science fiction essay topic ideas

Writing Prompts

110+ Sci-Fi Writing Prompts (+ Sci-Fi Story Idea Generator)

Bring on the robots, aliens and distant planets with this mega list of over 110 extraordinary sci-fi writing prompts.

Science fiction (or sci-fi for short) covers a breadth of topics including aliens, technology, future cities, space travel and scientific experiments. While many sci-fi stories are set in the future, they can also be set in the current time too. For instance, a scientist creating a new drug, or the discovery of life on Mars could be plot lines for sci-fi stories set right now in this exact time period. The thing about sci-fi is that it is the opposite of fantasy. Magic, monsters and fairy tales have no place in a sci-fi story unless there is a logical reason for them being. If you’re going to include monsters, creatures or aliens, think about the theory behind their creation. Is that monster the result of a science experiment gone wrong? Did life always exist on a distant planet? Numbers, formulas and logical reasoning are what make a sci-fi tale so believable.

Sci-Fi Story Idea Generator

In this post, we have outlined over 110 sci-writing prompts that you can use for your next science fiction novel! To make life easier for you, we even created this sci-fi story idea generator , so you can focus on one prompt at a time:

Hopefully, you’ll find this list useful whether you’re writing a creative essay, novel or even a collection of sci-fi short stories! You might also be interested in the following resources:

25+ writing prompts about space
56 dystopian writing prompts
Planet Name Generator
70+ Fantasy Writing Prompts

Sci-Fi Writing Prompts List

Let the science commence, with this list of over 110 remarkable sci-fi prompts and topics to write about:

You volunteer to take part in a study on human interaction. Little do you know that the study is part of an elaborate plan by a group of aliens to invade Earth.
It is the year 3000, and Earth has changed a lot. Describe some of these changes?
You and your friends are messing around in a broken, old warehouse until you find a purple, glowing egg. What do you do?
Your billionaire uncle gives you a hi-tech robot for your birthday. What do you do with the robot?
Your science teacher invents the time machine. You decide to use it secretly to change the past. What problems do you cause by changing the past?
Strange portals start appearing all over your neighbourhood. You step into one. Where does it take you?
Aliens have declared war on humans of Earth and only you can stop them. But how?
You return from holiday to find that a radioactive explosion at a nuclear plant has turned everyone into zombies in your town. What will you do?
As a lonely astronaut, you crash land on a distant planet. Describe the planet.
An alien crashed its ship in your garden. How will you help it?
Write a help guide for a new alien settling in on planet Earth. What does the alien need to know about Earth?
A lonely robot travels to another planet in search of a better life and some true friends.
A young woman is just starting to move up the ranks in the military. She, along with the other soldiers need to stop a deadly virus from spreading. Her job keeps on getting more and more dangerous each day.
A fearful teenager lives in a world full of people that think he is a ‘freak’. He doesn’t fit in and feels that he can’t have his own feelings. Until one day he discovers the truth that he is an alien.
Write a sci-fi story about a very young alien who wakes up one morning in a different universe and finds he cannot remember his life. All the alien remembers is the night of the accident, when his best friend was killed.
Two young children, a brother and a sister are trapped inside a broken spaceship. During the crash, both their parents passed away. Can both the children survive on their own?
A young alien boy named Nana is sent on a journey by an alien race to the past in order to learn the history of the world. Unfortunately, he gets sent along with his brother and step sister who have very different plans about what they will do on Earth.
A small village is under attack by giant aliens. Eventually, all the civilians want to leave that village. However, the mayor does not want them to leave. He manages to contact the leader of the alien creatures. The mayor then makes a deal with them to invade any other city on Earth, but not this village.
Write a sci-fi story about a young boy who is being chased by an evil space monster who wants to eat his father.
There is a planet in the galaxy similar to Earth. It has a human-like feel to it, and on the surface, you could call it Earth 2.0. Humans used to be the dominant life form on this planet, but something has changed in recent years.
Write a sci-fi story about two people with supernatural abilities fighting against the evil forces that want to take over the world. The main character is a young boy who happens to be psychic. While the secondary character is a girl, who has super-strength, speed, and healing powers. The story opens in another world called Earth, where there is the “World of the Living Dead”, a land ruled by a group of “Night People” who are all dead.
A group of people are trapped inside a broken spaceship. Originally the group of people believe that this was an accident. But soon they find out that someone on board caused this ‘accident’ on purpose – But why? This is a mystery sci-fi story.
A young man graduates first in his class with a degree in computer engineering. He goes on to invent the very first artificial intelligence (AI) in existence. He must use this AI to save humanity from impending doom.
During a digging expedition, a scientist discovers a series of artefacts that seem to be ancient technology that might be part of a secret world. Putting all the pieces of the broken artefact together creates a portal device to another dimension.
An alien device is uncovered deep in the Sahara desert with an Ouroboros (snake) symbol. It has the power to control the weather on Earth. It turns out that thousands of years ago aliens had the power to control Earth. Soon this deadly weapon ends up in the wrong hands.
A group of intergalactic rebels, led by a beautiful alien princess, go on a daring mission to restore peace to the galaxy.
A scientist works for a government agency that develops a technology that enables humans to telepathically communicate with each other. Soon humans using the technology receive communications from aliens.
A doctor is sent out into the wilderness to help the population of a small town that has been affected by a deadly disease. Soon he gets caught in a war between the human survivors and the ‘others’.
Write a sci-fi story about a scientist and his young daughter who are taken on a journey to the planet S.A.L.L.E. Their mission is to find answers about the planet’s life forms. Soon they are separated from one another. When they meet again, the father discovers something odd about his daughter.
Stuck in the same old loop every single day, David needs to make an important choice fast. Continue a safe, repetitive life or move to a planet where humans rarely survive.
A robot with a soul and its human best friend go on a criminal rampage. Soon they are being chased by the authorities and even other people and robots that they have upset. Will they escape?
Humankind is divided into two groups: one a technologically advanced civilization, and the other an old fashioned, non-techno group. The technologically advanced civilization is going to wipe out the human race in the next two decades.
A friendly housekeeper robot goes rogue and joins the war against mankind. The robot’s human family want him to come back home.
Write a sci-fi story about a group of soldiers whose sole job is to travel through time and space to stop a dark force that threatens the future of the universe.
This is a sci-fi story about a young, un-engineered robot named Enceladus (named after one of Saturn’s moons). Enceladus has been programmed to find a healthy water source on Earth. After pollution and contamination have destroyed Earth.
One single mind has the power to save Earth. An unlikely human far superior to others can stop a whole alien invasion from happening.
Society has come to the point where humans and artificial intelligence are indistinguishable. A young woman named Samantha wakes up in a hospital bed after an injury that will change her life forever. At her hospital bed, Samantha meets a man who is also waking up: a robot named Bob. She doesn’t know it yet, but Bob is an advanced AI.
The daughter of a scientist who passed away has the ability to see, hear and manipulate objects around her. As she grows, her powers become stronger. Soon she hears every radio signal coming from the city around her. And she sees all the people in pain and danger. Too much to handle she loses control.
A group of kids are on the run from the authorities. They have all been in contact with another life-form on a distant planet. In order to protect this life-form, the kids will do anything to keep their secrets away from the government.
The world ends, and the future just begins for two groups of people. These last survivors on Earth must find a way to survive with the new dangers they encounter.
In the future, mankind has invented a weapon that will make war impossible. But soon this ‘weapon’ becomes the cause of war on Earth. People must fight to save their lives, their homes, their lives.
After a mysterious accident, David’s entire life becomes a never-ending nightmare. As his memories return, he tries to escape this nightmare and reclaim his true identity.
Two siblings, Sam and Mia must survive the epidemic of Crime in Detroit. Their parents are divorced. Their father is a police officer who has been left by the wayside due to his car being stolen. Their mother is trying to get back to Detroit to save her children.
A small village has been turned into a hive of evil creatures. As scientists run secret experiments. Will the inhabitants of this small town survive the transformations?
The human race has evolved into five different groups, each with its own beliefs on how to survive on Earth. The two biggest groups are Draken and Lumia. The Draken group believe that weak humans must die in order to survive. And the Lumia group believe that humans should become one with the Earth, living naturally to survive.
A man in the future has been licensed to death. He spends every day trying to escape death. Every morning he wakes up and says, ”This is the last day of my life.
This is a sci-fi story about a space pirate named Czar who has been chosen by the space council to try and save his home planet from an evil tyrant known as the Emperor. In one scene, he has to infiltrate the ship of the Emperor while disguised as a prisoner.
The civilians of a small town think that Jake is possessed by a demon. But in actual fact, an alien is telepathically controlling this young boy against humankind.
Write a story about a young doctor with a futuristic cure to prevent disease and a young woman who can transform into anything she wants. The story starts off in the past, where we meet a young girl who is struggling with her body image.
Describe a parallel universe , which is exactly like Earth but there is one major difference. What is this difference?
A fortune teller has a vision of a boy falling down a well. She must find this boy and save him. The twist is that her vision does not show that the boy is actually pushed by a robot.
A futuristic technology called the Machine makes the people of the planet dependent on it. The Machine is the only reason why humans are still alive in the future. Suddenly the Machine stops working, and people start dying. Eventually, people start learning that they don’t need to be dependent on the Machine to live – They can live independently.
Describe a world that is not human. A world of destruction, and heartache. What kind of creatures inhabit this world? Was the world always in this state? Does this world have a leader?
Write a sci-fi fairy tale about a girl who has the power to turn ordinary objects into objects of great beauty. She uses this power to gain control of a futuristic kingdom, and of course to live happily ever after.
A group of people live together like a family. The group is the only family that has all lived together for such a long time since families are banned in the future. The main character is an engineer, he is the brother of a medical doctor. After a huge party, the main character realises that no one on the whole planet is like them.
This sci-fi story starts off in the present day, where the main character discovers something shocking on his smartphone. Eventually, we see the machines and their dominance of the future.
Write a sci-fi story that is broken into three parts. The first part shows the future of mankind, the second is set in the past. And the final part is set in the present time. The overall theme of the story is about how machines are manipulating humans and their daily lives.
This is a sci-fi story about a space travel expedition to a new planet called Earth. What secrets and discoveries will the main character make?
A scientist gets trapped in a strange, hostile dimension on Earth. The only way out it to use his alien blaster to kill anything that comes in his way.
A local biotech company is running some trials for their new gene therapy service. This is the first time they are running trials on humans. Two people have been selected to genetically enhance their genes to get rid of any deformities. At first, the gene therapy looks to be a success, but then…
A secret alien race called the K9s has been hiding from the human world. The K9s are different from human K-9 dogs. They look like human dogs but are ruthless and highly dangerous. Eventually, the K9s alien race starts hunting down humans one by one.
The main character was in a lifeboat. He gets knocked out by an accident while he’s onboard, and wakes up in the middle of a sea battle. The sea battle is between humans and water-born aliens.
A lonely engineer creates an AI robot. Due to some events, the AI robot becomes very angry and obsessed with destruction. The engineer must stop this robot from hurting any more people.
Write a sci-fi story about a family of beings who have appeared on Earth in the past. They are called the Inhumans and are a race of aliens that have the ability to shape their own reality. They eventually become the leaders of this new world, also known as Earth. This family is part of a royal bloodline. There are three different branches of the Inhumans family.
A boy gets caught up in a fight between two alien races. With the help of his uncle (an agent) and his guardian (a space pirate), he tries to track down the invaders, and end this fight.
Write a story about a young woman from the future who travels into the past to take a stand against a monster.
In an intergalactic space station, there lives a group of mercenaries called the Zurriors. When the station goes into a power outage, the Mercenaries start attacking each other, and have the misfortune to end up in a rather hostile environment. The action is very chaotic, and they will use the elements to their advantage.
Write a sci-fi story about an android called Astro, that looks like a human with mechanical parts. Astro is a social robot created as part of a project on human communication. It is programmed to help people who need help with communication skills.
To fulfil his childhood dream of creating a human-like robot, one scientist find himself trapped inside a robot’s body. Son the robot starts taking over the human body and destroying it.
This is a sci-fi story about a man’s desperate quest to survive in a hostile and dark post-apocalyptic world. It’s told from a first-person perspective and the only characters we really see are a father and his young son.
Write a story based on the first man in space (Yuri Gagarin).
A group of scientists want to prove that the afterlife does exist. Through experimentation and unethical practices, they discover the shocking truth.
This is a sci-fi story about what happens when a robot breaks free from her programming and runs amok. A camera is placed inside a robots head. From the perspective of the robot, we see everything that causes the robot to change.
This is a sci-fi story about a family living in the 21st century, in a near-future universe in which we have been genetically engineered. In this future, humans don’t need food, nor do humans need jobs. In fact, the only thing human-kind needs is more humans. The main character is a young lady who is a clone of her mother.
This is a sci-fi story about a man that has lived on the moon with his family for decades. After having their house attacked, the man and his family must leave.
The main characters are two teenage boys. The first is an orphaned child who was taken from his parents by the Red Star Empire, the military dictatorship that took over the Earth in the 23rd century. He was sent to the planet of Zonama Sekot, a planet of warring factions of different species. It was there that he met the other boy, a teenager named Lask. The two of them became friends.
A city is infected with an alien virus. The only way to escape the city’s deadly undead hordes is to get a ride into the countryside on a zombie-killing train.
Write a sci-fi story about one of the world’s greatest scientists, who decides to stay in the dark about how his inventions will save mankind, even from aliens.
An ambitious engineer is attempting to build the ultimate weapon to destroy an enemy called the Rave. The Rave is a species of mutated ravens. See our Species Name generator for more unique species names.
This is a sci-fi story about a band of space pirates who come back together to stop a deadly, world-threatening virus.
A young man awakes from an accident and thinks he has developed telepathy. In actual fact, a race of small creatures has invaded his brain, and have been living there for over 20 years. These creatures have their own memories and emotions which they project inside the young man’s mind.
This is a sci-fi story about a race of sentient insects who are all genetically engineered. These insects eventually take over Earth, making humans their slaves in farms.
A group of people leave planet Earth, to start their own civilisation on a new planet. They finally find a new planet where they can set their own rules. On the surface, this planet looks uninhabitable – Not suitable for humans. But then a secret switch shows the true beauty of this planet.
A computer hacker is tired of all the emotions that he feels. He is in too much pain, so comes up with a plan to turn himself into a cyborg. With this plan, he can carry on living his life without sadness, depression or anger.
For centuries humans have found no life on Mars. One scientist wants to prove everyone wrong. He wants to prove that Martians or aliens do exist. So he concocts a plan to create his own life in a laboratory, and then send this ‘life’ to Mars in a ship. He can then boast that aliens do exist.
Two children are born after a nuclear war on Earth. They are raised in a world ravaged by the effects of nuclear technology. This is a coming of age, sci-fi story about living in a post-nuclear world.
A group of friends are captured by aliens and put into hibernation. Years later a little alien girl wakes them up and helps them escape from an uninhabitable planet.
Write a sci-fi story about an astronaut who wakes up to find himself and his crew trapped in an alien world.
A small space exploration group travel to Mars for a mission to study the Red Planet. However, when they arrive, they find the place to be deserted. While exploring, they end up getting into a situation that is completely unique and exciting. The team are captured by aliens, who have given them one of their spaceship suits and have the humans inside. The astronauts have to survive and figure out how to get out of this situation.
A young girl gets lost at sea and wakes up on a deserted planet. But she’s not the only one who wakes up on a deserted planet. She’s one of only a few survivors of a race of alien warriors who used to live there. The only way that she can return home is if she joins up with a team of scientists who are building a super-weapon that can protect people from the aliens and give them the power to fight back
Write a story about a group of robots that get sent back to Earth from their universe and have to live with their descendants in a car factory.
This is a sci-fi story about a team of highly skilled astronauts who were sent to the Moon on a mission to become a new kind of human. The mission was a failure because they were attacked by aliens on the Moon. They were never seen again and the aliens are now trying to steal the technology of the Earth’s space program.
The main character’s spaceship is destroyed on a planet, so he needs to look for a new one. But just then a giant alien arrives, making his task much more difficult.
On planet Kgnis, a warlord gets sucked in a conspiracy that humans are going to take over his planet. He fights backs but ultimately is unable to survive the war.
In a matter of minutes, a robot can change the world at its will. The main character is a mysterious figure named H.A.R.D.A.M. He is an extremely powerful and intelligent humanoid robot that can change the world as it will.
An artificial intelligence program in the healthcare industry needs to learn how to do its job to the best of its abilities. But instead of developing a brain with the characteristics of a human being, it starts off by growing a brain with the characteristics of artificial intelligence. It uses its new brain to develop the basic building blocks of a new program.
A group of human colonists set off on an exploration mission to the planet Earth. The planet is called Earth, and it is populated by other species who call it “Earth”. The main characters are an engineer and an astronaut. The engineer is called J-1, the astronaut is named J-2. They find a place called Earth to settle, but in the early stages of their missions, J-2 is infected with some kind of virus.
Write a sci-fi story about a small-scale space station that suddenly becomes the grounds of a giant space battle with a thousand-year-old god.
A young girl gets extremely ill, and her father wants to save her. The only way to save his sick daughter is by asking the aliens for help.
A young boy discovers a mysterious device that can connect him to the minds of his deceased ancestors. This gives him a “remote viewing” experience of how his family passed away. He then uses this device to help solve the mystery of his sister’s death.
The youngest of five brothers is keeping a secret. When he turns 18, he wants to go on a trip to a faraway planet to become a space pirate.
This is a sci-fi story about a group of people who want to make the universe safer, and that means taking down a huge, powerful alien menace that’s on an existential mission to wipe out humanity.
Write a story about a space exploration team that go out of their way to find extraterrestrial life on a distant planet. However, they discover that there is no life on the plane.
A man who finds himself alone, as he attempts to build a civilization on a planet called Earth after the destruction of its previous inhabitants. He eventually finds out that there are some survivors living separately on two planes of the Earth. One plane is called the ‘Grassy’ world and the other is called the ‘Barren’, which is a mountainous region.
In the distant future, a group of misfits tries to stop a rogue group from destroying Earth by using some mysterious objects from the past to their advantage.
Two strangers keep crossing paths as they try to find their families during an alien attack.
Write a sci-fi story about a father who’s trying to build a spaceship to save his daughter. While he’s not 100% certain he’ll succeed, he’s pretty sure his daughter has a chance to do better than he has.
This is a sci-fi story about a robot named K1R5 that is searching for its rightful creator. He travels to many places, and meets many people, but will it ever find its creator?
This is a sci-fi story about a spaceship pilot and his crew that must protect an alien child from a horrible fate when he is found by another strange, extraterrestrial creature.
It’s the last few days of mankind, and then the galaxy will be split in two by an artificial wormhole.
A group of individuals discover a device that allows them to live in the future for a very short period of time, without going insane. What follows is a very interesting, and terrifying, journey into the future.
Write a story about an alien race that is trapped on Earth and can’t escape. The aliens want to be seen as human and so they begin to adopt human forms. After a while, the aliens grow tired of pretending to be humans…

For more inspiration, check out our guide on the dieselpunk genre , along with examples and story ideas.

