Sociological Science Fiction.

So, you want to write Science Fiction. You've been in love with the genre since you first picked up a Philip K Dick, Charles Stross, or a William Gibson. But there's a problem... You don't know anything about science.

Yes, you could give up now. Settle for another genre, one set in the real world, where a can of coke is a can of coke. Or even worse, you could give up your dream only to fret over it when you hit your mid-life crisis, or menopause.

Even if you don't have a degree in advanced physics or any other science, you still should know people. As long as you know people, you can write any sub-genre.

James is a reporter. He's on the job, when he sees a man being beaten by cops. He takes photos, and heads straight back to his office. The story hits the evening news, and the cops get punished.

Now, without any real science knowledge, lets turn it into SF.

James is a reporter. He's on the job, when he sees a man being beaten by enforcers. He daren't take photos, all the media is sifted through a government mainframe, and there are cameras everywhere always on the look out for subversive idealists. James heads to cheapside with the notion of buying a las-pistol.

So, as you can see from my poor example. Any simple story can be fleshed out with a little exposition. The details added are enough to make it SF, and without the use of scientific knowledge. This doesn't mean you shouldn't base your worlds and stories on solid scientific what ifs. The untitled novel I'm working on, is a world where Earth has sank beneath the ocean, and the people live in orbital cities. A genetic plague has haunted humanity for around one hundred years; leading humanity to constantly race against it, modifying their own genes and trying to stay ahead.


Once you have a basic idea like this, a whole world starts to flesh out. How has gene-modding changed the evolution of society? Does that change have a knock on effect? What kind of social groups would exist, based on the life-styles available, is there a class system? Extrapolation's the word, friends. The list of questions goes on and on, and you must remember at some point to get some actual writing done! Speaking of which, my novel is calling to me ; )