Author Urges Aspiring Manchester Writers To Experience The World

MANCHESTER, NJ — What does it take to write a believable fiction novel? A good idea, and lots of research — including research gained from experiencing the world.

That's what science fiction writer Fonda Lee told students at Manchester Township High School recently during a visit where she shared insights about her writing process. Lee is the author of three young adult books, "Zeroboxer," "Exo," and "Cross Fire," and an adult book entitled "Jade City."

Lee told students that although she always loved to write, she didn’t think there was a career in that so she studied business in college. She made time in her schedule for a class in science fiction, where she read a book that has been a strong influence on her future writing career: "Frankenstein," by Mary Shelley.

"She was just a teenage girl when she wrote it and she had to publish under her husband’s name," Lee said. "It was the first real science fiction novel … it was a product of its time but it is still relevant today."

Lee said she got the idea for her novel "Zero Boxer" when she met a young LeBron James while working as a corporate strategist for Nike. He was only about 21 and she remembered thinking he was so young to have such celebrity stature and confidence. "That made me really think about the concept of sports celebrity," she said. "I’m not really into sports like basketball and football but I am into martial arts and I thought that would be the ideal sports celebrity of the future."

There are many people who are talented at writing and have great ideas for a book but don't write it because it takes too much time, Lee told the students. “The idea is just the start. It takes a lot of research.”

She explained how her research helps her to create small details that make the story real. For instance, her research on Mars showed that six minutes on Mars would be 6 minutes 11 seconds on Earth and that became the length of a boxing round. She made her Martians vegetarian because water is very precious on Mars and it would take too much water to raise livestock.

"Research allows me to set up a world that is believable and realistic," she said. Looking at cultural and social influences is also important, she said. "I look at what’s going on today and make inferences on what it could be like on the future."

Lee spent a lot of time looking at how aliens are portrayed in science fiction, often as either the clear bad guy or as benign and friendly. She said she wanted to make her aliens more complex and show the dynamic of how the aliens and the natives interact with one another.

"Aliens are an analogy for other people, meeting other people that are different. ... Aliens are a stand-in for other," she said. "Science fiction is really a way to hold up a mirror to ourselves."

She urged students who aspire to become writer to "go out and live life, have more experiences." That is more valuable to a writer than anything else.

English Teacher Marjon Weber organized Lee’s visit, which was funded by the Manchester PTA. Read more about Fonda Lee and her books at fondalee.com.

Fonda Lee with student writers Corinne Petti, Ariel Blumensteel, Andrea Gunnell, Victoria Shaw, and Jaden Pasos. Photo by Lee Bruzaitis, Manchester Township Schools public information officer