Can you think of any more interesting sci-fi writing prompts? Let us know in the comments below!

Marty the wizard is the master of Imagine Forest. When he's not reading a ton of books or writing some of his own tales, he loves to be surrounded by the magical creatures that live in Imagine Forest. While living in his tree house he has devoted his time to helping children around the world with their writing skills and creativity.

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BRYN DONOVAN

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50 Science Fiction Plot Ideas and Writing Prompts

One of my most popular blog posts is my 50 Fantasy Plot Ideas and Writing Prompts , so I thought I’d share a companion post of sci fi story ideas and writing prompts. Some of these may be more along the lines of “speculative fiction” than science fiction. They include prompts about the environment, artificial intelligence, genetics, medicine, time travel, space exploration, alien races, and alternative histories.

The real value of sci fi ideas, of course, is the way the author uses them to explore questions about society, humanity, and relationships. I created these as interesting writing prompts for adults, but many of them might be appropriate for teen writers, too. I think in order to really learn how to write a science fiction story, you need to read a lot in the genre, but this can still be a fun place to start.

If you’re interested in writing science fiction and you don’t have an agent, you might want to take a look at my roundup of fantasy and science fiction publishers who accept unsolicited (or unagented) manuscripts. And if you’re not writing scifi right now, but you might be in the future, you might want to pin or bookmark the post for future reference!

All citizens are temporarily neutered at birth. Would-be parents must prove to the government that they’ll be suitable caretakers and providers before they are allowed to procreate.
All marriages must be approved by a department of the government, which analyzes massive amounts of data to predict the success of the union, its economic and social impact on society, the health and welfare of any children, and so on. It’s such a hassle that many people opt for government-arranged marriages instead.
Global warming prompts rapid mutations in the human species.
The world’s leaders broker a deal with the alien invaders that many see as unfair.
Humans have discovered a way to communicate directly with animals, and all the meat they consume is lab-created.
Extreme elective surgery is the societal norm, and humans undergo creative modifications that include extra limbs, cartoon-like features, and so on.
Breeding modern humans with large amounts of Neanderthal DNA leads to interesting results.
In this world, Napoleon’s army took over Australia, he never lost at Waterloo, France took control of most of Europe, and World War I and World War II never happened.
An alien from a planet where no one else experiences empathy comes to live on Earth, believing they will fit in better there.
A drug that makes people non-confrontational has been added to the public water supply and to all beverages sold by major corporations.
The huge, thin sheets of material covering some trees and yards turn out to be discarded placentas.
A low-level employee in a bureaucratic government office realizes the paperwork he files every day contains codes that determine others’ fates.
A human and alien fall in love, causing an interplanetary crisis.

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An alien doesn’t know how to tell the humans s/he’s become intimately involved with that s/he’s an alien, even though they will find out soon.
High-speed robotic horses become a trendy alternative to cars and weave through heavy traffic with ease.
Birds and butterflies are able to navigate on long migrations due to proteins in their bodies that align with the earth’s magnetic fields. Scientists put these proteins to a new use.
An entertainment company synthesizes huge amounts of data they collected about viewer’s responses to movies and shows, and they use it to create a TV show that’s dangerously addictive.
Mars has been terraformed by dropping nuclear bombs on its poles, and the first human colonists have been assured that almost all of the radiation has escaped the atmosphere.
An attempt to save the honeybees had surprising consequences.
Online bullying is made a felony, which leads to unforeseen complications.
At a new underwater amusement park and resort, built at a greater depth than any other construction before, the guests face an unforeseen threat.
Spies use tiny implants in the retina that record and transmit everything to the commanders in another country. The implants dissolve after a certain amount of time.
The first time travellers seem to have no ability to improve the course of human events. If they kill Hitler, for instance, some other person does exactly what he did. They search for the way to really alter the timeline.
Astronauts develop strange and unexpected symptoms in response to traveling at light speed.
It’s easy to look up exactly where any person is at any given time.
New fitness devices track your movements and everything you eat automatically.
A new device automatically tracks your mood levels and emotions. This leads people to avoid more of what makes them unhappy and do more of what makes them feel good.
People become human mood rings: they get implants that make them change color along with their mood.
Criminals and dissidents undergo illegal genetic therapy to change their DNA so the government has no record of them.
Euthanasia is legal and painless means are widely available. A detective specializes in suspicious cases of euthanasia that may have been murder.
Books and videogames have both been replaced by interactive virtual worlds filled with fascinating characters.
Colonists on another planet want to be an independent country and lead a rebellion.
People from a civilization that mysteriously disappeared centuries ago, such as ancestral Puebloans in the U.S. Southwest, return.
An alien planet outsources city planning by creating a complex, engrossing city-building videogame popular with humans.
A time traveler from centuries in the future fails in their attempt to impersonate a person of the twenty-first century. They enlist someone’s help to carry out a mission.
A virus can be transmitted from computers or other machines to humans with bionic upgrades.
Advertisements appear randomly in thin air in front of a person. Getting media without this advertising is prohibitively expensive.
A team of scientists attempt to genetically alter a human to adapt to another planet’s terrain or outer space travel. They accidentally make him or her immortal.
Implants make telepathy possible between the humans who get them.
The Air Force uses invisibility technology for the first time, but the pilot realizes her mission is morally reprehensible.
People are nostalgic for snow, so they create artificial snowstorms.
In a world where pain and suffering have been eliminated, people pay to experience a variety of negative sensations under safe and controlled circumstances.
A secret society of scientists labors to make medical discoveries and to save the planet, even though a religious fundamentalist government has outlawed their activities.
Medical researchers are attempting to bring people back to life after they’ve been dead for thirty minutes or even an hour and give them a full recovery. Their experimentation is unethical and/or leads to strange alterations to people’s brains.
Someone is shrunk to a tiny size to perform a life-saving or planet-saving procedure impossible for a machine or an average-sized human.
His loved one died, but is alive in a parallel universe, and he is somehow getting messages or clues about her life there.
On Ceres, a large asteroid, there’s a fueling station for spaceships. Terrorists take over the station and disrupt space travel and trade.
Because it’s too hard to screen for performance-enhancing drugs, they are made legal and are an important component of sports.
The ability to make visual recordings of dreams has exhilarating and terrifying consequences.
Because android “kids” have become so lifelike, amusing, and hassle-free, no one wants to have real ones.
(bonus) Patients are woken up from hibernation when the cures to their diseases have been discovered.

I hope you liked these! And if one of them sparks your imagination, don’t feel guilty about using it–you’ll wind up putting your personal spin on it, anyway. Or maybe something on the list will inspire a completely different idea of your own!

Would you like some more? My book 5,000 Writing Prompts has 100 more science fiction writing prompts in addition to the ones on this list, plus hundreds of other master plots by genre, dialogue and character prompts, and much more.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy writing!

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40 Sci-Fi Writing Prompts to Supercharge Your Imagination

Science fiction story ideas can come from anywhere.

A headline about new technology. The way a lion’s mane mushroom resembles a shaggy being from an alien world. The conspiracy theory your aunt won’t stop posting about.

We live in a big, crazy world full of images, ideas, and innovations just waiting to be twisted or expanded into stellar sci-fi stories.

And yet, there are moments when the ol’ imagination just won’t get on board with the galaxy of inspiration surrounding us. For whatever reason, we can’t see the possibilities or tap into our natural curiosity.

When that happens, writing prompts can help.

If you’ve been relentlessly hitting a wall as you try to come up with sci-fi story ideas, you’ve come to the right place. Together, we’ll explore the value of using writing exercises to kick-start a new story.

You’ll walk away with a whole big pile of prompts you can use to find your next story and even get a few sci-fi writing tips.

So let’s get to it… not that you need any prompting from me.

How Prompts Can Help You Write a Great Science Fiction Story

A person in a dress lies on the floor on their stomach in front of a typewriter, propped up on their elbows, holding a pen to their lips and thinking.

People get it backwards all the time, and that includes writers like us who should know better.

See, we all get it in our heads that you must have the idea before you can write the story. Not true. Not always.

Sometimes you can’t find the idea until you start writing. Grab a pen or open your laptop and let the words flow. Follow a train of thought, expanding on it without overthinking it. See what arises—what sparks your curiosity or gives you a thrill.

See, the more you demand brilliance from your imagination, the more freaked out it gets until it has no choice but to hide itself inside a box under a rock in some remote area of your brain. That’s just science.

Begin scribbling without a plan, however, and your imagination will feel safe to creep back out again. You’re only playing , after all. Experimenting. There’s no blueprint, no goal , no need to fear bad ideas .

Writing prompts help you in this process by giving you something to start with—no thinking necessary. The basic idea has been handed to you. All you have to do is run with it.

And if you really let go and allow your imagination to venture into new frontiers, you’ll likely find your way to a story idea that doesn’t even resemble the prompt you started with. It’ll be something uniquely your own and thrillingly brilliant.

Sound good? Good. Because this grand scribble adventure is starting right now.

40 Sci-Fi Writing Prompts

A hand writes on a sheet of paper with a pen.

What follows are a whole bunch of prompts to inspire your process. As you’ll see, they’re arranged into different categories, each one offering a different route for discovering a new story.

Start by riffing on a philosophy or examining a big question. Set foot into a new world and dream up the conflicts that arise within it. Or take the more straightforward path and expand on a clear-cut story idea.

In other words, you’ve got options and this is your party. Run it however you want.

A person rests their head on their chin and looks off to the side, thinking.

Most sci-fi stories center on a bold “what if” question.

What if humans were no longer the most intelligent species on Earth? What if cloning oneself became a common upper-class luxury? What if succulents were self-aware?

The prompts in this section pose “what if” questions. They’re short, sweet, and offer plenty of room for your imagination to run wild.

If you’re looking for something that’ll get your wheels turning while leaving plenty of room to dream up your own protagonist and conflict , this might be the ticket.

Writing Prompts

What if a scientist accidentally released Martian microorganisms on Earth?
What if you could test the outcomes of different decisions in virtual reality with 100% accuracy?
What if you found out the human race was actually an alien race that colonized Earth 3,000 years ago?
What if body swapping was a real thing and you suddenly woke up in a stranger’s body?
What if you found out your marriage was someone else’s experiment?
What if virtual reality became indistinguishable from real life?
What if we could all share our thoughts and experiences through a vast neural network?
What if we could restore the diminishing populations of endangered species by cloning them?
What if our memories could be stolen and sold on the black market?
What if no one ever had to work again because robots took care of literally everything?

Argue the Theme

Just as science fiction asks big questions, it also explores huge themes . Doesn’t matter if it’s a 300-page novel or a short story; if it’s sci-fi, it’s probably encouraging you to reflect on identity or the ethics of technology or our place in the universe or some other expansive topic.

If you’re the type who likes to nail down your story’s underlying message first, the prompts that follow are for you. Pick a thematic statement and then come up with a story that proves the statement to be true.

Every innovation, however well-intended, will inevitably be weaponized by those in power.
Artificial intelligence is a threat because it is a reflection of humanity.
Artificial intelligence will ultimately work for the good of the world because it is a reflection of humanity.
We can only survive in a community.
Our mortal limitations are what make life so precious.
We control our destiny.
Humanity will be destroyed by its own arrogance.
Context determines morality.
Truth is relative.
It’s possible to learn how to be human.

Settings and Circumstances

A person in a space suit sits on the floor of a dark room, lit only by a red light on the floor.

I probably don’t have to tell you that worldbuilding is everything in science fiction. The physical setting , technologies , culture, political and societal structures, even the balance of science and magic in some cases… all these elements help define your characters, conflicts, and themes.

The prompts below invite you to start with a setting or situation and build your sci-fi story from there. Consider what conflicts might arise within this world. Who would thrive here? Who would escape? Who would rebel? What themes could you explore in a setting like this?

Start writing about any of these things and see what happens.

A society where people make clones of their loved ones before they die, ensuring no one has to experience permanent loss.
A vast forest of sentient trees on an alien planet.
A major tournament with competitors from across the multiverse.
A world where parallel universes have exchange programs, allowing beings to test out alternative lives.
A massive interstellar ark housing the descendants of refugees who fled a dying Earth generations before.
A zoo on a distant planet, populated with genetically engineered creatures from across the galaxy.
A society that lives in constant fear of an assassin who has the ability to manipulate probability and stalks their targets across multiple dimensions, leaving a trail of chaos and destruction in their wake.
A world where people spend all their personal time escaping to idyllic VR settings instead of confronting the challenges of real life.
A vast garden spaceship that serves as a sanctuary for flora and fauna from several different planets.
A network of interconnected space stations and habitats forming an archipelago, each station a microcosm of culture and technology with its own laws and customs.

Sci-Fi Story Ideas

Two scientists look at bright-colored liquids in long test tubes.

Now we get really direct. The prompts that follow are just good ol’ fashioned sci-fi story ideas. You get a protagonist(s), conflict, and setting. That gives you plenty of room to start playing with an outline, scribbling a scene that pops into your head, or writing your story from page one.

A search and rescue worker’s quest to find a missing backpacker leads them to discover an alien colony hidden in the Alaskan wilderness.
A lost space explorer ends up stranded on a distant planet that closely resembles Earth, right down to the creatures that inhabit it—including an alien race that seems indistinguishable from humans. But with each passing day, unsettling differences between this planet and Earth begin to emerge.
Natural resources are depleted, so scientists create artificial ecosystems to sustain life on Earth. But when these ecosystems evolve beyond their control, they must confront the consequences of playing god.
Time travel tourism is a booming industry, giving customers the opportunity to witness historical events firsthand. But when a time travel tour guide’s toddler accidentally transports themselves to the Mezosoic Era, the present begins to morph into something unrecognizable. The tour guide must rescue their child from the past without further destroying the life they know.
A group of scientists discovers a way to accelerate evolution, allowing them to create new species with advanced capabilities. But as they experiment with their newfound power, they unwittingly unleash a chain reaction of mutations that threaten to destabilize the entire ecosystem.
After a devastating war, a lone human survivor wanders a desolate landscape inhabited only by robots. As they search for other survivors, they must confront what it means to be human and what their purpose is on a planet where they no longer seem necessary.
A scientist discovers an alien artifact buried deep beneath the ocean. As they study it, they uncover its true purpose and the existential threat it poses to humanity.
In a future where humanity has transcended its biological limitations through cybernetic augmentation, a group of rebels resists assimilation in an attempt to preserve their humanity.
A clone created as a replacement for a wealthy heiress discovers the truth about their origins and escapes to the outside world. In a society that views them as property, they must evade capture and find a place where they can exist as their own person.
A parasitic organism infects the minds of its hosts, creating a hive-mind collective that spreads like a virus throughout the human population. A group of survivors must find a way to break free from the hive mind's control before it's too late.

How to Use These Prompts

Sand moves through an hourglass as a blurred figure in the background sits in front of a laptop and writes in a notebook.

Anytime you use writing prompts, it helps to remember that you’re on an exploratory quest, not a life-and-death, Earth-saving mission.

In other words, these aren’t assignments. You’re not suddenly responsible for writing a 75,000-word novel about a teenager who stumbles upon a lost city in Michigan that was built by an alien race 2,330 years ago.

Your only job is to see what your imagination does with the very limited information it’s just been given.

You might choose to treat a prompt like a freewriting exercise . Set a timer and let your stream of consciousness flow onto the page. Write everything that comes to mind, including “What can I do with this theme?” and “Oh crap, am I just ripping off The Matrix ?”

(Pro tip: Dabble has a built-in word sprint timer that’s perfect for an exercise like this.)

Another option is to write a scene inspired by the prompt. Maybe it’s the scene where the teenager first stumbles upon the lost city. Or a flashback to when aliens discovered the land where they wanted to build their settlement. Or an opening scene where the teen is hanging out with friends under the bleachers, still oblivious to the presence of alien technology in their zip code.

You could turn the prompt into a short story even if the ultimate goal is to write a novel. This allows you to explore an idea in greater depth without spending months developing the idea. It also helps you clarify the main conflict, core theme, and major plot points before complicating things with subplots.

However you choose to tackle these prompts, remember that the goal is to find your way to your own science fiction story ideas. If you stumble upon a great idea that has nothing to do with the prompt, abandon the prompt. You owe it nothing. Chase what thrills you.

Bonus Tips for Sci-Fi Writers

An arcade called Super Bonus has flashing lights and mirrored wheels.

Once you find a sci-fi story idea that delights you, the next step—as you know—is to actually write the thing. It’s a big job, which is why we’ve written an entire guide to writing science fiction. You can find it here .

In the meantime, I’d like to share a few quick tips for making the most of your cutting-edge sci-fi ideas.

Seek Inspiration Everywhere

Even if you have a general idea of what you want your novel or short story to be about, you’ll still have a lot of details to dream up. That includes things like futuristic technology, awe-inspiring settings, unique characters, new societies, and possibly even other dimensions, planets, and alien races.

As you plan and write your story, seek inspiration everywhere. Visit science and natural history museums. Wander a botanical garden. Search for weird animals online. Research their daily habits. Find pictures of abandoned places or eerie landscapes. Learn about unexplained phenomena. Listen to Ologies .

The world we know is full of bizarre and fascinating things to inspire your own made-up universe.

Tell a Human Story

Because worldbuilding is such an essential element of science fiction writing, it can be very easy to forget the human element. Don’t make that mistake.

Even if your characters aren’t actually members of the human race, you still want to tell a compelling story that resonates with your readers. So find that deeply human connection.

Give your characters desires, weaknesses , and fears . Have them face challenges that force them to make difficult decisions and either overcome or submit to the worst within themselves.

If your protagonist has a special ability, balance their inherent power with clear vulnerabilities.

In short, don’t neglect character development . No amount of mind-blowing technology or jaw-dropping landscapes will make up for characters your readers don’t care about.

Find Your Science-to-Fiction Ratio

A hand reaches out in the darkness, lit by an eerie green light.

If you read a wide variety of science fiction, you know that there’s no rule about how exact and detailed you need to be with your science or how fantastical you’re allowed to be in your storytelling.

Some sci-fi novels go deep into explaining technology and creating fictional innovations that are clearly the great-great-grandchildren of tech we have today. Others use a lighter touch, explaining the science just enough for the reader to follow the story.

Then others go the full-on sci-fi/fantasy route, fussing very little over technological details and bringing in imagined alien species and magic systems . Star Wars is a very famous example of this.

