How to Write Science Fiction

More Subgenres

I could probably go on for some time about the subgenres of Science Fiction, particularly the various ‘punk’ subgroups, and I probably will. But I’ll try and rein myself in as much as I can and give a brief overview of the main ones so you at least have a starting point.

If anyone’s interested in exploring the subgenres in more detail than we’ll go into here though, the @ForbiddenPlanet profile on Wattpad (to whom this chapter is dedicated) has extensively catalogued the majority of them.

 

Alternate History

Although this genre sometimes explores time travel, it tends to be more specific, and often uses a divergent point from known history to take things in a new direction from our own timeline.

Terminology often bandied about when discussing Alternate History includes Alt History, Parallel Universe, or Alternate Reality, but I’d suggest the latter two are separate subgenres. But, as usual, there’s some crossover and confusion. Alternate History / Alt History is probably the most correct for the purposes of this piece though, so we’ll stick to that.

Generally with Alternate History, the writer will pick a point in known time and twist it. So, from that point on, the history in the story diverges from known history. For example, Harry Turtledove created his World War Series on the back of known history up to a point in World War II, and then dropped an alien invasion fleet into the middle of it. What happened after that point is a world encompassing story, which takes into account the technological abilities of the Allies and Axis forces, social constraints, beliefs, profiles of the world leaders at the time, and pits them against a race who’re intent on colonising the planet Earth. Turtledove does it beautifully, but the scope of Alternate History doesn’t have to be so broad.

As a writer, the basis to Alternate History comes from the question “What would things be like if - at this point - something different had happened?”. The details of that ‘something’ are entirely up to you of course, and can be as ‘Hard’ or ‘Soft’ as you like (please see previous chapter on Hard and Soft SciFi). So, you can go along the route of total technology integration such as the Cybermen; or completely fantastical and discover dragons, like in Reign of Fire, and of course all points in between.

This alternate reality can be very different in scope and size depending on your story. You could have a relatively small group or area affected, or whole worlds, but there has to be a divergent point at which known history is left behind. If for example historical characters such as Churchill, Hitler, or Genghis Khan are used, or specific events such as World Wars, then you will need to make sure your research is precise, as this is a form of Science Fiction that will very much leave you open to critique by both scientists and historians.

Alien Invasion

Invasion by an alien force is a trope that has been done a million times in science fiction, and it is a type of science fiction which intrigues and enthralls writers and readers alike.

Whether the invasion is silent, quiet, and insidious, such as the disguised invaders in the television series V; utterly dominating and virtually unstoppable, as per The Tripods of The White Mountains series by John Christopher; or the aliens of the Independence Day film; or comedic and pointless such as the film Mars Attacks!, the Aliens remain a fascinating source of potential storyline for anyone wanting to dabble in this genre.

Whether you as writer decide to make your aliens susceptible to human retaliatory attack by virus (human or virtual), unintelligent enough to be tricked, or utterly unstoppable is up to you, but the subgenre is one rich in potential, and a million more stories are open to invasion.

Apocalyptic / Post Apocalyptic / Dystopian

While these may be considered separate subgenres in many ways, they are nearly always intertwined to some degree, often with the apocalyptic moment leading into the post apocalyptic scenario or dystopia that follows the event.

A Dystopian society is the polar opposite of a Utopia, and is a society which is controlled, repressed, imperfect, or in the case of Post Apocalyptic, simply non-existent. Often war is a lead-in to the Dystopia, where military might has carried through into authoritarian rule. Probably the most well known Dystopian society is that depicted in 1984 by George Orwell.

Nuclear war in particular is a common lead-in as an apocalyptic event, and many writers use it as a social commentary on the state of things prior to ‘the end’. Some are utterly bleak such as The Road by Cormac McCarthy; some drift into Fantasy (The Shannara Series by Terry Brooks), and others explore slightly odder Dystopian society, such as Planet of the Apes.

Other ‘end of the world’ events are also explored in detail by some of the greats, such as meteor strikes (Hammer of God by Arthur C Clarke), Zombie Infection (World War Z by Max Brooks), Biological Infection (I Am Legend by Richard Matheson), Alien Invasion (Footfall by Larry Niven) and of course Natural Disasters (The Drowned World by J G Ballard).

These subgenres are usually dark, comfortless, and rooted in struggle. The survivor(s) often face a bitter struggle to survive on the remnants and ruins of society, whilst fighting against whatever else survives, and unlike many forms of writing, a happy ending is not a must-have. Indeed, many stories focus on the inadequacies of mankind, their failings and greed, determination to survive at whatever cost, and need for war.

These are tremendously diverse subgenres, and have given rise to some of the most well-known films and books in science fiction, many of which are listed above. They are well worth the time and attention given to them in book and film. However, as mankind is often laid bare they can often be the most thought provoking of genres.

There are however a few more subgenres I’d like to look at before we get going on really constructing the story, so please forgive me as I burble on into the next part.