5 Creative Writing Prompts for Sci-Fi Lovers
Science fiction stories typically arise from a novum, a scientifically plausible concept that is a “reality” in the tale. The novum might be an mechanical device like robot servants, artificial intelligence, or faster-than-light spacecraft; it also can be a hypothetical idea such as “The Earth is a scientific experiment run by aliens to determine the meaning of life” or “The government outlaws books.” The author then asks “What if?” exploring how the world with this novum is different than ours.
Among the problems of many novice science fiction writers is instead of introducing a new novum they rely on used furniture – that is, they borrow novums from popular SF series. After all, how many novels have you read that use starships exploring the galaxy for the Earth-based Federation? Barely changing names to appear as if you are not appropriating – a starcraft seeking M-class worlds for the Earth-centered Alliance – still doesn’t cut it as original or fully using the potential that science fiction offers to examine our culture or humanity.
To help SF writers, here are some novums of potential near-future inventions from which stories could be built:
Drone ambulances
What if to avoid traffic jams, airborne-ambulances utilizing drone technology could be sent to accident scenes, homes or businesses? Each ambudrone could carry an EMT and a patient.
Fully sensory Internet
Currently, the Internet only appeals to your sense of sight and sound. But what if when visiting a website you could smell the perfume being sold, taste the finished entrée in the recipe, or feel the recoil of the rifle as it fires in the video game? How would this change the way we interact with others and how we live our lives?
Memory insurance
What if you could purchase insurance in case your memories faded or disappeared? How would this insurers test this so they are not ripped off? How might one try to scam the insurance company?
Mood ring warning devices
What if you could wear a ring that changed color whenever you entered an area high in dangerous microbes, such as a flu or cold virus? How would this change where people go and how we approach cleanliness?
Real-time audience analysis
What if while public speaking you could see on a display a real-time analysis of your audience – how many are paying attention, who is most interested, and more. The software also would advise the speaker on when to pause, when to smile, when to talk louder, and so on.
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