Questions tagged [science-fiction]
Stories about space, technology, the future, and other things that could be real but aren't.
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Can a superhero story work in novel format?
I have an original idea for a Marvel type storyline with a few sub-plots that you would see in a typical romance/contemporary drama narrative. Would something like this work in novel form?
I can't ...
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Which option would best fit my episodic series?
So I have this base idea of this story about a vampiric, tentacled monster(s) that put people into a dreamworld/illusion/matrix called Reveries so they can feed on their blood. It also follows a man ...
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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 ...
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Border between fantasy and space opera
Fantasy is often fitted to medieval age. Space opera is often fitted to far future and all those futuristic is only background that says it is science-fiction. Also, in space opera can be present ...
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How to engagingly introduce a ton of history that happens in, subjectively, a moment?
I have a character in science fiction who, for Plot Reasons, has to go into a half-conscious vegetative state for an indefinite period. The idea is that her brain is uniquely structured to solve ...
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How can I make a compelling character unlikable?
I think I know what goes in to making an unlikable character compelling and engaging. I'm not sure I know how to make them unlikable in the first place though; In particular how does one show that a ...
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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 ...
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Should I specify the year for a somewhat-near-future sci-fi novel?
I'm writing a fiction book as close to hard sci-fi as I can (aside from some handwaving of one major story element to actually get the plot going), and I'm working on sorting out the timeline. I've ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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What are some ways that new developments in science and engineering can be shared with hard-core sci-fi writers?
When I was younger, I read hard-core science fiction incessantly, I learned a lot, and this inspired my imagination and helped me to become an engineer. Now I am developing the kind of technology that ...
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How do I make a situation that looks like a planet will be destroyed, but without actually destroying it? [closed]
Here are some details for context:
There are two civilisations, A and B. B is significantly smaller, around a few hundred people.
B is visiting A's home world via a magic item that can teleport a ...
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High tech crime [closed]
For a near-future cyberpunk story, what inventive crimes using high tech (not including hacking, ransomware, etc, as these already are too commonplace) already exist today? One thing that comes to my ...
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How do I write a superintelligent character?
A very similar question has been asked here.
Writing a Super Intelligent AI
I ask this question for multiple reasons. I was writing a sci-fi work and I decided it'd make sense that the characters have ...
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Where can I go to find a co-author for my book series?
I am trying to locate a co-author for a book series I have planned. I have the basic premise and foundation done, and have written a rough "first page." But, even though I am a published ...
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How can I have characters have very little to no communications with outside world without it sounding too contrived?
This will be like 1 of 3 posts about this story.
I am writing (or plan to at least) a story about these folks that are shrunk and sent out to make 'first' contact with a civilization of cockroaches. ...
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What could I do to write a fictional story with a lot of action without applying too many character perspective changes?
I'm writing a fictional(science fiction) story. Currently, I'm on a chapter that has a lot perspective changes, and I'm writing in third person, so my readers can experience things near the ...
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What would happen if all humans disappeared from the world today? [closed]
I would like to write a science fiction novel where, as of today (30 April 2023) all humans disappeared from the universe. All other animals, plants & fishes exist, just not humans.
What would be ...
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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?
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How propose a story / write / publish for an established universe or franchise? [duplicate]
I would like to know the process of proposing a story or manuscript for an established universe or franchise. Some examples of universes include Star Wars, Star Trek, Horizon, etc. My question is ...
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Who should be the antagonist when my novel is meant to be educational?
I am writing a science fantasy novel, but I think I should re-write it completely. Let me explain the situation.
Here's the concept of my novel: The story takes place in an alternate world where a ...
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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, ...
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How can I balance an FTL system in a sci-fi story?
I'm currently writing up a sci-fi universe where humanity is the newbies to the intergalactic community. Because nobody likes stories of extremely slow yet realistic interstellar voyages (with ...
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The role of inexplicable events in hard science fiction
The modern world has few true mysteries, among them the fate of the Roanoke colonists and the crew of the Mary Celeste but do such happenings have a place in futuristic settings?
In settings with ...
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How much is too much for an upper middle grade book? (TW suicide mention)
One of my main characters is named Lucas. Lucas can turn into a cat. He struggles with controlling this power. He’s also from the bad side of town; his parents are neglectful and eventually disappear ...
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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'...
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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 ...
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How can I dig conflict out of an optimistic SF-nal premise?
I frequently have ideas for what could be called "optimistic" science-fiction premises - imaginary technological or social changes which I think would create an unusual and interesting setting, and "...
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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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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 ...
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To explain or not to explain?
In fantasy and science fiction, there's often either magic or advanced technology. Often, these are integral parts of the story and also would seem trivial for someone in the universe. However, for ...
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Writing a Super Intelligent AI
Something I have been thinking about recently is how to write a character who is an artificial intelligence and not have him feel human. Specifically an AI who is designed to think faster and better ...
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Are there any science fiction books (or historical fiction) which don't have specific "main characters", which talks in generalities instead?
I am considering how to write a "fiction" book about the far distant past (millions of years ago), like some sort of historical or science fiction book. I'm not sure if there is a specific ...
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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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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....
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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I wrote a novel, now what?
I'm new here, so, please, bear with me.
I had a look at previous answers to similar questions, but my case is (possibly) a bit different.
I am not a professional writer, so I wrote this (long) novel ...
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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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Where and how to publish new work?
I have made several stories, not short, but not long. They might make a small book.
But I'm new and don't know anything,
Where should I publish it, I mean, safely, as they could rip off the idea or ...
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Is time travel science fiction or fantasy?
The line between science fiction and fantasy is often blurred. And that's okay. Genre is often more about marketing than anything else. As a general rule though: SciFi has science and technology ...
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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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