Does a book need to justify being SFF?

[pkirk]

I have an idea for a novel and to be completely honest, it doesn't need to be SFF, but I want it to be. I want to write in this world that I have envisioned and that world is a space-faring society of solar systems united under a government. But the story that I have in mind could very easily be told in a very normal, everyday environment with cars instead of spaceships. Does that mean that I should avoid writing SFF if it could just be contemporary fiction?

 

[Wayne Mack]

If you want to write a specific setting, do it. A mystery can be done in an SF setting, a modern day setting, a historical setting, or whatever. The same with a romance or military novel.

 

[The Big Peat]

First off, welcome to the forum pkirk.

Second -

The short answer is "no". SFF books do not have to be written in such a manner that they only work if they are SFF. They can be commercially successful and critically adored without that. Ellen Kushner's Riverside and Guy Gavriel Kay's later novels are my two go to examples here.

The longer answer is "no, but it helps, and using the SFF possibilities you've given yourself might make your book even greater". Obviously genre labels come with expectations and while those expectations vary wildly from fan to fan, sometimes being able to play up to them helps a book sell and/or improves the story. My go to example here is that the the Thirty in David Gemmell's Legend were a late inclusion to satisfy an editor who wanted to make the book more fantasy, but are one of my favourite parts for the way they highlight the levelling power of death and make the story feel that much grander.

I suspect there are cases of stories that would be more appreciated if told in a non-SFF setting - particularly stories that would be sold as literary fiction if non-SFF, as that mix creates confusion for booksellers and fans - but that caveat aside, I can't think of many, and I can't think of any that have to be told that way.

To boil that down - write the story in the way you want to. Give it a little thought as to what that is, but no need to overthink it.

 

[Parson]

@The Big Peat just posted ahead of me and I agree.

With a few twists any story can be told in any setting. I see two issues. The most important one is what you want to do. If you want to make it a SFF story by all means do that. It will certainly be applauded around here. The second is what kind of story lets you get published more easily. I'm unsure if there's an easy answer to this one. I can see arguments running both directions.

 

[The Big Peat]

@The Big Peat just posted ahead of me and I agree.

With a few twists any story can be told in any setting. I see two issues. The most important one is what you want to do. If you want to make it a SFF story by all means do that. It will certainly be applauded around here. The second is what kind of story lets you get published more easily. I'm unsure if there's an easy answer to this one. I can see arguments running both directions.

Worrying about what sort of story will get you published is like worrying what sort of clothing will get you most noticed at a single bar. To wit -

It absolutely has an impact but other than a few no brainer decisions, the nature of ever evolving trends and the subjectivity with which you will be regarded makes figuring out the perfect choice an impossible to solve quandary that takes up time best used having something great to put inside those clothes as that's what matters most anyway.

 

[Swank]

If you have a unique world for your story to unfold, why not make some of that place necessary to the story?

 

[msstice]

I have an idea for a novel and to be completely honest, it doesn't need to be SFF, but I want it to be. I want to write in this world that I have envisioned and that world is a space-faring society of solar systems united under a government. But the story that I have in mind could very easily be told in a very normal, everyday environment with cars instead of spaceships. Does that mean that I should avoid writing SFF if it could just be contemporary fiction?

We recently had a discussion (with a very poorly worded thread title) that touched these points: Genre--People Never Change

Also, cars are science fiction, to Shakespeare, who, after consulting his contemporaries decided to have horse drawn carts in his plays instead, since Roger Bacon told him "Science Fiction doesn't sell. Plus you'll be burned at the stake."

I'll stop being silly now.

If your story is traditional SF (as opposed to artsy-fartsy SF, which means a story where SF is used as some kind of excuse for bad writing and Deus Ex machina, and being surreal and obscure and pretentious - oh yes, you correctly guessed I've run into too many of those recently) I might be your prototypical reader.

I will be disappointed if there are no descriptions of different technologies, scientific principles or locales. But, I won't be going, "Let's see, if I replaced the spaceships with horses and the light sabers with ... normal sabers, and the force with straight up magic ... hey wait, this isn't science fiction!" Especially if I like the characters and the story.

