Inventing Reality: A Guide to Writing Science Fiction

One of the most common mistakes novice science fiction writers make is failing to be creative enough with their new universe. Many have developed a great plot and intriguing characters, but their setting is uninteresting – despite that they’ve taken great pains to describe the alien landscape and appeal to multiple senses.

The problem is that they really haven’t created a unique universe. Instead, they’ve set the story in an all ready established universe have merely changed the names to give it semblance of originality. For example, the story boats a spacecraft, armed with quantum torpedoes, representing a great interstellar alliance that is exploring the galaxy. The crew is largely human, except for the alien first officer, who hails from Alpha Centauri. If the universe sounds like the USS Enterprise of “Star Trek” fame, it is, albeit with a couple of not so subtle variations.

When writers set a story in another author’s universe and then changes the names to conceal it, they are guilty of using “used furniture.” It’s a term from screenwriting in which furniture and props from other productions are reused in a new episode or show.

Readers generally feel cheated when a writer borrows another universe. Think of it this way: Science fiction can take the reader to utterly new worlds and vistas – in fact, it’s one of the appeals to readers of the genre. Reading a story set a universe one has already experienced often is like getting the same meal for dinner that you had for lunch. Sometimes a sequel works, but more often than not it’s a lot like eating leftovers.