It doesn’t matter which route you choose. What matters is that you choose one and keep it consistent.

Defy Reality, Not Logic

No matter how much or how little you explain the technology of your sci-fi world, one thing is certain:

It has to make sense.

It’s fine if your reader doesn’t understand how teleportation works. But if, for example, one of your characters teleports using a teleportation device in a spaceship and another one uses a kitchen pantry, you owe your audience an explanation.

Just like when you’re building a magic system, your science fiction technology should come with rules your reader can follow.

Don’t Infodump

Having said all that, you should also be careful about dumping too much information on your audience at once. Only share the worldbuilding details that are essential for them to imagine your setting and follow the story.

Even then, sprinkle necessary information into the narrative rather than opening the story with twenty pages of exposition about how bed bugs colonized space. (Please don’t write that. I don’t want to live in a world where that story exists.)

Bottom line: your first and most important job is to tell a story, not write a pretend textbook.

Your Literary Future Awaits

At this point, there’s nothing else to do but get started . Grab a notebook or open your Dabble Story Notes and see what kind of magic you can make with these prompts.

Writing science fiction is a bold undertaking. Between extensive worldbuilding, developing complex characters, and helping readers imagine a world they’ve never seen before, you’ve got a big job ahead of you.

But is there anything cooler than crafting a story that leaves total strangers in absolute awe?

If you could use a little support on this journey, I highly recommend writing your sci-fi novel with Dabble . This all-in-one writing tool has a ton of great features to keep you organized and on track throughout the entire process, from brainstorming to revising.

There’s even a sci-fi template to guide you through story planning. You can access the template here .

If you’re not already a Dabbler, no problem. Click this link to start a free 14-day trial. That gives you full access to all Dabble’s features and plenty of time to decide if it’s the right tool for your writing process. You don’t even have to enter a credit card to get started.

Abi Wurdeman is the author of Cross-Section of a Human Heart: A Memoir of Early Adulthood, as well as the novella, Holiday Gifts for Insufferable People. She also writes for film and television with her brother and writing partner, Phil Wurdeman. On occasion, Abi pretends to be a poet. One of her poems is (legally) stamped into a sidewalk in Santa Clarita, California. When she’s not writing, Abi is most likely hiking, reading, or texting her mother pictures of her houseplants to ask why they look like that.

TAKE A BREAK FROM WRITING...

Read. learn. create..

Whether writing is your hobby or career, you'll need to deal with the financial side of authorship sooner or later. It's not as fun as coming up with love triangles or magical worlds, but this Deep Dive tells you all you need to know to get a handle on your author finances.

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101 Epic Sci-Fi Story Prompts

Do you want to write in the sci-fi genre but need help conjuring compelling stories and concepts? Sometimes reading simple genre prompts is the easiest way to get those creative juices flowing.

Read ScreenCraft's 7 Writing Workouts to Build Your Creative Muscles !

We get our ideas from many sources — news headlines, novels, television shows, movies, our lives, our fears, our phobias, etc. They can come from a scene or moment in a film that wasn’t fully explored. They can come from a single visual that entices the creative mind — a seed that continues to grow and grow until the writer is forced to finally put it to paper or screen.

In the spirit of helping writers find those seeds, here we offer 101 originally conceived sci-fi story prompts that you can use as inspiration for your next science fiction story.

They may inspire screenplays, novels, short stories, or even smaller moments that you can include in what stories you are already writing.

Note: Because we’re all connected to the same pop culture, news headlines, and inspirations, any similarity to any past, present, or future screenplays, novels, short stories, television pilots, television series, plays, or any other creative works is purely coincidence. These story writing prompts were conceived on the fly without any research or Google search for inspiration.

Read More: The Biggest and Baddest "Big Bads" of Sci-Fi & Fantasy

1. What if the sun began to die, and surviving humans traveled back into time to survive?

2. What if the sun began to die, and surviving humans traveled to another dimension to survive?

3. A scientist clones his family that died in an airplane crash — but soon learns the repercussions of playing God.

4. Earth suffers a planet-wide EMP surge, and all technology is lost forever.

5. An astronaut and cosmonaut are on the International Space Station when their countries go to Nuclear War with each other. Their last orders are to eliminate the other.

6. An astronaut jettisoned into the cold of space in a mission gone wrong suddenly appears at the doorstep of his family.

7. Someone discovers that we are all actually robots — who created us and why?

8. An astronaut is the sole survivor of a moon landing gone wrong — only to discover that the moon is infested with strange creatures.

9. An Artificial Intelligence begins to communicate with a family online to terrorize them through their technology.

10. Years after the zombie apocalypse subsides, survivors discover that the epidemic was caused by aliens that have appeared to lay claim to the planet.

11. A woman has memories of being abducted by aliens — but she soon learns that they weren’t aliens. They were ____.

12. A town is enveloped in unexplained darkness for weeks.

13. An alien invasion was actually meant to stop humans from destroying themselves.

14. Technology was a test given to us by aliens to see what we’d do with it.

15. Robots were actually here long before humans.

16. Humans have been cloned by scientists for decades.

17. Our reality is actually the imagination of an alien being writing a story.

18. A tech company discovers that they can email people from the past.

19. An underground species on Mars is discovered.

20. Time travel is real and has been used by the government for years.

21. A private group of scientists and historians are using time travel to create the ultimate historical record of human events.

22. A small town in the middle of nowhere is actually a human zoo in an alien world.

23. Area 51 hides a wormhole to alien worlds.

24. Humans are actually organic robots that killed off their makers long ago.

25. A wormhole suddenly opens near Earth.

26. A newly elected President of the United States tries to find out the truth about Roswell.

27. A Star Wars fan discovers that the Star Wars universe was not a figment of George Lucas's imagination.

28. Someone wakes up in a strange spaceship with no recollection of how they got there.

29. A stay-at-home dad discovers that he's actually a robot created by his wife.

30. A stay-at-home dad discovers that he's actually a clone created by his original self.

31. The first space flight to Mars discovers that the universe is not what they thought it was.

32. A family discovers a space ship buried in their backyard.

33. A little girl has a dream about a time travel formula and tries to bring it to scientists.

34. Siblings discover that their nanny is an alien.

35. Siblings discover that their nanny is a robot.

36. Homosapiens are aliens that took over the planet.

37. After the world is obliterated by nuclear war, alien humanoids claim it as their own.

38. What we think are alien abductions are actually the future human race searching for a cure to a plague that is killing all humans 200 years from now.

39. An interstellar war between alien races makes its way to Earth.

40. A man discovers the real reason why we dream.

41. Our dreams are actually a portal into a parallel universe.

42. An alien poses as Christ returned, knowing that humans will follow him and his race.

43. A woman discovers that our reality is actually a simulated game like The Sims.

44. A group of outcast friends creates their very own robot.

45. A space pirate crash-lands on Earth.

46. A successful stockbroker accused of insider trading claims to be from the future.

47. A scientist that invents time travel to travel into the future is transported into the past where technology doesn't exist.

48. A high school student believes that his classmates are robots.

49. A science fair team accidentally creates teleportation technology.

50. A man that has uploaded his consciousness to a simulated reality fights to return to his real body and world.

51. A worker at a company discovers that she's actually a cyborg.

52. An outcast nerd discovers that he's actually a revered prince from another planet, hidden by his royal family to escape an evil space lord.

Got a script that's out of this world? The ScreenCraft Sci-Fi & Fantasy Script Competition is now open !

54. An astronaut stuck in cryosleep wakes up orbiting Earth during the 1960s space race.

55. An athlete who loses his legs in an accident creates his own cybernetic legs to compete again.

56. The world's first cyborg super-soldier goes AWOL to experience the life of an average person.

57. The moon is actually an alien observation space station.

58. The moon has been a NASA space station for decades.

59. The dark side of the moon is a Vegas-like resort for aliens.

60. A grade school student believes her classmates are aliens.

61. A scientist discovers that diseases are actually glitches in a computer program that is actually our simulated world.

62. Cyberspace is actually a real living and breathing world.

63. Humans live on a forcefield-protected island floating in space.

64. 200 years after the world is destroyed by nuclear war, surviving humans escape their underground world to discover a new ecosystem.

65. Humans can download any skill set into their brains.

66. Two male and female astronauts are stranded on an alien world — their names are Adam and Eve.

67. Criminals are now shipped into space on space prison ships.

68. A gamer learns that the soldier he is controlling is actually a real soldier in a real war.

69. A human man and a female alien have the first interstellar child.

70. A sadistic tormentor holds people hostage in a virtual world.

71. A high school genius discovers anti-gravity technology, only to be hunted down by government agents.

72. Asteroid miners struggle to survive an accident.

73. Asteroid miners discover an alien space ship embedded within an asteroid.

74. A scientist creates a way to download human consciousness into a computer.

75. A high school genius discovers cloaking technology, only to be hunted down by government agents.

76. A man is so lost in virtual reality that he can't comprehend what is real and what isn't.

77. Wars are fought in simulation to protect lives.

78. A slacker high school student stumbles upon a new energy source, only to be hunted down by government agents.

79. Astronauts are tasked with preparing an alien planet for colonization.

80. A generational space ship finally arrives at its destination after hundreds of years.

81. A space trucker delivering goods to a space station discovers that service robots have taken over the station.

82. A space trucker delivering goods to a space station discovers that the station is empty.

83. A future space pilot arrives back on Earth after a mission to find it destroyed.

84. A future space pilot arrives back to Earth after a mission, only to discover that he has somehow traveled back in time to his childhood years.

85. A grade school student discovers that he's actually a robot.

86. A pilot wakes up in a ship floating within a strange organic world, only to discover that he's actually microscopic within the body of the President of the United States that he is supposed to save via nanosurgery.

87. A teenager discovers the power to create wormholes.

88. A strange old man that has moved next door to a kid's family is actually that kid's older self that has time-traveled back in time to revisit his childhood before his death.

89. A group of high school friends discovers portals to the past and future and uses them to ace their history and science exams.

90. Two versions of the same high school student from different parallel universes discover each other through a portal and decide to swap lives for one week before the portal closes for good.

91. An astronaut wakes up from cryosleep with amnesia on a ship traveling at light speed.

92. A female alien always looking to the stars discovers a strange single from a planet called Earth.

93. A space crew discovers a mirror planet of Earth.

94. A space crew discovers that the universe is actually nothing more than the imagination of an alien child.

95. A disenchanted genetically-designed man with no flaws struggles to find a flaw as he hitchhikes across America.

96. A boy rescues a dog in the woods and soon discovers that it's a robot.

97. A boy rescues a dog in the woods and soon discovers that it's an alien creature.

98. An alien robot falls from space into the backyard of a young girl's house.

99. Astronauts land on a possible colonization planet, only to discover a human child living alone in the wild of the alien world.

100. Scientists travel back to the world of dinosaurs to find a long-dead plant that could save humankind from extinction.

101. A seismologist discovers a strange human signal from deep within Earth's core.

Share this with your writing peers or anyone that loves a good sci-fi story. Have some prompts of your own? Let us know on Facebook and Twitter !

Read ScreenCraft's 131 Sci-Fi Scripts That Screenwriters Can Download and Study !

Ken Miyamoto has worked in the film industry for nearly two decades, most notably as a studio liaison for Sony Studios and then as a script reader and story analyst for Sony Pictures.

He has many studio meetings under his belt as a produced screenwriter, meeting with the likes of Sony, Dreamworks, Universal, Disney, Warner Brothers, as well as many production and management companies. He has had a previous development deal with Lionsgate, as well as multiple writing assignments, including the produced miniseries Blackout , starring Anne Heche, Sean Patrick Flanery, Billy Zane, James Brolin, Haylie Duff, Brian Bloom, Eric La Salle, and Bruce Boxleitner, and the feature thriller Hunter’s Creed starring Duane “Dog the Bounty Hunter” Chapman, Wesley Truman Daniel, Mickey O’Sullivan, John Victor Allen, and James Errico. Follow Ken on Twitter @KenMovies

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61 Imaginative Science Fiction Writing Prompts

Your favorite science fiction series (or movie) has got you thinking of writing a sci-fi novel .

This is the world you live in, after all (at least part-time). It makes sense you’d want to write in it, too.

You’re just not sure where to start — or which science fiction story ideas to explore.

The possibilities are overwhelming. That’s where this list of 61 sci-fi writing prompts comes in.

We’ve divided them into six groups, based on popular sub genres.

Let’s start with what science fiction is in the first place.

What Is Sci-Fi?

Science fiction (often shortened as SF or sci-fi) is a genre of speculative fiction that focuses on the impact of real or imaginary science on its characters.

Most sci-fi stories fit into the following sub-genres:

Advanced science and technology (futuristic or fringe)
Parallel or alternate universes or realities
Aliens (here on Earth or in their own worlds)
Time travel
Space exploration

These stories pull you in because they offer something you don’t get in your real life. At the same time, enough about it feels familiar to make you identify with the main character and see yourself in the story .

Fringe or Futuristic Science Fiction Writing Prompts

Fantasy science fiction writing prompts, time travel science fiction writing prompts, alternate or parallel universe science fiction writing prompts, alien science fiction writing prompts, space exploration science fiction writing prompts, 61 science fiction writing prompts .

Take a look through the sci-fi story starters below to find one that makes you smile. Then write down whatever comes to mind.

1. In your world, you can “reincarnate” into a new, lab-created body. You’re shopping for one, now, and you run across a familiar face with a list of customer reviews.

2. All babies are now temporarily sterilized at birth, but you weren’t born in a government approved hospital. Neither was your new crush.

3. You’re part of a new human-AI hybrid project, and your consciousness is uploaded to a state-of-the-art, ageless synthetic body with memories that aren’t yours.

4. Nanotechnology now allows you to regenerate your entire body, but while you’re regenerating, an enemy hacks into the process and changes the design.

5. A hundred years into the future, the United States has open borders, universal healthcare, and public servants who live up to the name. You were created with one purpose: Tear it all down.

6. A lab-created monster turns a bioengineering firm’s entire workforce into hosts for its spawn. You break in to steal some tech.

7. A new chemical weapon renders your whole special forces team invisible. The only person who can see you is your handler.

8. As the winner of the annual “Evolution Project” lottery, you have the opportunity to receive a genetic “upgrade.” The fine print gives you pause.

9. You’re on a field trip to an intergalactic Disney World, via stargate, when you realize everyone around you is changing into Disney characters.

10. All marriages must now be approved by the government, which also arranges marriages according to a compatibility algorithm you created.

11. You’re a fringe scientist who’s developed a way for anyone to witness scenes from their past lives. A favorite client learns one of her past lives murdered one of yours .

12. Your father is a pariah, having recreated mythological beings. Now, the government wants to weaponize them. Saying no is a declaration of war.

13. In your world, magic and technology work together to create an infrastructure that serves everyone equally. But not everyone is happy.

14. The bees are actually fairies in disguise. Their hidden technology is beyond anything human. And they can convert humans to their cause (and form).

15. The world’s most powerful mage runs the biggest international tech conglomerate, which has been rewriting human DNA, using vulnerable populations.

16. A girl dies and comes back but remains comatose for a year. When she wakes, she begins her physical transformation.

17. You love your smart home, but when your estranged sister comes to visit, she connects with the AI and makes some unpleasant changes.

18. You’ve learned to communicate with ancient beings living in Earth’s core, who can shape-shift. One of them responds to your call for help by appearing in human form.

19. You’re the illegitimate child of a corrupt leader and the most powerful sorceress alive. Your exiled mother’s apprentice offers to help you avenge her.

20. Fringe tech has made it possible for any human to become a shapeshifter. You become a dragon shifter and a member of the security detail for the new president.

21. After a unicorn impales your father, you join an elite team that seeks out dangerous mythical creatures and “harvests” them for science.

22. In your world, all non-magical humans are forcibly married to magical beings. Your ‘match’ is a practicing mage harboring fugitives and growing illegal plants.

75 Science Fiction Writing Prompts To Rile Up The Future

Get a little push toward coming up with your next out-of-this-world screenplay idea..

'Star Wars: The Force Awakens'

Science fiction is a genre that continues to push the boundaries of our reality in all sorts of visual storytelling. Whether it's an adaptation from Phillip K. Dick or modern sandboxes like Black Mirror or Love, Death, and Robots , our affinity for worlds just beyond our grasp is an alluring medium to develop your screenplay.

Whether you're a seasoned writer or just embarking on your journey, the allure of crafting stories set against the backdrop of futuristic technologies, interstellar adventures, and the mysteries of the unknown is undeniably expansive and captivating.

In this post, we dive into a collection of 75 science fiction writing prompts, each a launching pad for your next great story.

Beam down below and let's get started.

75 Science Fiction Writing Prompts

A society where aging is cured, but at a significant cost.
An astronaut finds a mysterious artifact on the moon that alters human history.
Earth receives a signal from an alien civilization, but it's a distress call.
A world where dreams are taxed by the government.
A time traveler visits ancient civilizations but cannot interfere with history.
A scientist creates a device to communicate with animals, uncovering a hidden world.
In a future society, memories can be bought and sold.
A virtual reality paradise becomes more desirable than the real world.
A city discovers it's a simulation run by an unknown entity.
An experiment in teleportation goes awry, leading to unexpected journeys.
A child born on Mars returns to Earth, facing a cultural identity crisis.
A device that allows users to experience another person's life is invented.
A global blackout forces humanity to confront its reliance on technology.
An undersea civilization is discovered, with advanced technology and culture.
A world where every individual's lifespan is predetermined.
Humans evolve to adapt to life in space, leading to a new species.
A reality where historical events can be experienced through virtual reality.
A society that has eliminated sleep, and the consequences that follow.
An AI becomes sentient and demands equal rights.
A world where humans can photosynthesize like plants.
A colony ship to another galaxy discovers they're not alone on the ship.
Time freezes for everyone except one person, who explores the world alone.
A utopian society where emotions are controlled by the state.
Earth is a sanctuary planet for endangered alien species.
A device that translates thoughts into speech revolutionizes communication.
A rebellion in a society where lying is physically impossible.
A portal to a parallel universe is discovered, but it is vastly different from Earth.
Humans gain the ability to regenerate, changing the concept of mortality.
A world where art is the primary currency.
A detective investigates crimes committed in virtual realities.
A society where people live in isolated pods, interacting only virtually.
An alien race uses Earth's internet to learn about humanity.
A future Earth where nature has reclaimed modern cities.
A lone scientist on a distant planet makes a groundbreaking discovery.
A world where your social status is determined by your genetic makeup.
An interstellar war veteran returns to a much-changed Earth.
A reality show where contestants live in a simulated Martian colony.
A mysterious disease grants extraordinary abilities but at a high cost.
A generation ship's society evolves differently from Earth.
An underground movement tries to bring back a banned technology.
A world where everyone's thoughts are audible.
An experiment to create a perfect human society goes terribly wrong.
Earth's first contact with an alien species is nothing like expected.
A society where personal privacy has been completely abolished.
A group of explorers find a planet that mirrors Earth in the medieval era.
A device that can change one's appearance at will is invented.
Humans can now interface directly with computers, changing education and work.
An unknown phenomenon causes Earth's gravity to fluctuate.
A world where water is more valuable than gold.
An alien species offers to share its advanced technology, but at a price.
A future where humans can hibernate, changing work and lifestyles.
A new planet is colonized, but the settlers aren't alone.
A society where one's career path is determined at birth.
An AI designed to predict the future starts to manipulate events.
A world where climate change has drastically altered geography and society.
A secret society controls technological advancements from behind the scenes.
An ancient civilization is found on the dark side of the moon.
A reality where humans can exchange senses with each other.
An experiment in creating a utopia creates unexpected dystopian results.
A device allows people to share emotions, creating a new form of empathy.
A world where people are assigned a new identity every year.
Humans develop the ability to teleport, changing all forms of transportation.
A society where people can outsource their emotions to machines.
Earth is actually a reality TV show for alien species.
A mysterious object in space is sending coded messages to Earth.
A parallel Earth is discovered, but it's a mirror image of our world.
A group of children born on a spaceship must learn to survive on their own.
A world where humans have evolved to no longer need sleep.
An ancient alien civilization is discovered in Earth's ocean.
A device allows people to relive their happiest memory, but it becomes addictive.
In a post-apocalyptic world, a group of survivors discovers a city untouched by disaster.
A space explorer finds a planet where the laws of physics are completely different.
An AI designed to solve global warming becomes too powerful.
Humans start colonizing the ocean floor, but they encounter an advanced underwater species.
A future society where all diseases are cured, leading to overpopulation.
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What Can Jackson Pollock Teach Us About Film & TV?

