Questions tagged [science-fiction]
Stories about space, technology, the future, and other things that could be real but aren't.
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Aliens determining position of alien civilization
I am working on a story where an alien tells humans that a gamma ray burst will arrive at the human civilization in one year, as the alien is 100 billion of light years away (outside of the known ...
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How seriously can the wild wild west nature of pro wrestling be taken in a story or fictional world that takes place in a modern setting?
I wanted to take a realistic approach to pro wrestling when it came to world-building. If you are not a fan of pro wrestling, I would tell you that pro wrestling is an insane concept when taken ...
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In a story where magic exists, does magic leave a lot of room for hope and spiritual beliefs?
I'm kind of asking two questions here. One question is about hope and the other is about spiritual beliefs.
I like to keep my world grounded in reality. For some reason, I feel like this is super easy ...
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Does transhumanism overlap with traditional superpowers when both share the same settings?
I always thought the superpowers/superhero genre and the supertechnolgy/futuristic genre were two different genres, but I notice that people still considered superpowers to be a part of the whole ...
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When it comes to superhero stories, does the law of cool play a role in hitmen, assassins, and serial killer characters usually not having powers?
In a lot of superhero stories, characters that usually have killer-based gimmicks, the assassin/hitmen or serial killer type of characters, are often portrayed as not having superpowers.
The majority ...
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In a superhuman society, would certain threats be underestimated by society?
Batman has an extremely dangerous supervillain gallery. One of those dangerous villains is Victor Zsasz. He is a very dangerous serial killer. Put him in the real world, and Victor Zsasz would be the ...
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Is it an odd concept for a superhero with superhuman powers to use technology/gadgets and also rely on tech?
In fiction, it's usually human superheroes without powers like Batman or Green Arrow, that use tech or depend on tech to make up for their lack of superpowers.
Not all metahumans are bulletproof, but ...
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What are some things to consider when it comes to superpowers and criminal organizations coexisting in the same Superhero world?
Fictional works about criminal organizations, like Scarface, God Father, and Sons of Anarchy. These works are where I get my notes from. I would like to see how superpowers would look in the criminal ...
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Is it odd to overestimate the danger of peak human characters or characters without powers?
What does peak human mean in my world?
There are two types of peak humans in my world: physical types and mental types. Physical types are the top tier in skills that involve hand-to-hand combat or ...
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When it comes to superhero stories, would an audience be accepting of a weak character that is superhuman?
I find myself limited or stuck between writing two types of characters. One character type is the Batman type. The type where the hero can be vulnerable to any form of damage and can be taken out ...
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Is there a written equivalent to the "jump scare"?
The "jump scare" is a standard storytelling technique in horror and science fiction film and video games, in which a very rapid transition (stereotypically, a creature literally jumping up ...
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Are flash-forwards ever used as literary devices?
Flashbacks are common in books and movies. People only perceive linear time in that they only have knowledge of the past, even when those memories might seem to be artificially planted.
What are the ...
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How to find out more about how certain government operations work?
I am writing a Michael Crichton-style sci-fi novel, and at one point, a government operation is convened to fix a problem - consider a national emergency (let say a virus/bioweapon got loose from a ...
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How to depict alien thoughts when color/pattern is primary language?
Searched through questions, googled around, and couldn't find anything helpful so here I am.
I am trying to find an interesting way to write out the thought patterns of an alien species that's primary ...
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Is using Swahili inspired vocabulary and words similar to Japanese slang in my custom language cultural appropriation?
For context the species using my language are non-human with mostly human characteristics. This extraterrestrial race is called the Ilya and they differ from humans in the way that they evolved to be ...
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Writing detail from an animal's perspective
My sci-fi story is told from an alien wild animal's perspective. The story is immersive, so the reader directly follows the thoughts and reflexes of the alien. I enjoy writing this way, because the ...
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How to write a character who has the ability to manipulate diamagnetism? [closed]
I am trying to adapt a character who has Diamagnetic Manipulation abilities (https://powerlisting.fandom.com/wiki/Diamagnetism_Manipulation) into my own universe. Although I know superpowers do not ...
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Sudden diary entry within a 3rd person limited story
I'm writing a 3rd person limited multi-pov Sci-Fi. The thoughts of whatever POV is being followed at any point are sometimes shown in italicized writing. Suddenly, 42K words in, starting off chapter ...
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How to describe races/ethnicities in setting where corresponding geographic locations do not exist?
In English, the common name for some racial or ethnic groups is a fairly neutral English word (e.g. white, black...). Others, however, are named only by reference to a geographic point of origin (e.g. ...
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How and where should you explain how the physical laws of your sci-fi universe significantly differ from the real world?
How and where should you explain how the laws of your sci-fi universe significantly differ from the real world? Let's say that the laws are so different from the what be construed from the theories of ...
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How to write a cover letter when submitting fiction to a magazine?
How should I write the cover letter, when submitting some fiction to a magazine? What is the format? What are the things that I must and should include in it?
I am not an established writer. I have ...
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Writing Science Fantasy: Problems with oversaturation of weird?
I have been thinking of writing a Science Fantasy novel, basically a world with both magic and not currently invented science. I have concerns that it might just have too much fantasy, too much ...
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Is it okay to change plots/genres multiple times?
My question is rather simple, and means exactly what it looks like. I'm writing a book in which there have been a genre change, from a not-very-good suspense novel to more of an action, however, the ...
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What kind of alternative or futuristic energy source would you come up with? [closed]
I'm writing a sci-fi novel and am having a hard time coming up with a new energy source that DOESN'T revolve around the widely popular "nuclear" option everyone favors so much. I've tried ...
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What level of understanding should you have of Quantum Physics to write a hard science fiction novel?
