, gadgets and cities. After looking at those pictures my imagination started working overtime.

I write in many different genera, but I've never done anything remotely close to Steampunk. I like the Victorian/Gothic/Futuristic look to the clothing and the old fashioned/futuristic twists to the gadgets, homes, cities and machinery. I'm very excited about the ideas I've come up with as a result of my research and I want to get it all down on paper, but I'm not familiar enough with the culture. I feel the dialogue and terms or phrases my characters are using are off, but I'm at a loss as to how to fix it. I'm not English so I don't know all the nuances of speech aside from "Oi" and that can only be said so many times before it's too much. LOL! Oh, and "bloody" I know that one too. ;)

So, that is why I'm here, to learn! I'm hoping you can help me and point me to the right resources to get an understanding of this amazing sub-culture.

Hi Jen, glad to have you on board! If you like Victorian/Goth/Futurist, you are already well on the way to steampunk. As far as defining it, well, you're kind out of luck because serious steampunks spend a lot of time fighting about what steampunk really is. However, you pretty much nailed it with "Victorian/Gothic/Futuristic look to the clothing and the old fashioned/futuristic twists to the gadgets, homes, cities and machinery". Are there specific questions you had or things about steampunk that are more muddled? I'll do my best to guide you.

As far as speech patterns go, you are better off writing in a natural, comfortable dialogue style than trying to force a British tongue and making it wrong or stilted. I have my characters throw in occasional British expressions/words like "trousers" or "sodding" to give it a touch of British flare but I don't sweat the small details. Well-written American style English dialogue is better than poorly executed British style English!

Melissa wrote: "Hi Jen, glad to have you on board! If you like Victorian/Goth/Futurist, you are already well on the way to steampunk. As far as defining it, well, you're kind out of luck because serious steampunks..."

Thanks for the advise. I started out writing normally and stopped after a few pages because the sound of the dialogue was bothering me. I was wondering, if I just use certain words consistently throughout the story would that give it enough of an "air" of steampunk lingo to be passable? The only other option I thought of was to write the whole story and have one of my English friends go through and change certain terms from American to English. Maybe they could just give me a list with one side being American phrases and the other side the English equivalent! LOL!

Anyway, thanks for getting back to me. I'm looking forward to being a part of the group. I'm hoping to gain a better understanding of this amazing sub-culture. I'm pretty excited about it! ^_^

I actually just finished a sci-fi con where I gave a panel on steampunk writing. I have a powerpoint that I am going to polish up a bit and put it on my blog, so that maybe will give you a few ideas for dialogue. A few things I pointed out were avoiding the temptation to make reference to Tesla in your steampunk writing without just provocation. A lot of steampunk writers throw Tesla in there as some sort of bone to the steampunk fans. I actually argue you should't reference Tesla unless you have a darned good reason for doing so because it has become a gimmick.

Overall, I would encourage you not to think in terms of "steampunk lingo" because that can make the writing seem a little too trite. Steampunk is really more about imagery, aesthetics, and world view, and you can bring that out well without "steamy" lingo.

Just in what you have discussed, I think you might be getting a little fixiated on more minor issues. Dialogue and word choice are important but what would be more worthy topics are plot, universe, character development, etc. Let these be your focus and you'll find the smaller issues naturally falling into place!

Okay, I'm going to show my newbie status here, but what is Tesla? o.O

I already have the plot pinned down for the most part. Whatever's not decided usually works itself out as I go along. One of the major foundations I want to build on is the main character's origin, but I'm thinking it might be too science fiction-ish. He is a genetically engineered superhuman who was created in a lab after hundreds of years of research and experimentation by one scientist and his decendants. He was gestated in a simulated womb for 18 years when an earthquake (called a shaker) basically pops his lock and wakes him up. He looks like a "normal" teen, though he is basically a newborn, but has various "unnatural" things he is capable of, but learns about as he goes along. Of course there will be others in the story, maybe 5, who he finds (or they find him) and travels with on his quest/journey/assignment to retrieve a stolen item. One of them, the first one he meets, will have come from present day Earth.

There will be secondary plots involving the gov't and coal production or, rather than gov't, a big privately owned company that hired him to find this item, but he finds out they are going to do something detrimental with it and won't give it to them. They chase him to get the item while he does various mercenary/detective type jobs with the people he's traveling with who become his friends once he figures out what friendship, love and emotions are.

Anyway, that's the jist of it. Sorry to ramble on.

It would be great to see that power point. I bet I could learn a lot from it.

Nikola Tesla is a famous inventor/engineer/physicist and it's popular to put him into steampunk. I'm sure you've heard of the Tesla Coil (featured in The Sorceror's Apprentice) - Nikola Tesla invented them, among other things.

Jen, in my opinion, you are better off not knowing who Tesla is so you don't fall into cliches!

Actually, I've never heard of the Tesla Coil! Apparently I'm very sheltered from reality! LOL!

I'm really not that interested in him, though. I try not to use real people or name brand products in my writing. I worry about copyright infringement, so I feel it's just better to leave that kind of stuff out, for me anyway. ;)

That is one thing I am struggling with for my second book. I want to integrate real historical people such as Florence Nightengale, the Earl of Cardigan, and other figures that were part of the Crimean War. I have to do a lot of research to see if there are any potential legal issues or other potential problems with using long-dead historical figures in your writing.

Yeah, that's the issue. I'm not sure of the legalities, so I'd rather not take the chance. I don't have luck like that. I think I'm the most unlucky Irishwoman alive. ;) LOL!

Jen, I wanted to comment on your profile - I am a full-time helicopter dispatcher and deal with EMTs every day. I actually integrate a lot of what I learn at work about flying into my writing. "Steam on the Horizon" would have been a poorer novel without the experience I gained through work!

I have also used my life experiences to make my writing more realistic. I remember all the experiences I had with the various emergency services personnel and ER staff. I was an EMT in NYC during 9/11, but I won't write about that for any reason. Everything else is appropriated in one way or another, though.

As you know from your own life Emergency Services workers see some of the grittiest, most real life events that people experience. It can be powerful stuff if incorporated correctly and described with great detail (for the most part). It can move people's hearts like nothing else.