Jackson pollock is a master of abstract expressionism. he changed the way art was viewed in the 20th century. but how does that affect film today .

Art history is the culmination of something that has a foggy beginning. First, we painted on cave walls. Then, as time went on, we developed, practiced, and made the world our canvas. We painted on churches, canvases, brick walls, and even our bodies.

As art transformed and shifted mediums, things got expensive. Artists like Manet, Da Vinci, and Michelangelo needed wealthy patrons to make the dreams in their head come true.

Now, portraits and more traditional art was always easier to fund, but by the early 1900s rolled around, and Jackson Pollock wanted his go, things got a little dicey.

Check out this video from Nerdwriter for more on the evolution of art!

So what does this have to do with film and filmmaking?

I believe we are on the cusp of another era that will define film moving forward. Much like Pollock, abstract expressionist and other modern artists had to struggle to be accepted by the aristocracy and patrons, so are the newest forms of filmmaking and television struggling for mainstream acceptance...and pay.

The DGA just announced they won't honor movies that release day and date , which feels shortsighted given streaming is where all the work has gone.

Places like Quibi are breaking up content into 8-15 minute chunks so they're more digestible, and YouTube is the second most visited site on the internet.

Business is changing. Everyone sees streaming coming and the "feud" between Spielberg and Netflix caused many people to question if old Hollywood had grown out of touch. We're at the brink of our own Pollock era. I have no idea what's coming next, except to say it feels like we're going to create most content to be viewable on phones or as events for theatrical release.

Whatever the case may be, I encourage you to keep chasing your ideas and see how Pollock and the evolution of our art can inspire your next works.

What's next? How Location and Visual Motifs Tell the Story in 'Widows'

Steve McQueen 's heist thriller Widows incorporates the city of Chicago in amazing ways, teaching us how setting can be an important character in a film.

Click the link to learn more!

Source: Nerdwriter

Shoot Light and Fast With Canon's Smallest RF Zoom Yet

Why indie film distribution is about to go punk rock, blackmagic camera for android adds support for recording timecode with clips, the 'longlegs' ending explained, lionsgate licenses all its movies and tv for ai mining, what is the save the cat beat sheet, how to make a dynamic 60-second short film, what is a script doctor, why nemo's mom is the most important character in the movie, what is third-person point of view.

Get Free high-resolution PDF of How to Write a Screenplay

JournalBuddies.com

Journal Buddies Jill | July 8, 2024 September 19, 2023 | Creative Writing

30 Fun Sci-Fi Writing Prompts for Middle and High School

Sci-Fi writing prompt ideas for student writers . Science fiction — which may be more commonly referred to by your students as Sci-Fi — is one of the most beloved genres among middle school and high school students.

Sci-Fi Themed Writing Ideas for Students

Kids in these age groups are beginning to discover that reading can be truly enjoyable and they often gravitate to these fantastical works that inspire them and spark their imaginations. Adolescents, young adults, and teenagers often find it fun to escape to a world that is vastly different from their reality.

As a result, you may find that sci-fi writing prompts are the perfect option for your middle school or high school classroom. Whether you are teaching literature, science, art, or math, you can incorporate sci-fi writing into your curriculum. It’s important to remind students that science fiction writing can incorporate a lot of what they have learned within the classroom — new technology, scientific principles, biology, social studies, and more. Not to mention, it’s a writing style that offers them a lot of creative freedom!

Sci-fi writing prompts can be used as individual assignments, or you can incorporate them into your mix of writing prompts that you use for daily journaling with your students. These prompts are often specific enough that they give students a clear idea of what to write about, while still giving them the freedom and flexibility to take the story in any direction that they prefer.

By helping your students connect their school work and lessons with a subject that they genuinely enjoy, you will be allowing them to have fun while learning. Sometimes it can be difficult for middle school and high school students to relish their class work, so these prompts are sure to be an assignment that will be a nice break from their normal routine.

Use these sci-fi writing prompts in your classroom and give your students a chance to flex their creative muscles and create their very own futuristic story.

Sci-Fi Writing Prompts for Teens

Write a detailed description about a planet that exists in another solar system.
Craft a short story that features two best friends who are about to start middle school together. The only difference is that these friends are a witch and a vampire.
You and your friends at school have accidentally stumbled on a secret laboratory. The invention inside is going to change the world forever…
Write a poem about a mutant plant that is growing in your garden.
The main character in your story has traveled through time and is now living in their grandparents’ time period. Write a story about what happens when your character meets the younger version of their grandparents.
You have stepped into a room and you look at the time. The clock hands are pointing to the number “13”. What does this mean?
You and your friends begin to play a virtual reality game. Suddenly, you realize that you are not playing the game anymore — you are living it.
You are riding your bike and you fall off. You hit your head and think you have only suffered from a minor bump but you quickly realize that you can now read everyone’s mind. Do you love or hate your new superpower? What benefits does it have? What problems does it cause?
Write about the supplies you would pack in order to prepare for the zombie apocalypse.
Imagine that you have been invited to take a vacation into space. You can only bring one friend or family member with you and you can choose one galactic destination. Who do you bring and where do you go?
You and your friends are playing with your walkie-talkies through the neighborhood on a late summer night. Suddenly, you realize that you have intercepted communication between aliens. What do they say? Where are they? What are they planning to do?
Write a story about some kids at school who are playing hide-and-seek when they suddenly discover a portal that leads to a different dimension.
Write a journal entry about how you would feel if you received a letter that simply said, “You are not one of them”.
When you arrive to school on the first day, you realize that your teachers are now all robots. Describe what your first day of school would be like.

Sci-Fi Writing Prompts for Middle and High School Writers

While off on a nature hike with your family, you stumble upon a nest with a strange, colorful egg. As you are checking out the egg, it begins to hatch and a small alien emerges from the shell.
Write a story about a character who is working on a science experiment that goes catastrophically wrong. Describe the experiment and don’t forget the details about the unexpected results.
You wake up one day and realize that time is moving backwards and not forwards. What starts to change about your home, your family, and your school?
They say that we will know when time travel is possible when we are visited by someone from the future. How would you feel if someone visited you from the future? What would you want to know?
Would you want to have a robot living in your house? Why or why not?
We have apps for nearly everything now. Do you feel that these apps have helped or hindered us as a society?
Write a story about what life will be like inside your school in 150 years.
Imagine that you have been tasked with the job of finding a new planet for humans to live on. What type of planet would you be looking for?
Your mother always told you to stay away from the attic, but she never explained why. You are very surprised when you discover that she has been hiding a secret invention up there.
What would you do if you found out your parents were aliens who disguised themselves as human?
What is one invention that you feel changed the world? What would the world be like if it had never been invented?
The main character in your story overhears a conversation about a leak at a laboratory. What does your character do?
Imagine that all the adults in your town are sleep walking and will not wake up. The kids are now in charge and must solve the crisis. What happens next?
Write a short story from the perspective of an alien who has just landed unexpectedly in your hometown.
You pick up a package from the porch, thinking it’s the new video game you ordered a couple of days ago. When you open the package, you realize that it has unexpected contents from the future inside it. Describe what you find and what you do with your discovery.

Before you go…

We hope that your budding sci-fi writers found inspiration in these creative writing prompts. For an extra challenge, ask them to write a story incorporating as many of the following list of words:

Spaceship or Space Station
Alien planet
Space Travel
Secret Society

126 More FREE Creative Writing Prompts

31 Terrific Technology Writing Prompts
65 Great STEM Writing Prompts for Students
30 Innovative Writing About Inventions Writing Prompts

As your students begin to delve into the sci-fi genre, remind them that there is no right or wrong way to work with these science fiction writing prompts. With so many topics at hand, all they need to do is keep on writing!

Until next time, write on…

If you enjoyed these Sci-Fi Writing Prompts, please share them on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Pinterest. I appreciate it!

Sincerely, Jill journalbuddies.com creator and curator

Science Fiction Writing Prompts for Middle and High School Students

Sci-fi isn’t a winner for some of your writers? No worry! We have more writing ideas to appeal to any writer! From fantasy to horror, your students will be on their way to sketching out the perfect plot and maybe even writing a best selling novel! Keep on writing, no matter what genre appeals to you!

PS – check out this out of this world resource —> Random Story Idea Generator – Sci-Fi Story Ideas

Tap to See Prompts 65 Great STEM Writing Prompts for Students (Updated) 31 Terrific Technology Writing Prompts and Topics 27 Amazing Picture Writing Prompts for Kids ------------Start of Om Added --------- @media (min-width: 320px) and (max-width: 767px) { .inside-right-sidebar { display: none !important; } } Search Now Offering You 19,000+ Prompts!

Jill -- Owner and Curator of JournalBuddies.com

Tap to See Prompts 65 Great STEM Writing Prompts for Students (Updated) 31 Terrific Technology Writing Prompts and Topics 27 Amazing Picture Writing Prompts for Kids Search Search Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7-8 Grade 9-12 All Ages ------------End of Om Added --------- Tags Creative Writing , creative writing ideas , Creative Writing Prompt Ideas , creative writing prompts , creative writing starters , Creative Writing Topics , creative writing work , list of creative writing ideas , list of creative writing prompts , Sci-Fi , Science Fiction , writing , writing ideas , writing prompts , writing prompts for kids div#postbottom { margin-top: 12px; } Search Now Offering You 19,000+ Prompts!

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Writing Tips ,

Sci fi writing prompts: 105 inspirational ideas.

By N J Simmonds

So, you want to write a sci fi novel but don’t know where to start…

If you’re a huge sci fi fan who has read all the books and watched all the movies, it may well feel like every idea has already been written.

It hasn’t!

The joy of being a writer is that YOU are writing the story, which means even the most unoriginal trope can be made unique and original because you have given it your own special twist. But you still need an idea.

In this article, I will be sharing tips on where to find sci-inspiration, and giving you 110 sci-fi ideas to use as a starting point for your own science fiction story. Yes, 110 FREE ideas!

What Is Sci Fi?

Many people mistake sci fi for fantasy, which is understandable. Both are full of things that don’t yet exist in real life.

The simplest way to define sci fi is to remember that although it is about something outside of our known reality – ie life on another planet or living among cyborgs – most sci fi stories are based on existing concepts; science and technology. Fantasy, on the other hand, is completely made up and often uses inexplicable concepts such as magic.

Although, you can mix sci fi with other genres.

Star Wars , for instance, is set in space but also includes a magical system – so it’s often described as sci fi fantasy. And you can have dystopian sci fi which shows our real world in the future and how our actions have caused it to change for the worse.

Science Fiction Story Ideas

When it comes to finding inspiration for your sci fi stories, ideas can be found absolutely anywhere. Here are just a few places where you can start looking:

Old newspaper articles
Current news
Scientific developments
Science and history museums and exhibitions
Environmental concerns
Animal and plant life (the more you know about mushrooms, for instance, the more you realise you wish you didn’t know)
Space travel
Planets and the solar system

Science Fiction Writing Prompts

If that’s not enough to get your imagination going, I’ve put together some one-line prompts for your writing.

These ideas are categorised by themes, and feel free to add your own twist or mix them up. The joy of writing sci fi is that there are no limits, so take your sci fi story to places no one has ever gone before. To infinity and beyond!

Let’s start with alien races and all the fun that theme can bring…

Alien Prompts

Aliens aren’t scary, in fact they are already living in our house. We just have to find them.

An alien planet looks to earth to save it. When it comes to ask for help it divides human kind between those who want to save them – and those who want to kill them.

A woman keeps seeing visions of an alien world. She thinks she’s going crazy, until she realises they are memories and she’s not human.

Every galaxy is destroyed and planet Earth becomes the prize that five alien races are fighting over.

A man with no womb finds himself pregnant. Is it a miracle? Or has he been implanted with an alien child?

A young girl has a special ability – she can communicate with other planets. But can she be trusted to tell scientists the truth?

An alien invasion is imminent and humans must come together to protect our planet. Can they put their differences aside forever and unite?

Archeologists discover an old relic buried deep in the desert. It’s an alien ship.

The pyramids are not what we thought they were – hieroglyphics are in fact an alien language, changing the course of history as we know it.

Scientists have been keeping a big secret; they have an alien in captivity that can reverse death. Who will it bring back first?

A planet called Earth has been discovered. Is it worth investigating? Or are humans best left to destroy themselves?

Environmental Disasters Prompts

The planet is getting hotter and some humans have evolved to withstand extreme temperatures. But how long until the world completely burns itself out?

Global warming melts all the ice caps and half the planet is about to drown. Will humanity survive the destruction or learn to adapt to a watery world?

After a giant nuclear war humans have been living in the earth’s core for five hundred years. It’s safe to go back up now, but how has the planet changed in that time? And what creatures are awaiting them?

Humans have cut down that last tree and are manufacturing oxygen in factories. But then the factories are destroyed. Is humanity about to take its last breath?

Animals and fish refuse to be eaten by humans anymore and begin to fight back.

We’ve been burying our waste for too long and now huge sink holes are appearing all over the world – some large enough to destroy entire cities!

Water is about to run out on Earth and the race is on to find another alternative… or another planet.

Volcanoes which have been dormant for centuries have started erupting, and, as if the lava and smoke they produce aren’t devastating enough, the creatures they’ve been concealing rise with them.

Outer Space Prompts

Crew members of a spaceship sent to explore a new planet discover that it’s exactly like earth. Except for one fundamental difference.

A distant planet is discovered that has oxygen and water, the only problem is that it also has monsters.

A space station full of scientists trying to save the planet is under attack by its own government which is benefitting financially from the destruction of the human race.

A spaceship travelling at light speed finds itself in a parallel universe where Earth is very different indeed.

A space pirate finds himself aboard a ship containing the one thing that may save humanity.

Science And Technology Prompts

It’s 3000 AD and humans survive solely on genetically modified food. Then one family learns to grow their first real tomato putting them in danger from the government, the media, and those who will do anything to get their hands on it.

Thanks to artificial intelligence, there are no human cops left. Yet the AI police force become sentient and realise they are the bad guys.

Some humans have started to grow wings and others have begun to breathe underwater. What is happening?

A scientist discovers a way for us to read the minds of dogs – and it turns out they weren’t man’s best friend after all!

A scientist clones his ex-girlfriend after she breaks up with him, leading to a series of hilarious but unfortunate events.

A hundred years after the invention of human flight, things start to go very wrong.

Time Travel Prompts

A time traveller from the year 2998 tries to warn those living in 1998 of what will happen if they continue to treat the planet badly. Do they listen? A Sliding Doors -type movie where we see the world in two ways.

What if we had the ability to swap lives with someone? Memories, bodies and souls? Would you do it?

Two people living in parallel universes fall in love. Except one is suffering from a serious mental illness. Is this real?

A teenage girl’s boyfriend goes missing. 15 years later she becomes a scientist and invents a way to go back in time and look for him.

A time traveller who has had a family with a woman from one hundred years ago must discover a way to bring them back to the future.

Dystopian Sci Fi Prompts

A woman never knew she has a twin sister – or that both of them were created in a lab. They set out to discover more people like them.

The last human being on Earth hasn’t seen another human in 12 years. But then he sees smoke coming out of the chimney of a hut in the woods.

A group of women escape prison, only to find themselves in a world made up of only men.

No one has died in sixteen years. How is the world going to survive if no one’s life can end?

A man tries to find his best friend in the aftermath of a nuclear war. But he doesn’t realise that the man is out to kill him.

One woman fights to protect her child in a world where every baby is brought up in a farm and trained to work for an evil government.

A fight is on to find the last survivors of Europe after the entire continent was destroyed.

The world is either ocean or desert, but one man and his gang believe they can find the lost city of Londonburgh – their only hope for survival.

Combine Well-Loved Sci Fi Stories With One Another

Agents, editors and film producers love to ask writers for a ‘comp’ – a comparison title to position your own work against. So why not start with a well-loved comp or two when coming up with your idea ?

Some of the most unlikely parings can make for the best ideas!

Alien and Children of Men : After years of no babies being born on Earth, a woman is finally pregnant. But it’s not human.

The Invisible Man and Men In Black : Special forces are sent out to find the invisible people living amongst us.

Independence Day and Attack the Block : Aliens are going to attack the Houses of Parliament, but only London’s street gangs can save them.

Planet of the Apes and The Abyss : Creatures from beneath the sea have evolved and have taken over the human race.

Ghost Busters and Donnie Darko : Humans are being haunted by the ghosts of people who are yet to die, visiting them from the future.

Godzilla and The Hunger Games : A group of children must fight for survival in a dystopian world full of giant monsters.

Frankenstein and Predator: A scientist creates a monster made up of all the bodies of notorious murderers – but the monster escapes! Who is hunting who?

The Fly and E.T : An alien hides in the basement of a family’s house. Except it’s not an alien – it’s their scientist father after an experiment went wrong. Will he be able to tell them before they kill him?

Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Robocop : A group of kids try to rescue aliens but it all backfires when it turns out they’re here from the future to arrest those who are about to commit a crime.

