Science Fiction Genre Characteristics
Вставка
- Опубліковано 9 лип 2024
- Science fiction is one of the most popular fiction genres. There are lots of sub-genres.
Writing science fiction is hard enough, but finding the right genre is even harder!
In this video, I’ll be covering different types of science fiction genre characteristics. . If you’re new to the genre and are wanting to write a science fiction novel for the first time, or if you just want to learn more about what makes this genre tick, watch this video. Even if you don’t write science fiction, you’ll walk away with some interesting ideas to use in your next book.
Resources Mentioned in the Video:
Handy Fiction Genre Definition Guide: www.cuebon.com/ewriters/defini...
Comprehensive Science Fiction Genre Guide + Book Recommendations: www.bestsciencefictionbooks.com (I know, I know, this domain sounds too good to be true, but it’s legit)
TVTropes: www.tvtropes.org
My Tropes Video: • Tropes and How to Thin...
K-Lytics Data Service: www.authorlevelup.com/klytics
Like my Videos? Subscribe for more!
/ authorlevelup
The writing book with all my secrets (Be a Writing Machine):
www.authorlevelup.com/beawriti...
The writing book for beginners (How to Write Your First Novel):
www.authorlevelup.com/yourfirs...
Listen to my new podcast (The Writer's Journey): www.authorlevelup.com/podcast
Support my Channel by Shopping on Amazon!
www.amazon.com/shop/authorlev...
My Writing App of Choice (Scrivener, PAID Links):
Scrivener for Mac: www.authorlevelup.com/scrivene...
Scrivener for Windows: www.authorlevelup.com/scrivene...
My UA-cam & Podcasting Gear Setup (PAID Link)
www.authorlevelup.com/gear - Навчання та стиль
One minute in and I am already in love with the crisp, clean, organized style of the video. Very pleasant and easy to listen to
Wow, you are fast😂
Jack Campbell's "The Lost Fleet" is another brilliant military sci-fi series. It focuses on a fleet that slowly relearns old tactics and military practices after a century of war made discipline and honor redundant... Great stuff.
yeah the best!❤
0:00 Introduction
1:05 What is science fiction?
1:50 Cyberpunk
3:12 Steampunk (including 3:43 Retrofuturism)
4:30 Dystopian science fiction
5:26 Space science fiction (including 5:36 Space Opera, 6:10 Planetary Romance, 6:32 First Contact/Alien Invasion, 6:58 Colonisation, 7:14 Dying Earth, 7:20 Dying Astronaut, 7:26 Military science fiction)
7:56 Time travel
8:47 Apocalyptic science fiction
9:08 Post-apocalyptic science fiction
10:17 Alternate world science fiction (including alternate world, parallel world and lost world tropes)
11:14 Spyfi
12:01 Military science fiction
13:42 Artificial intelligence
14:48 Superhero science fiction
15:25 Science fantasy (including 16:03 Space science fantasy)
16:19 Conclusion
Great video and a very comprehensive breakdown of the genre, thank you!
Thank you for the time stamps!
@@AuthorLevelUp My pleasure! This was very helpful in helping me identify the scifi subgenres that I enjoy most (and a smaller set that just don't click with me). Looking forward to checking out some of the books and movies you highlighted in the video!
I’m not gonna lie, that FF7 mention got you the subscription.
Really hard to find a GOOD video about this topic. Fantastic
I want to create a story that’s a mix of space opera, time travel, and maybe a dystopian future. Wish me luck!
From one aspiring writer to another. How has your journey been?
@@Brandon.manga. oh hello! So my story idea was pretty weak, and dint have that much room for conflict, so I kept the characters and overhauled it into a fantasy story. I’m currently drafting out the series, and have the first 4 or so arks wrapped up in my head.
@@FrenchToast1 Get to writing, write it out. I wrote out about 2 chapters of my manga im going to create I believe you can do it man. You just gotta go. Even if you don't know what to write about write what comes to mind and the ideas will come. Then rehash it and make sense of it. It always work im telling you and of it doesn't take a 30 minute break and get back to grinding those mental gears.
Trying the same myself.
Having dabbled in producing youtube videos it boggles my mind how much time and energy you must invest into these videos. Kudos.
Love the Orson Scott Card intro. That's my favorite author.
...and 8 more books added to my already unrealistic book list. Haha I love it. Cheers!
You explain so well. Thank you for sharing.
I was really surprised sci-fi horror wasn't mentioned. Just recently found your channel, really dig it, lots of great information. Subbed
like alien?