 

[Venusian Broon]

Hi Pkirk,

Great first post However, I'll be blunt. I'm in the mood for being blunt this morning!


In general, as a novel reader who reads all genre, I wouldn't care. Quality is far more important. A dazzling plot and character will carry me through a read.

From the perspective as a fellow writer, I think it's important for you to be excited about what you are writing. If a SF setting gets your writing juices flowing and gets you to finish the project then that's great.

But...

....with my hat on as a SFF reader (and a lot of time I do put this hat on) if a book was described the way you have, I would find it unappealing and just not pick it up.

However...

...this is just my personal preference and in no way represents the general SFF readership, so feel free to ignore me.

 

[Toby Frost]

Why should it have to justify itself? A romance novel exists because its author wanted to write romance. Likewise a crime story, a Western or any other genre. A Western doesn't have to "say something" about Westerns in order to be one, and a science-fiction story shouldn't need to have any justification beyond "I want a story about spaceships and robots" to justify its existence.

 

[Phyrebrat]

Write for yourself, not for other people.

My other piece of advice is — if you haven’t already — read Ray Bradbury‘s Zen and the Art of Writing. It’s a magnificent collection of essays that will give you perspective and permission to do what you want to do.

 

[The Big Peat]

Why should it have to justify itself? A romance novel exists because its author wanted to write romance. Likewise a crime story, a Western or any other genre. A Western doesn't have to "say something" about Westerns in order to be one, and a science-fiction story shouldn't need to have any justification beyond "I want a story about spaceships and robots" to justify its existence.

The thing is SFF isn't like other genres.

It's reality bending nature gives it different possibilities. It's very hard to write a Western that only works as a Western (not impossible if the story is deeply rooted in specific cultural practices that only existed there and then, but hard) because 99.9% of what is happening is easy to mirror elsewhere. It's very easy to write a story that only works if you accept huge breaches to current technology and/or the laws of reality.

This is also part of what gives SFF a very different fanbase with different expectations. Ignoring should and going with does, a quick look at this thread and the genre thread that msstice links to reveals there are indeed SFF fans who expect the fact these are spaceships and robots and not cargo ships and people to play some part in the story and won't be happy if they don't. It is, extrapolating what we see here to wider numbers, at least a sizeable and vocal minority. I suspect that if you expand it to those who generally prefer it that way, you're probably reaching a majority.

I am absolutely on the side of the SFF genre shelves being a broad church where most things have been permitted once and will be permitted again. But at the same time, in terms of general broad strokes, our shelves follow different rules from theirs and this is one of them.

 

[pkirk]

@The Big Peat just posted ahead of me and I agree.

With a few twists any story can be told in any setting. I see two issues. The most important one is what you want to do. If you want to make it a SFF story by all means do that. It will certainly be applauded around here. The second is what kind of story lets you get published more easily. I'm unsure if there's an easy answer to this one. I can see arguments running both directions

Honestly, I'm not even thinking about publishing at this point. Its a debut novel, I just want to get better at writing and make sure I'm operating withing the correct guidelines to grow in the most beneficial way.

 

[pkirk]

Hi Pkirk,

Great first post However, I'll be blunt. I'm in the mood for being blunt this morning!


In general, as a novel reader who reads all genre, I wouldn't care. Quality is far more important. A dazzling plot and character will carry me through a read.

From the perspective as a fellow writer, I think it's important for you to be excited about what you are writing. If a SF setting gets your writing juices flowing and gets you to finish the project then that's great.

But...

....with my hat on as a SFF reader (and a lot of time I do put this hat on) if a book was described the way you have, I would find it unappealing and just not pick it up.

However...

...this is just my personal preference and in no way represents the general SFF readership, so feel free to ignore me.

So the more interesting question for you would be "have you ever read a SFF book that you enjoyed, and afterward asked yourself 'did that need to be SFF?'"
Because I think that if most people have never asked themselves that question, that answers it for me.