Jurassic Park and Back to the Future : A young man invents a time machine to mend his love life and discovers he’s gone back 5 million years instead of five!

Don’t Look Up and Alien . Experts warn the world that we are about to come under attack… but no one listens until it’s too late.

The Faculty and The Thing : A group of science students on a school trip to Alaska discover an alien presence, only to realise it’s been with them all along.

Romeo and Juliet and I-Robot . When a teenager falls in love with a cyborg, it creates a deadly battle between man and machine.

Science Fiction Fantasy Ideas

A secret society of scientists and mathematicians invent magic. But how long can they keep it a secret?

A scientist creates the world’s first flying unicorn, leading to an entire cast of fairytale creatures coming to life.

A wormhole leads a group of astronauts to a world full of magic.

A company starts to manufacture wands that can make any wish come true. The world is about to look very different!

Sci Fi Horror Prompts

A small town is invaded by what they believe are ants – until the tiny things start to grow into terrifying monsters.

An old lady on vacation takes a rare plant cutting from a holy site. After tending to it, the plant turns out to be something a lot scarier.

A family move into a haunted house and, one by one, they meet a gruesome death. Will the odd neighbour fix his ghost-hunting machine in time?

In this town nothing can be trusted – not people, not animals, and especially not household appliances.

A group of teenage girls discover a cave on a school trip. Inside that cave is a ship. Inside that ship is the answer to the salvation of the human race.

Kid Lit Sci Fi Ideas

Scientists realise they were wrong about gravity – and now all the children are floating away.

Two children compete to win top prize at the science fair, unaware they have invented something that will change the world.

A plague is sweeping through the world that only affects those over the age of 18. It’s down to the children to save the human race.

Two teenagers in love are separated when, thanks to global warming, their country is split in two and slowly crumbling into the sea. Will they ever find one another again?

Eric can control electricity – and it’s not as much fun as he thought it would be.

A boy and his friend are told not to touch his scientist father’s new invention. But they do – leading to one very big disaster.

Other Fun Science Fiction Ideas

Write a story based on sci-fi-sounding songs:

The Killers – “Spaceman”
Blondie – “Rapture”
Flight of the Conchords – “The Humans Are Dead/Robots”
Elton John – “Rocket Man”
David Bowie – “Starman”

Think about a time in your own life, and give it a sci fi twist. ie What if, that time you found a stray dog… it was really a creature from out of space?

Look at old family photos. What would make them out of this world?

What if the inventions of the past had turned out a little differently? How would that look today?

Look at myths and legends and give them a scientific twist. How do they look now?

As yourself… What If?

Animals could talk?
The sun disappeared?
The moon was really a portal to another world?
Plants wanted to eat us?
Scientists were wrong about how our bodies work?
The Bible was actually written by aliens?
All the countries in the world merged together?
All world leaders were aliens?
Schools became dystopian training camps?
Everyone developed a superpower when they turned 50?
Babies went straight from a year old to 21?
Humans could fly?
Animals swapped abilities?
Your parents were really robots?
Your pet was an alien?
Fish decided to grow legs?
Robots and aliens united to wipe out the human race?

Time To Get Writing!

After reading through all these ideas, you should now be inspired enough to go where no one has ever dared to tread before!

I hope you have found these 105 sci fi writing prompts and ideas useful for writing your next novel or short story. And remember, you don’t have to pick just one – why not combine two or three prompts and see where they take you?

Good luck with your next sci fi project. May the force be with you and the odds be forever in your favour!

About the author

Natali is an author and was previously our Head of Community & Editorial Commissions. As N J Simmonds she's written the RONA shortlisted fantasy series The Indigo Chronicles, Manga comics, and is one half of paranormal romance author duo Caedis Knight. Her stories are magical, historical and full of complex women, page-turning twists and plenty of romance. As well as writing, she lectures on storytelling, marketing, and self-branding . Originally from London, she now lives with her family in the Netherlands and Spain. For more about Natali, see her Twitter , or Amazon author page .

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50 Sci Fi Writing Prompts to Help You Get in the Zone

By: Author Paul Jenkins

Posted on September 26, 2022

Categories Writing , Inspiration

Science fiction is one of the most popular genres in the world, and for good reason! It allows us to explore new worlds, imagine different futures, and experience adventures. If you’re looking to get into the sci-fi writing zone, these 50 prompts are perfect! They will help you develop new story ideas and keep your creative juices flowing. So what are you waiting for? Get started today!

50 Sci-Fi Writing Prompts

1. What if aliens invaded the Earth? How would humanity react, and how would we fight back?

2. What if we discovered a new, habitable planet? What would be the implications for our species?

3. What if time travel was possible? What kind of havoc could be wreaked, and what would be the consequences?

4. What if we made contact with intelligent life forms from another world? How would they view us, and vice versa?

5. What if our world was plunged into a new ice age? How would we survive, and what would happen to civilization as we know it?

6. What if global warming became an irreversible reality? What kind of effect would it have on the planet and human society?

7. What if artificial intelligence became self-aware and decided to take over the world? How would we stop them?

8. What if animals started evolving into sentient beings and demanded equal rights? How would humanity react, and how would society change as a result?

9. What if death could be cured and people stopped dying? How would that affect our views on life, and what would be the consequences of overpopulation?

10. What if we started colonizing other planets? Could we survive in outer space?

11. What if the government allowed corporations to control the planet’s resources? What would happen if the corporations took over?

12. What if we discovered a new form of energy that could fuel technology for thousands of years? What would be the implications for our planet and our existence?

13. What if we discovered a new, potent form of medicine? What would be the implications for our health, and how would it affect our views on aging or illness?

14. What if there was a new ice age? What would be the implications for the planet and humanity?

15. What if our entire solar system was destroyed? How would this affect our planet, and how would we survive?

16. What if humans became immortal? What would be the implications for society and our civilization?

17. What if an alien race built a new space station near our planet? How would we react, and what would be the consequences?

18. What if aliens discovered a new planet with potentially habitable conditions? How would the two species establish contact, and what would the consequences be?

19. What if we invented a powerful new technology that could change our world? What would we use it for, and how would it impact our society?

20. What if we developed technology that could read our thoughts? What would be the implications for society and our civil liberties?

21. What if a new disease was discovered? How would we respond, and how would it change our world?

22. What if a human discovered a new, highly potent energy source? What would be the implications for society and the environment?

23. What if a scientific discovery threatened to destroy our planet? What lengths would we go to stop it?

24. What if our DNA became mutilated beyond repair, and we could not breed? How would humankind react, and what would be the consequences?

25. What if a new virus was discovered? What would be the implications for humanity, and how would we stop it?

26. What if a human discovered a new planet we could colonize? What would be the implications for our species, and how would we establish colonies there?

27. What if humanity found a way to travel beyond the galaxy? What kinds of adventures could we have in deep space, and what would we discover?

28. What if a new meteor struck Earth and devastated our planet? How would humanity respond, and what would be the aftermath?

29. What if a new kind of energy was discovered? How would humanity use it, and what would be the consequences for our world?

30. What if a new kind of weaponry was discovered? What would be the implications for humanity and for war?

31. What if humans stopped having children? How would this affect our species, and what would be the consequences?

32. What if we discovered a new planet with a breathable atmosphere? What would be the implications for humankind, and how would we colonize it?

33. What if a new dinosaur species was discovered? What would be the implications for our world, and how would we react to their existence?

34. What if a new plague could not be cured? How would humanity respond, and how would we stop the epidemic?

35. What if we discovered a new planet with plant, animal, and human life? What would be the implications for our world, and how would we colonize it?

36. What if a group of people from our planet were stranded on an alien planet? What would be the implications for them and humankind?

37. What if we started colonizing space? What would be the implications for our species?

38. What if a powerful alien species came to our planet? What would be the consequences for humankind?

39. What if humans began traveling the stars and colonizing other planets? What would be the implications for our species, and how would we arm ourselves?

40. What if a new virus spread around the world? How would we stop it, and what would be the repercussions?

41. What if we discovered a new planet that had highly advanced technology? How would we respond, and what would be the consequences?

42. What if an alien race who disliked humans discovered a new planet? How would they treat the planet’s inhabitants, and what would the implications be for humankind?

43. What if a new kind of energy was discovered but had negative impacts on the environment? What would be the implications for our planet and the future of humanity?

44. What if we discovered a powerful new technology that could positively alter our planet? What would be the implications for humankind, and how would we utilize it?

45. What if a new kind of animal was discovered? How would it affect our world, and how would we react?

46. What if we discovered a new form of life? What would be the implications for our world, and how would we respond?

47. What if we discovered a new planet with highly advanced technology? What would be the implications for our world and humanity?

48. What if we discovered a new planet with a suitable environment for human life? What would be the implications for humanity, and how would we colonize it?

49. What if we discovered a new planet inhabited by a new alien life form? What would be the implications for our world, and how would we respond?

50. What if humans landed on a new planet, and our astronauts were stranded there? What would the implications be for our species, and how would we respond?

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some sci-fi topics.

Fancy more than the above? Here goes!…

1. In a future world where artificial intelligence has surpassed human intelligence, humans are now relegated to second-class citizens. Write a story from the perspective of an AI as it observes the humans it once knew struggling to adapt to their new way of life. 2. In a post-apocalyptic world, humanity has been forced to move underground to escape the surface world’s toxic air and endless radiation. Write a story about a group of people who venture back up to the surface, only to find that some things are better left buried. 3. Time travel has been perfected, but there’s a catch: every time you travel back in time, your mind is wiped of all memories of your previous timeline. Write a story about a woman who travels back in time, again and again, desperately trying to hold on to her memories long enough to change her future. 4. In a future where cloning has become commonplace, people can now choose to have copies of themselves made. But what happens when one woman discovers that her clones are inexplicably going missing? 5. On a newly colonized planet, the settlers encountered difficulty growing crops due to the planet’s unusual atmosphere. When they finally manage to grow some crops, they realize too late that the plants are carnivorous… 6. After an alien invasion, humanity has been divided into two groups: those taken by the aliens and those left behind. Write a story about the resistance movement fighting against the invaders and the collaborators who have sided with them. 7. A woman wakes up one day with no memory of who she is or how she got there. The only clues she has are the tattoos on her body which seem to be coordinated in space… 8. In a future society where emotions have been eradicated, two people fall in love and must keep their relationship a secret or face severe consequences. 9. After an experiment gone wrong, a scientist finds herself stuck in an alternate dimension where she discovers that her deceased loved ones are still alive… but they don’t remember her. 10. A woman discovers that she is an android after experiencing glitches in her system… and that she was created for a specific purpose…

How Do You Start a Sci-Fi Narrative?

Great stories need a strong opening that will pull readers in and make them want to keep reading. This is doubly true for science fiction, which often has a lot of world-building and exposition right from the start. So how do you write a strong opening for your sci-fi narrative?

1. Establish the Setting The first step is to establish the setting for your story. Where does it take place? What kind of world is it? Is it future earth or a different planet? Whatever the case may be, you need to give your readers enough information so they can visualize the scene in their minds.

2. Introduce the Characters Once you’ve established the setting, it’s time to introduce the characters. Who are the main players in your story? What motivates them? Again, you don’t want to bog down your opening with too much detail, but you should give readers enough to understand who these people are and what they want.

3. Hook Your Readers Last but not least, you need to hook your readers with some element of suspense or mystery. Why should they care about these characters and this story? What’s at stake? If you can answer those questions in your opening, you’ll have succeeded in pulling readers in and getting them invested in your story.

What’s the Difference Between Sci-Fi and Fantasy?

To understand the genesis of both sci-fi and fantasy, it’s important to know that they both stem from the same source: folklore. Folklore, by definition, is a genre of traditional tales or legends associated with a particular people, culture, or geographical region.

Sci-Fi and fantasy are two genres that are often lumped together, but they have very different conventions. Sci-Fi is focused on science in its stories— usually presenting what-if scenarios exploring science and technology’s consequences. On the other hand, fantasy stories are set in imaginary worlds and often feature magical elements.

Technology vs. Magic One of the key differences between sci-fi and fantasy is their treatment of technology and magic. In SciFi stories, technology is often used as a way to solve problems or achieve objectives that would otherwise be impossible. On the other hand, magic is a central component of most fantasy stories. Magic is often used as a stand-in for technology—for example, flying carpets might take the place of spaceships in a fantasy story set on another planet.

Rational vs. Supernatural explanations Another difference between sci-fi and fantasy is how rational or supernatural explanations are used to explain events in the story. In SciFi, everything typically has a rational explanation— even if that explanation isn’t fully fleshed out or understood by the characters in the story. In contrast, magic often provides a supernatural explanation for events in fantasy stories.

Humans vs. Non-humans A final difference between these two genres is their treatment of human versus non-human characters. In SciFi stories, humans are typically the main focus— even if non-human characters are present (think aliens). On the other hand, non-human characters often take center stage in fantasy stories— with humans playing more of a supporting role (think hobbits).

What Are Three Major Themes in Science Fiction?

As a writer, it’s important to know the major themes that run through your genre. This way, you can stay true to the spirit of the genre while still putting your spin on things. In this post, we’ll look at the three major themes in science fiction.

Exploration. This is the idea of venturing out into the unknown, whether traveling to different worlds or discovering new technologies. It’s about pushing the boundaries of what is possible and expanding our horizons. This theme often leads to stories about first contact and tales of adventure and discovery.

Identity . This is the idea of questioning who we are and what makes us human. It’s about exploring what it means to be an individual in a constantly changing and evolving society. This theme often leads to stories about artificial intelligence, cybernetics, and other forms of transhumanism.

Social commentary. This is the idea of using speculative fiction to comment on contemporary issues. It’s about asking “what if?” and using fictional scenarios to explore the potential consequences of real-world problems. This theme often leads to stories about dystopian societies, climate change, and other forms of social commentary.

Sci-Fi Story Ideas and Writing Prompts

By Hannah Yang

Are you excited to write a science fiction story but unsure what to write about? Using a writing prompt is a great way to get started.

We’ve created writing prompts in eight popular science fiction subgenres: aliens, biopunk, dystopia, high-tech, robots, science fantasy, space opera, and time travel.

You can start with the categories that you’re most excited about, or read through all of them to see if anything unexpected tickles your imagination.

This article has 80+ science fiction story ideas that you can use for your next novel, screenplay, or short story. Happy writing!

Alien Story Ideas

Biopunk story ideas, dystopia story ideas, high-tech story ideas, robot story ideas, science fantasy story ideas, space opera story ideas, time travel story ideas, tips for using sci-fi story ideas.

The alien subgenre is a classic in science fiction literature. Different writers have envisioned countless scenarios for what might happen if we discovered other life in the universe.

You run a hotel on Earth where various alien species come to stay on vacation
A child finds out her pet has been an alien all along
Alien students come to study on Earth for a foreign exchange program
An alien race comes to planet Earth to help solve global warming
Humans invade a peaceful alien planet to steal their secrets
Aliens speak a language you have to learn how to decipher
Aliens can mind control the human race, except for a certain demographic of people
Aliens have taken over the Earth, and a family must try to survive against all odds
A human falls in love with an alien and they have a child together
Alien parasites can infiltrate the human body and make people commit crimes
Aliens take over Earth’s prison systems so they can use human criminals as slaves
Scientists dig up alien technology that has been buried in glacial ice for centuries, revealing secrets nobody expected

Biopunk is a subgenre that grapples with the implications of biotechnology. What happens when humans learn how to engineer and augment their own bodies?

People steal organs to sell them on the black market
You can raise a genetically identical version of yourself to give you spare organs
A scientist recreates her dead family out of grief
A technology company hides your memories behind a paywall, so you have to pay to access them
A young woman and her twin sister agree to be genetically modified in two different ways
You meet someone who looks exactly like you, and find out you’re actually a clone they created
Every family is only allowed to have one child, and terrible things happen if you break that rule
Parents are forced to genetically optimize their babies, and those who refuse are forced to work menial labor
Thieves steal genetic skill sets, such as math skills and gymnastics skills, from the rich
Evil scientists create a terrible pandemic and unleash it onto enemy countries

If you like critiquing the state of our society or political system, dystopian world building is a great way to do it. This subgenre lets you interrogate the dark side of government control and the erasure of individual autonomy.

The government, which controls all media, lies about an important historical event to try to erase history
Nobody is allowed to go beyond the wall that surrounds the city, and nobody remembers why
The government mandates a hive mind so they can see everyone’s thoughts
Everyone has a ranking to show their status as a citizen, forcing them into class tiers
You work for a rebel organization trying to take down the global dictatorship
The government sets up high-tech surveillance programs that watch everyone 24/7, but only you know how to get around the cameras
The government decides who you marry and have children with, but you fell in love with someone else
Nobody is allowed to eat the old foods, but you inherited a recipe book from your grandmother
The government outlaws a new invention that some people desperately need
Citizens are forced to participate in brutal competitions
The government creates a strange new technology for punishing dissidents
A mechanized police force prevents crime, but also commits atrocities

Many science fiction stories imagine new types of futuristic technology that might change the way we interact with the world, from virtual realities to extreme social media. If you like inventing new things, this sub-genre could be an exciting one to try.

Someone creates an app that lets people buy, sell, and trade emotions
Social media gets pushed to the extreme
A dating app becomes sentient and starts forcing its users to date the people it chooses
Humans figure out how to upload their minds into computers, effectively achieving immortality
Everyone begins spending most of their lives in a virtual reality
Humans are allowed to choose their own VR afterlives
People can selectively remove some of their memories
Babies get created and raised in artificial wombs, raising ethical questions
Laws try to ban an invention that lets you change people’s memories
A technology can heal any affliction…with a cost
An inventor tries to patent his invention, only to find that big corporations who want to use his invention are out to kill him
Someone invents a technology that lets you swap bodies with someone else

Robots and artificial intelligence are another classic science fiction subgenre. What happens when people create machines that are smarter than we are?

A woman creates a robot boyfriend, but feels guilty when it starts having an existential crisis
A young boy and his best friend discover that their babysitter is a robot
A loophole in the programming of an AI robot causes it to go rogue
All jobs are taken over by AIs, and humans must find meaning in other pursuits
Human military officers have designed a robot to serve as a super weapon, but the robot doesn’t want to kill anyone
The planet has been split into territories ruled by humans and territories ruled by machines
A lawyer fights for civil rights for androids
Years after the robots overthrew human civilization, a small group of humans survive
Robots learn to fall in love, either with humans or with each other
A robot seeks revenge against the people who killed the family it protected
The androids don’t know they’re androids, because they’re told they’re humans
The narrator is a sentient house that takes care of a family
A child gets raised by robots and learns robotic mannerisms

Science fantasy lives at the intersection of science fiction and fantasy. Who says stories based in science can’t have a little magic too?

