Introduction to Sci-Fi storytelling
Hey there! Welcome back to part 4 of our Mastering the Art of Screenwriting series, a place where all your screenwriting questions are answered.
Before you blast off, catch up with this series here:
Part 1: Introduction to Mastering the Art of Screenwriting
Part 2: From Dreams to Screams: How to Write a Horror Script
Part 3: From Dreams to Screams: How to Write a Horror Script Part 2
Today, we’re leaving Earth’s atmosphere and heading for the stars as we dive into how to create your own sci-fi script! From building an immersive world, to filling it with multi-dimensional characters, and crafting authentic dialogue, we’ve got you covered.
Whether you’re a first-time writer or seasoned pro, Celtx has all you need to know to get started on your sci-fi script. But first, let’s discover more about sci-fi and its history.
“In science fiction, we’re always searching for new frontiers. We’re drawn to the unknown.” – Ridley Scott
Humans have never been happy to just sit and let things happen. We’re always looking for the next big discovery and technological advancement. Whether it’s through prose, video games or film and TV, science fiction has been a huge part of our instinctive exploratory nature.
Science fiction is a hugely popular genre, with some of the most ground-breaking movies and TV shows in the history of motion pictures. Yet, it is one of the most challenging to define, with many variations and unique obstacles to overcome when writing. The blend of imaginative worlds with relatable human elements is a tricky one to get right and specify.
While there are stories like The Martian (2015) that stick to science fact and push sci-fi barriers, others like Dune (2021) have their own reality with their own rules.
But just what keeps us going back to science fiction? At the center of it all is human emotion, the relationships and challenges that we all experience, never mind the setting or timeline. From Kepler’s Somnium (pub. 1634) to modern films, the human condition and elements of our society have always been under the microscope.
So, let’s fire up those engines and begin our journey to the stars…
The power of world-building
The first thing to understand about world-building in sci-fi is the plethora of contradictions. Of course, this comes with a lot of freedom when it comes to the rules and details of your world. Freedom can sometimes have us in a choke hold, unable to find a way out of the multiple webs we have created.
Here are five things you must consider as you start to develop your story world.
Hard or Soft?
Just as we discussed in our horror two-parter, science fiction also has categories. By grounding our scripts in one of these, we set ourselves clear parameters to work within, with less opportunity to go off on random tangents or tie ourselves in knots.
If you choose ‘hard sci-fi’, you’ll take the science very seriously, and your audience will demand accuracy. Be prepared to undertake detailed research on the topics themselves, as well as the impact they have on society.
Interstellar (2014) is considered one of the best examples of hard sci-fi, as it depicts scientific concepts with impressive accuracy, with concepts such as black holes, time dilation and Hawking radiation all based on established physics principles. Of course, some creative license has been taken, but everything is grounded in proven scientific research.
On the other hand, soft sci-fi focuses more on the human aspect of the story, with less weight on the scientific principles. The most popular sci-fi movies are soft, as the science aspects are mostly theoretical and not explained in detail. Take Star Wars (1977-Present); we aren’t told how light speed or lightsabers work. We accept the technology because we’re invested in the characters.
Your script doesn’t have to sit directly in one or the other, but anywhere within the spectrum of sci-fi. What’s important is that you’re clear on where you want to rely on scientific theory and where you don’t. Whatever you decide, you need to stay consistent.
Related reading we think you’ll love: The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
Categorize the World
Not all sci-fi needs to be set in space and spaceships exploring the galaxy.
How about setting a story in the world we live in right now, either in the past or present? Instead of coming up with a whole new reality, you could focus on one particular scientific discovery and expand on it within a small collection of characters. In the meantime, the world continues as it is.
I was never going to get through a sci-fi post and not mention my ride or die, The X-Files (1994-2018), set in a fictional FBI department investigating the presence and influence of extra-terrestrials on Earth through unexplained case files (the X-Files).
