Writing...
Science fiction stories are an amazing and extremely important genre of fiction. Science fiction stories use ideas about what might be possible to tell great stories. They help us think about important issues like...
|
The most important question in science fiction is "What if..."
There are many different subgenres of science fiction, or sci-fi. On this website we'll explore some of the famous ones. |
Plan Your Story
The most important question in science fiction is "what if..." After reading about the different sub-genres, come back here and try a graphic organizer showing cause-effect in your story.What if... G.O.Multiple Cause & Effect G.O. |
Here are some helpful story maps.
Word Web G.O. Write details about the science concept and events you want to use that are helpful to your story.
Most short stories begin and end in a short amount of time. Sometimes creating a timeline is very helpful in planning your story. Not everything you write in your timeline has to go into your story.
|
|
Don't forget, just like any story, you need strong characters, a setting, problems, and a resolution. It doesn't need to be a happy ending.
Subgenres of Science Fiction
Alternate History StoriesIn alternate (or alternative) history stories, writers imagine how the past might have been different. Usually, the stories focus on one important moment in history that happened differently and changed the world.
These stories sometimes use time travel to change the past. Some set a story in a universe with a different history from our own. Background Information WebsiteTime Travel StoriesThe most famous is H. G. Wells's 1895 novel The Time Machine. Well's book uses a machine that allows an operator to travel to an exact time. The term "time machine", was invented by Wells. Now it is the name for any vehicle that can take a rider to a one date.
Time travel stories can be complicated. What happens if you go back in time and meet yourself? What happens if you accidentally change something in the past? If you went to the future, what would you see? Why would you go? Near Future Science Fiction StoriesNear future sci-fi stories usually focus on some issue we are dealing with in our life time or might very soon. GPS is one example. It's everywhere. We use it to go everywhere and find new places. But what if we put them on people instead of places?
|
Space Opera Stories
Space opera is adventure science fiction in outer space or on distant planets. Star Trek might count as space opera. Humans have colonized many solar systems and met many aliens. There are usually strong heroes and very big conflicts. The action often moves to many different places. Star Wars is another popular example. Robot StoriesRobots are artificial humans. It originates from the slavic word "robota" which means "laborer". Many robot stories ask questions about what is the difference between robots (artificial intelligence) and people. Some stories ask what would happen if the robots became smarter than people.
Should Robots Have Human Rights? |
Space Western StoriesSome people may think that Space Western is a kind of Space opera. It takes ideas from books and movies about exploring the American Old West and moves them to space in the future. These stories are often on "frontier" colony worlds where life is very difficult and dangerous. Characters have to survive the dangers of being alone and surviving on an alien world.
Below is a Space Western Madlibs to practice thinking about the dangers of spaced. Alien StoriesThe alien invasion or first contact are common themes in science fiction stories and film, in which aliens (extraterrestrials) meet humans. Sometimes it's hostile: they invade Earth either to exterminate human life, enslave it under a colonial system, to harvest humans for food, steal the planet's resources, or destroy the planet altogether. Or at least, that's the fear. But not all alien stories have evil aliens. Sometimes the story's are uplifting and the conflict is about how we learn to communicate with people who aren't like us.
Insects are often used for modeling aliens. Choose details from the insects below to make your alien |