tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290476670691353414.post6961003842036011636..comments2024-03-06T04:04:24.597-08:00Comments on The Trap of Solid Gold: "Game for Blondes"Steve Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863138617383626261noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290476670691353414.post-67337839233733172642016-06-14T14:37:00.626-07:002016-06-14T14:37:00.626-07:00I tend to agree with you, Walker... science fictio...I tend to agree with you, Walker... science fiction does seem harder, and his comparing it to writing history -- something everyone already knows about -- seems like a non sequitur. Around this time the short story market was drying up and MacDonald was starting to become successful as a novelist, so he moved in that direction. And as I pointed out, his two sf novels were not originals, they were based on two of his earlier works.Steve Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15863138617383626261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4290476670691353414.post-79345257307217570912016-06-14T07:08:10.848-07:002016-06-14T07:08:10.848-07:00I've often wondered why JDM lost interest in S...I've often wondered why JDM lost interest in SF. My theory is that he wanted to earn a good living writing fiction for a living and SF simply took too much time to do well. I know your quote above says that he thought SF was easier but in reality I think he knew it was really *harder* than other genres.<br /><br />Good SF requires the author to build an entire imaginary world as background and it must look lived in. It's really easier to write a crime story like "You've Got to be Cold" than to write good SF. For instance in the crime story from the SHADOW magazine all JDM had to do was have the drunken guy wander into the bar and get into a fight. The rest of story was easy to write and as I remember the plot, not too believable.<br /><br />Walker Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16089880902426182100noreply@blogger.com