Ideas in Creative Writing – Science Fiction
From Asimov to Orson Scott Card, A Very Broad Category
Dec 2, 2008
Science fiction is a genre with a very rich history – a history that has influenced both modern science as well as having had a great impact on the film and entertainment industry. Star Wars, Star Trek, and countless other films and television series have been spawned from the minds of intrepid fans of science fiction literature – a cornerstone of ingenuity and an examination of the realm of the possible though not quite yet realized.
Creating Worlds Within Boundaries
The crucial part in inventing good sci-fi is to immediately create a framework that you will be working in – constructing the boundaries of your sandbox. Some essential questions come to mind – how large will the known universe be? Will there be the possibility of FTL or faster than light travel, contrary to our current Einsteinian understanding of the universe? How has human history progressed – has there been an achievement of universal peace, nuclear war, or simply a revised version of our own contemporary society? How will aliens be treated – should they even exist? Do your mechanized creations follow Asimov's Laws of Robotics, are they sentient at all, and do they possess a soul?
The difference between writing fantasy and writing science fiction is large – fantasy normally concerns itself with it's namesake, science fiction is concerned with the realm of the possible, and in many cases somewhat probable. This distinction may seem purely academic but it is central to your understanding of the genre as a writer – your work must hold at least a layman's degree of scientific accuracy if it is to be considered plausible, and your universe must show evidence of forethought and logic if it is to be taken seriously as a work of great science fiction.
Trade, Politics, and Societies
Readers of science fiction are ultimately a very cerebral lot – tending to enjoy vast histories, empire building, intergalactic trade and political affiliations, and intriguing robotic and technological concepts. Whether your narrative takes place in a ruinous subway tunnel where a group of ragtag survivalists has had the initiative to constitute a slave market and trading post or in the halls of the Intergalactic Chamber of Commerce it is of utmost importance to flesh out your work beyond the scope of traditional fiction.
Invent a political system that has never existed before – perhaps a system that rewards youth and exuberance over age and wisdom and demands that their legislative representatives be under a certain age and possessed of a volatile and intrepid nature. This could be rationalized via a religious or cultural ethos amongst this race that values virility, change, birth, and passion over more sober considerations. This prospective race might likely be warlike, inquisitive, and filled with bravado during conversation or negotiation, for example.
One's work will mature by leaps and bounds if all of these pieces are worked out before moving onto the central plot and fleshing out of interpersonal relationships – a finely crafted chessboard made from luxurious materials bespeaks the quality of the pieces that shall be playing on the field, and so it shall be for your own storytelling.
Gimmicks and Gadgets
Science fiction fans, both writers and readers alike, often share a deep love of all things engineered – all sorts of trinkets and toys that could one day exist. Though not always prescient, such inventions often do spark the mind into considering the ramifications of such technology – for example the immersive, full-screen televisions on each wall of the room as written in Ray Bradbury's dystopic Fahrenheit 451 – and the dangers or benefits that they might confer on the human condition and experience.
While those wall screens might have sucked every ounce of creativity and social experience from the poor wife of Montag, in another world they might have enabled the disabled members of society to pilot cruisers or pleasurecraft – or perhaps even scout out and map the fringes of a smaller charted universe based in the Sol system as part of the military.
Invention and ingenuity above all things is at the heart of good science fiction. Taking care to craft the finest details into one's work and binding it together in a plausible, compelling drama will result in a living, breathing universe that entices others to explore and participate in it. As writers of speculative fiction, that might be the greatest reward possible to reflect the difficulty and passion of this work.
