Q&A: What Are The Basic Elements Or Questions That Need To Be Dealt With When Defining The Parameters of SciFi/Fantasy Stories?

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What Are The Basic Elements Or Questions That Need To Be Dealt With When Defining The Parameters of SciFi/Fantasy Stories?

Jul 29, 2010

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Bass wrote

at Jul 29, 2010 - 9:12 AM

A good example of a SciFi/Fantasy is STAR WARS, which has all the trappings of space opera, with the magical Force.

Sci-Fi and Fantasy genres have 'two levels', I suppose. One level is the superficial gimmicks (spaceships, orcs) and the other is a thematic level.

Thematically, Sci-Fi tends to focus on internal questions of humanity and society. By drastically altering our reality it allows the author to provoke questions from another viewpoint. Fantasy's themes, on the other hand, tend to be external, retelling the hero's journey, granting the protagonist almost god-like ability and then testing his worthiness.

It's often possible to not use both levels in the same story; for example, STAR WARS uses only the superficial gimmickry of science fiction (specifically, the space opera) but tells a very typical Fantasy hero's journey within it, complete with wizards, swords, and castles.

Nonetheless, in my personal studies of sci-fi and fantasy, I never expressed the nature of how to build those gimmicks as well as spoken here (because I can't do it).

Very helpful.