In honor of International Apostrophe Day, August 16, we’re going to talk about apostrophes in science fiction and fantasy names. Why do authors think apostrophes make characters seem exotic? Who started it? And why do some people find it annoying?
You know how teachers tell writers to “consider the audience” and business trainers tell writers to think about “what’s appropriate for a given writing situation”? Well, it occurred to me the other day that what this all means is that good writers need to be more like empathic metamorphs.
Metamorphs, as featured in the Star Trek (TNG) episode “The Perfect Mate,” are empathic beings who live to please others and become the perfect mate by knowing exactly what their partners want.
In Star Trek, the allure of the metamorph is about sex and romance, of course, but if you apply the same concepts to writing, it can be about safety.