While Special Agent Mulder believes there’s a paranormal presence, his partner Scully is determined to take a more scientific approach to their investigations. As they investigate, the world continues around them, most people unaware of what’s happening.
If you’re developing a whole new world, consider creating a map with places of note. Think Middle Earth from Lord of the Rings (while not sci-fi, you get the idea), or the Atlas of the Imperium from Dune. This and any other visual guides you can source or create for yourself will help you pull your world together.
Need help building your futuristic world?
Celtx is here to guide you
Geography is not the only important aspect of your world. Consider the politics and ethics of your people. How do they live? How do they function? What political systems do they have in place? What technology do they have access to? What are the rules of the world?
Alternative realities can also make for fantastic stories. This could be an alternate reality, parallel universe, or different dimensions. Extensive research could be needed if you’re looking to change a previous historical event, or timeline, to ensure you subvert it as accurately as possible.
Dark Matter (2024-Present) is a very recent example of the present day, but the wealth of possible alternate realities that stem from that. We follow Jason as he’s snatched from his content life with his wife and son, by an alternate version of himself.
Schrodinger’s cat features heavily in the original novel and subsequent series. While Schrodinger himself deemed his theory absurd and an intended criticism of quantum superposition, Dark Matter places the theory seriously into its lore.
Wherever you choose to base your story, honing the finer details and keeping consistent is the key. If you have a solid world, you’ll give yourself a strong springboard from which to write. A lack of detail means you could quickly become lost.
Where would you place all this information? If you prefer to work away from your screen, old-school scrapbooks can be great for sketches, cuttings, and scribbles. My favorite way to plan is to use Notion templates. There are so many free and low-cost templates available to store reference images, embed videos and documents, so everything is in one place.
Once I’m ready to start planning my screenplay, I move into Celtx, developing beat sheets and storyboards from there.
Technology and speculation
Let’s take a closer look at the technological side of your screenplay and how you can use it to comment on social and humanitarian issues. There still needs to be an inherently human core to your story to help your audience relate to your characters and the message you’re conveying.
In sci-fi, technology often acts as a mirror to reflect societal anxieties and aspirations. Black Mirror (2011-Present) does this successfully in multiple episodes. The episode Be Right Back (2013) tells the story of Martha, grieving for the loss of her boyfriend, Ash. She discovers new technology that recreates him in synthetic form. A deeply emotional episode, it highlights the wonders of technology, as well as its profound and sometimes harrowing effects on the human condition.
Whether it’s an alien ship, AI system, or future civilization questioning the nature of humanity, the technology you introduce into your sci-fi narrative should not only serve as a backdrop, but also as a central pillar of the themes and human emotions you wish to explore.
For more tips on world building: A Step-by-Step Guide to Immersive World Building by Jerry Jenkins
Creating multi-dimensional characters in Sci-Fi
One-dimensional and stereotypical characters are ones to avoid in any genre. Common traps like the stoic hero, wise alien, or emotionless AI are what we need to look out for in sci-fi. Instead of leaning into cliches, try to focus on making your characters relatable by giving them flaws that resonate with the human experience.
The ‘Mary Sue’ trope is common in sci-fi, where female leads are criticized for being ‘too perfect’. Rey from Star Wars has been described as such, as well as Katara from Avatar (2009). While this can be an unfair label, it’s a useful reminder to ensure all characters, regardless of gender.
Let’s return to Interstellar: while it’s set in the far outreaches of space, the movie explores a father’s internal struggle with the desire to save humanity versus his personal responsibility to his children. It’s here where we connect as humans and relate to his situation.
Arrival (2016) uses communication and empathy to not only bridge the gap between humans and aliens, but to also reflect on the universal themes of loss and understanding.
When deciphering your own character arcs, consider the role technology plays in their development. How do they interact with the tech or rules of your world? Does it empower them or create conflict?
