All Questions
Tagged with science-fiction world-building
30 questions
12
votes
5
answers
2k
views
How do I smoothly introduce alien units of measurement?
I’m writing some decently-hard science fiction which revolves heavily around an alien species on another planet, far away from our Solar System. Rather than live on a rocky planet, this species ...
- 305
0
votes
4
answers
288
views
In a superhero story, is it better to make all the superpowers come from one source or multiple sources?
In my world I had a idea for four power sources for superhumans. The four power sources were mutations, magic, technology, and skills. Mutations are genetic based superpowers. Magic users get their ...
8
votes
9
answers
4k
views
How do you prevent yourself from neglecting scientific accuracy in a sci-fi-fantasy story without telling?
In a sci-fi setting, I was told it was important to follow scientific principles to some extent. Neglecting these principles can create confusion and disbelief among readers or viewers.
For example, ...
user36239
2
votes
1
answer
167
views
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
0
votes
2
answers
126
views
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 ...
- 125
0
votes
2
answers
138
views
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 ...
- 125
1
vote
3
answers
151
views
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 ...
- 125
0
votes
3
answers
140
views
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 are where I get my notes from. I would like to see how superpowers would look in the criminal underworld. I ...
- 119
-1
votes
1
answer
147
views
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 ...
- 119
3
votes
4
answers
187
views
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 ...
- 119
4
votes
1
answer
215
views
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 ...
10
votes
6
answers
3k
views
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
2
votes
4
answers
237
views
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
2
votes
3
answers
213
views
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, ...
- 175
3
votes
3
answers
319
views
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 ...
- 95
1
vote
1
answer
214
views
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", ...
- 151
13
votes
7
answers
1k
views
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
5
votes
4
answers
1k
views
When an imagined world resembles or has similarities with a famous world
Arguably this might belong in worldbuilding.stackexchange.com, but the question has to do with a fiction story and its relation to other fiction in the real world.
I have a plot which involves an ...
- 151
10
votes
5
answers
945
views
In the background of the Future
As I've mentioned multiple times, I'm writing a military sci-fi novel. The focus of the story is war, and that happens far away from Earth. However, I'm starting with my MC's "normal", on Earth. It is ...
17
votes
8
answers
2k
views
How do I know which elements I can use from the work which orginally inspired me?
I recently read the Blood on the Stars series by Jay Allan and really enjoyed the idea of a post-Golden Age human civilization that has splintered into factions and is now at war with itself.
I ...
- 171
7
votes
4
answers
384
views
Writing a letter from the future
I'm writing a letter from the future to my dear friends, posing as the child they're about to have. The main aim of the letter is to be amusing, but also to give some perspective (you don't need to be ...
- 173
3
votes
2
answers
204
views
Are there any problems using the real-life address of a building if the building is still standing?
I'm writing a story that takes place in the future, sometime around the 2200s, give or take a few decades. The main characters live in San Francisco, in a repair shop that's been built right on top of ...
- 31
2
votes
4
answers
545
views
Is a fictional story set in another world harder to get into?
I am writing a fictional story (could be considered science-fiction) about slightly primitive people. It is set in cold environment where a day cycle takes a whole year. Inspired by Antarctica, with ...
user14025
8
votes
6
answers
2k
views
Superpowers in Writing - Cool for the sake of cool
I originally started planning/writing a short story that was more or less based on a few popular trends in YA/Sci-Fi writing (interstellar travel, superpowers, etc) just as an exercise to force myself ...
- 129
11
votes
7
answers
500
views
How do sci-fi stories hold up if their premise or details become discredited?
I've been playing with the idea of writing a sci-fi story that would resemble those written roughly 50-100 years back: Things we normally would laugh out of court today, like Jules Verne's moon trip, ...
- 211
5
votes
5
answers
430
views
Dealing with Extreme Distances - Space Travel
I know, you can go the Star Wars/Star Trek "hand wave" route and make it seem like everything is a few minutes or hours away, but...
How do I implement a scenario where space travel is as common and ...
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
18
votes
3
answers
2k
views
When do I explain my created world scenario in a prologue vs. letting it unfold in the story?
Let's say I'm creating a unique world for my book. New planet, maybe new species, complex society with complex rules, history, government, and so on. Some of these details are absolutely necessary to ...
8
votes
3
answers
479
views
World Building critique: Building an SF society off a tangent of "Adaptation"
I'm writing a short story for my english final - I'm a junior in high school; we've already taken our AP exam, but our teacher wanted to finish the year with something meaningful.
Anyway, I have been ...
- 539
9
votes
7
answers
957
views
Potential confusion: referring to home planet as "Earth"
I'm writing a science fiction story and it's based in another galaxy, colonised by humans originally on a geographically equivalent "Earth".
My current usage refers to it as "Earth"...
- 1,103