Writing Soft SF

by Penny Ehrenkranz

You love reading science fiction, but you flunked 9th grade science. Still, you think you'd like to try writing the genre you most enjoy. It's probably too late for you to take science classes, and you're not really interested anyway. So, what do you do? Cheer up! You don't need to be a rocket scientist to write science fiction. Although there are a number of well-known science fiction writers who began their careers in the sciences, there are just as many (if not more) who did not.

Science fiction can be classified as hard (technological) or soft (sociological). If you're like me, with a limited scientific background but good people skills, you may want to try your hand at writing soft science fiction. Soft science fiction deals with people, not machines. Although there should be some element of futurism, your characters need not go shooting off among the stars in a high-tech space craft.

Exploring the Face of Tomorrow

It is important, however, for you to include elements of the future in your story. It's not good enough to insert a few words about view phones and laser guns. Be a little more daring. Think of technology that exists today and try to project what it might become in 50 years from now. In addition, imagine what life might be like in fifty years. Thinking back over the changes which have happened in our own lifetime, and how fast those changes occurred, will give you some idea of what to imagine for your future time.

As with any science fiction, you need to have a concrete picture of what happens in your world. What rights do women and minorities have? What type of government is in power? What mode of travel does the common person use? Where does your world exist? Is it a future version of Earth or is it a planet in a far-off galaxy which has been inhabited by humans?

You may want to research what is currently available in the way of technology. Read issues of magazines such as Scientific American or Discover. Both are excellent resources for reports on the newest developments in science and technology. Computer magazines such as Byte Magazine, PC WEEK, and Maximum PC all give you insights into the ever-changing world of personal computers. In her classic The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. LeGuin lets the reader know from the very first paragraph that the story does not take place on Earth. She gives fictional place names, makes reference to a communications device, and places the date as "Ekumenical Year 1490-97."

As she introduces the characters, it becomes obvious that the natives are very different from humans. The natives of the planet Winter are neither male, nor female. During certain phases of their lives they take on one dominant sexual role or another to produce offspring. One human male is a major character, and through him and his relationships with the natives, conflict is established and played out.

Although Ms. LeGuin does allow the readers to know that her characters travel via a space ship, that ship is not an integral part of the story. It hovers in orbit above the planet, and its technology such as an "ansible communicator" is available to the main protagonist. Rather than center on technology, this story explores relationships, honor, and intrigue.

In her collection of four novellas, Four Ways to Forgiveness, Ms. LeGuin returns to the Hainish and Ekumen societies. Once again, these stories are set on a world other than Earth, and although there is space travel, technology is not the focus of the stories. Instead these are four interconnected stories depicting the struggle for freedom during slavery and war.

Margaret Atwood, a Canadian writer not usually known for science fiction, created a classic story in her novel, The Handmaid's Tale. Set in the Republic of Gilead, formerly the United States, this is the story of a time when society is on the brink of collapse, held together by an ultra conservative government. Only the rich and powerful have any semblance of freedom, and even that is limited. Young women with viable ovaries are valued, for the future of this world depends on them. These women are the Handmaids; their only purpose in life is to produce children. This is an indepth allegorical tale set in a country controlled by a group which could easily be a future offshoot of this past decade's Moral Majority. Again, Ms. Atwood introduces no high technology in her story, yet the reader knows this is a future time. This story is a truly fine example of soft science fiction.

Sheri S. Tepper is another writer of several soft science fiction titles, of which Grass is one of the best known. Combining politics and religion, Ms. Tepper builds a world totally believably to the reader with good versus evil, human settlers versus native aborigines, sprinkled throughtout with an intense interplay between the sexes.

Robert Silverberg also creates a believable world in The Face of the Waters. As in Tepper's Grass, Silverberg's world is believable. The reader is brought to the watery world of Hydros where human settlers and native aboriginal species live in uneasy peace. Finally exiled, the humans set sail for a mythical island rumored to be somewhere in the vast ocean. On the voyage, they encounter storms, tidal waves, strange plant-life and exotic sea creatures -- many of them more menacing and dangerous than friendly. Again, we find a story with little technology, based on a world other than Earth, and making a clear sociological statement.

Now you know what determines soft science, the next step is finding and exploring potential markets. Send for guidelines and sample issues. Study what kinds of soft science fiction sells in which magazines. Write, revise, and send to an appropriate market. If you do your homework, you too may find your byline in a science fiction magazine, anthology, or even on a novel.

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