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Googling

We do it so much the word has entered the official lexicon–type a word or phrase (or if you’re paranoid narcissistic prying nosy curious, try your name or a friend’s name) into the Google search engine, and click “Google search.” You’re googling! […]
on Aug 30, 2011 · No comments

We do it so much the word has entered the official lexicon–type a word or phrase (or if you’re paranoid narcissistic prying nosy curious, try your name or a friend’s name) into the Google search engine, and click “Google search.” You’re googling! Wait for a fraction of a second (or minute, depending on the speed of your internet connection), and all manner of strange and wonderful connections to places around the globe will appear. Click one, then another, then another…

Writers have become obsessed with getting their work into the coveted first result to a Google search.  There is a cottage industry of hints, tips, and manuals for making this happen, but it’s often just a matter of having an unusual name or title that nobody else is using. Search on Speculative Faith, or my own blog, Frederation, and you’ll find us both standing proud on that first line. I don’t think either of us employed any special strategy to get there.

In an effort to contribute something useful today, I googled “Christian speculative fiction.” Here are the top ten results:

1. Christian Science Fiction (CSF), which unfortunately did not load for me. Google helpfully offers a link to a cached page from a recent visit to the sites it lists. This reveals “Christian Science Fiction” as the home page for the Christian Science Fiction web ring, and stories by Rick Sutcliffe. 

2. Biblical speculative fiction – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia – Wikipedia article on “Biblical Speculative Fiction.”

3. WhereTheMapEnds, the forum and blog for Christian spec-fic publishing house Marcher Lord Press.

4. The Clive Staples Award for Christian Speculative Fiction, an annual readers’ award for excellence in Christian spec-fic, administered by our own Rebecca Miller.

5.  Amazon.com: Christian Speculative Fiction–An Emerging Genre! – An Amazon list of Christian spec-fic, compiled by a lady from North Miami Beach who uses the handle, “Mir.”

6. Christian Speculative Fiction – a ‘lost’ genre? at The Crafty Writer – An interview with publisher Jeff Gerke of Marcher Lord Press.

7. Novel Rocket: Christian Speculative Fiction Panel — Pt. 1 – Novel Rocket, formerly Novel Journey, is a blog honored by Writer’s Digest as one of the best websites for writers. Here we find a panel discussion of Christian spec-fic featuring Jeff Gerke, Rebecca Miller, and Frank Creed.

8.  Frank Creed – Christian Speculative Fiction – As you might expect, the home page for Christian spec-fic writer Frank Creed.

9. sbniccum.com – Home – A blog. If you scroll down, you’ll find a brief definition of Christian speculative fiction and some suggestions about where to look for it.

10. Christian Speculative Fiction Authors and Writers | FamilyFiction.com – FamilyFiction.com, “Your Christian Fiction Information Source,” offers here a linked list of Christian spec-fic authors, including yours truly. Oddly, it’s indexed in alphabetical order by first name.

The cool collage in the picture above is by the talented C0lette Wibisono. You can find more of her art at http://merchantofmarvels.blogspot.com

Fred was born in Tacoma, Washington, but spent most of his formative years in California, where his parents pastored a couple of small churches. He graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1983, and spent 24 years in the Air Force as a bomber navigator, flight-test navigator, and military educator. He retired from the Air Force in 2007, and now works as a government contractor in eastern Kansas, providing computer simulation support for Army training.Fred has been married for 25 years to the girl who should have been his high school sweetheart, and has three kids, three dogs, and a mortgage. When he's not writing or reading, he enjoys running, hiking, birdwatching, stargazing, and playing around with computers.Writing has always been a big part of his life, but he kept it mostly private until a few years ago, when it occurred to him that if he was ever going to get published, he needed to get serious about it. Since then, he's written more than twenty short stories that have been published in a variety of print and online magazines, and a novel, The Muse, that debuted in November 2009 from Splashdown Books, which was a finalist for the 2010 American Christian Fiction Writers Carol Award for book of the year in the speculative genre. Speculative fiction is his first love, but he writes the occasional bit of non-fiction or poetry, just to keep things interesting.
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  1. E. Stephen Burnett says:
    August 30, 2011 at 2:08 pm

    An Amazon list of Christian spec-fic, compiled by a lady from North Miami Beach who uses the handle, “Mir.”

    … Herself a founding member and writer of Speculative Faith 1.0, in 2006. 😀

    Reply
  2. Patrick says:
    August 30, 2011 at 5:34 pm

    I don’t know about getting my name or works on top of a results list, but Googling seems to come in quite handy for research. It can be great fun to write fictional stories that take place in real locations that you’ve never visited with enough local detail that it seems as if you are quite familiar with the place. Google maps; Google local events and attractions; Google prominent figures or businesses- anything you want to know about any place in the world and you can likely find out through Google.

    Reply
  3. Kessie says:
    August 30, 2011 at 6:49 pm

    I just spent a lovely hour or so reading articles on other Christian Spec-Fic blogs. I never knew there were so many! My Blogger dashboard is getting quite populated. 🙂

    Reply
  4. Nissa Annakindt says:
    August 31, 2011 at 10:20 am

    It’s interesting to google various terms. I googled ‘Catholic vampire fiction’ and ‘Christian vampire fiction’ in connection with my webnovel in progress, Taliesin: Vampire Dreams.  I found a Catholic vampire novel that had a cheap Kindle edition, and an article by Mike Duran on why Bram Stoker’s Dracula is Christian fiction— which inspired me to finally read Dracula and see why Duran was right on the money on that one.

    Reply

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