So, lately I've been working on science fiction. The problem I'm having is figuring out how much science fiction aspects to include vs. how much story. And trying to balance the two is throwing me off. I was so focused on getting the science fiction to work and not sound stupid that the story itself somehow fizzled. It's kind of hard, no? How do you guys handle this? I am working on short stories. I feel like my science fiction stories have been too literary for genre markets and after getting a positive response (still rejection) from a genre magazine editor, I want to try with something a little more science fiction. But it had to be the story the editor liked in my last attempt so I need to make sure I've got a good one in this. Do you find it hard to balance the story with all the bells and whistles that can go into a science fiction story? We, as writers, have so much to play with when working with this genre. How do you make sure it all works together for a great story? Is it crazy to go back in and add story once I've got the science fiction blueprints down? That's kind of where I'm at. My story started out strong, but then I was so focused on space travel and aliens that my characters became more like tour guides for this world rather than characters in a story. Where did I go wrong? Any advice is much appreciated.
I don't tell SF. I tell the story. I include only as much SF aspects as is needed for the story. Sometimes one has to put up with imperfections in the SF in order to avoid cluttering the story with too much technical information. If you have a scene where you really have to choose between sounding stupid and sounding boring, sounding stupid is a lesser evil. That's what I think.
How about, instead of trying to find a point on the spectrum from 0% story, 100% sci-fi 50% story, 50% sci-fi 100% story, 0% sci-fi Maybe just do 100% story, 100% sci-fi? What is it about a certain sci-fi concept that makes it relevant at a given moment to a character? How does the character think differently about (and take advantage of) a certain sci-fi concept differently than another character would look at the same concept? What is it about the character that makes them look at the sci-fi concept differently than someone else would?
Do you feel like you're writing hard or soft science fiction? Do you know if you are using any classic science fiction tropes? Does the technology / magic follow the same rules as any established franchise?
@deadrats there is no definitive answer here, as it varies so widely from author to author depending on what kind of SF you want. If you read Greg Egan, who is quite good, you're going to get tons of science--quantum physics, orbital mechanics, information theory, whatever, it's in there, and in large quantities. If you read Octavia Butler or Sherri Tepper, for example, you're going to get very little science, if any. Those authors are also quite good. The former is typically referred to as hard SF. I think you should decide whether you're writing hard or soft SF--in other words, which one of those is your vision for the story, and which audience are you targeting. Once you know that, you'll know whether to focus heavily on the science or leave most of it out in favor of a focus on character.
I think I was trying to write hard science fiction with a soft science fiction story. Does that make any sense? I felt like my focus was off. I went through what I had and added more story and character and sort of adjusted the focus on everything. And I ended up finishing the story. Well, the first draft is done. Thanks for all the replies.
