Science Fiction: The Study of Humanity
My writing group consists of four generations. I am the oldest—the only Boomer (the Baby Boomer generation ended in 1964). We have Gen Xers (born 1965-1980) and a few Millennials (born 1981-1996). Our one Gen Z member comes when she’s not at volleyball, dance team, or other teenage social engagements. We have females and males in our group, giving us multiple perspectives and a vast pool of experiences from which to interpret and comment on each other’s writing. I treasure my writing group. We’ve been together since 2018.
We are also a bunch of nerds—in the best sense of the word. We talk about movies, comic books, Star Wars, Marvel, DC, modern literature, Greek mythology, Jane Austen, and so much more, especially Science Fiction. Although I don’t usually read science fiction books, I was drawn to that genre after a member of my writing group challenged us to write a short story. (Maybe that member was me, I don’t remember) Anyway, I had to google “What makes a good science fiction story?” and this is what I found:
The main feature within a story that determines science fiction is the appearance of science. Plus, it must be something that has not happened, or, as the genre world calls it: fiction. If you have any of these features in your story, you can call it science fiction:
• Time travel
• Teleportation
• Mind control
• Telepathy
• Telekinesis
• Aliens
• Mutants
• Space travel
• Parallel universes
• Utopias
• Dystopias
And every science fiction story requires the reader to set aside their skepticism. In that suspension of disbelief, people can allow themselves to go beyond “logic” and examine humans and the world (space, other worlds, other times, etc.) through a different lens. You will ask, “what if?” and your imagination will fill in the rest.
The fantasy genre can also fall into this category of storytelling that requires you to go within the imagination and accept the world that the author has created. Any speculative fiction, really. They are compelling genres because each story builds on a foundation of realism that readers can relate to. People are people. Human feelings, the five senses, love, and hate drive those people to do what they do, even if they are a mutant, in a parallel universe, or traveling through time.
Why not tell your story more realistically, you ask? Great questions! It’s because science fiction, fantasy, and any speculative fiction can be the perfect avenue to explore questions about society, humanity, and interpersonal relationships in a way that modern reality can’t do. Using a sci-fi setting as a metaphor for your message, readers can better appreciate your story's lesson or moral. It becomes more effective this way. And people will think about it and debate and analyze the message for years to come. We do this in my writing group when we talk about Star Wars, modern literature, and Greek mythology. Analyzing stories from such multigenerational perspectives is fun. It’s incredible how many ideas and viewpoints can sit around a table, enjoying each other’s company.
The person who wrote the best science fiction, fantasy, and speculative fiction was Ursula Le Guin. Newsweek describes her as such: "She wields her pen with a moral and psychological sophistication rarely seen... and while science fiction techniques often buttress her stories, they rarely take them over. What she really does is write fables: splendidly intricate and hugely imaginative tales about such mundane concerns as life, death, love, and sex."
And in my imagination, I think Ursula herself would have been happy in my writing group, analyzing Star Wars, Marvel, Jane Austen, and probably a bit of her own prize-winning stories and books. She would have made us a five-generational group because she was born the same year as my mom, in 1929. (A member of the Silent Generation but definitely not a silent member of our group.) And maybe she would have been that member who challenged us all to write a science fiction short story. Her story would be unique and thought-provoking, and we would all gush over it. Mine, however, would be partially written and waiting to be finished. Ah, but that’s for another time in the future.
https://www.ursulakleguin.com
