Continuing on our series on genres, the next major story-type that needs to be covered is Sci-fi. Sci-fi is a very strong medium for stories. But as such, it's a medium that has been turned into a mix of cliches and commercial exploitation. Today, I am going to talk about some of the strengths and failings of this genre. Note that while many (if not all) tips for one genre apply to all of the others, I will try to not repeat myself, and will try to put the tips with the genre to which they are most relevant.
Tip 1: Create an intimate story with characters that you care about, and do not feel like it has to be epic in scale.
One my most common complaints for sci-fi is that the writers, perhaps because they have to create such a large universe, feel they need to always create big stories about grand space wars, planets dying, etc... While there is nothing wrong with such a story, many sci-fi tales get so lost in the grandness that they forget to tell a personal story that focuses on a specific few characters. Challenge yourself to take the more difficult path and tell a smaller story within a large universe, or else work to make the grand story sufficiently personal so that readers can actually care about the grand scheme of the plot.
Tip 2: The distant history of your universe matters—especially in the future.
Knowing the entire history of your world is more essential to sci-fi than perhaps any other genre. The reason is that everything about a futuristic society depends on the circumstances that lead to them reaching such a high-powered future. And with such powerful elements as are often in sci-fi (weapons, technology, aliens, etc), your world needs to be tremendously balanced to justify why it has not been utterly annihilated by the people who have access to it all, as well as for all the diverse plot elements to believably coexist. And this goes for every planet and species that are in your story.
Tip 3: Behind every incredible exploit, there should be necessity and reason.
Why switch from using explosive bullets to using lasers for weaponry? Think about it. Did the humans watch so much Starwars that they were determined to one day fight with lasers? Can lasers go through bullet-proof jackets? Another question, if this is outer-space sci-fi, is why humans actually put forth the effort and resources to leave the planet—as expensive and dangerous as it might have been. Behind every plot device within your world, there should be a reason. And your story must either show humanity taking the path of most efficiency and least resistance, or give a believable reason for why they did not. Don't put your hero in robotic outfits until you have a reason that they are more efficient than a fighter jet.
Tip 4: Go beyond traditional conventions whenever possible.
Lasers, warp-drives, space stations, and robots are all really fun ideas that have been overdone so that readers now take them for granted. Fifty years ago, the fictional idea of a warp-drive would have had readers on the edge of their seats. And really, this is what sci-fi should do—it should kindle the imagination of readers with new and wonderful and terrifying possibilities. So, whenever you have the chance, try to think of original ideas and ways of war, society, and technology, that have not or have rarely been used.
Tip 5: Discover a way to allow the reader to reasonably look at the world around them with wonder.
Think of all the amazing technology that exists in our everyday lives: cars, cellphones, the internet, medicine, streets, buildings, factories, guns. Now, imagine that the modern world is in a fictional story, being told hundreds of years ago. Would you want to tell the story from the perspective of a typical Point-of-View Character who was from this era? No! As many of us do, this character would take all our technology for granted—and we would never believe it if the Narrator told us that he/she was thinking about or even looking at these technologies with any sort of detail. There should be a reason that the POV Character or Narrator chooses to tell us in detail about the amazing fictional world. Also, you should tell the story from the eyes of a character who has a believable reason for looking at the world with the same level of excitement as what you want your readers to feel.
Tip 6: Don't explain the science unless you use actual science.
Some people may disagree with me on the following point, but I do not see any problem with using technology in a fictional world that is not scientifically possible (although there should be logic and realistic limits involved). However, do not insult your reader's intelligence by giving in-depth scientific explanations for technologies that have no real scientific backing. You can explain the logic, or the fictional principals involved, but don't bore your reader with in-depth fake science. (And, as with the exposition in Fantasy, never overburden your audience with pages of any sort of blatant description/explanation.)
Tip 7: Remember that as technology evolves, culture evolves.
Since the creation of the internet, culture has changed irreversibly—from how we communicate, to the development of a world culture. When you write sci-fi, it is essential to use your Timeline in order to determine how technologies changed humanity, and the direction we headed as a species. And in order to do that realistically, you must look at these technologies in the order of their development, and progress from one major change to the next—as opposed to showing how modern day humans would change if all the technologies were thrown in at the same time.
Tip 8: Don't let the world stand as the reason for the story.
While a good world is vital in sci-fi, you must never allow your story to just be a world-exploration vignette. You will not bring focus to your world by accompanying it with a weak story, but disinterest your readers so much that they do not notice the world you have created. If you have a strong world idea but not much of a story, design your world in your notebook and just save it for a story that is strong enough to make all your hard work and wonderful ideas pay off.
Tip 9: Realize both the darkness and the light within your World.
Too often, writers over-romanticize or over-demonize the future of humanity. If you want your story to be respected for its realism, you need to show both the light and the darkness—the mixture of good and evil. What problems did humans valiantly solve, and how did we grow? Which new challenges and past demons have we failed to overcome?
Tip 10: Beware the allegory.
If you want to tell a dynamic story that makes your audience think about Deep Themes and complicated ideas, do not tell allegory. Allegory is a tool for explanation or “preaching to the choir,” not for exploring complicated issues like sci-fi so often does. Prevent yourself from writing allegory by staying away from representations of pure good and pure evil, and by creating a story that challenges the ideals that you propose—not one that blindly supports them.
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Continuing on our series on genres, the next major story-type that needs to be covered is Sci-fi. Sci-fi is a very strong medium for stories. But as such, it's a medium that has been turned into a mix of cliches and commercial exploitation. Today, I am going to talk about some of the strengths and failings of this genre. Note that while many (if not all) tips for one genre apply to all of the others, I will try to not repeat myself, and will try to put the tips with the genre to which they are most relevant.
