Sci-fi v. Fantasy

Years ago I picked up The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Writing a Novel. It encouraged the importance of “owning” your genre. Even if you don’t fully agree with where your book falls, the stores have to stock it somewhere on the shelves. My writing had traversed from historical fiction, to fiction, and I was dabbling with near future themes that, for the sake of definition, seemed to be flirting with science fiction. I was scared. What I knew of Sci-Fi was Star Wars and Star Trek. I wasn’t writing about aliens or laser weapons. Was it truly science fiction. What exactly is sci-fi?

Defining Science Fiction and Fantasy

Orson Scott Card is often quoted for saying, “Science Fiction has rivets, fantasy has trees.” Hmm, okay, that is only mildly helpful and felt really open ended. It turns out, Science Fiction IS really open ended and sometimes dabbles with Fantasy. I recently visited a literary agent’s query page to discover over a dozen different categories of Romance genres. From historical and contemporary, erotic, young adult, paranormal, romantic suspense, even something called Southern romance (which sounds incredibly specific)…and on and on. Guess how many selections I found for Science Fiction?

One.

Fantasy was a pulldown with a few more options.

But it doesn’t matter if you are Andy Wier who leaves you feeling smarter about space after reading The Martian, or heartbroken as Audrey Niffenegger’s characters have to deal with the fact that Henry involuntarily transports forward or backwards in time in The Time Traveler’s Wife–it’s all the same genre. Science Fiction. At least as far as agents are concerned.

Owning My Genre Anyway

Maybe it’s the Marine side of my brain and its dictionary of nomenclature, a foreign language anywhere in the civilian world…or the organizational skills I’ve learned from the automotive sector where every single part has a name–but this abstract, maybe-it’s-this, maybe-it’s-that realm of science fiction didn’t jive with my concrete-sequential synapsis. I wanted twelve pull downs to let my readers know exactly what they were getting into when they picked up one of my stories! Whatever. I’ll deal with it.

Genres of Science Fiction

I’m including this list to give hope to all the Science Fiction writers out there. The average person on the street might not know the difference, and agents might not care, but this genre is both vast and well categorized. The community itself has a lot of love, even if the rest of the world doesn’t.

Final Thoughts

The Books in The Tykhe Universe Series are set several hundred years in the future. Humanity has expanded beyond our solar system, terraforming several new worlds. There is evidence that an origin race existed before humanity–but that’s the extent of the alien presence. Several characters are former military members turned mercenaries, so it isn’t necessarily Military Science Fiction, but it should satisfy those who served. Many characters are working class individuals who experience the same struggles we do in our time. No lightsabers. Gravity and physics still (mostly) apply…

As I’m describing this, I’m checking off multiple boxes in the above list. I’d say the specific classification varies between books.

In the end, does it matter? Nope. Write what you want to write. There is an audience out there, even if it is challenging to define. I’ve gotten past the stigma of science fiction from those who narrowly envision another Star Wars rip-off. I simply reply that it’s set in space, but I don’t have any aliens.

If you do write about aliens–keep writing about them. Both the Star franchises have made more money than I ever will. There’s rides at Disney parks. Conventions all around the country (dare I say universe?). Video games that introduce all sorts of new alien friends and foes. Aliens are not for everyone, but they are for many. You’re in good company.

And if you don’t write about aliens that’s OK too.

-Glenn Roush