What DIMENSIONS is about!

ABOUT DIMENSIONS

By: Eric Anderson, Vice President

As we come to the 21st Century, we face a great challenge, to build an organization out of the ashes of another. IN 1999 the USS Alam'ak, member Starfleet International and a Star Trek fan club, came to an end because of the lack of interest in a Star Trek only club, and too-high membership requirements to keep an active club in Starfleet. With the Alam'ak's end, came the idea of DIMENSIONS. In this article, I hope that I can successfully pass along my ideas on the path DIMENSIONS should take.

I - The Beginning

First off, I believe that we should not pass ourselves off as a "Fan Club". This sadly has a very negative image with people who might be interested in a group that would talk about science fiction/fantasy. That is why I suggest that we make it known that we are an ORGANIZATION! This makes the group more accessible to people who do not think of themself's as "fanatics". We should make it well known that we are a non-profit organization for many purposes that will be explained later.

We must let it be known that we are a very open and friendly organization. We must also let it be known that we are a general science fiction/fantasy organization and not let anyone try to make it anything other then that. Star Wars is great, as is Babylon 5 and Isaac Asimov. But to just center in on one thing will be the death of the organization.

II - The Plan

DIMENSIONS can have a great and lasting impact on the world of science fiction and fantasy if we do things carefully and with great thought. My image of DIMENSIONS is multi-fold.

1. A social gathering of people and friends who enjoy science fiction and fantasy on its many fronts.

a. Novels, short stories and other print

b. Television

c. Film

d. Radio and other audio sources

e. Games: Board, Role-Playing, Computer and such

f. Internet and other computer sources

2. A preservation society for science fiction and fantasy (more on this as we go along).

3. A promoter of science fiction and fantasy (more on this also).

a. New authors, writers and story tellers (there is a difference)

b. Novels, short stories and such not offered in the US

c. Television and film from small outlets and other countries

d. Same on games, radio/audio, computers and such

e. Smaller "fan run" Conventions out there such as Mad Media

f. A (at the start quarterly) magazine/publication

g. A radio program (?!?)

h. Publishing

i. A web site of our own

Now that was a lot, so lets try to go point by point in greater detail.

III - DIMENSIONS the Social Group

The best times I have ever had was being in a group of people that I share the interests in with great passion. DIMENSIONS has that ability for not only me, but others that enjoy this medium. The important thing is to remember is that science fiction and fantasy is a multi-media entity. It exists in print, film, disk and tape. No one is more important that the other. We find great stories in all forms, and we find some rather poor stories in all forms. We must remember that over all and not put one medium over another. For every I, Robot in print, there is a Babylon 5 on TV. For every Blade Runner on film, there is a Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy on radio. And so on. And just because there is something out there that one person doesn't like, another does and it is worth discussing all points good and bad. Why I don't like it and she does and so on. This is what makes a social group shine like the brightest star.

IV - DIMENSIONS the Preservation Society

The sad thing about the world we live in is that we forget our roots and our past. Science fiction and fantasy (SF/F) is no exception. An important aspect of DIMENSIONS should be preserving SF/F's past. How many know of or have read Timothy Zahn's first novel The Blackcollar? Who has seen the BBC series Moonbase 3? How about the movie Metropolis? These are some major events in science fiction and fantasy. The Blackcollar started Timothy Zahn's career and which would later give us the Thrawn Novel Trilogy for Star Wars. Moonbase 3 was a project done by Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks in 1973 to try a serious SF show for TV while on break from Doctor Who. And Metropolis was a major event in the twenty's launching an awe-filled experience that lasts today, and has influenced many film makers since then.

To help preserve and record SF/F I suggest that we start a library of books, tapes, recordings and the like so that people who like to do research, or just enjoy, can do so. Some books are hard to find today, as are films and tapes, so this could be a major undertaking.

In our publication I suggest that we have something called the "re-review" where we look at books, tapes, films and the likes that are at least ten years old or older and review and comment on them so as to get interest in the younger crowd in the older material out there and to show that SF/F had been ahead of it's time all the way back to the 1800's (think Frankenstein folks, as well as Wells and Verne).

Many authors and story tellers have gotten their starts from short stories, so another section in our publication should be "Short Recommendations" where we look at short stories and review them. There are many out there, both good and bad.

In our publication we should also have articles and essays on SF/F by our members. So many people have so many takes on what is out there, and the impact of SF/F on those people is just as important to preserve for future generations as anything else.

V - DIMENSIONS the Promoter

Any organization has to do this: promote. DIMENSIONS is no exception. DIMENSIONS has to promote itself to get members but also it should promote SF/F as much as possible. How to do this:

·Try to find people who wish to have their stories published by us. We cannot pay for this at first, because we have no funds, but that can change. There are many people who will just be happy at the chance to get a foot in the door.

·Try to promote novels, short stories and such that is not offered in the United States. There is so much that people from other countries offer to SF/F but are often ignored because they are not from the US. DIMENSIONS should try to rectify this in any way possible. I will touch on this in just a little bit.

·Some promotion should also be done on films, TV and other such outlets for SF/F that is either from other counties are from smaller US sources. So much is lost to us because it is not from the "big boys in the US".

Now how to get it out to the people. One of the best ways to promote SF/F and ourselves would be a magazine (newszine) that would be published quarterly at first, and then as funds allow we would be able to publish more issues a year. To help keep members informed of activaties that the organization would have, we would publish a monthly newsletter which is exactly that, a one sheet information source. This would have listing for activities and meetings freeing up the magazine for articles and such on SF/F.

This part will sound somewhat crazy, but another way to get ourself's out to the public is a radio program. This is not as hard as it sounds and being a radio announcer a while back at WTCN in Stillwater, I can see it happening. There are several stations that will allow a group to buy an hour or two at a rather low price because the station does not have a large listening audience. As the organization starts to gather funds, we could funnel some of them to a radio show. Also, it is sometimes not that hard to find a sponsor to help pay for some of the air time, if not all of it, and have the costs of such as a write-off for a non-profit organization. There are several places to try that would have an interest in SF/F, such as Uncle Hugos, Dreamhaven and Red Dragon Hobbies.

As DIMENSIONS grows and expands and is able to, the ability to publish books is possible, and translating books into English from countries such as Germany, the Czech Republic, Russia and the like. It can also help first time authors that need a starting point for their stories or short stories.

VI - The Structure of DIMENSIONS

As we start this group out, I suggest that we keep the operating board rather small, but leave room for expansion as DIMENSIONS grows. These are the positions that I suggest and a brief explanation on the duty's that they perform.

1. President - Very self-explanatory. This person would perform the duty of keeping the operation going and keeping it organized. They also head the general meetings and board/business meetings as they get started.

2. Vice President - This person would perform the duty's of the President if that person is unable to do them, such as an illness, vacation, or an interim spot if the office is open if the president steps down and before another is appointed to replace them. They also have the duty of promoting the organization and SF/F as best they can.

3. Secretary - This person would be the minutes taker at the board meeting and general meetings as needed. They also make the minutes available to the general membership if the membership wishes, or read at the next meeting.

4. Treasurer - This person would handle the accounts of the organization and have a report available to the general membership at each year's end.

5. Director of Science Fiction - This person would help focus and work in the area of science fiction promotion and information. They should also contribute an article on science fiction in the magazine every issue.

6. Director of Fantasy - As with the above mentioned. They would focus and work in the area of fantasy and contribute an article on fantasy in every issue of the magazine.

So this is my proposal to those interested in a guiding direction for DIMENSIONS. So lets go out and make a dream come true in something that we all enjoy and love to talk about. I thank you for your time and look forward to your ideas.

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