A war breaks out between scientists with incredible technologies and the witches and wizards who have been hiding on Earth for centuries
Spaceships are controlled by people who have magic powers that allow faster-than-light space travel
Scientists figure out how to create mythical animals in laboratories, such as dragons, unicorns, and pixies
After a spaceship landed on a distant planet, the natives of that planet have formed a new religion which worships space travelers as gods
An inventor creates the technology to bring children’s dreams to life, including their nightmares
A scientist creates a fortune teller that can create magical prophecies
Using modern technologies, scientists discover the lost city of Atlantis and the ancient magic it holds
Time travelers go back to ancient Greece and meet mythical beasts such as the hydra
An experimental government program combines humans with other animals, creating creatures like mermaids and angels

Space opera stories are adventures set in outer space, full of action, drama, and romance. There are a lot of different directions you can take these stories.

Five people wake up on a deserted space station with no memory of how they got there
Earth competes in an interplanetary art contest against multiple alien races
Someone stows away on a spacecraft to run away from home and gets discovered by the crew members after they’ve landed on a distant planet
A war breaks out on a generation ship, causing the last survivors to reach their destination without any of the skills or resources they were supposed to have
Intergalactic bounty hunters look for fugitives on faraway planets
A space pirate lands in your backyard and tries to recruit you
A galactic empire tries to colonize your peaceful planet, so you team up with other species to fight back
Single people try looking for romance at an interplanetary club
Navigators use special powers to plot courses through the stars
Write a retelling of your favorite fairy tale…in space!

Time travel is an exciting element of science fiction! If you’re a history buff, you might send your characters back to big events in the past. If you like logic puzzles, you might want to figure out a tricky series of actions in time.

Humans learn how to communicate with their past and present selves
Time travel journalists go back in time to document historical events with modern technology
You travel a hundred years into the past and accidentally kill your own ancestors
A secret society of time travelers patrols different time periods to protect the way history unfolded
A high school student creates a time machine for a science fair
In a small town, someone is born with the special ability to visit the same town in the past, present, and future
A woman befriends her childhood self to try to change her own past
Someone uses time travel to commit untraceable crimes
A time traveler meets an immortal vampire and becomes best friends with them
Knowing that the human population is about to be wiped out, the last survivors on Earth travel back in time as refugees

Remember that a prompt is just a starting point. You still need to decide how you’re going to put your own unique twist on the story.

Most of these science fiction ideas have been used many times before, but that doesn’t mean your story can’t be original and unique.

For example, E.T. and Lilo and Stitch are two movies that could conceivably have originated from the same prompt—“a kid discovers an alien and keeps it as a pet”—but they’re very different movies.

The same prompts can lead to very different stories

Here are some tips for how to use these prompts to create exciting and original stories.

Tip #1: Combine Multiple Ideas

You can consider combining a prompt with an idea for a character or setting, or even with a second prompt.

For example, maybe you want to take an alien prompt and a time traveler prompt and include both in the same story by making the aliens turn out to be humans from the future. When you let two ideas collide, new and exciting possibilities can arise.

Tip #2: Write What You Know

“Write what you know” is a great adage that applies even to science fiction. That’s how you create an original, authentic story that resonates with readers.

If you’re an insurance salesperson, perhaps you can write about an alien who sells insurance to other planets. If you’re a high schooler, perhaps you can write about a high school student discovering time travel.

Using your real life as a starting point for a story can imbue it with your own perspective and voice.

Tip #3: Don’t Forget the Basics

An interesting premise is important, but there are other skills you need in order to flesh out your writing. Craft elements like character development and world building are still crucial for creating a good story.

Tip #4: Write with a Friend

Writing doesn’t have to be a solitary activity! It can be fun to write the same prompt with a friend and then trade stories. Chances are, you’ll be surprised by the different ways you and your friend can use the same idea.

If you’re excited to try some of these prompts and meet other sci-fi writers, don’t forget to register for our free Science Fiction Writers’ Week .

Happy writing!

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Hannah Yang

Hannah Yang is a speculative fiction writer who writes about all things strange and surreal. Her work has appeared in Analog Science Fiction, Apex Magazine, The Dark, and elsewhere, and two of her stories have been finalists for the Locus Award. Her favorite hobbies include watercolor painting, playing guitar, and rock climbing. You can follow her work on hannahyang.com, or subscribe to her newsletter for publication updates.

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20 Sci-Fi Story Ideas

by Ruthanne Reid | 65 comments

Hello, friends! Last time, I shared 20 fantasy story ideas to get your brain moving. This time, it's my pleasure to go from earth to space. It's time for… *drum roll* sci-fi story ideas!

Need even more ideas? Check out our top 100 short story ideas for every genre here .

Twenty Out of this World Story Ideas

Just so you know, these are “soft sci-fi” rather than “hard sci-fi,” which basically means they're more focused on character than math and science.

Aliens who only communicate with sign language invade. To avoid war, our governments must engage a vastly marginalized portion of the human population: the hearing-impaired.
A rogue planet with strange properties collides with our sun, and after it's all over, worldwide temperature falls forty degrees. Write from the perspective of a someone trying to keep his tropical fruit trees alive.
Ever read about the world's loneliest whale ? Write a story in which he's actually the survivor of an aquatic alien species which crashed here eons ago, and he's trying very hard to learn the “local” whale language so he can fit in. Write from his perspective the first time he makes contact.
An alien planet starts receiving bizarre audio transmissions from another world (spoiler: they're from Earth). What does it mean? Are they under attack? Some think so…until classic rock ‘n' roll hits the airwaves, and these aliens discover dancing. Write from the perspective of the teenaged alien who first figures it out.
Take anything we find normal today (shopping malls, infomercials, products to remove facial hair, etc.) and write a story from the perspective of an archeologist five thousand years in the future who just unearthed this stuff, has NO idea what any of it was for, and has to give a speech in an hour explaining the historical/religious/sociological significance.
Housecats are aliens who have succeeded in their plan to rule the world. Discuss.
A highschooler from fifteen hundred years in our future is assigned a one-page writing project on a twenty-first century person's life based entirely on TV commercials. Write the beginning of the essay.
Timetravel works, but only once in a person's life. Write from the perspective of someone who chooses to go back in time, knowing they can never return. Where do they go and why?
So yeah, ancient Egypt really was “all that” after all, and the pyramids turn out to be fully functional spaceships (the limestone was to preserve the electronics hidden inside). Write from the perspective of the tourist who accidentally turns one on.
The remarkable San people of South Africa are widely considered the most ancient race of human beings on the planet. Write a story in which their unique genetic structure has been preserved by the thousands-of-years-ago creation of nanobots.

More Sci-Fi Story Ideas

Take this set of fascinating facts from Chinese history and write a story about the “fortune-teller” (translation: con-artist who knows science) who invented the compass before selling it to the explorer and mapmaker Zheng He.
Ten years from now, scientists figure out how to stop human aging and extend life indefinitely—but every time someone qualifies for that boost, someone else has to die to keep the surplus population in check. Oh, it's all very humane; one's descendants get a huge paycheck. Write from the perspective of someone who just got a letter in the mail saying they're the one who has to die.
In the future, neural implants translate music into physical pleasure, and earphones (“jacking in”) are now the drug of choice. Write either from the perspective of a music addict, OR the Sonforce agent (sonance + enforcer) who has the job of cracking down.
It's the year 5000. Our planet was wrecked in the great Crisis of 3500, and remaining human civilization survives only in a half dozen giant domed cities. There are two unbreakable rules: strict adherence to Life Quality (recycling doesn't even begin to cover these laws), and a complete ban on reproduction (only the “worthy” are permitted to create new humans). Write from the perspective of a young woman who just discovered she's been chosen to reproduce—but she has no interest in being a mother.
In the nineteenth century, there's a thriving trade in stolen archeological artifacts. Write a story from the perspective of an annoyed, minimum-wage employee whose job is traveling back in time to obtain otherwise unobtainable artifacts, then has to bring them back to the present (the 1800s, that is) and artificially age them before they will sell.
Steampunk! Write a story from the perspective of a hot air balloon operator who caters to folks who like a little thrill… which means she spends half her time in the air shooting down pterodactyls before the paying customers get TOO scared.
Human genetic modification has gone too far, and the biggest trend for teenagers is to BECOME their favorite fictional character. Describe the scene from a bored security guard's point of view as he has to break up a fight between an anime character (I dare you to use Goku from Dragonball Z) and a Brony .
It is the Edo period in Japan (1603-1868), and the practice of Sakoku is in full effect, completely closing off the country to Western influence. The reason, however, is not to eschew Western culture, but instead to protect the aliens that landed in the middle of Kyoto and are trying desperately to repair their ship and get home. Write from the perspective of one of the few remaining Samurai assigned to protect and keep these aliens a secret.
Creation myth! Write from the perspective of a crazy scientist in the year 28,000 who, determined to discover how the universe began, rigs up a malfunctioning time machine, goes to the “beginning” of the universe, and ends up being the reason for the Big Bang. (Logic? Causal effect? Pfft. Hush, it's time-travel, and that was never logical.)
It turns out dinosaurs were completely sentient creatures, thank you very much , and most of them actually left the planet in their gigantic and REALLY WEIRD spaceship when they realized an asteroid was coming. They've decided that enough time has passed and the Earth has probably recovered by now, so today, at twelve noon, they're coming home.

Where will your imagination take you? Choose any of these story ideas and use them to explore new worlds.

Or, write your own sci-fi writing prompt and share it below for other writers!

Do any of these short story ideas tickle your storytelling bones? Let us know in the comments .

It's time to play with story ideas! Take fifteen minutes and develop one of these story ideas into at least one scene. Don't edit yourself! Set your imagination free. When you’re finished, share your work in the Pro Practice Workshop here . Not a member yet? Join us here !

Ruthanne Reid

Best-Selling author Ruthanne Reid has led a convention panel on world-building, taught courses on plot and character development, and was keynote speaker for The Write Practice 2021 Spring Retreat.

Author of two series with five books and fifty short stories, Ruthanne has lived in her head since childhood, when she wrote her first story about a pony princess and a genocidal snake-kingdom, using up her mom’s red typewriter ribbon.

When she isn’t reading, writing, or reading about writing, Ruthanne enjoys old cartoons with her husband and two cats, and dreams of living on an island beach far, far away.

P.S. Red is still her favorite color.

65 Comments

Ideas No.12 and 14 impressed me more than the others.Allowing reproduction only to ‘worthy’ people means?… How to define them or how to create ‘worthy’ people?..perhaps it is left to the imagination of the writer? Anyhow it is a worthy idea.I like it.

Thanks for that feedback! I’ve always been fascinated (and frightened) whenever the scientific community leans toward eugenics of any kind. It’s happened before, and it probably will again.

Indeed. The idea that some people think it’s a good idea to “weed out” the bad genes is both scary and angering. All human life is precious – it’s ridiculous for people to try to play God and “perfect” the human race. We live in an imperfect world and we will only be made perfect through Jesus once we are in heaven with Him.

My poor attempt at sci-fi: The planet Wondancia, five light years from earth, is inhabited by beings designed much like earthlings. But being so much more advanced in medical science, they’ve discovered how to restructure shoulders and armpits so as to accommodate an extra limb on each side. So at birth each baby on the planet Wondancia is fitted with an extra pair of arms. Needless to say, this comes in very handy.

A century ago these creatures invented powerful telescopes and began searching the various solar systems for signs of life. They took note of a particular blue-and-green ball with a surrounding atmosphere and wondered if it might be a planet hospitable to life. They named it Kantazandy, which to them means “blue seas and green hills.”

After some decades these people developed such powerful telescopes that they could actually see creatures moving around on Kantazandy. They took note of the fact that Kantazandians, though almost identical to them in shape and size, had only two arms each. What a handicap!

After much discussion, they concluded that every one of the people of Kantazandy would probably be so grateful for an extra pair of arms. So they prepared a space ship with their most advanced scientists, medical men, and translation experts to visit this blue-green planet. This was hailed not only as a fact-finding mission, but as mission of mercy as well.

Their ship landed in the south of France in 2019 and the aliens disembarked. News of their arrival thrilled the whole planet! And when the Wondancians understood that the Kantazandians were about to celebrate the year 2020, they thought it an opportune time to offer this new gift. Human beings — as the Kantazandians called themselves — were all thrilled at the prospect that each of them could be fitted for a new pair of arms. After all, everyone was wishing for a second pair of hands, weren’t they?

Alas! The humans soon realized that all their fancy wardrobes, including fashion designer gowns and jackets that cost them the earth, would now be useless and would have to be tossed. So the humans drove the Wondancians back into their spaceship and forced them to leave the planet.

“Ungrateful wretches,” the Wondancians muttered as they roared off into space. So much for foreign aid!

Haha! I LOVE it, Christine! And your “handy” pun just had me rolling. 🙂

Glad I could give you your laugh of the day. And I’m sure you’ve wished for a second pair of hands at times, too. You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t. 🙂

This was so unexpected! I like stories that surprise me. I wonder if there’s meant to be some deeper message here about the fear of change even when it’s better for you…

Glad you liked it. You may take a deeper meaning out of it as you wish, but I hadn’t thought of that one when I wrote it. Partly I like humor and partly I was poking a bit of fun at the human love of fashions, however impractical. But that’s it.

14. Children. The government’s way of making sure the population is in check and picturesque. Although I should hate them with all my might, I adore children. Their cute round cheeks and their pudgy little hands, not to mention their innocent eyes and adorable smiles. Since only the worthy are allowed to reprodcue, children are all perfect looking, intelligent and talented. Any child who is not all of these things is immediately sent to the work camps to farm and eventually die of exhaustion or starvation. But, despite all of this, I love children.

This single attribute would end up being my downfall. When I received the letter, tears sprung into my grey-blue eyes. I had been chosen as a Reproduction Agent. My worst fear had been realized and I had no way to stop the torrent of emotions that rained down at that single moment in time. As much as I loved children, never once had I considered becoming a mother. I hadn’t even thought it a possibility, as my Schoolteacher said that I was destined for a life as a Factory Worker. At least I had been prepared for that, but I had no idea what to do with the news I had just received.

My mother kept reminding me that the government knew what it was doing and would never choose s Reproduction Agent who was not perfect for the job. Little did she know that my fear was exactly that. I was not fit to be a mother. I knew that I was less than perfect, having nearly been sent to work camps three times in my life. But most of all, I was afraid that my offspring would be as imperfect as me and have to be sent away. Of course, none of this mattered, because no one seemed to care what I thought about my new destiny.

When I arrived at the Reproduction Center for my orientation, I could barely keep it together. Seeing all the happy faces and little babies made me want to cry because they reminded me that I could never be happy. I could never be happy with my soon-to-be children scattered to the winds. I could never be happy knowing that I could give a child life and then that life could just as easily be taken away.

Oh, wow, Annie! You knocked this out of the park. I really feel her struggle and her pain; great job expanding the world, too!

Thanks! I plan on continuing with the story. I wanted to have the main character fall in love with her first child, breaking the first rule of Reproduction Agents. And then, her child is going to be deemed unfit to continue living and will be sent to a work camp. The rest of the story’s going to be an epic adventure of the protagonist trying to save her son. I’m really excited; thanks for the prompts!

That’s a fantastic idea!!! Write on!

I love her emotions. This was sweet. I had no idea what to do with this option at all. Love the way you did it.

I feel for the main character, the way she doesn’t want to be a mom because her kids will be taken away. Keep up the good work!

Hello, … Sci Fi, ugh…. Let’s try

I was pacing. They were many thoughts racing through my head. I had to go, I had to, I just had to. My mother’s face flashed on abrubtly from the holigram monitor. News time, everyday at 6 o’clock pm it came on and everyday at that exact time everyone stopped their bustle, where ever they were and turned their attentions to the fleet of scientist whose images floated in front and around them. I stopped my pacing abrubtly as well, to my dismay. It was a reflex action of pure habit. Even if one of the lead scientist, Ilinora Estrava, was my mother. My nerves were on a high. Today was the day they would announce their plan of action. They had been reported attacks. Some people said it was the Venire people. Of course, they were blamed for everything. Their ancestors had been the first alien species to land on the earth, as refugees in the year 2967. Most of them died on landing, then from failure to adapt to life here. What had saved them was the fact that they were so innocent, like adult children. At least that’s what the history books say. But the Venire didn’t remain as such. Life on Earth 2 would do that to any one. Even our children weren’t innocent. You needed tact and above average intelligence to survive in this mechanised and metallic world. They had revolted, they didn’t want to remain our slaves, pets… Our labrats. I gulped waiting. My mother didn’t share her plans with me. She hadn’t visited in a while. I knew what everyone else knew. That in a month or two the leaders of Earth 2, the scientist would either release LI432 an airborne disease engineered specifically to kill anyone with even a hint of venire genes into the earth 1 atmosphere or not. The leaders of the revolting Venire, Morda and Kaius lazered an entrance through our thick metal walls. Walls that kept them and the outside world, Earth 1, separated from us. No one knew why, no one wanted to. ” In exactly two days” came my mother’s voice, fluid and unemotional, “LI432 will be introduced into Earth1’s atmosphere in response to Venire’s act of war. All remaining Venire if found guilty of treason will be executed. I was still. I knew it was coming but to hear it. Shereeva. She had been arrested too. My mother’s favourite pet. She had offspring in Earth 1 whose genes my mother hadn’t found nearly as fascinating as Shereeva’s. I snapped out of my standing coma and pulled on my jacket and the escape bag that I had packed, when I still trying to convince myself of what I needed to do. The trying to convince was over. I was out the door. Running on our dimly lit streets. The elistest district on which I lived much later curfew than everyone else but I still had less than 45 mins to get to “the other side”, break in ( Illinora’s daughter or not) and jump start the obsolete time machine. An antique, a thing once used onlynfor prisoners on death row. No one wanted to go back. Why would they. To go back was death in itself and worse. The trip alone could cause mental disintegration if it didn’t kill you first but I had too. I was my mother’s daughter. I was above sure I could rig it right. I didn’t jave any other choice. There was no arguing with the leaders. That disease would be released. There was no way to stop it unless I went back to the very beginning and stopped them (Morda and Kaius) from ever breaching the wall. However I had too and if I died in the process than that was better than living knowing that the people that you lived would die. This was for Shereeva, for the stories she would tell me of her children’s birth when I couldn’t sleep at night. Even hd been prodded , poked, experimented on and taken from her family. She still managed to show me love. The daughter of the woman who was responsible for it all. I had to try. I had to go.

Oh, very nicely done! Definitely unexpected twists there. You may not like sci-fi much, but I’d say you’re doing a great job with it. This sounds like something you could continue.

Cool start for a sci-fi story. Keep up the good work!

