By: The Steps to Getting Published Team
Hello and welcome to science fiction month at The Steps to Getting Published! After a month off in June, we’re delighted to bring you a special month of science fiction themed articles and publishing opportunities in the science fiction genre. First, we have researched a few science fiction subgenres to give you a better idea of what conventions you’ll be working with in these subdivisions of sci-fi. Specifically, we’ll take a look at dystopian and utopian societies, definitions of hard science fiction, time travel, mythic fiction, space exploration, and space operas. As always, if you have any questions on these topics or would like to add your own science fiction knowledge to the comments, please don’t hesitate to jump in!
Hard Science Fiction
Hard Science Fiction is a sub-genre dedicated to realism. Specifically, realism in regards to the technology and science used or discussed in the novel. It is important to focus on the theories and real science that inspires your work rather than get too creative with unrealistic concepts. Oftentimes, the focus on technology and science results in a lack of character development--and sometimes a lack of plot. Though it is possible to create a strong narrative thread while delving into this sub-genre, as seen with Arthur C. Clark's "Fountains of Paradise," Jules Verne's "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea," and Isaac Asimov's "I, Robot." If you are interested in writing about realistic possibilities with tech and science, then this could be a sub-genre to pursue.
Dystopian/Utopian Societies
With the rise in popularity of books like The Hunger Games, it’s easy to forget that the idea of dystopian and utopian societies has been around for a long time. Early novels in the genres include Utopia from the year 1560, Gulliver’s Travels from 1756, and Brave New World from 1932. And who can forget books like Orwell’s 1984 and Wyndham’s The Chrysalids in the mid 20th century? While utopian societies are based on the ideal society, often depicted as a fairy-tale or heaven-like land with no famine or suffering, utopias are, for the most part, debatable. Can any land really be a utopia? Who makes the call on what’s considered ideal? On the flip side is dystopia, in which readers observe lands that are dysfunctional, corrupt, and oftentimes in ruins. Dystopians are usually futuristic, giving the reader insight into what may happen in the years ahead if humans continue down a certain path. When writing in this genre, consider unique apocalyptic events, satires of utopian settings, and government and religions of these lands.
Mythic Fiction
It is in Mythic Fiction that you will find references to real-world mythology and folklore. In this sub-genre, writers typically take inspiration from or incorporate aspects of ancient mythology into their works. Some examples, although not sci-fi-oriented, include Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series, Neil Gaiman's American Gods, and Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier. These works all revolve around well-known tales of heroes and monsters, though they offer interesting twists to the lore. If you are interested in writing Mythic Fiction within the Sci-Fi genre, it is expected that you allude to or take inspiration from known mythology and folklore while writing in a sci-fi setting. Imagine the tales of the Greek Gods and Blade Runner mingling together. It would certainly be an interesting novel to visit.
Time Travel
A beloved subgenre, time travel has been gathering readers for decades. Most readers are enthralled by the idea of jumping into another time or place, living beyond their years, or changing something horrific in their past. And of course, the methods of traveling through time can be just as fun as entering a different time period! In “The Time Machine” by H.G. Wells, readers get to visualize such a contraption. The clunky time machine was not quite as fancy as the DeLorean from Back to the Future, but hey, it got the job done. In your writing, consider unique methods of time travel, with an emphasis on exactly how time travel is accomplished. Readers who know the genre well will be looking for explanations, having read different theories and seen many different time machines. Also consider the choices made in different time periods. If traveling to the past, how does this change the modern world? Why were these changes necessary?
Space Operas
Opposing Hard Science Fiction, the Space Opera genre is neither strict in its conventions nor oriented towards science and technology. A prominent characteristic of this sub-genre, however, is long story arcs and character arcs spanning across several novels. Typical theming for these stories include heroism, rebellion, politics, imperialism, colonialism, war, and space exploration. If you would like to write tales where certain reoccurring characters deal with dramatic situations within a science fiction setting, then this is a sub-genre to explore. Examples of Space Operas are "A Fire Upon the Deep" by Vernor Vinge, "A Talent for War" by Jack McDevitt, and Cassastar by Alex J. Cavanaugh.
Space Exploration
One of the most popular subgenres of science fiction (especially during the heyday of space travel—the 1950s and 1960s), is space exploration. Here, a main character might leap to Mars to explore the landscape, or they might speed off to another galaxy altogether. And there are subgenres within this subgenre as well, including space defenders, danger and villains in space, problems with escape pods or space debris, hazards of light-speed, alien attacks, and blackholes or wormholes. The list is quite exhaustive, so the sky is the limit here (no pun intended). Consider research in this area, including galaxies, planets, space machines and space travel. Imagination is key to this subgenre, because the future of space travel is up in the air (pun intended).
Good luck with these and please look for publishing opportunities in sci-fi, coming in the next few days!
