How to Write Science Fiction feat. Daniel Orrett

For this Supplemental, Spacedock joins me to chat about actually writing some science fiction and the various bits of advice we've used over the years.

Special thanks to all of my Patrons :)

00:00 Intro
00:46 How to Start Writing
04:57 Hard Sci-Fi vs Soft Sci-Fi
07:48 Sci-Fi Worldbuilding
13:22 Creative Inspirations
15:22 Do You Need an Plan Before Writing?
21:31 How to Create Characters
25:42 How to Write Good Dialogue
34:16 How to Write Epic Stories
38:54 Writing for Other IPs
40:31 Dealing with Imposter Syndrome
43:13 Outro

#Spacedock #RowanJColeman #TheSojourn

[Spacedock]

Thanks for having me again, always a pleasure mate!

[lilmoist]

Take a shot every time "The Expanse" is mentioned

[SpaceMonke]

I've spent 5 years trying to get into Farscape and I have a sort of imposter syndrome of my own as a sci-fi fan because of it. People love that show and swear by it but I've found it extremely hard to get into. Great video you two. Listened to the first volume of The Sojourn but still have yet to pick up Paragon. Will definitely check it out someday.

[IRFALLZ]

I think I've watched too much spacedock because when Dan went "I think my favorite part to write was..."
I went "Its probably the bar scene knowing him"
"Was the bar scene... just character at the Pub"
How did I know That?

[nickcampa]

I don't get the fascination with Lexxx either, but frell yes to Farscape... Now back to listening.

[razvanmazilu]

Interesting discussion. I'm gonna throw a couple of thoughts in here :)

RE: Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski's approach to writing the story of a show is by far my favourite: have a clear path laid out, but don't pin down all the details. It's not like I'm going A to B, but I don't necessarily know how I'm gonna get there; it's more like I'm going A to D and I know I want to hit B and C along the way. That way you still give yourself enough freedom to deal with unexpected occurrences (his famous trap doors), but also have the opportunity to throw subtle hints of what's to come and to do a bit of foreshadowing. I'm in the middle of rewatching B5 and it still amazes me how even in the earliest episodes (despite the first season having a fair share of filler) there are already plenty of elements that clearly link into much later events. For example (spoiler!) how Londo Mollari, in the very first episode of season 1, mentions to Sinclair the dream where he sees himself and G'Kar strangling each other to death.

RE: BSG 2004
I have to admit Ronald D. Moore and his writing team really had me thinking they were following a similarly laid out plan for the show, at least in the first two seasons. But as season 3 progressed and then went into the final season, that illusion was shattered and it became clear to me they were more or less winging it. My biggest red flag for where the show was going was how they handled (spoiler!) Starbucks "death". While I didn't hate the final season, I felt they really dropped the ball on a lot of things due to the "make it up as you go" approach and the quite obvious decision to ditch the character driven show they had built and instead turn it into a sort of supernatural show. I felt this also clashed heavily with the hard-ish sci-fi feel that the show had started with. Also I know a lot of BSG fans would give me flak for saying this, but I do believe they relied heavily on deus ex machina plot devices and the show finale was pretty much a literal representation of one.

[jenniferwilliams]

I must confess, as someone who intends to write, I found this conversation both enjoyable and informative. Thank you for making this video.

[fancyfish]

This video came out really handy ngl. I‘m in the process of world/character building for a story and hearing how to deal with impostor syndrome did help alot

[ZeroAnalogy]

Cool! I got to catch the premiere...
And a SPACEDOCK collaboration!

[thlonefx]

This is definitely going to help while writing my series, thanks.

[theonemeepermcmeep]

Thanks for answering my question. It means a lot to me. I plan on writing and publishing my own Sci Fi book series.

[redkommie]

Thanks Dan and Rowan. I've been whacking my brain to try and write at times. I always believed in making characters believable. But moving the story along has been nerve whacking. I will be listening to this vid a number of times while I go at it again.

[tannerlee]

Always love seeing my favorite youtubers colab with each other.

[elonmusksellssnakeoil]

A good character is someone you can imagine in any given scenario. The more clearly you can envision their behavior in that scenario, the better the character.

[KristovMars]

Great chat! Thanks to you both for all the great content, and I'm eager to hear more Sojourn

[jameswelch]

2024 and I’m writing my first acı-fi novel. Thanks for posting all of your videos!

[DavidMacDowellBlue]

I admit to having grown more and more fascinated by the space opera genre, and being pulled by two totally different impulses. One is a kind of nostalgic fun, a la Flash Gordon and Star Trek. The other is more hardcore, like Revelation Space and (to some extent) Dune.

[glenn_r_frank_author]

fun and useful interview! I liked the final advice... Don't call yourself an Aspiring Writer. Just call yourself a writer. I am a writer.

[marktutaj]

It’s good to know I’m not the only one who Facebook messages themselves story bits and notes when it hits them. Thanks Spacedock.

[martysmaps]

Thank you a lot for this video. I am taking a screenwriting class and we need to write both the treatment and first act for our own movie. Not many "how to write sci Fi" videos cover screenwriting and novel writing so this was very helpful. This is the first video I've listened to by this channel and I will watch more.