Oh and thanks for the prompts. It’s really to come up with ideas for stories, at least for me. You’re prompts help. Thanks.

I’m so glad to hear it, Dina! It’s tons of fun to hand them out. 🙂 I’m really glad it helps!

Thanks. As you can guess, I don’t do sci-fi. Humor trumps any other genre in my books. 🙂

Can ye guess which one laddie, or lassie?

It started with a slight click, followed by “Oops,” and a very brief, very bright flash.

“What did you do!?”

“Nothin’, I didn’t do nothin’.”

“Well, something just happened!”

“I know. But it wasn’t nothing I did. Hell, we sound like Krauss, Something from Nothing.”

“Yeah, well, check the setup.”

“What the …”

“What? And if you tell me ‘nothing’ I swear I’ll shove that table up …”

“No … it’s gone.”

“What’s gone?”

“The experiment.”

“I checked it not a minute ago. It can’t be gone,” that was followed by a “zzzt!” and “Damn!”

“What?”

“Static. Walked across the carpet and touched the table.”

“Uh oh.”

“What!?!?”

“That’s what I did. I walked across the carpet, and touched the framework holding the experiment.”

“Damn it … What’s the potential in a static discharge?”

“Not sure, ten maybe twenty thousand volts.”

“Ahh man … Our setup was calibrated for eight thousand volts!”

“Holy crap. Was the recorder running!?”

“Yeah, thank goodness, yes it was. Let me reload the file. You ready?”

“Yeah, put it on the high def display, and slow it down.”

“There, that’s me, walking, I reach for the frame … there, there’s the arc. Jeez, must be over fifteen thousand volts, damn … Look at the overhead shot … Wow, the plates are moving …”

“Look at that … That’s the click we heard … The plates making contact … My god … Magnify … Look at that … A bubble, incredibly small, what …”

“The flash …”

“Quick, run the data through the Inverse Fractal Transform function … get the times and convert’m to Planck … Wow … look at that …”

“Holy … We just created a universe. See, here, the singularity, then expansion, then the flash when matter starts to condense and photons form … But our universe can’t hold it, so, what, I dunno, squeezes it out?”

“Just static, it all started from static discharge.”

“Wonder where it is?”

“Huh?”

“The universe we just created. Where is it? What’s happening to it?”

“I dunno. Probably has some televangelist preaching about how the universe can only be 10,000 years old.”

“Yeah,” and a chuckle, “What he don’t know. It’s only ten minutes old.”

“So, feel like God?”

“Hell no. I’m starving. Let’s go get lunch.”

Hahaha! Terrific Creation myth! Hilarious!

Makes me think of The Flash mate

The Test ————

The room that was normally bustling with the clamor and energy of youth was unnaturally quiet that day. But then, it was probably always this way on the first of May. It was the 51st anniversary of the formation of the New Republic, and the City celebrated it each year with the Festival of Youth.

There were two major traditions followed on this day. The first was a celebration where extra bread and dessert was provided to all children under the age of eighteen. There were about 500 of us in this City. We all lived in the Youth Centre where all our educational and nurturing needs were taken care of by experts. The other, and most important tradition, was that those who were about to reach the age of adulthood were given aptitude tests, which would determine their role as contributing members of the society.

The quiet room was where I had just taken the Test, with 30 of my peers who would all join the larger society next year. We all sat there, contemplating the fact that we had just written our destinies. Children who barely knew what they were going to do the next day had just had their entire future decided for them and were struggling to wrap their heads around that fact. This was the exact moment children became adults in our society.

Someone cracked a joke about failing the Test to break the oppressive silence that we were all afraid to speak into. The joke was terrible: failure was no laughing matter. We did not speak of those who failed. But the joke helped bring back the children within us who laughed at all matters serious and believed ourselves to be Gods. We walked out the room, laughing, the same as always, looking forward to the feast that night.

I walked out alone, at peace with the world. I was certain that I’d done well at the sections on math and physics. I had already begun dreaming of going to the School of Science and Technology, imagining myself solving the problems of energy and waste and improving life for all in the City.

The results would be announced that evening, before the feast, for the whole City to see. It was a big moment, especially because there hadn’t been such a large number of graduates in a single year for a long time. It was also a big deal because there had been a threat of protest at the event. You see, there were detractors of the Test: a growing group of Individualists who thought the Test was an unfair method of deciding a person’s future and took away individual choice.

Some of my peers agreed with this point of view, but they’d never voice it in class. I disagreed with them in our impassioned after-class debates when the adults were all gone. With humanity at the brink of extinction, the needs of all were greater than the needs of the individual. Besides, the Test didn’t take away choice. When they had thought to introduce the Test, the original plan had been to simply measure the brain patterns of infants at birth and decide their futures solely on the basis of natural ability. But the great Thinkers who had designed the Commandments of the Republic realized that this would doom us. They decided instead to test children after a few years of common education, and to test not their innate ability, but their perseverance and hard work. Anyone interested in a field could beat the Test with sufficient hard work.

As I wandered around thinking all this, I lost track of time until Sarah, my roommate, holo-called me asking me to get to the Square. It was time. I ran as fast as I could, weaving my way through the rejoicing crowd to the front where the Graduates stood, in front of the Info-screen. The Square was lit up in the usual fashion for the Youth festival. You could even smell the feast.

I had been just in time to see Sarah jumping in joy because the Test had marked her for an Education expert. I was happy for Sarah: she had always loved children. It was my turn next and as they called out my name, I could barely hear the announcer over my own heartbeat.

“Dahlia Young! Perfect score in math, science and technology, …”

I was elated. My dream was about to come true!

“Also a perfect score in languages, government, athletics, …”

And on and on he went. Apparently, I’d done much too good a job at the Test, and I was getting tired of this. I really hoped no one could see me blush. Sarah was already shaking my hand in a ridiculously exaggerated manner. I just wanted it to get over so I would finally know.

“With these results, Dahlia Young has been deemed best for the role of Reproducer!”

The crowd went wild. I was stunned. It was impossible. I wasn’t meant to be a reproducer! I was so much more than that! Sure, surely, they’d made a mistake. I tried to speak, but people simply hugged me and smiled and said their congratulations. The announcer moved on to the next kid. I had stopped listening.

My head was still spinning. I couldn’t believe the test had failed me so horribly. Unknowingly, I started walking away from the Square, until I was running. I ran into a group of people who stopped me and asked me what was wrong. I hadn’t realized tears had been streaming down my face.

I tried to get away, but they wouldn’t let me. Afraid they might call the psych ambulance to help control me, I told them that I was merely unhappy with the test results.

They looked at each other knowingly. “We understand, Miss.”

I saw that Jake, the guy who cracked the joke about failing was among the group. I looked at him, wondering why he wasn’t at the feast.

“I failed, Dahlia.” He whispered, his voice filled with horror. Poor Jake! His fate was much worse than mine: he’d been discarded from society.

That’s when I saw the placards they were holding. They were Individualists. And I finally understood their point.

I was the best in my class: with my aptitude, I could be anything. But they chose to make better use of me for the society as a whole. Someone with my genetic superiority would be more useful producing more such as myself than doing anything directly. And I refused to accept that. My world crashed around me taking my ideals downs with it. For all I believed in the betterment of everyone and the needs of society trumping those of the individual, I still wanted a choice as to how to make that better impact.

To use my body against my will to do something I never wanted to… that was not a free society. And to discard someone as being unworthy, that was not a fair society. I realized that the Thinkers had been wrong, that they were fallible too.

As I looked at the protesters who were looking kindly back at me, I knew I was standing at a crossroads. I could either accept my fate, or I could change it.

I looked at Jake, and then at the image in my mind of my future self. I had made my choice. I walked away from the Square, from the world I’d known, and towards a more difficult and uncertain path where I’d help build a better world, like I’d always wanted to.

Fabulous! This reads like an opening for a YA bestseller!

Thanks! When I re-read it, I realized the story sounds a bit too much like Divergent, to be honest. Originality is hard work…

Originality is bizarre. 🙂 After all, it IS true that there’s no fully original story. It’s all in how it’s done. I didn’t think Divergent when I read it; there were no five groups, etc.

Sounds like the Giver but with different people.

I love the dinosaurs prompt. It’s brilliant.

What was the story behind the fossilized dinosaurs we found? Where they left behind? Did they choose to stay because they didn’t believe the scientists? Did they stay behind to help somehow and were heroes?

Where have the dinos been all this time? Did they terraform another planet? Or have they been floating around space all this time? Did they maybe get lost?

What happens to humans now?

There is so much potential here! But it’s so hard to write a story about speaking dinosaurs without it sounding utterly ridiculous, or like any other alien story. A challenging prompt!

YES! I love that you’re thinking this way! I was considering most of these questions when I wrote it, but I chose not to put them in there, since I wanted other writers to come up with the answers. 🙂

Clearly, the dinosaurs that were left behind represent lower order creatures, much like our domesticated animals and the wildlife that abounds on our planet. These creatures were unable to leave under their own power and did not have the intelligence to use technology. The Saurian race that did leave probably only took enough of them with them to maintain their food supply.

Rex stepped out of the ship against orders to feel the breeze in his scales and breathe in the air of the Homeland. He went back inside calling on the other two to come out and *feel* the Earth. They told him they were perfectly happy to observe it from the safety of the ship engineered to keep them alive and comfortable, thank you very much.

“Government orders, Rex. Our mission is to observe and take notes, not to engage.” That was Augustine. She liked following orders. That was why she was here in spite of her space-sickness and dislike of travel. She was the most renowned historian of their age, and knew all there was to know about the Ancestors and the Homeland. That’s why they needed her on the mission.

Rex knew there was no point trying to convince her. He’d leave her to her books.

He turned to Barry instead and smiled.

“Don’t look at me like that, Rex. You will not talk me into trouble, not here. The mission is too important.”

Barry and Rex had grown up together in the Dome, dreaming of feeling the wind and nature and running free, like the Ancestors did. Barry had outgrown Rex’s wild dreams and had become a respectable geo-environmentalist. They had sent him to study the composition of the Earth and its habitability.

Rex was here as bodyguard.

“But Barry, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! It’s everything we ever dreamed of. We’re making history here, buddy. For a million years, no dinosaur has stepped foot on Earth, and we’re the beginning of a return to our great past.”

“Try 65 million years, Rex. Why don’t you step out and make history by yourself, and I’ll take care of the work. Does that sound good to you? Augustine will make sure your name is in all the history books.”

Rex was fine with that. These bookish dinosaurs had forgotten what it meant to be free, having lived in their tiny domed planet. They didn’t appreciate the smell of the rain and the feel of soft mud and all the green that surrounded them, and the sound of other creatures.

“Rex, come in. We’re getting some strange signals here. Please get back into the ship. We may need to take off and switch base.”

Rex sighed. It was probably some other creature that now inhabited the planet. Millions of years in the Dome living only among other dinosaurs had made his kind Xenophobic to the extreme. They had forgotten the time when they lived in symbiosis with millions of other creatures right here on Earth.

The Forgotten Heroes, the dinosaurs that had tried to save the other, lesser creatures from the Great Impact, had been left behind to die by those who believed dinosaurs to be the superior race and the only one worth saving. Few spoke of this, uglier, side of dinosaur history. But it wasn’t forgotten.

____________________________________________________________________

This story is not complete yet. I’m trying to figure out what happens when the dinosaurs meet humans. But I’d like to know what you think so far.

Interesting story from a dinosaur’s perspective. I’d like to hear more and see the reaction Rex has when he first meets a human!

Continued…

The whir of the ship’s engine pulled Rex back to reality and he realized he’d better make a move or he’d join the Forgotten Heroes himself.

“Come in, base. Barry, can you hear me?”

There was only static in response. Scared that something had happened to his friends, and that he’d failed at his *one* job of protecting the ship, he ran to where he thought the base was. Unfortunately, he’d wandered rather far off from base, and, while he would never admit it, he was quite lost.

Rex tried counting down from ten to calm himself down so he could think, but a count *down*, he realized, was not a very calming thing. It reminded him of time running out or a bomb ticking down, and his heart rate only got faster as he reached zero.

Frustrated, Rex gave a loud roar.

“There, that felt better.”

He then started moving, because staying there would not help him find the ship. Unbeknownst to Rex, his sense of direction was not nearly as good as he boasted. It was hard to get lost on the small domed city where he’d grown up, but the wilderness of Earth was a whole other matter. The very land felt alive and moving and changing.

And so, Rex wandered off in the entire opposite direction, where the woods ended, and the cities began. It was night time and the lights of the city hurt poor Rex’s eyes, and the honking of the cars hurt his ears.

That is how Rex first met humans. And that is when things got really, really bad.

Rex knew that he’d paid more attention to working out than his books in school, but he was fairly certain none of the books had ever described the Earth quite like this. And they certainly never mentioned the weird little creatures with shiny shells. Curious, he walked across the road to get a closer look at the beings.

That is how the humans first met Rex. As you may have guessed, things did not get better.

The humans abandoned their cars and ran like little mice scattered by the appearance of a cat. Some stopped to click pictures first.

Rex was confused and annoyed by the commotion, but he tried to communicate. That just scared them more.

And then Rex heard a loud rumble. It was a large grey creature with a long nose. Fascinated, Rex walked towards it to say hello.

That’s when they fired at him. The blow came as a shock to Rex who hadn’t encountered gunfire on their more peaceful planet. He was unhurt, but, now scared, Rex ran right into the city, leaving behind a trail of destruction in his haste.

He tried contacting Barry again, and was finally successful.

“Barry, Barry, it’s me. You’ve got to come get me.”

“Where are you Rex? We waited nearly thirty minutes but then we figured you died out there.”

“I don’t know where I am! I ran out of the green and reached a miniature city of some sort. It looks like there’s an infestation of some tiny two legged creatures.”

“Yes, we found the creatures too. They’re *everywhere*. But Rex, they’re sentient. We were able to make contact from the ship. They have radio waves. Wait, maybe I can ask them about you.”

After about fifteen minutes of conversation where the humans realized that the Godzilla-like creature that had attacked New York was actually connected to the UFO observed, and provided the aliens with detailed explanations as to how to find their friend and to please take him away, they found him.

“Barry! Augustine! I’ve never been so happy to see you. Thank you for saving my life.”

“Yeah, wasn’t that supposed to be your job?” said Augustine, returning to the comm center.

“We have fascinating news Rex. We are not alone in the universe! There was another advanced civilization emerging right here on Earth. Isn’t it beautiful? There’s so much we can learn from each other.”

Barry was nearly jumping with excitement. Good thing he didn’t though, the ship may not have been able to handle it.

“Their technology is primitive in some ways, but more advanced in others. Specifically, they have nuclear power, which they informed us of as a sort of threat when we asked about you.”

“In any case,” said Augustine, “this is a matter for diplomatic action. If we want to return to Earth, we’re going to have to share our home with this beings.”

“We thank you for your help in finding our bumbling bodyguard,” Augustine typed on the comm screen.

“Heyy”, said Rex, infuriated.

“Glad we could help. Now take him and leave, or we *will* fire,” was the response from the humans after a three hour long consultation between the heads of all states.

Barry and Augustine frowned. This was unexpected.

“They were just as excited about the prospect of knowledge sharing just a while ago. I wonder what changed. Perhaps we offended them somehow?”

Rex shuffled his gigantic feet. Then cleared his throat.

“Um, about that…”

“Yes?” said Augustine, her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“It may have something to do with the fact that I maybe, kinda ….”

“Go on.” It was amazing just how far she could narrow her eyes and still see.

“I may have stepped on one or two.” Rex mumbled.

“You did what?”

“I stepped… on the little creatures… it was an accident…” Rex felt himself shrinking beneath the gaze of the smaller dinosaur.

Barry stepped in.

“Well, I think that’s the end of that. Let’s get out of here before we become nuked meat. Maybe things will cool down in another couple of million years.”

HAHAHA! Oh, what a mess! I can’t imagine THIS report back home! Great job, Sana. 🙂

Thanks Ruthanne! 🙂 And I loved the prompts. They were very fun. I hope we see more posts of the kind.

Oh, poor Rex! He wasn’t prepared for this at ALL.

Oh, I LOVE this idea! I hadn’t even considered these dinosaurs being xenophobic – that adds a whole new spice to the mix. 🙂

Doctor Johnson stood in Room 12B and labeled each vial of blood, 1st, 2nd, 3rd. He dated them, then tucked them away in the final case of blood samples. His research was coming to fruition – and soon. After the blood samples had been sent off for testing, it would only be a matter of time before he discovered what in Julia’s blood gave the girl her secret power.

A knock sounded on the door.

“Enter,” he said as he locked the blood sample case.

An aide entered. “Sir, the soldiers are getting uneasy,” he said, handing Doctor Johnson his mail.

Doctor Johnson gave him a hard look. “And why is that?”

“Since the government started the Life Extension program, the men think because they’re connected to you, if your operations are discovered, they’ll be the ones singled out to die.”

The aide’s concern was nonsense—whenever the population increased to an undesired level, the government usually targeted small children, adolescents, or the old to be eliminated. They rarely chose persons closer to the middle, like Doctor Johnson, who almost forty, or his soldiers, who were in the range of mid-twenties to early thirties.

“Neither the government nor the military know about my operations here,” Doctor Johnson said. He picked up a short stack of files and tapped them on the metal desk to straighten them, then faced the aide again. “And besides, my goal is to complete my research without being discovered. The fate of a fraction of my soldiers is of little interest to me. You’re dismissed.”

The aide gave a brief nod, then exited the room.

Exhaling out a long breath, Doctor Johnson put his pen in his breast pocket and flipped through his mail. A light bill. Two credit card offers. A letter addressed to him, with the government’s stamp in the corner—finally. He’d been waiting on his tax return for over a month.

Doctor Johnson opened the envelope and tugged out the folded paper inside. In the left-hand corner, his name, identification number, and date of birth were printed in red. His eyes then scanned the first sentence. The only sentence.

The letter slipped from his hands.

He was sentenced to death.

Any feedback/suggestions are welcome. Loved the prompt! : )

Nice! It was a little abrupt though. I wished the story made me care more about the fact that the guy was dying.

The viewpoint character is actually one of the main antagonists in my story…so that’s probably why it seemed like I didn’t care as much. : ) Thank you for the feedback!

Hmm. It’s rare to read an entire story from the antagonist’s POV. I wonder why that is. Maybe because from their POV, they’re the “good guy”. Course this way you can have a slow reveal where you either see the person transform or you realise they’re the antagonist with some new information. Hope to read what happens next!

Aww thanks!

Oh, this is AWESOME. You took the idea and expanded it magnificently. The characterization is fantastic, too. I really love it! If I’d read this as a sample, I’d want to keep on reading.

I absolutely loved where you went with this story!!!!!!!!!! I want to read more!!!!!!!!!

