How a Science Fiction Writer Thinks

Nancy Kress writes on her blog about how she realized she sees the world a little differently than the average person after watching a video of the 200 people who froze in place for five minutes in Grand Central Station:

Had I seen this sudden mass freezing, the first thing that would have come to mind was a virus of some kind, possibly genetically engineered, that causes a vastly speeded-up Parkinson's-like syndrome, locking muscles in place. I would have called 911, afraid that lung muscles would be next and all these people would stop breathing. I would have wondered if it were contagious.

I'd suspect that's how science fiction writers get their ideas: they simply observe the world around them through a SF lens.

Tags:science fiction, Nancy Kress