Introduction

We're going to do impressions of some different writing styles, including golden age sci-fi, casual world-building, alien reports, and stories for younger readers. To give us something to write about, we'll use this picture as inspiration.

A family in space suits on Mars.

While there have been a lot of different descriptions of science fiction, they usually mention:

characters reacting to changes in science and technology
ideas about possible future events based on our understanding of the real world

Science fiction tries to use ‘realistic imagination’ - amazing inventions, new worlds, and alternative realities (Ready Player One, Star Trek, The Maze Runner). Sc-fi stories also try to explain how these things came to be. This is different from fantasy, which uses magic, mythical creatures and supernatural powers (Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, Superman).

Some stories mix science fiction, fantasy, and supernatural elements. For example, Star Wars mixes science fiction standards like spaceships and alien worlds with magical elements like The Force. You can always call these stories speculative fiction, which is a very handy catch-all!

We'll do five exercises. For each exercise, you'll get a snippet in a particular style, and then an example showing how you could apply that style to the image.

Once you submit, you’ll be able to read and react to responses from others in your group.

If you're ready, let's write!

Sci-fi Genre (Middle years)