The Formula for Great Sci-Fi and Fantasy

I've figured out the formula for writing good speculative fiction!

Okay, well, I'm sure I wasn't the first one to figure it out. What I'm going to tell you has been said by others before me in some form or another, and certainly it's been successfully practiced by a number of authors too. But, like all great principles, it bears repeating.

First, though: what exactly do we mean by “speculative" fiction? The term is a huge umbrella, and it's usually used to refer collectively to science fiction and fantasy (two labels which are also very wide umbrellas themselves). I guess you could also throw in paranormal stuff and supernatural horror (the kinds with ghosts, zombies, vampires, werewolves, etc.).

Basically, as I'll be using the term, "speculative” is any fiction other than realistic fiction. From lightly magical fairy tales to sprawling space operas, it's a story that couldn't happen in real life. (For our purposes here, I won’t include the “gray areas," like Batman or Mission: Impossible, that technically could happen but seem very unlikely.) “Speculative" involves some kind of fantastical, extraordinary setting or circumstances that we can only imagine.

And that brings me back to the foolproof formula I'd alluded to. Ready? Here it is:

Extraordinary circumstances. Ordinary characters.

And what exactly does that mean? I’m glad you asked!

Speculative fiction will put your characters into all kinds of imaginary, often larger-than-life scenarios. It could be space missions, time warps, or magic-filled quests to overthrow a dark lord. As readers of these genres, we enjoy all of those things (when they’re done well) and the chances they allow us to let our imaginations run wild.

But the characters who experience these extraordinary scenarios must be real, believable, and “human” (even if they’re elves or aliens). The characters must behave like real people would if under those impossible circumstances, with real emotions that the reader can connect to.

Isn’t that what makes so many of these stories so great? Within the fantastical, we find the familiar.

Think about it. You’ve probably never battled a galactic warlord on a floating space colony, only to have him cut off your hand and dramatically reveal that he’s your father. But chances are you have experienced things like fear, courage, shock, and loss. Just like young Luke Skywalker, you’ve probably wondered about your place in the universe, felt alienated and alone while dreaming of higher purpose, risen to the challenge of difficult circumstances, and maybe even found out that someone very close to you wasn’t who you thought they were. Audiences connect to Luke because they understand these parts of his journey through experience.

You probably have never gained superhuman powers from a radioactive spider bite. You can’t relate to that part of the story. But you can relate to Peter Parker, the everyman, underdog hero. You’ve probably been bullied or rejected by peers (I am writing to a bunch of sci-fi nerds, after all), struggled to gain acceptance from maybe the wrong places, made a terrible mistake or two that you still feel guilty about, and at some point tried to rise above it all and do something heroic.

And while I don’t know your life, I bet you’re not a powerful wizard, the rightful king of Gondor, or the inheritor of an ancient, magical ring. But it’s likely that you’ve experienced the importance of banding together with others for a common goal, maybe even to fight against injustice or cruelty in the world around you. And isn’t it that universal longing for good to triumph over evil (rather than just the mere presence of dwarves, elves, and magic) that makes The Lord of the Rings so enduring and inspiring for many of us?

So that’s it. The circumstances of your writing may (and probably should) be extraordinary, fantastical, and even larger-than-life. But your characters who experience and overcome these circumstances must be ordinary–believable, human, and real.

Extraordinary circumstances, ordinary characters. Keep this principle in mind next time you’re writing–whether your story is about a brilliant alchemist in a fantasy world, or space vampires fighting android werewolves. No matter how fantastical the scenarios you put them into, your characters need to be real.

Happy writing!

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