Oconnell1

Carson OConnell
Mr.White
English 12, period 5
10/11/15
Senior Project Research Paper
Intro
For my senior project, I am going to write a science fiction book involving a story of my
own creation. Like most teenagers in America, I have never written a full length novel in my life.
Meaning that I dont know certain aspects of writing that I will need to learn about. In this essay,
I will talk about my various findings on what actually goes into writing a sci-fi story. Like
developing characters or an interesting world within my story. For the purpose of emersion, I
needed to find inspiration from scientific fact, historical inspiration and mythology to make the
story better. And then finally, I would look into how to publish the book like how much it costs if
any.
Research Section
The genre of science fiction is a genre of writing that takes place in worlds or scenarios
that dont exist (Orson Scott Card, p 18). Its also called speculative fiction because the works can
present possibilities of the future or what if scenarios? of the past (Christopher McKkitterick).
Although sci-fi is a highly creative field there are 3 rules to largely consider; Know your thesis,
do research on topic, and dont be afraid of trying new things (Rober Wood). Usually a sci-fi
story has a main question or questions that drive the main story and explore possible answer of
said question, like what if we could go out in space? (Christopher McKkitterick). Having a
central theme or idea throughout the story keeps the story itself consistent as well as focused.

Oconnell2

Another way to make a sci fi story better is by looking at facts, scientific or historical, to make
the world itself more believable (Rober Wood). When developing a character it is important to
give them a personality that determines how they are going to act by themselves and with other
characters (tvtropes). Writers will often use the myer briggs type indicator to give their
characters the most realistic personalities if used correctly. Its also really important to give the
character flaws to make them more believable and connectable to the readers (Mandy Wallace).
When creating a world writers will only explain enough about how the world works for emersion
without confusion audiences, but will also implied the existence of a bigger entity or
organization like the corporation in Alien (A.R. George).
During WW2, Russia was getting rid of various social and ethnics groups in order to
habilitat more favorable groups to gain economic control (Palgrave Macmillan). Prior to this,
during 1912-13 Balkan wars, was the time that the practice known as ethnic cleansing when
warring states were killing rival minorities to gain more territory. During WW1, practice of
ethnic cleansing started to spread when Ottoman Empire departed and killed Armenians from the
North eastern frontier while the Russian army departed about 800,000 ethnic Jews and Germans
in regions under military rule (Terry Martin ). In Germany during WW2 german politicians
started implementing an extreme interpretation of Darwins theory of evolution called eugenics
were people with disabilities or useless eaters would be isolated and eventually killed off (Park
P. Moster). The natzis whernt the first ones to kill off disabled people for during the 1200-1700s
people with mental disabilities were thought to be possessed by the devil and killed off for that
reason (The University of Arizona). But in 1869, one of Darwins cousins named Sir Francis
Galton published a book called Hereditary Genius which started the eugenics movement which

Oconnell3

is about controlled breeding of people in order to keep the human race strong (Catherine k.
Harbour).
The Earths outer layer, or crust, is made up of plates that float on top of the Earths
upper mantle and are always shifting (Dylan Prentiss). Originally all of the continents were of
one landmass called pangea, but through the process of continental drift; pangea split apart and
the continents drifted into the locations they are in today (Ahern, Judson L). Current technology
prosthetics devices use signals sent from the brain to the muscles to control the prosthetic joint
motors which corresponds to muscle movement activity (Aubrey Baily). The brain signals
themselves are called parietal reach region which helped the brain decide what the body should
do, like grabbing something (National Eye Institute). The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, or
MBTI, is a tool used to determine the psychological type an individual belongs to (Myers-Briggs
Type Indicator Instructions). One factor that determines the type is whether an individual is an
introvert or an extrovert, introvert meaning that the individual thinks internally while extrovert
thinks externally (www.cpp.com). Extroverted thinkers are more logical and think in an orderly
fashion, allowing them to accomplish tasks quickly and efficiently (personality growth). On the
other hand, introverted thinkers can internalize problems and come up with the best way to solve
a problem efficiently (CognitiveProcesses.com). Another factor is whether an individual bases
their choices off of hard facts and strict rules of logic or based on how the individual feels about
how the choice will affect them or someone else (calpoly.edu).
In chinese and japanese mythology, chi or ki is the life energy that exists within
everything and is the driving force of everything we do like martial arts or art (Stefan Stenudd).
There are three kinds of Chi which includes Shen chi or positive energy, Shar chi is chi that
harms or kills, and Si chi which is negative or dying energy (Kuan Loong). In the Islamic faith, a

Oconnell4

believer would have to fulfill the five pillars of islam which are the foundations of the islamic
faith (www.islam101.com). The first is Declaration of faith which is stating in front of other
believers that they believe in god in order to be saved from hell, the second pillar is praying 5
times a day for ten minutes each at dawn,afternoon, late afternoon, after sunset, and at night. The
third is charity which is to give money to the poor, fourth pillar being fasting for 29-30 days
Ramadan, and finally visit Mecca at least once in their lifetime (www-pub.naz.edu). In
christianity, things like prayer aren't necessarily required but whenever one does prey they should
do it not for glory but for God (Arabic Bible Outreach Ministry). Alchemy is an ancient form of
pseudo science with the main goal of turning other material substances into gold through magic
and science (Benjamin Radford). An alchemist uses special circles called alchemy symbols to
explain chemical processes using symbols to represent different elements like mercury and iron
(library.brown.edu). The definition of an element is different from the chemistry definition of
elements because the elements are fire, earth, water, and air in medieval alchemy (web.cn.edu).
Each element has specific characteristics and properties that defined how the elements reacted
with each other (Fathi Habashi).
The most a author should spend on self-publishing a book is a little under $500 for copy
editing for $300 and $30 for cover art (Kelsye Nelson). When self-publishing an ebook an author
would rarely have to pay upfront unless he/she gets a 100% net value (Jane Friedman). During
the rise of self-publishing the office of copyright decided to create a pre-registration for
independent authors so that their creative works doesnt get stolen (David A.Cox). To register, an
author would have to fill out an application online that basically says that the author is
distributing the work and that the info given is not a bunch of lies as well as a payment of $140
(copyright.gov). After pre registering the book, the author would have to register their book, one

