Author "trademarks": Recurring elements in TrekLit author's works

[Sho]

^ Considering English is a foreign language to me and it's vocabulary is vast, it definitely happens to me regularly, too. Back when I started out reading English literature, I would spend more time looking at a Langenscheidt English<->German dictionary than at the actual book I was reading.

Edit: Also, awesome post Thrawn .

 

[James Cole]

Peter David always has to work in the words "knack" and "sanguine".

The Vanguard crew always one-up each other.

One left wing author presently publishing and one right wing author no longer publishing have to beat you over the head with their political agenda on every single page. Taking Critical Discourse Analysis as a part of research methods in grad school has made me way too aware of this...

 

[rfmcdpei]

This might just be my knowledge of Warhammer 40K and James Swallow's own contributions to that canon, but I wonder if I might not be picking up on some elements of the grimdark in his work. I just finished Synthesis, and there were elements--the desperate AIs of brass and steel waging an unending war against the Null's horrific eruptions of chaotic protomatter from an alternate realm of space--that made me think, "Oh, the Warp."

 

[captcalhoun]

i wasn't having a go at mr mack for his use of picayune, but he's the only author i have read who has ever used it and, like Sho said, it stands out when i see it simply because he's the only author to use it and it's not a word most people use regularly.

 

[Miss Lemon]

I don't recall which author(s) do this, but there are an awful lot of instances where they write "McCoy bounced on his toes." Sometimes he does a considerable amount of bouncing on his toes on the same page.

You are referring to Killing Time by Della van Hise, which is probably the most slashy ST novel out there.

One of my favourite parts is when a shirtless Spock tries to hide his psychic nakedness from Kirk's intense hazel globes. Breathtaking prose I say!

 

[James Swallow]

This might just be my knowledge of Warhammer 40K and James Swallow's own contributions to that canon, but I wonder if I might not be picking up on some elements of the grimdark in his work. I just finished Synthesis, and there were elements--the desperate AIs of brass and steel waging an unending war against the Null's horrific eruptions of chaotic protomatter from an alternate realm of space--that made me think, "Oh, the Warp."

I wasn't aware of thinking of anything 40K-ish when I wrote Synthesis, so any similarity is probably coincidental. Certainly, the "brass and steel" stuff comes more from me wanted to inject something a little steampunk-looking into Star Trek's more "airstream" visual style as that's a something I find interesting.

As for "grimdark" elements, that's just me. I do that in everything I write.

 

[rfmcdpei]

This might just be my knowledge of Warhammer 40K and James Swallow's own contributions to that canon, but I wonder if I might not be picking up on some elements of the grimdark in his work. I just finished Synthesis, and there were elements--the desperate AIs of brass and steel waging an unending war against the Null's horrific eruptions of chaotic protomatter from an alternate realm of space--that made me think, "Oh, the Warp."

I wasn't aware of thinking of anything 40K-ish when I wrote Synthesis, so any similarity is probably coincidental. Certainly, the "brass and steel" stuff comes more from me wanted to inject something a little steampunk-looking into Star Trek's more "airstream" visual style as that's a something I find interesting.

It wasn't a Warhammer 40K story, not least because--well--there was hope that was actually achieved. It just jumped out at me. (Too long shelving in SF, perhaps?)

As for "grimdark" elements, that's jut me. I do that in everything I write.

Heh.

 

[Ian Keldon]

One left wing author presently publishing and one right wing author no longer publishing have to beat you over the head with their political agenda on every single page. Taking Critical Discourse Analysis as a part of research methods in grad school has made me way too aware of this...

Care to name names and give examples?

 

[Therin of Andor]

One left wing author presently publishing and one right wing author no longer publishing have to beat you over the head with their political agenda on every single page.

It constantly amazes me when people can "read" an author's personal political agenda in a work of fiction. I just enjoy the story.

Perhaps you know these people well enough to make those suppositions, but writers can and do write fiction from a standpoint opposite to their personal opinions. It's part of the craft of writing fiction.

 

[MatthiasRussell]

Martin, writing by himself, tends to oversimplify emotional conflicts and get lost up his ass in unnecessary continuity bitchfixes.

Agreed.

Kirsten Beyer is awesome.

I like how this is a "recurring element."To be expected from the man who gave her a new middle name(s).



To be honest, I haven't noticed any particular element that I see an an author's every work. I do know there are some trek authors I don't care much for, one who's books I won't buy anymore, and most who are extremely talented.

I do know Bennett wrotes a good scientific story, Mack writes a good thrill ride, and Peter David is always entertaining with his light-hearted approach.

