Star Wars: Being a Science Fiction Fan

As I come home from watching Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, I am reminded of the pleasure and fun I had as a teenager first watching Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Although I saw that movie first, before the first two, I had played with the action figures from the first two movies and knew the basic story line even before stepping into the movie theatre. Going to the movie with friends was as much fun as I’d had in my entire, rather reclusive, teen years. Seeing a movie three times in the movie theatre? Going to a movie with a crowd of other teenagers? That was a first for me…and well worth the trip, all three times.

Besides the fun mixing of old and new, the new movie reminded me of what a science fiction fan I actually am. I have always been a science fiction fan, but it has dimmed these past few years of focusing on other things instead of the realms of fantastical, possibility-stretching entertainment. Watching a masterful blend of science fiction and romance reminded me again why I write what I do. Star Wars has become so intertwined with our culture that it’s pretty much part of it. It certainly contributed heavily to my writing, along with other sci-fi classic writers like Marion Zimmer Bradley and Andre Norton. It melded drama, with a leavening of humor, and action, building characters we all got to know, then as children, played with endlessly. So much so, thirty odd years later, we bring our children to the newest release and reminisce with them over memories thirty years old.

Whether you like (or saw) Star Wars or didn’t, chances are you certainly are aware of the phenomenon of it. For those of us who did see it both when it originally came out, the re-releases, the re-boot (continuation) and now the re-re-boot of the franchise, it is a reminder that the innocence of childhood lurks not all that far behind our grown up lives. Stories that are driven by character, action and plot? Sign me up, please! After seeing Star Wars again, I am reminded that my fascination with science fiction and romance is ever growing and continues to this day. I get to play there now, in a different way, through my stories and my sharing of posts with fellow sci-fi readers, writers and fans and I remember how grateful I am to be a sci-fi geek who has allowed herself to play in this space. I get to write fun stories, too!  What could be better than that?