by Ellen Buikema

To get your science fiction story started, ponder the should, might, and heaven forbid, but what if it happened anyway.

Start by asking, “What if?”

The “What if” question drives the Sci-Fi genre.

Science fiction stories have an element of newness, the new thing that is grounded in reality. It’s the difference between sci-fi and fantasy.

Consider monsters. Vampires as mythological creatures are fantasy. But what if a virus makes people need to consume blood to survive? Viruses are real science, so they’re grounded in reality. The viral vamps would be dangerous, real-world creatures.

Asking a “what if” question and answering it with something new will give you a solid foundation for your plot.

Decide upon The Type of Science Fiction

Hard science fiction

• Hard SF is grounded in scientific laws and understanding. Elements of natural science form a critical part of the plot.
• Examples: Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series, Nancy Kress’s Beggars in Spain, and Andy Weir's The Martian.

Soft science fiction

• Soft SF is more concerned with social aspects. The technical details of the fictional universe aren’t essential.
• Examples: Ursula K. Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness, Frank Herbert’s Dune series, and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

A good sci-fi story must feature science in a way that’s essential to the story.

Once you have a big question and your science-fiction type, think about themes that make sense to explore.

10 Possible Themes

Aliens

• The big question. Are we alone in the universe? Science fiction takes advantage of this by introducing people to a plethora of ETs.
• Examples: Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End,  G.L. Carriger’s The 5th Gender: A Tinkered Stars Mystery

Alternate reality

• Explore multiple sides to a story to answer the question. Do different choices lead to better outcomes? Alternate reality offers sci-fi fans play in worlds that exist parallel to ours.
• Examples:  Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84, David Levithan’s Every Day

Artificial intelligence

• In fictional stories, A.I., a self-aware computer system capable of thinking on its own, often escapes from the control of its programmers and turns on humanity. Sometimes, while trying to help the lesser beings—us—their efforts do more harm than good.
• Examples: J. Michael Straczynski and Pete Woods' Terminator Salvation,  (The original author may be Sophia Stewart, who wrote Third Eye, the basics of Terminator as well as The Matrix. Court case is ongoing.), Ray Kurzweil’s The Singularity is Near

Bodily modifications

• Body modifications in sci-fi vary from superficial to superhuman. They can be mechanical, organic, or both. The modifications might improve the character’s life but sometimes leaves them ruined or dependent upon their mechanical “upgrades.”
• Examples: acflory’s Miira , Frank Miller’s RoboCop (Steven Grant adapted Frank Miller’s screenplay.)

Brain uploads

• If your mind is scanned, mapped, and copied into another entity, will it still be you? One possible way to achieve immortality is by uploading a person’s brain into a machine. Science fiction theorizes that enough scientific advancement may lead to immortality.
• Examples: Dennis E. Taylor’s We Are Legion (We Are Bob) , John C. Wright’s The Golden Age

Psychics

• Science fiction delves into human evolution and the inner workings as well as limitations of the human brain. Have we unlocked our full potential? If pushed, will people develop abilities that cannot be explained?
• Examples: Tricia O’Malley’s One Tequila , Jody Houser’s Stranger Things

Robots

• Robots come in various shapes and sizes; their function is to enhance people’s lives. They sometimes go above and beyond what was originally required. Sci-fi stories also portray self-aware robots, leading to a revolution where people play the weaker beings.
• Examples:  Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot, Meredith Katz’s, The Cybernetic Tea Shop

Space

• Space—the final frontier. These words immediately cause me to hear the theme track to the Star Trek TV series. As science fiction often uses technology that doesn’t exist in the story’s timeframe, space is a great setting for new tech.
• Examples: Andy Weir’s The Martian , James S.A. Corey’s Cibola Burn

Technospeak

• Technospeak (or technobabble) is any mix of words that sounds like a blending of buzzwords and real science to fit the genre.
• Examples: Instead of a specific book, I thought it’d be fun to have a technospeak/technobabble generator and found this cool link: https://www.scifiideas.com/technobabble-generator/. Scroll to the bottom for lots of interesting sci-fi random generator ideas like future food names, planet names, alien species …

Time

• A popular time-related idea is time travel. Could we undo a past mistake or learn what our future self does? An interesting time-related theme is the time loop, where a character must repeat the day over and over until they figure out how to break the cycle.
• Examples: Adrian Cousins’ The Jason Apsley Series, Shawn Inmon’s Middle Falls Time Travel

A gripping sci-fi story might include a few major themes. Find themes that play well together.

The themes of us vs. them plus exploration can make a fantastic space odyssey book with lots of aliens. Androids and robots can tie together what it means to be human with the risks inherent in technology.

To be continued.

Do you prefer hard science fiction or soft sci-fi? If you decide to write a science fiction novel or graphic novel, what would your “What if” question be? What is your favorite science fiction book?

* * * * * *

About Ellen

Author, speaker, and former teacher, Ellen L. Buikema has written non-fiction for parents and a series of chapter books for children with stories encouraging the development of empathy—sprinkling humor wherever possible. Her Works In Progress are The Hobo Code, YA historical fiction and Crystal Memories, MG Magical Realism/ Sci-Fi.

Find her at https://ellenbuikema.com or on Amazon.

Image by 0fjd125gk87 from Pixabay