 

[Parson]

One vote for "I've never asked myself that question."

 

[Laura R Hepworth]

Of course it doesn't. Most readers aren't going to overanalyze a story like that. Some might, yes, but probably far fewer than you're anticipating.

Almost any story can have massive portions of it transplanted into the framework of another genre and still work. Are there certain elements that a reader is going to expect to encounter? Yes, but most readers are going to be more concerned with other things than if the story would still make sense as a story without them. Justification of a genre is unnecessary and, in my opinion, basically a form of gatekeeping. It's not 'bad scifi' if the story still works on its own without the scifi elements, it's just a lighter shade of scifi just like some fantasy readers prefer hard magic systems over a soft one. There's no reason that scifi can't be the same way with some being more involved in those elements and some fluffier where they're just a matter of setting. Who cares if they can be replaced or not. If that's how you want to write it, then write it. There'll be plenty enough readers out there that won't care one way or another and just enjoy the story without deconstructing it.

It's more a matter of different audiences and styles within the same genre vs whether or not something belongs in that genre. We really shouldn't paint all books with the same brush of 'this is how they all need to be.' We limit ourselves and others when we do that. Write the story well and your readers won't be bored enough to start taking it apart.

 

[THX1138]

@pkirk Take a look at and entering our 75 word and 300 word challenges and give a go at the 100-word ammoniums workshop (when they come around) Read the rules first though! Or try some on your own; this will help you a lot.

Foremost, read, read, read and see how your favorite author words things and world builds. Look at how they develop their MC and what they go through and how they develop in the story.

Also, look at the many critiques in the 75, 100 and 300 worders just as case studies and also in the Critiques form as well.
(Note, we will need 30 meaningful posts (your message count) to submit a writing for critique but go and review them.

There are many accomplished authors here on Chrons that can help you too. Get some of their books and ask them a question or two.

Have you taken any writing classes or workshops on you own? If not, find one and give it go. I also just got a subscription to Writers Digest because they offer more insights that we here might not think about or have forgotten to bring up.

I put off working on my novels for a year now because I was in the same boat as you. Doing all of this has helped me out a lot. JMO.

 

[The Big Peat]

So the more interesting question for you would be "have you ever read a SFF book that you enjoyed, and afterward asked yourself 'did that need to be SFF?'"
Because I think that if most people have never asked themselves that question, that answers it for me.

I have. Not very often, but I have.

I have often thought the related thought of "I would have liked this story more if it had embraced being SFF more" though.

And also the thought of the other side of the coin that is "My favourite thing about this story was the power of the setting/fantasy conceit".

Write what you want. Don't try to please everyone. Embrace your strengths. Don't worry about criticism until you've got something to show. Those four things take precedence over what I'm going to say next, but at the same time, I think it needs saying -

SFFness can absolutely be a tripping point (not to mention it's a colossal opportunity). If we're going to discuss whether it is or not, then it is.

 

[Venusian Broon]

I have. Not very often, but I have.

I have often thought the related thought of "I would have liked this story more if it had embraced being SFF more" though.

And also the thought of the other side of the coin that is "My favourite thing about this story was the power of the setting/fantasy conceit".

@The Big Peat

I was thinking about how to respond to the "Did that need to be SFF?" question, but this sums it up pretty well for me too!

So I'm going to join your party on this topic

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I am surprised that no one has yet brought up "sense of wonder" which for many, many readers is what attracts them to SF.

But I can tell you that I personally, as a reader, am never going to feel that sense of wonder if the SF elements are nothing more than wallpaper, pasted on as a background to each scene, rather than being relevant in some meaningful ways to the plot and characters.

 

[The Big Peat]

Oh. One last thing* that might be relevant -

It's amazing what readers will invest into a story if they're into it. Stuff that may seem replaceable or "just like X" to an author who's been rummaging through its guts for too long might come across as magical to the reader. Or maybe even the author after a bit.

After all - I assume you are doing spaceships and solar systems and what not because you really like them and find them cool, right @pkirk? In which case, that sense of cool is likely to spill over...



*this is probably a lie.