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| We're all punks. And steamed. |
What was your biggest hurdle in attacking steampunk, both as a consumer and a creator?
(From Consolidated Organization of General Steampunk Writers)
(From Consolidated Organization of General Steampunk Writers)
I can't speak for other writers who work in steampunk, but for me, the biggest hurdle is fighting the "purists" who lock the definition of steampunk into little more than costumes and airships. I prefer to look for those more roundabout ways to approach the genre.
I've taken a couple of runs at writing steampunk stories and my main struggle was capturing the essence of the motif (genre, theme, subculture?) in words. Largely steampunk is a visual, artistic expression. Goggles, top hats, brass, gears, gauges -- modern tech reinterpreted with 19th Century aesthetics. While I can describe these outfits and items in the story, I'm never be able to land the "feeling" they give me through the elements of character and plot. I had read Anubis Gates well before the term was coined and enjoyed it, but did not equate the novel with the "genre" until reading an article that said it was one of the best steampunk novels ever written. In hindsight, yes, I see it plainly, but it almost had to be pointed out to me.
ReplyDeleteBeen there. I really struggled with the idea that it's an aesthetic rather than a true genre (much like we did with super heroes at iHero) as I was writing my first steampunk tale.
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