Writing Blog Number 2

20250212 Science Fiction Tropes I Like

Science Fiction Tropes I Like

So, after dumping on science fiction tropes recently, I am now going to talk about the genre’s tropes I like, ones that I feel can still work, whether played straight or if subverted. I’ve done this with horror, and now it’s science fiction’s turn. As before, all of these have been used for many, many years, and yet they can still be utilised today without an issue, I feel.

1. The world becomes a dystopia
The reason I like this one is that is seems all so real. I can imagine our current world falling into a dystopia, for example. And many writers are showing this dystopia in increasingly intriguing and different ways. I think there is always going to be some way to include this in writing. As for utopias, though… well…
         Dystopias include things like increased government surveillance, everything being forced to happen online, post-nuclear wastelands, hyper police states, and all other manner of the world having gone to shit. Let your imagination run free.

2. Enhanced humans
This is when we attach bits of hardware to a human to make them more than human. Or maybe less than human? Is there such a thing as body cyber-dismorphia? See, these are the sorts of things that can still make the cyborg feel fresh. Writers are going into the psychology of this, and when does one cease to be human?

3. AI and/or robots taking over
This was becoming a tired trope, but with modern scientific advancements now spurring on even more creativity, it is once again a source of something science fiction does well – warn us. Some writers have even looked at it through a positive lens. There is so much scope now that we have a clearer idea of where it is heading in reality.

4. Alternate universes/ We’re in a simulation
This is something I am interested in, and can lead to alternate history tales ("20240912 Alternate History" ), moving through worlds tales (The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter) or even philosophical stories. I don’t think the well has run dry yet, although Marvel and DC and their multiverses became tedious in the comics last century, and are now tedious on the screen, so you may need to be careful if using that concept.
         I included the “we are in a simulation” here (see The Matrix) because this has not yet been beaten to death. It is really hard to write, though, so that might be why.

5. Travelling long distances
Be that through faster than light travel (FTL) (which is technically possible, but only if you can jump over the speed of light itself), wormholes, cryo-sleep capsules, whatever, the possibilities for travelling vast distances of space have not gone out of fashion because they are needed for science fiction to actually work. And as technology shows us more and more what is possible or potentially possible, this means of travelling is growing increasingly sophisticated.

So, there you are, 5 simple science fiction tropes that are as good now as they ever were.
         Hope something sparks your imagination!