Science Fiction 101

Science fiction has been a very popular literary genre for almost 100 years. As the world moved into a new technological age during the 20^th Century, people everywhere began to look to the future and wonder what advances the human race would come up with next. Science fiction novelists began imagining everything from colonies on Mars to a world overrun by androids. Novelists today continue to dream up situations for the future of our race, and it seems that the genre changes and adapts with each new technological advance. For example, video phones are no longer science fiction – they are an everyday gadget. The idea of commercial space flights is no longer science fiction – the start-up of the Virgin Galactic program has made it a reality (or, soon to be a reality!). Unlike many other genres, which can remain static indefinitely, science fiction writers need to be constantly on top of their game to ensure that what they are writing does not become out dated as soon as it is written.

Pushing the Boundaries

If you want to be a successful science fiction author, then you need to stay ahead of the pack. Science fiction is probably the most speculative of the speculative fiction genres, and it requires you to push the boundaries. The truly great authors of this genre know that fans don’t want to read another carbon copy of I, Robot or Jurassic Park. These books were cutting edge when first released, but now these ideas have little surprise value left. You can certainly write something along the same lines if you wish, but there is little chance that this sort of book will break out to become wildly successful. Instead, you need to SPECULATE for yourself. Create your own vision for the future and write about it – that is what science fiction is all about.

Research, Research, Research

If you have not already done so, sign up immediately for subscriptions to the major science magazines. In particular (WHAT) magazine, and New Scientist magazine cover the very latest science news. New Scientist is a weekly publication, so you can be sure that the information inside is always up-to-date and accurate. By reading these publications, you can get a very good idea of what is going on in the science world. You should check the major elements of your plot against these resources to make sure that what you are writing about is valid.

This is not to say that everything in your novel has to be completely invented. You might want to feature technology that is already around and put a different spin on how it will turn out in the future. However, you will still need to get the details right! You don’t want to write about how a proton accelerator is guaranteed to wipe out the planet when used, and then find out that this particular experiment has been carried out in real life with no negative consequence! This is what we mean by pushing the boundaries – you need to keep your ideas fresh, and keep advancing technology in your mind beyond what exists in the present.