《How to Write Science Fiction》Creating Your Universe - Part 5 - Time Waits for No Man
Advertisement
“Know the rules and the rules will make you free.” - Orson Scott Card
True. And the more you know the rules, the better you will know and understand when you can bend them a little or occasionally break them.
Although all sub-genres of science fiction have their own little quirks and foibles, it’s true that, along with space travel (mentioned previously) certain other science fiction subjects need a little more thought than others. The more recent sub-genres are often subtle spins on the older styles, and we’ll go into the sub-genres a little more later on. But for now, it’s time to tap into the subject of time travel (DoooWeeeeOooo!).
Time Travel
This is possibly one of the most fascinating and potentially complex areas of science fiction. We could go into immense detail here, but doing so often ends up with the writer trying to work out whether he still exists and the reader wondering why he should (“Luke, I am my own father”).
Suffice to say, it’s very easy to tie yourself in knots. But, as with all things, if you have your rules and edges in place, you should be able to keep your universe relatively straight.
There are several variations on the theme of Time Travel, all of which have been ‘done’ to a greater or lesser extent in film, tv, or literary form. They can take the form of Romantic yearning, comedic mishap, more serious social commentary on whether ‘we should if we could,’ and many things in between.
So, what kind of time travellers are your characters? There are a few basic types listed below as a start point :
The Immune: a time traveller who can go back, make changes, but continue to exist as they are ‘outside time’ and therefore be immune to the change.
Advertisement
The Careful Traveller: someone who can make changes but can also potentially destroy or irreversibly alter their present. So, this sort of traveller can do things like save people who’re about to die, or great works of art and bring them to their ‘present’ but has to be very careful about who and what they save, and how.
The Inertial Traveller: where time has inertia, so even if Genghis Kahn was wiped out for example there would still have been a similar leader and empire, and by the time the traveller gets back to ‘now’, time will have reasserted itself.
The Inconsequential Changer: a traveller who can only make changes that have no long-term effects as any universe in which you change your own future could not exist. So you could go back and change the coffee cup your father drank from on the day of your conception, but not interrupt the act that produced you.
The Watcher: can travel and watch events but not interfere in any way and would be invisible to the local denizens of that timeline.
The Lodger: where the traveller looks through the eyes of someone in the past. The brain he/she is in doesn’t know they’re there, but they can observe.
The Younger You: similar to 6, but where the traveller goes back in time within their own life and mind. There are two subvariations to this one; one where the traveller watches, the other where the traveller can act and change things, but the younger would have no memory of what they’d done whilst the other ‘him / her’ was in control.
The Observer: time TV, where the traveller doesn’t travel as such but watches the various timelines unfold from the comfort of their Time Sofa.
The Avatar: where a machine or alternate body is arranged for the traveller to experience the past. Their consciousness is downloaded into the avatar and they get to wander around in it.
There are almost infinite variations and cross pollinations of the above ideas, but these tend to be the most common in literature. As long as you, the writer, know where your boundaries lie then you should be able to write it convincingly.
Advertisement
- In Serial20 Chapters
The Luckless Mage of Greidwhen Academy
A TOURNAMENT OF SORCERERS… AND THE MISFIT WHO ENTERED IT. Ever since she was a little girl, Lucy Hardtvelt has wanted to attend the same academy of magic her mother had graduated from, as well as compete in the same, famous Sorcerers Tournament hosted there every year. And finally, after having her application accepted, Lucy is jubilant to begin her first year at the prestigious Greidwhen Academy for Mages. Unfortunately, Lucy soon finds that, unlike her mother, she herself has little to no aptitude in the magical arts—struggling to keep even the most basic of spells from blowing up in her face. Now, having been given a harsh dose of reality, Lucy must find out if she has what it takes not only to survive at Greidwhen, but also the Sorcerer’s Tournament and its one-thousand contestants where the winner will be given the title of Champion Sorcerer, as well as the right to challenge the Celestial Mages—who are known to have been defeated only a handful of times…
8 221 - In Serial200 Chapters
Longhand Letters
Love is a messy kind of art.
8 238 - In Serial40 Chapters
Broken- Teen Wolf FF
{COMPLETED}Stiles gets kicked out of the pack for being a weak, useless, human. A few days later, he disappears without a trace. The pack doesn't seem worried, until Scott and the rest reach senior year, where a familiar face returns, but not alone. A new threat surfaces in Beacon Hills, and how will the two packs cope? Will an alliance be formed, or will things stay as they are, broken?I'm sorry I'm so bad at summaries, but please give the book a try :)
8 149 - In Serial4 Chapters
Fortnite Midas X Reader Oneshot Story's
just random Midas x Y/N (reader) one-shotsYes they are quite bad I know
8 90 - In Serial11 Chapters
Untertale And Aphmau Crossover(+ me) (Aphmau au) Book 1
DisclamerCover is minePhotos in the cover aren't mine they belong to their original ownerI do not own any of the aphmau or undertale characters except for my oc, the genocide player and the pacifist player bc they are my ocs.CreditAll photos used in the cover belong to Ashlyn_Aphmau so please go subscribe to herIn this au the aphmau crew are dead. (my oc and Noi are dating in this au pls no hate towards this)My oc wanted to stay with the aphmau crew forever but couldn't since she knows they aren't immortal like her, acting upon instinct she accidently listens to the genocide player and kills her friends now they are out to kill her but with the help of a few friends will she find out why they want to kill her or will she never see her friends again?Rankings:961 in Ein - 30 July 2022711 in Noi - 30 July 2022886 in pacifist - 30 July31 in Aphmau crew - 30 July 202218 in Aphmau smp - 30 July 2022
8 174 - In Serial30 Chapters
TAILS ━ NUMBER FIVE
TAILS ❪ season two ❫ // 1960's slang for the word 'shadow' COMPLETEfive hargreeves x fem!readercover by malewifemurdockwritten by funkyenderboy
8 188