A writing resource for Science Fiction writers featuring creative science fiction ideas, writing prompts, short stories, and advice.
How to vet your story idea for sales and success. How to Write a Good Sci-Fi Story There are many pitfalls to avoid when writing science fiction. But writing a good sci-fi story isn't just about avoiding the bad, it's also about including the good. Read on to find out more. Sta...
A Guide to Science Fiction Subgenres What If? 50 Ideas for Alternate History Scenarios Story Idea: Control Planet 13 Planet Name Generator Robot Name Generator About SciFi Ideas Character last name generator Elite Dangerous random spaceship name generator ...
The Six-Word Story: a story told in just six words (the most famous example of this format, said to be written by Ernest Hemingway, is a tragically brief one-line story: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”) Write a six-word story about someone going through a hard time. Write a...
Consider telling your tale from the perspective of someone who shares your background -- if you're a teacher, for example, tell your story of planetary colonization from a teacher's perspective, rather than spending endless hours trying to find out what it would be like to be a starship ...
Most science fiction, especially science fiction made for the screen, is reluctant to explore anything outside of our current societal mode. The TV showDefiancebriefly featured a character with two husbands, but she was a minor villain and her relationship quickly fell apart.The Expansebooks mentio...
Growing Up– Some of the best realistic fiction is about changing from childhood to adulthood, or from adulthood to old age. Life Changes– From divorce and sickness to getting fired and learning to truly live, life changes have made for many a great story in this literary genre. ...
One genre that consistently tackles big ideas is science fiction. And one of the most interesting new science fiction writers is Aliette de Bodard, whose story, “Immersion,” appeared in Clarkesworld and won or was nominated for pretty much every award possible: Nebula, Locus, and Hugo Awards...
Welcome back to a very spoooooky part two of the Novel Ideas Halloween Extravaganza (consisting of two episodes of questionable quality). This episode is about The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. Shirley Jackson is probably best known for her excellent short story, “The Lottery,”...
You would think that working at a school with the word “Science” in the title would mean Science Fiction all the time. But I didn’t develop a unit for this genre until several years at SLA. At first, it was an interdisciplinary unit developed with former Physics teacher Rosalind Echols...