So I’m writing a science fiction story that has been on hold for four plus years. Originally it took place on Earth but now I decided to have it take place in space. Are there any tips for writing this specific genre? As much as I adore the genre and I’m a big fan of aliens and such, it’s such a complicated genre to write for me.
Nov '22
Dec '22
Read some SF books by greats like Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, Bradbury etc.
Also read up on Science Journals for getting the Basics right like terms and jargon used in Science Fact and Fiction.
SF readers are quite unforgiving if you mess up the basics.
Okay, first thing I would recommend is to read a lot of sci-fi (specifically the sub-genre you want to write in -eg. soft sci-fi etc.) and look (analyze a little) at how the writer describes and weaves the 'science-fiction' into the story.
How they describe places, aliens, rules of the society etc. It would be best to have a specific doc for your world-building. That why you can keep notes on aliens you create - their physical, characteristic and other special features.
Sci-fi is a little like fantasy, but instead of the magic it has a more 'science and realistic' look at things. (I know they are two different genres, I'm just trying to comparisons here).
I know I'm going a little into hard sci-fi here with world-building but hopefully this helps you a little. I can probably think of more but my brain isn't thinking, so I'll edit this one if I can think of any more advice.
Thank you so much! Ray Bradbury I already know because I like Fahrenheit 451. Excellent book!
Also yes reading science articles and papers is also a huge inspiration. I’ve been reading this website called FutureTimeline.net for many years now and that’s been my inspiration.
Yeah my alien races I got down. I’ve developed them for four years. I think the problem I have is settings and world building and stuff. And this will be a comic not a book. Thank you so much!
My best piece of advice would be to pick a subject you really like, and use it as the basis of your story.
This will help prevent research from feeling like homework-- nothing will drag down your work on a sci-fi story like the pressure to spend 10,000 hours studying something you don't understand and don't really care about before you can even begin to write.
If you like birds, write about a race of alien bird people. If you like video games, make life on your spaceship resemble a video game. Use your imagination, and center your story around the areas of science that interest you.
Also, don't be afraid of sci-fi readers. ^^; We're not all armchair scientists just waiting to tear your work apart searching for logic holes and inconsistencies. On the contrary, if one only cares for sci-fi that is "perfect" and beyond reproach, one will find one's reading list to be incredibly short, and missing a lot of foundational works in the genre.
Sci-fi fans will actually forgive a lot, as long as it's clear that you care about the things you're writing about, and that you have something important that you want to say. Morals and philosophy are a big thing in this genre; the main difference between good and great sci-fi usually isn't scientific accuracy, it's the presence of an impactful message about people or society or life in general that readers can take away from it.
There's a lot of great advice here, I don't have much to add on. However, I do want to say that what draws me into a sci-fi story other than the story itself is the various types of technology and explanations for it.
It might just be a specific nich though, but I know a good amount of people, including myself, who love to geek over sci-fi tech. Also, don't worry about the accuracy and specifics, the best type of sci-fi tech is one that, despite it's many inaccuracies, is believable and cool.
The lightsaber is a prime example. It's not really a saber, nor is it physically possible to melt metal with just a quick swipe due to thermodynamics, but it's just cool and believable.
That’s what brings me to it too! My favorite is Star Trek: TGN and I love the machine that can just spawn food on command. And I’d like to imagine that maybe in the future England will have small houses still but will have TARDIS technology. I don’t know I think it would be funny. And Star Wars! Well that’s a whole other topic!
In my story there are space stations, artificial planets, blue fire swords, cargo ships, cybernetics. My main character will be a cyborg so that’s a whole other realm of awesomeness. And of course the fictional elements, plants and animals, food and aliens that wouldn’t possibly exist on earth. There are also robots like small cat like robots that the cyborgs mom makes. Any humanoid robots, I don’t have any. It was never in the concept. However, it does not mean I don’t love androids or gynoids or droids. I love robots! I think it would be so fun to have one IRL. For a phase when I was in high school, I was really kind of obsessed with this robot called Pepper from SoftBank robotics.
Geeez I could go on! I’m glad there are people who share enthusiasm for this genre as much as I do!
I really think all I need is a writer in this area of expertise. So let me know if you find someone who already wrote a sci fi story. Yes I am completely confident in my imagination abilities, it’s just for a long time this story just needed a little work with the writing side. Something I’m personally not strong yet but I’ve improved over the years with my other projects.
Also some concept art!
I haven’t drawn any spaceships yet, but I’ll do that another time.
The replicator is a branch of the transporter technology. Assembling a person or artifact from a disassembled, analyzed & recorded original. I always thought there were problems with transporters. Just because you assemble a copy of Capt Kirk, is there any assurance that it's still the original Capt Kirk? In "Measure of a Man", Data declined to be disassembled & studied because "something ineffable may be lost". Yet transporters did that to humans in every episode.
Assuming (from your OP) you already wrote the story, maybe you just need a technical consultant/editor.
Hi. When I began writing The Space Bum, I actually sat down with a pen and notebook doing sketches of ships and weapons and listing their attributes. I placed my characters in a future extension of mankind after the destruction of original Earth and Mankind's move into space. I had a lot to figure out.
But, I would draw your attention to an old movie: Enemy Mine. It had all that also. It had spaceships, aliens, weapons, etc, but those were merely trappings. The real story was found in the drama that existed between the characters. In the end, to please intelligent readers, you must give them characters they can sink their teeth into.
closed Dec 16, '22
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