" Writing sci-fi sounded easy to me at first. Cool, no rules. Time travel, lasers, anything is fair game. I’ll pump out a story in no time, and it will be great! But as I absorbed more of the great works, I realized this was a bigger feat than I initially imagined. Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? showed me it’s the internal battles in sci-fi that count. Can I make the reader feel the internal struggles of the characters? Will these struggles resonate with readers, and are they universal battles we’ve all had in different forms? 

                The idea of humans reaching immortality has always fascinated me. To never die from old age changes the very fabric of what it means to be human. What kind of character would obsess over immortality, and not accept the fact that everybody ages and passes away? Where would he be raised, and how would he think? Those were the questions I was wrestling with when planning my sci-fi novella, Counterfeit Youth. 

                Jackson Riley, the 18 year old son of a billionaire real estate empire became a real person to me. I would ask myself how his thoughts of life and death were morphed by his experiences. How he would handle love, fear, rejection. The exciting sci-fi plot coming together truthfully with this character would be paramount. 

                Sci-fi frees you to extend your imagination, but it also challenges you to stay grounded to what is true to your story. My first drafts have always had an insane amount of plots and characters coming together. I have to step aside during rewrites and refocus on what I really want to say. So much changes during rewrites. You must be willing to rip things apart and make them better. 

                The world you create must be consistent and ring true. I remember how natural a hovercar was in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? It wasn’t a gimmick used simply because the book needed sci-fi elements.  It was integrated into the world, as natural as us driving gasoline powered cars. 

                Creating a world that rings true and original characters facing challenges that resonate is no small feat. But when you have a complete story you’re proud of in a science fiction world you’ve created, there is no greater reward. "

I couldn't agree more, Narbeh. I believe there is no greater feeling to any author than to see the world you created stand on its own in published form, where readers can venture in and explore. And I am sure we all enjoyed those reminders on what it takes to truely make a character, of any genre, live in the minds of readers. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us.

If you are interested in reading more of Narbeh's work follow the links below. You can also leave him a comment on his Facebook Page. And don't forget to Enter the Giveaway!