For more on science fiction dialogue, check out this article from Self-Publishing school
In Blade Runner (1982), technology is both a tool and a source of existential crisis. The replicants and their creators are locked in a struggle to define humanity. This dynamic drives the story forward, as well as the arc of protagonist Rick Deckard.
Similarly, Children of Men (2006) centers around a dystopian technology that subtly permeates the dialogue and world-building without overwhelming the human element of the story. Technology changes the stakes here, creating conflict and forcing characters to grow and change.
Remember, the characters are the core of your script, driven by the influences around them, whether that be other characters, the world around them, or the technology they’re developing and using.
Crafting dialogue that doesn’t feel forced
The nature of sci-fi means there’s a lot going on and a lot to explain, especially if you’re establishing a brand-new world with its own rules and technology. It can be tempting to reveal everything through dialogue.
While dialogue can be a great tool in revealing exposition to your audience, we must avoid info dumping. This causes our dialogue to become clunky and dull, leaving our audience none the wiser and unengaged in our story.
Good sci-fi doesn’t tell you how the world works, but shows you. Use your environment to show your audience about the rules, technology, and societal structure. Dialogue can be extremely useful in natural conversations and body language, dropping small hints in dialogue.
Let’s take a look at some master screenwriting in action. Here are the first two pages of Blade Runner. Notice how writers Fancher and Peoples use the environment description as a starting block, before throwing us deep into the middle of a common occurrence in the story world. Character Leon tells us this by saying he already had an IQ test, so we can garner that the test he’s currently taking part in is something out of the ordinary for him.
Later, on page 3, Leon is asked if he knows what a turtle or tortoise is as part of the test, and we learn he’s never seen one. Okay, so now we know as an audience that animals and nature aren’t a huge part of this world. So, it continues…
If you want to see this scene in action, here’s the clip:
Celtx’s scriptwriting tools are perfect for organizing and keeping track of your dialogue. Map out different drafts, track revisions, and ensure consistency in character voice with our range of tools designed to help you from idea inception to final draft.
Tackling Sci-Fi themes
We’ve already discussed the importance of humanity being at the core of your sci-fi story. However, it’s also crucial to be clear on what your story is REALLY about.
Are you exploring conflicting political powers (Star Wars), environmental issues (The Matrix), or the complexities of the human spirit (Interstellar)?
Sci-fi should use its speculative elements to ask profound questions about the world we live in today, despite its futuristic or alternative setting. Of course, we couldn’t also get away without mentioning AI and how it, along with its technology counterparts, serve as metaphors for these social issues that sci-fi explores.
Related: What is theme? [Examples in Film and Literature] || Celtx Blog
AI’s rising influence is impacting the world around us as we speak, threatening jobs, revolutionizing industries, and even influencing creative fields like filmmaking (it’s all going a little Inception now, isn’t it?)
Westworld (2016-2022), Ex-Machina (2014) and even movies as early as Metropolis (1927) all explore the notion of artificial intelligence and its influences on the human world and condition.
As AI and technology continue to evolve, so must we as creatives – we should consider how these impact both our process and our stories. Here at Celtx, we’re always trying to stay ahead of the curve and give you a head start in using AI to help elevate your work.
Our AI tools help navigate the new technological landscape through streamlining pre-production tasks, so you can focus on developing your world and characters. Check out how we can help you, here.
Conclusion: Making your Sci-Fi stand out
In conclusion, sci-fi storytelling offers a vast, imaginative playground where technology, human emotion, and speculative futures collide.
Whether you’re crafting a hard sci-fi world rooted in scientific accuracy or a soft sci-fi narrative focused on character-driven drama, the genre provides a unique lens to explore present-day issues.
By using tools like Celtx, you can bring your complex worlds and characters to life with precision, keeping track of intricate details, dialogue, and themes. We’re here to help you at every step of the way with templates and tools that simplify world-building and scriptwriting. Stay tuned for more in our comprehensive scriptwriting series!
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