Beginning a Sci-fi Story

1.      The Focus- As someone with at least minor experience in writing science fiction, I can safely say that it is one of the most rewarding genres to work with. This is majorly due to the fact that the volume of options and directions that an author can take in sci-fi is unprecedented. Coming up with the initial idea for your story is the first way to go. Often writers will spontaneously get an idea that they will feel inspired to write about. However, if you are having difficulty coming up with a genuine focus for a sci-fi, try brainstorming. Try to find a location and time that you consider to be your “comfort zone,” grab a notepad, and just jot down the first ideas that come to you. Use your imagination; you may be surprised with what you come up with. Finally, don’t be afraid to “think outside the box” when fishing for story ideas. All fiction stories are unique in some way, but sci-fi in particular has a way of giving new definition to unique because of the fact that they can bend the laws of physics and reality. Use this to your advantage when coming up with a story.

2.      Research- This step is optional and doesn’t always apply. Because these stories are science fiction, writers have a bit more liberty to bend the rules of realism in order to make a compelling story. Having said that, one may find it prudent to do some background research on a particular subject in order to add value to the story. For example, with a sci-fi story that takes place in outer space, it may be a good idea to research some facts about basic astronomy in order to bring some realistic applications into your piece. The reader will likely be impressed by these tidbits of knowledge that you are applying to the story and may make them that much more inclined to read on.

3.      Setting- One of the marvels of sci-fi is the ability to take readers to a variety of different places and points in time. A sci-fi can take place in another age, another country, another planet, or even another universe. Regardless, the writer should have a clear sense of setting before anything else can fall into play. A hint about setting when actually writing the story is to lead the reader into it naturally. I’ve found that one of the worst things a writer can do is to begin a story with something like, “It was once a dark and stormy night in 18^th century England,” or something of that nature. Such blatant revealing of the setting should only be done if there is a very good reason for it. Otherwise, it’s better to find a more gradual, subtle way to make the setting known to the reader. If all goes well, the reader should be able to understand the setting on their own.

4.      Characters- Once a clear sense of setting is established, the next step of the journey is to come up with your main characters. This is perhaps one of the more difficult tasks when writing any sort of fiction. In this day and age, there have already been a slew of stories with characters of various races, genders, species, personalities, and it can be difficult to come up with a character that is genuine and creative. However, one of the key differentiating factors of a character is its unique backstory. As you progress with the plot of the story, I encourage you to subtly drop hints about the character’s past and personality through the occasional flashback. Like the setting, try not to make the backstory of characters outwardly known, if it can be avoided. Lead your way into it while dropping gradual hints along the way through the plot and dialogue. The readers will decide for themselves whether they find the main characters to be compelling or not based on this vivid backstory.

5.      Plot/Theme- Finally, the last step of getting started with a sci-fi is to get a sense of the plot. At first, the only thing that is really important here is the plot of the overall story. Will the sci-fi revolve around war, romance, disaster, horror? Will the main character go through a major change that affects the fates of all the other characters? Will there be a major conflict throughout the story? Once you establish what this entire story will center around, you can then go about making this overall plot known in a chapter-by-chapter, paragraph-by-paragraph sequence. Your main concern before you even begin writing is to know what the greater point of the story is. You don’t have to outline every single plot detail of the story in the beginning. Often at times, you can spontaneously fill in the blanks as you go along.

Once you have established each one of these steps to some degree, congratulations, you are ready to try your hand at writing a Sci-fi piece!