Yeah, Michael Crichton is definitely a good start in sci fi horror. Jurassic Park and the Lost World are worth checking out.
Ooh, good point!
also frankenstein is sci-fi horror
Uh I adore this channel, your content is a hidden gem! I really appreciate the demonstrable competence here- presenting info that is concise and factual with regard to the history of the genre instead of the "well the way I PERSONALLY think about sci-fi is..." is very powerful. Education on writing elements is a huge thing I feel that holds people back from becoming proficient storytellers; there's a lot of passion but no real working knowledge base for many people unfortunately & if you don't know the history of elements it is difficult to use them in novel and nuanced ways.
That’s a great point, Ai Lin. I’m a big fan of using data and history to make decisions. :)
@@AuthorLevelUp Michael why don't you review Indian book.
Please review the following English language sci fi books by Indian authors. You will attract a large following.
1. The Return of Vaman by J. V. Narlikar1. The Return of Vaman by J. V. Narlikar
2. The Five Friends Battle Against Aliens by Kiran Kumar Singh
3. Chosen Spirits by Sumit Basu
4. Aliens in Delhi by Sami Ahmad Khan
2. The Five Friends Battle Against Aliens by Kiran Kumar Singh
3. Chosen Spirits by Sumit Basu
4. Aliens in Delhi by Sami Ahmad Khan
This is a great channel! I’m working on a rather grand narratological theory which has taken me several years longer than I’d first expected (since I’m retired and don’t need to make a living in this way, I might just never complete it-there’s always that risk at my age). Naturally I begin at the beginning and shorten retrospecultion the closer I reel it all in towards the ‘present history.’
But Science Fiction was always a significant part of the whole as I envisioned it-and I’m finally arriving at the point where I have to study it more closely to see, for example, if the technology-science world of today really knocks a million years of human narratological development (overt the years I’m inclined to include pre-Homo sapiens aspects of narratology that I hadn’t anticipated at outset) off its contiguous chain of custody or not. It’s a constant wrestling match with presentism, progressivism, dialecticism, and other prejudices of the past and present days (plus ça change…). Science fiction turns me front-way around toward the future and I suspect I will encounter a lot of retrospection recast-but hope to find elements supportive of the theory so far as it’s developed. Lord!-grant me another several years!!
Thnx. This is a great overview for me.
All the best,
Scotty
Another great military sci fi series is The Lost Fleet and its multiple spin-offs. It’s great and while not the most realistic series but it has great action scenes and there are a couple good moral questions in it.
i love sci-fi and i think you explained it very well. maybe also important are themes like "Evolution" (human, machines, animals, uplifting). And a lot of dystopias and utopias i would put together in "Social Sci-Fi" when they take a closer look at our society.
I didn't know cyberpunk was such a wide genre! I'm planning a cyberpunk-esque novel that has elements of military sci fi. Hopefully it'll turn out well!
Man your explanation is so simple and easy to understand! Wonder why you've so less subs! But that don't let in your way,keep making videos,we love it!...and yes,you earned a new Subscriber. 🤗
My favourite sci-fi sub genre is Cyberpunk.
I'm a baby Boomer who has read at least a thousand science fiction books. For the origins of Space Opera. I would say Doc EE Smith and his Lensman series. Also, I would divide Sci Fi into "Near Future" and "Far Future". Neal Asher's books would be considered "far future, space opera". Also, IMHO Andre Norton is Queen of the "Science /Fantasy genre. Thanks.
I've written a planetary romance whose sequel was a pure space opera ("The World of Erganna" and "The Ergannan-Largon War"), so I appreciated how you correctly connected them as being related. A lot of times these definitions trip people up. I even got some negative feedback on my planetary romance because several readers showed up expecting "modern" romance. lol
I didnt get a notification when this was released. Great content. I have one sci fi called Impulse.
Very good show! Subscribed and hope to see more like it. Keep up the good work, and cheers!
Thanks for the shout-out for "Ghost in the Shell", a classic that far too few are familiar with it these days.
I feel more intelligent from listening to you talk
Brave New World is the book I would call the primary book in dystopian science fiction. It was the one that popularized the genre, and it was also deceptive in how it begins with the first protagonist who felt not treated as well as he should be, while the second protagonist reveals the true ugliness of the World State and is downright miserable - to the point where he sees suicide as the only answer.
ive never read a biopunk / nanopunk book, but i think the idea of the genre is the mostest coolest in my opinion
This is such a great video. Of course, each of these could have their own video with sub-sub genres, but this is a great overview. I've only just started to get into Sci-fi reading over the past year or so and writing it in the past few months, so this is all still so new to me!