What level of understanding should you have of Quantum Physics to write a hard science fiction novel? And how should you learn Quantum Physics in order to be able to write a hard science fiction novel?...
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What Is the Best Approach to Making A Main Character That is Not "Special" Without Making it Feel Like A Pity Party?
Just some background: I'm writing a story centered around a boy who is not special. As in, there is nothing too defining about him physically. The thing is, he isn't in a realistic setting. He is ...
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How Do I Compress Multiple Novels' Worth of Plot, Characters, and Worldbuilding into One?
I have been working on worldbuilding, plotting out, and writing characters for a science-fantasy series for over 4 years now, and I feel the time has come to take another stab at writing the actual ...
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Writing a Sci-Fi novel [duplicate]
I’m trying to write a Sci-Fi novel in one year and I’m wondering how many words I should write per week. I’m shooting for a total of ~90,000 words by the end of the year.
In terms of when I can write ...
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When is there too much of a plot misdirection?
I'm sure that somebody is going to point me to this question, but my case is different.
So I and my best friend are currently writing a science fiction novel that has many plot twists and "...
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How to write a novel which is taking place entirely in a foreign country, with foreign culture and foreign characters? [closed]
How to write a novel which is taking place entirely in a foreign country, with a foreign culture and foreign characters?
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How to progress a fantasy novel that is also slice of life?
I am currently writing a novel where I mix the genre fantasy, sci-fi, and slice of life. My plan is to make the main character to save the sci-fi city using fantasy. And beyond that, I also use slice ...
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How best to describe multiple alien species in a short amount of time?
I am in the beginning stages of writing what might be a space opera. The story starts in a society that consists of three planets that all fall under one governmental domain. The problem I'm running ...
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Is my novel Fantasy or Sci-Fi?
I have a Wattpad account and I've been entering contests... I've been using the fantasy genre to describe my novel, but I just saw descriptions of fantasy and sci-fi and now I'm wondering if my novel ...
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Managing alien languages in Sci-Fi creatively
I’m writing a story where alien races are in constant communication with humans, but I don’t want it to be awkward or have to use language tags like “...he said in x language.” Maybe I could have a ...
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How to make "new apprentice" type info-dump less boring
I'm writing a story wherein a teenager X gets suddenly and involuntarily enlisted in an sci-fi army. I need to explain certain technology to the reader, and the army needs to explain certain ...
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When writing science fiction or horror, how to prevent the villain from becoming less scary as they are fleshed out?
I'm trying to write a horror short story about a shape-shifter, but I have trouble keeping it from sounding like a science fiction story.
The story starts out with a creepy tone, with a person close ...
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Modifying common fantasy species like elves, dwarves, etc.?
So I'm writing a science fiction story, with more fantasy that actual science. When I say "sci-fi" I really mean space opera. There are intergalactic companies, entire planets dedicated to ...
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Concerns about my novella trilogy's main antagonist
In my novella trilogy that I am writing, Of Aliens and Men, the leader of the main antagonist faction, an alien organization called the Empyre (pronounced: Em-peer) Empire, Empress Erika II holds nigh-...
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How do I teach my protagonist high level programming? [closed]
I am working on a science fiction story about robots and the protagonists needs to hack the main computer to stop the robots. Edit: The protagonist knows a little bit of programming but not enough to ...
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How can a portal be hidden for 5 years but found by children? [closed]
I am writing a story in which two children, ages 12-14 years old, discover a portal to another dimension. The portal is roughly the size of an average door and has existed for five years prior to ...
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Finding a book series, I read the first book awhile ago and would like to finish the series [closed]
I read a book a while ago and I'm try to remember its name.
The book was about a an outcast who used to be a the general of a rebellion against a colony of planets. These planets had faster than ...
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Would you advise against having a fictional continent as the setting for a Science Fiction story?
Let me elaborate. In things such as Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings (so, high fantasy), fictional continents are quite often the setting. I don't recall ever seeing this in Science Fiction. My ...
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Would it be bad taste or honoring to name a Starship after historical places, ex: Pompeii?
In my book, Earth is gone and are all the counties and a majority of the population and cultures. A small population is left and they make a home on another planet. Now, just under 200 years later, ...
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How do I deliver a historical plot reveal?
Right before the climax of my scifi fantasy novel, there's a big reveal about who the bad guys really are and how they influenced the magic system -- throughout history. This reveal will be the much ...
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wreckage or wreckages
I'm trying to describe a ring of broken, destroyed spacecraft. I want to use wreckage ring or ring of wreckage or ring of wreckages.
Wreckages is an interesting word that I'm confused about.
I've ...
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How to maximize reader comprehension if worldbuilding is complicated?
Parts of my worldbuilding are critical to the plot. If readers don't understand the world, they won't understand the stakes for the protagonist and the failure conditions.
Edit. Please don't assume ...
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How does one avoid inevitable influences being obvious when writing something like superheroes?
So I have been debating writing a story idea I have had swimming in my head for a long time. I love superhero comics, and I love the more character driven aspects of the stories.
I have been ...
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Hierarchies and Role Titles - How do come up with them
I'm looking to see what everyone has used in the past to come up with hierarchies and position titles for your novels.
For example, instead of using "President", "Prime Minister", "Pope", "Bishop", ...
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How to avoid or mitigate heavy science lingo and "technobabble" in a science fiction story?
Background
I am currently working on a small science fiction story (as referenced in a previous question of mine). The main protagonist of the story is an autistic biologist who gets stranded on an ...
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In modern Sci-Fi/Fantasy, does real world racism need to be addressed?
I have read through a lot of questions regarding questions of a similar nature, but all of the questions I looked at involved fantasy worlds that were removed from the "real world." In my novel, I ...
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