Oconnell5

method being through the electronic copyright office which will cost him/her $35 for registration
(Joel Friedlander). Getting the book published online is a simple matter of uploading the
manuscript to KDP and the book will appear on amazon (Ian Lamont).
Conclusion
Through extensive research, I have a better understanding of the genre of science fiction
and how to write my story. The world that I have created will be much more immersive thanks to
the various historical inspiration and realistic thanks to scientific facts. Thanks to the discovery
of the Myers Briggs type indicator, I will be able to create realistic and interesting characters
more effectively. Taking inspiration from mythology will give the world I have created a much
more interesting but dangerous place as well as looking at religious practices in order to have the
religious characters within my story will perform certain practices according to his/her faith. Of
Course there is also the fact that I learned how to actually get the book self published and how to
make sure that no one else steals my idea and makes money off of it.

Oconnell6

Works cited
Ahern, Judson L. "Plate Tectonics Intro." Plate Tectonics Intro. University of Oklahoma.
Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
"Appendix." (n.d.): n. pag. University of Arizona. University of Arizona. Web. 20 Nov.
2015.
Bailey, Aubrey. "How Do Electronic Prosthetics Work?" Live Healthy. Chron. Web. 19
Nov. 2015.
"Beliefs and Practices of Christians - WHAT ARE THE RELIGIOUS DUTIES AND
PRACTICES OF CHRISTIANS?" Arabic Bible Outreach Ministry. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
Card, Orson Scott. "How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy." Google Books. Writer's
Digest Books. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
Cox, David A. How to Self-Publish a Book: part 1. Online video clip. Youtube.
Youtube, May 2, 2015. Web, Nov 14, 2015
"CPP - The People Development People." Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Instrument
(MBTI) Personality Test Info. Cpp, Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
"Extraverted Thinking (Te)." Personality Growth RSS. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
"Five Pillars of Islam." A Primer on Islam. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.

Oconnell7

Friedlaner, Joel. "How to Copyright A Book." The Book Designer. N.p., 10 Mar. 2010.
Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
"Four Elements in Medieval Alchemy." (n.d.): n. pag. Dr. Wheeler's Website. Dr. Wheeler.
Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
George, A.R. "Creating Fantasy and Science Fiction Worlds." Elfwood.com. Web. 20
Nov. 2015.
Habashi, Fathi. "Zoarstar and the Theory of Four Elements." School of Chemical Science.
University of Illinois. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
Harbour, Catherine K. "History of Intellectual Disability." History of Intellectual
Disability. CIRRIE. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
"Introverted Thinking* - (Ti)." Cognitive Processes.com. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
Friedman, Jane. "Start Here: How to Self-Publish Your Book | Jane Friedman." Jane
Friedman. 16 Feb. 2015. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
Wallace, Mandy. "The Character Most Writers Get Wrong." Mandy Wallace. 08 Oct.
2014. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
Lamont, Ian. "How to Self-Publish a Book." Lifehacker. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
Loong, Kuan. "2015 Complete Feng Shui Guide & Rabbit Chinese Zodiac Forecast."
Google Books. Google Books, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.

Oconnell8

McKitterick, Christopher. "Science Fiction: Stories for a Changing World." Libraries

Unlimited. July 2010. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
Moster, Mark P. "Useless Eaters: Disability as Genocidal Marker in Nazi Germany."
(n.d.): n. pag. Useless Eaters: Disability as Genocidal Marker in Nazi Germany. University of
Washington. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
"Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)." (2009): n. pag. Myers Briggs Type Indicator
Instructions. Chicago Booth. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
Nelson, Kelsye. " How Much Does It Cost to Self-publish a Book?" Book Promotion
Com. Book Promotion.com, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
Prentiss, Dylan."What Is Plate Tectonics, and How Does It Work?" What Is Plate
Tectonics, and How Does It Work? RICE University. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
"Preregister Your Work." U.S. Copyright Office. U.S Copyright Office. Web. 20 Nov.
2015.
Radford, By Benjamin. "What Is Alchemy?" LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 29 Aug.
2013. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
"Self-publishing : How to Self-publish." CompletNovel. CompletNovel. Web. 20 Nov.
2015.
"So You Want To: Develop Character Personality." Tvtropes. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
Stenudd, Stefan. "Qi Energy Exercises." Qi Energy Exercises. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.

Oconnell9

"Unveiling the Secrets: The Evolution of Modern Chemistry." Omeka RSS. Brown
University Library. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
"Using Brain Signals to Drive Prosthetic Devices." Using Brain Signals to Drive
Prosthetic Devices. National Eye Institute, Feb. 2011. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
Wood, Robert. "The 3 Golden Rules of Writing a Science Fiction Book." Standoutbooks.
03 June 2014. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
Zahid, Ishaq. "Five Pillars of Islam." Islam101. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.