All Questions
Tagged with science-fiction creative-writing
43 questions
0
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4
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322
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How do I determine if the premise of my story is believable?
This post is part advice and part discussion.
How do you determine if a story's premise is believable?
Is the believability of a story's premise more of a demographic thing? Do people determine how ...
- 160
1
vote
1
answer
63
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How can I write better fight scenes? [duplicate]
I have a science-fiction story I'm writing and it has a ton of fight scenes in it. However, I'm really bad at writing them. How could I improve?
- 136
2
votes
1
answer
167
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Just how unrealistic can I make my science fiction stories without alienating my readers?
Just how unrealistic can I make my science fiction stories without alienating my readers?
I read a lot of comics and often the science in them is just wrong, so I know a lot of people do this and they'...
user36239
1
vote
2
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409
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How do you write a perfect AI character with no human emotion while making it a dramatic character?
https://youtu.be/4BxfV1sBRJs?t=195
“In order for your character to evolve in a positive way, he has to
start out with something lacking in his life, some reason that makes
the change necessary. He is ...
user36239
0
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2
answers
174
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How do trademark laws work for sci-fi tech?
I want to write sci-fi and I love science fiction technologies. However I know you can trademark a name like Star Wars did with droid. Yet, speaking of Star Wars, Larry Niven’s Ringworld is ...
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3
answers
164
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How do you write an action and science fiction story without having it be overtaken by the romantic plot tumour?
The romantic plot tumour is a trope where a show or series or story has a bit of romance in it. However it soon becomes the main focus of the show and this sidelines the original premise of said story....
4
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4
answers
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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 ...
- 821
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6
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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 ...
user36239
7
votes
5
answers
3k
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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?...
user36239
12
votes
8
answers
4k
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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 ...
- 577
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2
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447
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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 ...
- 45
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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 ...
- 121
2
votes
4
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237
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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 ...
- 265
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8
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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 ...
- 211
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10
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6k
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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 ...
- 8,762
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13
answers
5k
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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 ...
- 219
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7
answers
1k
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How do you build a story from a world?
I have some material for a "world" (more fantasy than sci-fi at this point). I've noodled around with this world off-and-on for ages but have never had a story to put in the world. I have some brief ...
- 1,822
8
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6
answers
4k
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I have a unique character that I'm having a problem writing. He's a virus!
Yes, you read that correctly. My villain character is literally a virus. He thinks and behaves just like any other character does, mentally and
personality-wise, but his body is best described as a ...
- 199
23
votes
7
answers
6k
views
How do I create uniquely male characters?
In How to write strong female characters, Standback says that the best way to write a strong female character is to make her uniquely female, the type of character that can not possibly be male and ...
- 2,048
7
votes
2
answers
715
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Characterizing a sentient robot: inhuman PoV
Following the previous question:
Characterizing a sentient robot: sensory data
I'm writing a robot character with a particular PoV. In the previous question I wanted to talk about sensory data; here ...
- 15.9k
4
votes
4
answers
200
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Characterizing a sentient robot: sensory data
I have a sentient robot in my novel.
Truth to be told, I have many. Sentience is somewhat cheap to achieve, meaning that there are multiple artificial beings that can be considered sentient by our ...
- 15.9k
1
vote
4
answers
215
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Is it a bad idea to use footnotes to describe new technologies in a science-fiction novel?
I am wondering if we can use footnotes to describe technologies used in a science-fiction novel instead of describing it by switching from an omniscient POV, that describes everything in a poetic way, ...
user36239
24
votes
12
answers
6k
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Problems Blending Sci-fi & Traditional Fantasy?
I have been cautioned against blending:
Traditional fantasy elements
Such as magic systems and exotic, less plausible creatures (on a scientific level - magic tends to explain away these beasts)
...
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0
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3
answers
235
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Finding resources for sci-fi writers on Quantum Mechanics
I don't have the financial resources to hire a scientific consultant to ask him whether my science-fiction plot is realistic, so I was wondering if there were any resource that teach Quantum Mechanic ...
user36239
1
vote
1
answer
264
views
How do I write a Star Trek themed fiction making the story believable?
I love reading, but I am unable to retain specifics. And Star Trek has quite a few - like the difference between the 'bridge' and the 'deck'.
So, when I try my hand at writing, I tend to skirt ...