As an engineer, I'm not qualified to be too critical of an author's prose. I do know that most of them are very talented and keep me coming back for more.

 

[Timewalker]

I don't recall which author(s) do this, but there are an awful lot of instances where they write "McCoy bounced on his toes." Sometimes he does a considerable amount of bouncing on his toes on the same page.

You are referring to Killing Time by Della van Hise, which is probably the most slashy ST novel out there.

One of my favourite parts is when a shirtless Spock tries to hide his psychic nakedness from Kirk's intense hazel globes. Breathtaking prose I say!

I am referring to that and many other novels and stories where McCoy is also bouncing on his toes. I'm surprised Spock hasn't threatened to duct tape his feet to the floor.

And yes, Killing Time was slashy... but so was Dwellers in the Crucible. However, these were entertaining stories (to me, anyway). But consider the drivel in the Marshak/Culbreath novels... yuck.

One left wing author presently publishing and one right wing author no longer publishing have to beat you over the head with their political agenda on every single page.

It constantly amazes me when people can "read" an author's personal political agenda in a work of fiction. I just enjoy the story.

Perhaps you know these people well enough to make those suppositions, but writers can and do write fiction from a standpoint opposite to their personal opinions. It's part of the craft of writing fiction.

Ever read Rocket Ship Galileo by Heinlein? I have. And it absolutely SCREAMS political propaganda. That's the only Heinlein novel I have refused to have in my book collection.

 

[NAHTMMM]

How about Gene DeWeese's villains? They refuse to listen to reason and, likely as not, chew the scenery better than Shatner could ever manage.

 

[Mike Winters]

David Mack's use of picayune and Dayton and Kevin's complete inability to use a split infinitive which drives me mad.

The word Stygian

This is bullshit, and I will tell you why.

In the last ten years I've written six pieces of short fiction and 21 full-length books (counting both published and as-yet-unpublished manuscripts). Those works comprise more than 2 million words of paid-for prose.

Within those two million words, would you like to know exactly how many times the word "Stygian" appeared? Just 7 times — once each in seven separate works. (For reference purposes, I am basing this on the revised omnibus version of Star Trek Destiny.)

Guess how many times the word "picayune" appears in the span of two million words. The correct answer: 6 times, in only four out of my 27 published and upcoming works.

Calling the use of one particular word or another "an author's trademark" is, to be perfectly blunt, absurd. It's like calling the use of a two-shot or a jump cut a "director's trademark" when it happens only a handful of times within the context of a large body of work.

Mr. Mack, when I typed this response, I did not remember who the author was. What I was remembering was during my last major stint on this board, it was a running gag amongst posts about the use of the word Stygian. I am re-reading the DS9 ReLaunch and in warpath (which I had re-read shortly before this thread) I came across the word and it made me smile.

I meant no offense.

Mike Winters

 

[ToddCam]

Not just in Star Trek, but Peter David's obsession with the word decimate being used in any way other than its archaic original use (decreasing by one-tenth).

Michael Jan Friedman's over-use of descriptors rather than pronouns: the Klingon, the Lieutenant, the security chief, rather than "he." It was particularly noticeable when reading The Captain's Table and Picard would mention "the Klingon."

 

[Christopher]

Michael Jan Friedman's over-use of descriptors rather than pronouns: the Klingon, the Lieutenant, the security chief, rather than "he." It was particularly noticeable when reading The Captain's Table and Picard would mention "the Klingon."

It did puzzle me in The Valiant when he kept referring to Picard as "the second officer" well after he'd become the acting captain of the Stargazer.

 

[CNash]

Middle-aged male characters will inevitably be described as having "salt and pepper" hair or beards. I first started noticing this being applied to Vaughn in the DS9 relaunch, but it's cropped up numerous times in SCE too.

I'm not sure if this can be traced back to any particular author, or whether it's just a generally-used phrase, but it's not one I was very familiar with before ploughing through TrekLit, and so it jumps out at me.

 

[Sho]

^ Now that you mention it I can definitely remember a few occurences as well.

 

[Christopher]

It's a pretty common phrase, at least in American English. It refers to hair that's a mix of brown/black and gray/white.

 

[CNash]

Oh, I understand what it means - just that it doesn't seem to be as commonly used in British English (well, that I know of), and so it's unfamiliar to me.

 

[EliyahuQeoni]

It's a pretty common phrase, at least in American English. It refers to hair that's a mix of brown/black and gray/white.

Yeah, this is a pretty common phrase in American English. I don't think its use among Trek writers is any different than its usage among writers in general.