Even stories set in an alternate past or otherworld, like „Tower of Babylon,” could push the boundaries of what isn`t considered speculative and still fits the term. Because Chiang writes with such an authoritative voice and builds his worlds so masterfully, I shamelessly believe in the possibility of any story. The best example, however, can be found in „The Story of Your Life.” That`s the news the movie Arrival is based on, and frankly, if there`s ever been a first-contact narrative that seemed so deeply rooted in our world, so real that it could happen tomorrow, it`s this one. The creation of speculative fiction in its general sense of hypothetical history, explanation or ahistorical narration has been used since Herodotus of Halicarnassus (fl. 5th century BC) He has also been credited with authors in ostensibly non-fictional modes for his stories,[13][14][15] and has already been recognized by early encyclopedic authors such as Sima Qian (c. 145 or 135 BC-86 BC), author of Shiji. [16] [17] The writer Orson Scott Card explained it best in his definition of science fiction: There are several mistakes one can make as a beginning speculative writer. But most of these mistakes are in your business. One of the most common themes in speculative fiction is the exploration of what it means to be human. This can be done in a variety of ways, but it often involves stories that deal with morality, ethics, and what it means to be alive.
Of all these examples of speculative fiction, fantasy is the oldest subgenre, dating back thousands of years. A retrospective look at early civilizations, such as the Greek civilizations, shows that even then, they told stories in fantasy form. World construction can also mean defining the rules or logic established within a speculative work. In C.S. Lewis` „The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” children enter a fantasy world through a wardrobe where the White Witch has cast an eternal winter over the kingdom. It is an example of building a world in the fantastic land of Narnia. Margaret Atwood writes in her book In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination that science fiction and speculative fiction are fluid concepts. The worlds of science fiction and speculative fiction „do not exist, and their non-existence differs in the order of non-existence of realistic novels.” In addition, Atwood draws the line between what science fiction stories consider speculative fiction: „plots from Jules Verne`s books about submarines and balloon travel and the like—things that could really happen but didn`t completely happen when the authors wrote the book.” Because of the breadth of the genre of speculative fiction, some people have even referred to it as a „supergenre.” Dictionary.com defines speculative fiction as „a broad literary genre that encompasses any fiction with supernatural, fantastic, or futuristic elements.” In addition, the Speculative Literature Foundation describes it as a „catch-all term”: Simbiat Haroun lives in her head and when she is not writing, she looks silently, thinking about what she will turn into history next. She graduated from Chimamanda Adichie`s Purple Hibiscus Creative Writing Trust Workshop. The use of „speculative fiction” in the sense of expressing dissatisfaction with traditional or established science fiction was popularized in the 1960s and early 1970s by Judith Merril and other writers and editors associated with the New Wave movement. However, this use of the term was no longer used by the mid-1970s. [23] If you`re asking what speculative fiction is, you`ll probably want to know common mistakes to avoid.
Common mistakes to avoid when writing a particular story. Now that we have an idea of when it was hit, let`s look at some current definitions. My journey into speculative fiction was triggered by popular folktales. I especially remember the adventures of the turtle in the animal kingdom. Hi Jessica, it`s a pleasure to read these wonderful comments from you. Comments like yours allow us to write more. I wish you all the best for your literary career. And please let us know if there are any other aspects of creative writing that you would like us to cover on the blog. A common and narrower definition is that speculative fiction concerns worlds, events, or technologies that might exist but do not yet exist. For example, if a story involves dragons or time travel – things that (supposedly) could never exist – then it`s fantasy, according to this definition. It could be in another galaxy, on another planet, or in a completely different dimension. The location and even the fantastic elements that go into the story are not as important as the subject of the story, which is what the story speculates.
„My own love of speculative fiction comes from its ability to look at our world through a lens that perhaps gives the author some protection from writing about subjects that might be dangerous at the time,” Craigie said. „For me, that`s the greatest power of speculative fiction. When done very well, it can really make you think and examine some of your own perceptions and values. „Essentially, that`s the element of speculation. Speculative fiction takes an ordinary reality and immerses it in something much stranger, often examining the possible consequences of new technologies or new worlds. If you`re looking for a genre that`s always up to date, speculative fiction is definitely the thing to do! However, some writers do not consider horror to be a good example of speculative fiction. To fully understand, let`s explore the history of this genre. There are many categories in the umbrella term speculative fiction.
There are several options for speculative novelists. Speculative fiction is a genre of literature in which a writer explores real-life situations through a fantastic or speculative lens. It`s essentially the question, „What if?” The origins of speculative fiction can be difficult to pin down, as speculative stories have been around for thousands of years. According to „The Encyclopedia of Fantasy” by John Clute and John Grant, the works of ancient Greek authors such as Euripides and Homer are among the earliest works of the fantasy genre. „Any piece of literature that contains a fabulist or speculative element would fall under our aegis… » – Speculative Literature Foundation Don`t forget to use your imagination, don`t weigh down your reader with pages of descriptions. Also read the recommended stories and books in this resource. Feel free to suggest other examples of speculative fictional stories and books. The themes of this series include growth, power, love, family, and many more. Keep this in mind as you write your next story.
In historiography, what is now called „speculative fiction” was once called „historical invention”,[8] „historical fiction” and other similar names. These terms have been widely mentioned in literary criticism of William Shakespeare`s works,[9] such as when he places the Athenian duke Theseus, the Amazonian queen Hippolytus, the English fairy Puck, and the Roman god Cupid through time and space in the fairytale land of the fictional Merovingian Germanic ruler Oberon in A Midsummer Night`s Dream. [10] The definition of speculative fiction has been – and still is – debated among well-known authors.