fiction · writing guide

Science Fiction

Use a changed technology, society, or environment to pressure a human question.

For: Readers seeking speculation with causal rigor, discovery, scale, and social or personal consequence.

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Reader expectations

  • The speculative premise changes the plot
  • Consequences extend beyond gadget spectacle
  • Rules remain internally consistent
  • Human stakes stay visible

Common weak points

  • Exposition without conflict
  • Technology that behaves however the scene requires
  • Treating scientific confidence as factual accuracy

Subgenre shelf

  • Space opera
  • Hard SF
  • Climate fiction
  • Cyberpunk
  • First contact
  • Dystopian
  • Social science fiction

Voice palette

precise · curious · propulsive

Original style example

The colony received Earth's reply ninety-three years early. It contained one sentence: Do not answer the message you just sent.Original illustrative sample: causal paradox, compressed context, immediate question. This demonstrates craft characteristics, not a living author’s voice.

Editable starting structure

  1. 1. Establish the changed worldMove the reader through establish the changed world with a clear change, question, or discovery.2,200 starting words
  2. 2. Reveal the anomalyMove the reader through reveal the anomaly with a clear change, question, or discovery.3,200 starting words
  3. 3. Test the systemMove the reader through test the system with a clear change, question, or discovery.3,200 starting words
  4. 4. Expose the consequenceMove the reader through expose the consequence with a clear change, question, or discovery.3,200 starting words
  5. 5. Force the irreversible choiceMove the reader through force the irreversible choice with a clear change, question, or discovery.3,200 starting words
  6. 6. Show the new equilibriumMove the reader through show the new equilibrium with a clear change, question, or discovery.3,200 starting words

Questions before drafting

  • What single change generates the most consequences?
  • Who is excluded from the innovation?
  • What would falsify the characters' model?

Publishing and metadata

  • Separate science fiction from fantasy conventions
  • Identify technology or social premise
  • Use current BISAC headings at publication

Confirm current BISAC/Thema codes when publication metadata is finalized; genre language and retailer classifications change.