Thanks for another awesome video.
Thank you!
Wow... so the novel I am working on would be a Space Spy-fi with elements of artificial intelligence. Sounds dope when I put it that way :D
valuable contribution. Thanks!
Finally figured out the genre of my book I think, thanks!
Great video, thanks for the upload!
Fantastic work, my friend! Keep it up :)
Best reference guide ever, well done. And I have my next book.
Bro you’ve so much Sci-Fi, I feel like I’ve been playing computer games majority of my life. Good Job 👍
Well said! Ender's game has so many levels throughout the series
Michael you remind me of Chidi from the Good Place
Would you say optimistic sci-fi is a sub genre? i.e. depicting societies that have united to solve problems and explore galaxy to discover unknown?
In a way, that’s a large amount of Isaac Asimov, despite the fact that there are often conflicts that result in someone’s death. But even in the I Robot and Foundation series, with each new story taking place a bit further down in history, society keeps getting better (with the exception of the Mule).
Arthur C. Clarke's Fountains of Paradise is pretty optimistic for a sci-fi novel. I certainly enjoyed it.
Star Trek.
I think so! Take the Martian and the Mars Trilogy, for example - their optimism and hope is one of the things I love most about both stories.
Michael -- you are spreading the word. Thank God there are many genres... this ART is alive!!!!!!! Thanks.
Thank you. :)
Thx so much!!!
1 Piers Anthony- "Incarnations Of Immortality"
2 Fred Saberhagan "Book Of Swords" and "Book Of Lost Swords"
(they could really be classed as sci-fi//fantasy, but are tremendous reads)
3 Matthew Stover- "The Acts of Caine" (a series not for the faint of heart)
4 Alan Campbell-"Deepgate Codex" (another dark series)
5 James Patterson- "Maximum Ride" (a surprisingly exciting and tense 'young adult' series, that EVERYONE can enjoy, from the man that gave us the Alex Cross books)
6 Eoin Colfer- "Artemis Fowl" (another young adult series, that is a just plain fun read)
7 Robert A. Heinlein- "Stranger in a Strange Land" (a classic "Must Read")
and i would also HIGHLY recommend the "In Death" collection by JD ROBB(Nora Roberts), exciting, extremely well written homicide detective novels set ''slightly'' in the future (i say collection, because it's like the Alex Cross books...there are a LOT of them)
Wow, great list!
@@AuthorLevelUp thanks.
Your list has many I've never heard of, but am definitely checking out.
It was hard, keeping the list as short as I did. So many others I wanted to suggest, from the likes of Clive Cussler, David Robbins, Harry Turtledove, Stephen Coonts, James Axler, even Ludlam, Clancy, and oh so many more. But i went with the more magnetic of the lot. :-)
(Piers Anthony has so many others i could have proffered as well)
I'd put "Incarnations Of Immortality" in the fantasy genre given its religious themes.
“Zombies don’t have to be involved”
Yes. Excellent and informative. Liked this one. I wrote one. Its only 24000 words. But I plan to write more.
Space science fantasy and cyberpunk are probably my favourite.
I'm trying to create a sci-fi space Opera with themes of Cyberpunk and has aliens, thank you so much for making this video I feel like my mind is opening up to new Ideas on his to tackle sci-fi genres better
Hello, Level Uppers! What’s your favorite science fiction subgenre?
And don’t forget to watch my video on Becoming a Writer: 14 Things No One Told Me: ua-cam.com/video/4Gl0zHKEmc4/v-deo.html
My favourite books are in space science fiction (The Mars Trilogy is Colonisation scifi and of course The Martian is Dying Astronaut scifi), but beyond that I am an absolute sucker for time travel stories.
You are good helped me on my English assigment
blob_m8 _ I hope u got an A+
you are great, thanks bro.
Also there are a host of neat little spin off stories from Star Craft; an old PC Blizzard game with back stories on the two alien races and Terrans (humans)
Great video!
Superhero and space opera is the genre I'm working in. The series also combines other sub genres like planetary romance, sword and planet, soft and others. I also use science fantasy.
I loved the video so much. Thank you!
Thank you?
@@AuthorLevelUp This video helps me to find specific books that I want to read, so thank you for informing me about them. Sorry for the confusion.
Thank you.
Please, make a movie about movies about travel in time.
Man, im really glad I found your channel!
Very good video. With regard to post-apocalyptic fiction, I highly recommend "A Canticle for Leibowitz" (Walter E Miller, Jr), "Earth Abides" (George Stewart), and William Forstchen's trilogy of life after an electromagnetic pulse brings the USA to its knees: 1) One Second After, 2) One Year After, and 3) The Final Day.
