Scifi Blog :: Fiction & Movie

Here are some helpful guidelines that will help you write an award winning science fiction story and publish it successfully.

Step 1: First draft and structure

A science fiction book should be structured in three portions: the opening, the middle and the climax. Once you develop your story idea, you need to back it up with any necessary research. Thereafter, you just have to draft your ideas on paper. High doses of imagination are the chief imperative for a triumphant science fiction book.

Make an attempt at uplifting your readers from the prosaic insipidity of mundane routine life with your book. Try to maintain suspense in each chapter of the book to make the story line gripping. Leave the reader to indulge in speculations over imponderable tension situations. Sketch each character of the story clearly tracing his past, his present and his eventual destiny.

Keep in mind that good science fiction has plausible elements. Science fiction takes existing technology and expands upon it. If your ideas are too far-reaching or beyond average comprehension, your work will not resonate with readers.

Step 2: Evaluation by peers

Your initial draft needs to be reviewed by several of your peers. They will serve not just as proof readers, but will help you identify fragment story lines, situations that are not plausible, plots that don’t make sense, and characters that are too unrealistic. Science fiction is based on the suspension of disbelief, but that disbelief can only be stretched so far.

Online workshops provide useful advice and evaluation. You can also join your local library critique workshop. Workshops allow you to get the book draft read by multiple persons resulting in more comprehensive feedback. By supplying you the opportunity to critique other’s books they help you hone your writing mettle.

Step 3: The final draft

After evaluation by your peers, you need to edit your draft to tie up loose ends and do away with the fallacies pointed out by your evaluators. Eliminate the imperceptible details and abridge the final version to provide a taut narrative. In case you face a creativity block it would be prudent to stash the book in a shelf for a few days and engage yourself with something else. Once you are revivified you can complete your blurb with renewed zeal. If major changes have been made to the work, it should be reevaluated by your peers.

Step 4: Getting published

There are several ways to find a publisher for your book. The first is to read science fiction trade magazines. Publishers who openly accept submissions oftentimes advertise in these magazines. A second method is to contact publishers directly. Pick up a few of your favorite science fiction books and contact the editorial department. Ask for a copy of their submission standards and guidelines. It is best to do this by mail and include a self-addressed stamped envelope. In some cases, a publisher may have this information posted on their website.

When selecting a publisher make sure they are writer friendly. They should have a history of promoting the writers and books they choose to publish.

Step 5: Critical review

Get your book critically reviewed before it is published. Give early review copies to known critics. Then, right before final publication, include their reviews on the inside jacket or back cover of the book.

Giving the book to a person who will heap profuse praise on it even if it is balderdash is not going to help you in any way. You need to have the book reviewed by a real critic. An honest draft evaluation can save you from much future abasement. Additionally, by getting your book reviewed by a real critic, you’ll secure some promotion by the entity the critic represents.