Story types · Tip 64 of 82 · 5 min read
Write a Science Fiction Story
Rockets, robots and far-off futures. Explore big ideas by asking how science could change everything.
Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a story about what could happen if science and inventions took us somewhere new. It might be set on a space station, in a city a thousand years from now, or in your own kitchen the day the toaster learns to think.
Fantasy or sci-fi?
In fantasy, strange things happen because of magic. In science fiction, strange things happen because of science: machines, experiments, space travel or new discoveries. A flying carpet is fantasy. A flying carpet with a battery and a sat-nav is sci-fi!
Start with one big invention
Pick one new idea and ask what would happen to ordinary people because of it. That's where the story lives.
- Shoes that let you walk on walls. Who gets in trouble first?
- A robot that can only tell the truth, even when it's rude.
- Food you can download. What happens when the internet goes down at dinner time?
- A school on a moon base, where PE is in low gravity.
Make the future feel normal
Your characters live in this world, so they shouldn't be amazed by everything. Mention the cool technology casually, as if it's ordinary. That makes it feel real.
Okay 😐
Wow! There was an amazing robot that could clean the house! It was so incredible and futuristic!
Wow! 🤩
Kai stepped over the cleaning bot, which was sulking under the table again. It hated Tuesdays. Tuesdays were glitter-glue day.
The day the gravity failed, Maya was eating cereal. She watched her cornflakes float out of the bowl one by one, like tiny golden spaceships, and thought: Mum is going to blame me for this.