A Canticle for Leibowitz is a great work of genius!
Now I’m interested in reading your book after seeing this.😂
Listening to this made me realize the story I'm building a world for is more futuristic fantasy with Sci Fi elements rather than Sci Fi
Did you ever thought about adding an exclusive 2 hours soundtrack together with your book? Contact me to compose it.
What would a science fantasy/cyberpunk series and or novel look like?
Shoulda elaborated on Dying Earth a little more. The title book is definitely Science Fantasy. Gene Wolfes Solar cycle a good example. Cities filled with towers that are actually docked space ships that have been out of commission for so long that no ones knows theyre space ships. aliens appear to be angels with alien tech that comes across as magic. People living in a space ship so long that they dont know what a planet is, dont realize theyre in space. "Digitized" people capable of possession and time travel being seen as spirits and gods, communixation video screens as holy relics for communicating stored intelligences of dead people, rogue intelligences manipulating physical word seen as saints/gods who priests sacrifice animals to
I love steampunk! *The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen* is my favorite story in this genre! My current WIP (I believe) is supernatural scifi fantasy.
That's awesome! Good luck writing it!
@@AuthorLevelUp Thank u 😎
Could please post a link to k-lyitcs? I couldn't find the website when I searched for it.
Daemon & Freedom by Daniel Suarez totally blows Neuromancer away
Loved your inclusion of video games in the pop culture references but was shocked to see Tom Clancy and the splinter cell games not get a mention during the spyfi section lol
Much love to that series. I just didn’t have enough time! :)
Thank you so much bruh I am working on some sci fi right, I'll leave updates in your comments. Keep it up,
I'm revising my first sci fi now. Love this video. Thank you so much.
Thank you for watching
Great vid.
The Clockwork Dynasty is a good steampunk book I read recently, I'm a weird kid. It's also almost, somewhat, cyberpunk?
I know this is old but The Anubis Gates is pure fantasy (time travel is achieved through the use of magic after all) but it's an interesting video. :)
What if your science fiction encompasses 5 of those genres? Would it be an abomination or interesting with the right contrasting characters and different worlds coming together?
Thank you for this!! subscribed for more cool videos! :)
I Like It!
i love this video
Hello Michael! I have a question, particularly about consulting a professional of a field, such as what you did for Honor's Reserve: how can one go about this? would you need to do a basic google search for a person in that field and email them questions about their profession?
I think I posted in a community forum about what I needed-explained a little about the book, what I needed and the timeline. I got several people who responded.
If that hadn’t worked out, I would have reached out to a local coast guard station to see if I could get a few minutes of someone’s time.
These days you can find a forum for just about any interest so you shouldn’t have too many problems finding professionals.
@@AuthorLevelUp Thank you for responding, and so soon too! I've been considering writing myself, and it's a great idea to consult a professional to iron out any inconsistencies and such that one may not typically be familiar with.
I'm a little disappointed Afrofuturism wasn't mentioned, otherwise a pretty good summary of the Sci-Fi genre.
Any tips for marketing something that crosses different sci fi genres? (military-AI-planetary romance-first contact-space opera). Thanks for another well done video.
Figure out what the “majority” genre is-in other words, who are you primarily going to market it to, even if it crosses genres? One genre should be a clear leader. Otherwise it’ll be confusing at first glance what it is.
@@AuthorLevelUp ok, thank you.
Any Piers Anthony fans? Apprentice Adept is an interesting take on sci-fantasy.
Joe ledger series by Jonathan Mayberry military sci fi
Good video.
Castlepunk? Am I the only one who knows about that?
There's also Solarpunk (which might be best classified as a form of utopian science fantasy)...
Good video, but I couldn't stop looking at the glasses.
Exercise for the creator: find a genre for the Neal Stephenson novel “Anathem” - I’m guessing it’s Alternate World SF?
I have been having this argument with my mother for 40 years. Science fiction is not a genre. It is a literary form . You can find a science fiction story in nearly every genre. I even found a science fiction romance novel . There are sci-fi cowboy novels ,sci-fi detective novels,sci-fi war novels,any genre can can be written as sci-fi. My mother was a high school english teacher for 22 years.
noun
It absolutely is a genre:
gen·re
/ˈZHänrə/ a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter.
there is an argument to be made about genre and form being totally equivalent
Lol 😂me every time you laugh at your own joke.
Can you talk about the Romance and Horror genre?
I don't read either of them enough to feel comfortable doing a video that would do them justice.
