Science Fiction & Dystopian Writer Resources
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Science Fiction has been around for quite a while (Frankenstein, anyone?) and has changed as dramatically over the years as the rest of the world has. Probably the most informed or up to date with world events, Science Fiction explores alternate realities backed by scientific explanations for the fantastic things that happen in the stories.
There are many subgenres of Science Fiction, including Dystopian stories, which tend to explore scenarios in which civilization has gone for one reason or another. A few popular subgenres are:
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Science Fiction & Dystopian Writer Toolbox
Check out these resources that cover writing craft like narrative styles and Sci Fi world building and writing as a profession in depth.
(Disclaimer: Some of these are affiliate links which means I'd get a small percentage if you choose to buy when you click.)
(Disclaimer: Some of these are affiliate links which means I'd get a small percentage if you choose to buy when you click.)
- How Fiction Works by James Wood
- Putting the Fact in Fantasy: Expert Advice to Bring Authenticity to Your Fantasy Writing by Dan Koboldt
- Jane Friedman's YouTube channel
All professional writers and publishing professionals can benefit from the free information Jane Friedman offers on her YouTube channel. An author, teacher, speaker, blogger, and authority on publishing, her goal is to help writers pursue their career dreams in a pragmatic and sustainable way.
Reading Recommendations
Reading in your genre is so important that I'm adding a whole section of recommendations for writers to choose from to elevate their skills. One of the best teachers of writing craft in your genre that you will ever encounter is a well written book.
Bonus: More good books to read!
Be sure to pay attention to the way these stories are told on a craft level to get the most out of your read.
Bonus: More good books to read!
Be sure to pay attention to the way these stories are told on a craft level to get the most out of your read.
- How is it structured?
- Whose perspective is the story told from?
- Is it in first person? Third?
- How does the POV change narrative distance and bring the reader closer to the story (sometimes by putting distance between them and the MC)?
- How does the story defy genre expectations? Or not?
- Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
One of my favorite dystopian novels, you'll see this one show up on my lists for several reasons, not least of which is the captivating structure of the story as it jumps back and forth through time and perspectives to tell a global story. - A Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Now a television show by the same name, the book is one of my favorite examples of an interdisciplinary writing approach. In the novel is a narrative from a singular pov, yes, but it also includes anthropological studies and secondhand accounts in different tones that underscore the hovering sense of dread by pulling the reader further out of their comfort zone as the story unfolds. Pay attention to rhetorical style and compare it to other commercial fiction writing styles. - Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
This book made the list for being a great story, yes, but also because it deftly balances detail with obscurity. Ender himself doesn't have all the information he needs to make sense of his world until the very end of the novel and it asks the reader to trust and suspend disbelief long enough to experience a surreal perspective shift few authors manage to pull off. - Klara and the Sun by Kazuro Ishiguro
This book is a great craft read not only because it's excellently written on a sentence level, but it's a great example of narrative distance and tone shaping the reader's understanding of the story. Given the inhuman, AI perspective, the reader is left to fall back into their own judgements to discover a kind of truth about life. (And really, isn't that what all books are trying to do on some level?) - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
A master of sharp wit, Adams maintains a familiar tone throughout his books as a way of familiarizing the reader even as we are guided through a galaxy of foreign concepts and strange situations. Despite the familiar narrative voice throughout, each character in these books is unique and recognizable. If you're interested in learning about omniscient narration while maintaining distinct characters, pay attention to how they are introduced.