Inventing Reality: A Guide to Writing Science Fiction

Even the most action-packed, blood-and-gore story has some message or point that the tale makes. The proposition that is argued or some aspect of human experience that is examined in your story is its theme.

For example, the theme of the movie “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn” is revenge and obsession. Those dual passions and their costs are examined as the villain Kahn seeks revenge upon hero James T. Kirk.

Theme can include a message or a moral, such as “good is stronger than evil” or “love is the answer”, but it is not exclusively that.

All stories convey underlying values. But unless you’re writing an action-adventure story, simply hoping that some theme emerges from your character’s journey isn’t adequate. You must pay attention to theme and carefully integrate it with the story’s events. Some underlying element – a proposition to be proved, the solution to a moral dilemma, or a perspective about the best attributes of human character - should guide your plot.

Often science fiction story lines are symbolic of larger, real-life conflicts. Science fiction readers often want to emerge from the story wiser than when they went in; they often want the story to force them to think.

Because of this, along with setting, theme is paramount in this genre. Indeed, science fiction often is called a “literature of ideas.” Sometimes the “idea”, rather than a character, is the “hero”. Sometimes the writer presents a dichotomy of morals as represented by varying characters.

No matter how distant the setting or how alien the characters, thematically every story is about the here and now. As Kurd Lasswitz, the father of German science fiction, wrote, “… we do dream of a higher civilization, but we would also like to come to know it as something more than the hope for a distant future. We tell ourselves that what the future can sometime bring about on Earth must even now, in view of the infiniteness of time and space, have already become a reality somewhere.”

Theme typically is reflective of the author’s attitudes. Yet, by repeating a theme done by another author, are you being unoriginal? After all, it has been said, “There’s nothing new under the sun.” So, as a writer, can you step into the same river twice? The answer is “yes.” The plot, characters and setting can be unique to you, so you may arrive at the same thematic conclusion as another author by taking the reader on an entirely different journey. Consider that “The Wrath of Kahn” has the same theme as “Moby Dick”, but they’re obviously quite different tales.

There are a couple of guidelines to follow when incorporating a theme into your story: 
n Don’t be preachy - Fiction often is better when it poses questions and shows how people would respond to them. Stories are allegories for moral action rather than essays about what is the best decision to make.
n Don’t state the obvious - We already know that murder is bad and such people should be punished. But is there a time when murder might be acceptable?

You Do It
Think of five ideas that anger you and then five ideas that you feel passionate about. These are potential themes that your stories could explore. Write down these 10 themes in a journal or notebook that you keep just for writing.