13:31 Where in the galaxy is WARHAMMER 40K?!
I can't believe you didn't mention my book for post-apocalyptic 😀
K Lytics isn't working.
Those are no ordinary glasses... they are science fiction glasses
You forgot the show Sliders.
Scifi-horror? Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, War of the Worlds, At the Mountains of Madness, The Colour out of Space, Who goes There (The Thing),Swarm,…
Affiliate link not sponsored wtf
It almost sounds like the only qualifier for science fiction is fictional technology. Like, if you took a non sci-fi book like War and Peace and had a new character appear in a time machine, without changing anything else, to observe the action, the book would now be science fiction.
This is a good video, though I'll quibble about some examples. Apart from Hulu making the Handmaid's Tale more popular, the three most popular dystopian novels are 1984, Fahrenheit 451, and Brave New World. While Superman is less realistic than Batman, his powers are still given a scientific, though largely implausible, explanation. Krypton has higher gravity than earth, which was the main explanation for the powers of the original Superman, and yellow sunlight gives him various powers that Earth's lesser gravity cannot account for. It would be better to compare Superman to the original Captain Marvel. They have very similar powers, but Captain Marvel's powers are given a magical explanation. By saying the magic word "Shazam!", he taps into the powers of Greek and Roman gods and the wisdom of one Biblical king.
First time to hear someone classify Spy-Fi as Sci-Fi. Maybe Technothriiler for some extreme examples.
stainless steel rat by Harry Harrison is Space Criminal turned Space Spy. jack Vance has some spy/detective/revenge manhunt in demon princes, Cadwal, Maske thaery
Would Mass Effect be Science Fantasy?
I haven’t played Mass Effect so I can’t comment on it unfortunately.
You are missing out my friend. At least play the 2nd one. If you aren't good at the combat you can play it on easy for a more cinematic experience. And thanks for the video by the way. I am starting my first Science Fiction Novel. :) @@AuthorLevelUp
It's soft sci-fi or space opra, as there are alot of social studies and no magical powers, with even biotics and asari melding having a scientific background. Unlike the force in Star Wars where the power known as the force is treated more like magic.
@@AuthorLevelUp If you still haven't played and videogames is not your thing you can watch the cidoes that have used cut scenes and walkthroughs to tell the story. Also, there are books. Although you're missing a lot of the most imporant things of the digital story telling, the decisions made etc.
bro your book android paradox sounds like blade runner
It’s definitely inspired by it.
@@AuthorLevelUp I love your content it inspired me to start writing SiFi
I'm new to this channel, is it just me or does this guy look like Chidi from The Good Place?
I don't see the resemblance, but you're not the first person to say that!
WHAT ABOUT BLADE RUNNER? AND DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP?
Some more great time-travel Sci-fi: THE MAN WHO FOLDED HIMSELF; DINOSAUR BEACH; short story ALL YOU ZOMBIES; the original THE TIME MACHINE; short story TIME IS THE SIMPLEST THING; MIMSY WERE THE BOROGROVES. Lots more, of course.
Some space opera of great quality: THE SKYLARK OF SPACE (4 book series); THE LENSMAN series (many books).
Great "straight" & sometimes military Sci-fi: VOYAGE OF THE SPACE BEAGLE; THE MIXED MEN (MISSION INTERPLANETARY); THE WAR AGAINST THE RULL; SLEEPING PLANET; RIPTIDE; RELIC (2 book series); HONOR HARRINGTON series (many books); STARSHIP TROOPERS; HAVE SPACESUIT, WILL TRAVEL. The very funny and quite smart on what may happen in the future (the stories are all from 1941) 5-short-story collection ROBOTS HAVE NO TAILS. Many, many more.
Sci-fantasy books: NINE PRINCES IN AMBER; virtually anything by Roger Zelazney (he mixes the two and you can't tell which is which in many of his books); the trilogy humor series INCOMPLETE ENCHANTER, CASTLE OF IRON, and WALL OF SERPENTS (fantasy but with an underpinning of why such can exist and very funny).
Video game HORIZON ZERO DAWN (this would be an award-winning sci-fi book worthy of Asimov or Heinlein on top of superb graphics and gameplay). This may need its own subject in the future.
You're awesome but those eyeglasses is just toooooo geeky, !Saberhagen's Berserker Series Rules!
You have a PhD in this writing stuff. However it's so much info my head nearly melted/exploded. A bulleted outline in your sci fi genres would have been nice for the rest of us.
Hmmmmm, ??Did you really read all these sci fi books??
holy fu- its Chidi Anagonye