5
votes
3
answers
1k
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Dystopia that isn't cliche
Dystopian fiction is a big thing right now, and YA books like The Hunger Games and Divergent are pretty individual and subsequently are bestsellers. But a lot of stuff is also really cheesy and trite,...
user34214
23
votes
12
answers
6k
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When writing science fiction, how important is it to provide scientific details for the (fictitious) things you are presenting in the story?
I know there is a difference between 'hard' and 'soft' science fiction. But even then, it can be hard to know what sort of categorization in which to place and treat your story, and it is not really ...
- 2,174
7
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8
answers
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Why do most literature magazines take so long (several weeks or months) to respond to submissions despite having only a few hundred subs per month?
I have heard that the the editor of F&SF (Finlay) is the only one who reads all the submissions. Yet he always responds within a week! (With detailed comments on each story.) Clarkesworld is ...
- 2,174
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8
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366
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To read or not to read similar works before writing my own?
I was thinking if is better or worst to read other works that share similar ideas to the story you want to write before you start it or while doing it.
Two quick answers comes to my mind:
Yes, do ...
- 173
1
vote
2
answers
189
views
Should I write about a particular lingering thought? [closed]
I have had the thought of writing about a nation with states on another planet. The planet is earth-like and the quantity of some resources is higher than on Earth.
There are some differences between ...
- 415
1
vote
1
answer
128
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Electricity Manipulation Variations [closed]
Trying to create a character with the ability to generate, and manipulate electricity. He's going to be an antihero. Saving people but killing the ones who inflict suffering and chaos. But I'm just ...
- 111
10
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6
answers
1k
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How to use short stories to explore a new setting and potential characters for a novel?
I'm an aspiring fantasy and sci-fi writer and I my goal is to write a novel that is to be the first in a series within the same setting. I'm getting to a point where I can feel "the world coming ...
- 203
1
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2
answers
260
views
How to writer longer stories for a SciFi novel?
I'm writing science fiction short stories and intend to later expand and stitch them together into a science fiction novel.
My problem is that (e.g.) the scenery is left / the destination point is ...
- 121
3
votes
1
answer
618
views
Using "Earth words" in a futuristic, fictional setting
As a writer of primarily science fiction, I've often struggled with finding a happy medium between making the prose/dialogue relatable for readers and avoiding using too many "Earth words" as I've ...
- 177
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0
answers
201
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How to deal with cryptomnesia (falsely recalling generating a thought or idea)? [duplicate]
Paul McCartney, upon composing the melody for "Yesterday", felt certain that it was too good to be original, and that he must have heard it before and just couldn't remember it:
McCartney composed ...
- 293
0
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4
answers
233
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Does this sound too similar to Guardians of the galaxy?
So since 2007 I've been using a raccoon character in my stories and I want to know if he's too similar to rocket raccoon. My character is 12 years old, michievous, sneaky, intelligent, sarcastic, sort ...
17
votes
9
answers
5k
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Writing from a hive mind POV
The story:
Centuries ago, humanity have been incorporated into an alien hive mind, spread by a bacterial-like infection. The "bacteria" infects the blood and brain and allows the infected to join ...
- 984
3
votes
2
answers
575
views
Basics in the world building of a novel
About a year ago I started developing something like an alternative world. About two months a go I finally found some time for more work on this theme and now I am collecting information from few ...
- 573
12
votes
8
answers
3k
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Why do heroes need to have a physical mark?
It seems that a lot of authors want their heroes to be marked in a special way.
It is not enough that these protagonists are going to be heroes, no; they seem to require having a mark that makes them ...
6
votes
6
answers
872
views
How to "defy" physics on a sci-fi?
I am an amateur at worldbuilding and I am already building a sci-fi themed world with fantasy elements.
In my world there will be different kinds of new elements to the periodic table and some ...
- 105
5
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3
answers
356
views
Best way to convey an immediate change of scenery
Okay, bear with me. Think of it like this: My character is stuck in an situation whereby every time he sleeps, he wakes up at a different time (as in the past/future, not 8:00am), in a different ...
- 991
19
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5
answers
4k
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Can Readers Relate to a Book without Humans?
I've been working on a story idea for a few years now, during which I designed a world (fantasy-based) in which it would take place. The thing is that because this is a different planet, I thought it ...
- 193
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8
answers
3k
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An engineering student wants to write fiction, where to start?
I'm a computer engineering student, programmer, avid book lover and have a very vivid (some would say "screwed up") mind.
I recently thought up an idea for a very cool short/medium story. It's like a ...
- 245