Thank you so much for these ideas!!! I LOVE #1, and I’m writing it now. When I’m done, I”m probably going to post it here. Again, thank you!

Delighted to hear it, Renee! 🙂

Fats, a large Ragamuffin cat, lay on the roof of his owner’s house. The stars were fading into the early sunrise. A clatter below him drew his attention, and Fats stood up. “Who goes there?” Fats droned. Fats’ voice was thick like his swinging belly.

“Bones and Hank,” a manly voice responded. Hank was a little, purebred British Shorthair, and Bones was an abandoned Scottish Fold kitten, whose bones stuck out from his skin. Fats dragged his stomach across the roof as he went to meet the two cats.

Hank popped up from the rain gutter, and Bones eagerly followed. As the two cats seated themselves on a pale spot on the roof, Fats spoke. “General Steve, and Commander Bob will be here to pick us up for the meeting soon,” Fats announced.

Hank snorted. “Last time they said that, they forgot,” he chuckled. Little Bones, not wanting to be left out, said, “Steve hates me.” Fats and Hank knew this was true; at any time possible, General Steve tried to get rid of Bones.

Lights took over the sky, and all three cats on the rooftop blinked in surprise. A little ship landed, and two ugly Sphynx cats trotted out a sliding stairway connected to a folding door. The taller of the two Sphynx cats paused, and announced, “Loyal housecats, we have completed our mission to control the world. Now we must mislay our love for the smelly humans, and return to the Moon.”

The two Sphynx turned on a dime, and sauntered into the spaceship. Fats, Bones, and Hank followed. The sliding stairway slipped into the bottom of the ship, and the folding door closed with a thwack! .

“Good job, Fats. You have gathered information that can be used to overcome the humans. This plan was created eighteen generations ago, and has not been completed until now. Hank, you are now officially appointed to the rank of Commander, and Bones, you… have accomplished the task of melting the humans hearts with cuteness,” the tall Sphynx congratulated the three.

The smaller of the Sphynx turned to the beeping, red-blue-green buttons and silver control panels. “General Steve, we are prepared to go to the Moon,” the little Sphynx quipped. General Steve, the tall Sphynx, nodded. “All systems go!” General Steve cried.

As the little, silver ship sped away, a couple stirred underneath the roof that the cats had been on. “Hey, Karl, did you here something?” the young wife whispered to her husband. “Huh? Oh, nothing. Go to sleep, Ginny,” her husband muttered, clearly annoyed. The woman shrugged, and closed her eyes.

She opened them again. “Karl, I have the strangest feeling that we’re being tricked by those housecats,” she murmured. Her husband snored.

Hahaha! Clever lady! 🙂 I wonder if she had any idea. I also wonder if she’ll miss them now that they’re gone! 🙂 But what comes next? They accomplished world domination; what’s their next step? 🙂

The man’s footsteps were audible throughout the corridor as he sped past the storage rooms into the unexplored paths of the building that had been his home since adolescence. The usually relaxing sounds of machinery humming about seemed hostile today, as if it somehow knew the fate that awaited him. The man in the lab coat ran towards a metal portal, and pressed his hand over the array of biosensors and scanners. Behind him, his pursuer’s panting filled the corridor, and the man knew he was nearly out of time. “Identity affirmed”, a robotic voice erupted, “Entry granted to Doctor Abacus.” Dr. Abacus was not his actual name. He was called that by his peers due to his exceptional mathematical skills. If they could see me now, he thought, quickly entering the room. In a trice, the portal began closing. As soon as Dr. Abacus was going to take a huge sigh of relief, his pursuer came into sight. In the blink of an eye, he was lunging for the doors. Before Dr. Abacus could recover, he was already there. By the time the doors closed, he had cornered the scientist. “What do you want from me?”, Dr. Abacus’ scared voice echoed against the narrow walls. “Your most powerful asset”, a raspy voice replied. “Your ability to manipulate time.” “You are reading too much science fiction”, the scientist replied defiantly, “That’s where time travel is possible.” A humourless laugh resounded against the metal walls. Dr. Abacus felt a stab of fear. “You and I both know that you’re lying. Your recent discoveries seem to corroborate time travel.” Dr. Abacus was shocked. How could this beast know? Did somebody disclose it? “You have researched the string theory”, continued the captor, enjoying his prey’s helplessness, “and have discovered another kind of duality. The T- and S-duality allowed distance and coupling manipulation. Now, the new duality discovered by you allows you to interconvert space and time. They were already a part of a continuum, but you allowed their discrete manipulation. And if I am wrong”, said the man with a dangerous edge to his voice, “I will spare your life”. The man gave an emotionless smile and produced a sharp knife. “Now, start talking about the locations, security and other details of your breakthrough, or else this goes into the neck.” Dr. Abacus was dead and he knew it. Even if he gave away the specifics to the monster, he would slit his throat, and leave him here to rot. “And if I don’t?”, Abacus ventured, “There isn’t much you don’t seem to know”. The man smiled again, “If you don’t, then I will obtain it by alternate means. I simply want to choose the lesser of two evils.” “Murdering an innocent man is a lesser evil?” “Compared to the other way, yes” “I don’t think that I will give you the particulars in that case. You would only misuse them.” “In that case, Doctor, you have outlived your usefulness”, said the man, sounding disappointed. “Goodbye.” When the man left the room half a minute later, he was feeling full of adrenaline. Doctor Abacus lay in his own private room with a stabbed throat and the immeasurably powerful secret being lost from the mainstream forever, dying with his remaining brain cells.

WOW! What an intense tale! And you actually told a complete story in a short space – beginning, middle, and end, even though it leaves the reader with a lot of questions. Great job, Krish!

I’m sort of late to the discussion, but I just want to say that I absolutely LOVE #8 and #12. Thank you so much for these wonderful prompts!

thank you for the hot air balloon idea it is great! I wrote about it in a notebook and I named the girl Anna. She is protecting her city when she sees a pterodactyl, The pterodactyls are not that bad as everyone thought and soon Anna meets her best friend, a Pterodactyl named rosy. That is just a sum of the story. I hope you like it!

sounds like how to train your dragon

Time marches on, like the slow and steady beat off a drum. He could run but not forever, because time always wins.

“Quickly.” “There he is!” The voice shouted, faltering. He sprinted past the corner of the grey building ignoring the vague red lights flashing ominously, stumbling slightly as he felt his knees buckle. His breath came out in short exasperated heaves, and his hand fumbled around in his faded jeans – reassuring himself that it was still there. The one thing that he came for. Risked his life for – not that his mattered anyway. He’s over there! Not bothering to glance at who shouted, he ripped the small device from his pocket and held it to his forehead. Memories bounced around in his mind like a jack in the box before they finally settled onto one. He took the device away from his clammy forehead and peered down at it. Timetrive actualized. Initiating countdown. 10..9..8.. A strong force knocked him down from behind and he struggled against it, finally escaping it’s grasp and knocking it down with an elbow to the stomach. He ran like a madman down the bleak hallway, weary of the men pursuing him. 3…2…he halted in his tracks. The timetrave was grasped tightly in his hand. 1… His entire being started to dissolve. Like little pixels on a television, slowly evaporating. And then he was gone.

Confusion overwhelmed him, before he slowly started to recognise his surroundings. His head pounded- he was overcome with intense nausea. A lump formed in his throat and he tried to swallow it down. And then suddenly it all ceased and he felt ‘normal’ again. The faint sound of chatter lapped at his ears and stared up at the enourmous flag that covered the wall in front of him. He moved cautiously, creeping towards the sound of a man talking. “-And that is how I get my spray tan.” The voice boomed into the microphone. Venom coursed throughout his body, turning his blood hot with fire. It was him. The despicable imbecile who had ruined the nation. He could’t restrain himself any longer. After all. This was his intent from the begining. The floor heaved beneath his feet as he ran ferociously onto the stage, lunging himself at Donald Trump. All his vision was filled with putrid bleached hair “I’m gonna sue you, and make sure that immigration takes you away!” He seethed. “Try me.” He responded, before karate chopping him in the face, watching as he split right down the middle. Standing victorious over the carcas on the ground, he waved at the crowd smirking gleefully. “Sir! Sir! That was amazing. Just who are you?” Looking at the young girl direct in her eye he responded, “The name’s Boris.” He paused. “Boris Johnson.”

I have an idea: Five shards fall down on earth and 2 kids find 2 of them. The “bad guy” tries to find the rest, and the kids have to find them before himher and defeat hamher. This was my latest idea, and I am making a story based on this now!

Here is my plot

Jellyfish are actually aliens that landed here aeons ago and adapted to the warm waters of Earth. Hidden at the bottom of the ocean their master’s ship lies shut down with no sign of life. One day archeological scientists uncover a round disc full of inscriptions in an unknown language. What they don’t know is that they have just found a part of the opening device to the ship. Will they find the other pieces and unlock the ship or destroy them in their own safety? One scientist finds further information about the ship and its owners discovering that they are asleep in a time bubble called the “blue aquamarine” so that if they awake they will find that aeons have pasted in the blink of an eye. Not knowing what powers the aliens have The Earth immediately turns defensive and sets up a system that can destroy anything. But the scientist knows that the aliens only came to look for a home and tries to convince everyone that they are friendly but no one will listen. The scientist finds a way to decode the disc and it turns out that the disc is one of five different discs holding different information about the aliens. The disc that the scientists found is the disc holding information about the ship. The other discs have information about the future, the aliens and their history, species and plants on their planet and their planet. He discovers the ship is made of platinum and sets out on a journey to design a flaw in the new destroying system jamming it’s ability to destroy platinum in an attempt to save the aliens.

If I may add an idea?

600 years after Earth fell into chaos and became unihabitable. But the nerds at Nasa had a plan and secretly created a massive Bio Sphere (A half sphere that has its own cool ecosystem. In this idea just a city but often whole varieties of eco systems), on Mars. The BioSphere is the size of Texas and Alaska put together.

Ig just go from there.

“As I had been hovering on Saturn’s rings for a few hours or so, I received a faint frequency ringing through my ears. It felt as if it was coming across The Nebula.” See.. I’m wanting to actually create a story where this teenager is a gift from the Galaxies Gods. He just didn’t know that he had powers like to where he can either A- Destroy planets and become a cruel being and bend space and time to the breaking point of a black hole swallowing all. Or B- He becomes a hero, makes new planets, helps colonies, helps Earth even.. And usually when I have trouble making sci-fi novels, I listen to Starset, they have like.. amazing music that has to.. its difficult to explain.

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42 Sci-Fi and Fantasy Writing Prompts

Science fiction and fantasy writing prompts

Science fiction and fantasy provide incredible opportunities to exercise your imagination. You are not limited to one planet, one advanced species, or the limited powers we have available to us. You can explore other worlds, races, technology and magic.

That said, good sci-fi and fantasy writing has many elements in common with writing from other genres – dynamic characters, an unpredictable yet convincing plot, world building and a myriad of other elements.

We've divided these 42 creative writing prompts into five sections to help you learn valuable skills and develop story ideas. Prompts are also a great way to help overcome writer’s block.

Science fiction story ideas
Sci-fi prompts
Fantasy story ideas
Fantasy prompts
Extra challenges
Science fantasy

Science Fiction Story Ideas

Sci-fi garage Hidden in the Amazon Jungle you find an ancient garage jammed with rusty alien vehicles. A cyborg jerks slowly back to life and says, “Master, you have returned.”
DNA murder mystery Memories can be extracted from an alien's DNA. You're about to see their last memory.
The wet wormhole You receive a signal from aliens explaining how to create a wormhole to connect with them. The instant the wormhole’s opened, water starts pouring out of it. They’re an underwater species and you just created a wormhole to their capital city.
Conflict with a clone A scientist clones their ex-girlfriend only to have their relationship problems appear all over again.
Just a regular guy In a world of superheroes, your protagonist has an aura of normalcy around them. No superpowers work near them. They are about to enter the main bad guy’s lair.
Pet pals It’s 2237. Animals have been genetically modified to have the same intelligence as humans, though they are still treated as pets. Now, they’ve taken over the world.
The artificial intelligence dilemma A.I. has found out that we’re concerned they might take over the world. They’re considering a pre-emptive strike before we do something rash. Your job is to convince them otherwise.
Alcoholic aliens You are an alien visiting Earth but become addicted to booze.

In addition to prompts, we have a great selection of creative writing games that can be used solo or with a group.

Sci-Fi Writing Prompts to Develop Your Skill as an Author

While these science fiction writing prompts can be used to generate story ideas, they’re written with developing specific abilities as an author in mind.

Sonar senses You’re blind and have been fitted with a sonar headset that helps you see. It tells you how far away everything is. You can see the shape of objects and faces, but can't tell if it's light or dark, or detect any colours. Describe what it's like to see the world using sonar.
Conflict Having watched a bunch of masterclasses on creative fiction writing, all the authors say the more conflict you include, the better. Here's a prompt that covers two types of conflict. A spaceship is sending you a distress signal. Half the crew members want to go to the rescue but are scared it’s a trap (internal conflict); the other half want to ignore it due to other demands or simple laziness (external conflict). How do they resolve this disagreement?
Time travel machine Writing dialogue can be a challenge. One way to make it more interesting is to combine speech with action. Write a discussion between two engineers as they put the finishing touches on a time travel machine.
World building On an alien planet everything moves. Trees walk about, buildings crawl along wherever their whim takes them. Even mountains are unstable. What aliens have evolved there and what technology do they use?
Colourful emotions You are injected with a drug which means every time you experience an emotion all the sensations are heightened. It alters your physical sensations and all 5 senses. Write a scene where you experience a strong emotion.
Earth building To stop global warming, we spray the Earth with a chemical meant to increase cloud coverage. It goes wrong and the whole Earth is now covered in a fog so dense you can only see a few centimetres in front of you. Plan what happens over the next few years and how your protagonist specifically will cope.
Cyborg shell It’s great to use a mixture of senses in your descriptions. You are fitted with an outer shell of a cyborg. What does it feel like while it’s being fitted? Or when you move? Or fight? Try to use all the senses – hearing, smell, taste, touch, sight and internal sensations.
Romantic robots Long after humans have gone extinct, A.I. is living happily on. Robots often fall in love with each other. What are their relationships like?

Most books in all adult genres include an element of romance, so even when writing sci-fi it's worth asking yourself if having a romantic sub-plot would help develop your novel.

Fantasy Story Ideas

These fantasy prompts act as story idea generators – whether for a short story, or a whole novel.

The magic book You open an enchanted book and are sucked into a fictional world. You find yourself in one of your favourite books, but in a geographic location you know nothing about.
Feeling out of this world After heart surgery when you get emotional all kinds of weird things happen. It rains when you’re sad. Things catch fire when you’re angry. You’ve just started to have a panic attack.
Just another day in the life Your parents are a goblin and an elf. Your adopted sister is an ogre. It’s breakfast time.
The floating castle You are arrested and sent to the floating castle. Using your magical ability of turning invisible, how do you escape? Oh, the invisibility only works when you close your eyes.
Sorcerous sisters Your twin sister just got chosen to join the witch’s coven. You have no magical talents, but really want to go. You hide the invite from her and go in her place.
A haunting tale You’ve been trying to haunt your murderer for years, but they just put it down to weird coincidences. Now you’ve discovered how to get their attention.
Hysterical history Your history teacher is interrupted from a long ramble about Europe in 1803 by a student who shouts that they’re wrong. They get into an argument and the student says, “I remember exactly what happened.” You’ve always suspected they were a vampire.
Metaphysical movies Something odd'd been happening to you at night and every morning you wake to find exotic dust floating in the air. Last night, you filmed it for the first time. You’re about to watch the recording.

For a free in-depth course on writing fantasy from Brandon Sanderson, I highly recommend his free Fantasy Writing course on YouTube .

Fantasy Prompts to Learn Creative Writing Techniques

Dragon Flight Meditation Ever wondered what it's like to fly on a dragon or even be one? If you have 15 minutes, I highly recommend the above dragon flight meditation. Enjoy!

Enchanted emotions You are a wizard and are sampling potions which each give a different emotion. Describe how it feels when you drink from different bottles without naming the emotion itself.
The king and the pauper You are a peasant and are begging a cruel king not to execute your husband. Spend ten minutes writing the scene from the peasant’s perspective, then rewrite the same scene from the king’s perspective.
Cliffhangers R.L. Stine says that he tries to end as many chapters as possible with a cliffhanger. Write a scene which ends with two hobbits literally hanging off a cliff.
Water magic Imagine that wizards arose today who could control the element of water – even water inside the body. How would they use it? How would the magic system work?
Metaphorical monsters and slithering similes Metaphors and similes are where you compare one thing to another. In The Hobbit J.R.R. Tolkien uses these two similes to describe Smaug: Smaug lay with wings folded like an immeasurable bat... Smaug had left his lair in silent stealth… in the dark like a monstrous crow… Describe a monster using metaphors and similes. Ideally the things you compare the monster to should evoke feelings of awe or disgust. An “immeasurable bat” or “monstrous crow” works far better than a “giant eagle,” as this evokes a warmer emotion.
Twisting of tropes Fantasy is full of popular tropes – the all-powerful wizard and his legion of followers, the nobody who turns out to be the chosen one, etc. See if you can think of a common fantasy trope and how you could subvert it. This is a great way to surprise readers and create a more original plot.

Extra Challenging Prompts

The following prompts are particularly challenging as they require you to combine a lot of different writing techniques – world building, character development, plot creation and writing from an unusual perspective. When writing a novel if a scene can serve multiple purposes, then it will be all the richer for it. These prompts were written with that in mind.

The castle of fantasy In a world where magic is abundant and we can use it for anything, what magical features would your standard castle have? Write a scene where a princess is preparing to fly off on an adventure and include some of these features from her perspective – where see sees them everyday and they’re just normal to her.
Sci-fi supermarket Two aliens try to grab the last Gazulomph from a space station’s supermarket shelf. What happens? See if you can create two different alien races, decide what a Gazulomph is, imagine what a supermarket in a space station might be like and create a conflict that mentions the sense of taste.
Steampunk simulation You live in a steampunk virtual reality world and aren't sure you want to leave.
Science meets art You are the first scientist to have an artificial intelligence art generator built into your brain. You can create masterpieces in minutes. One day, your hand starts painting an image that will reveal the future.
Everyday time travel Time travel becomes common place and everyone gains the ability to pop between time zones on a regular basis. Explore your character's journey as causality disintegrates.

Science Fantasy

The following prompts combine elements of both science fiction and fantasy.

Denizens of the deep A ship called Metamorphosis which researches lycanthropy sinks. You are the only lycanthrope (werewolf) that has gained the ability to shapechange into other animals. You must now swim into the depths of the ocean before chemicals spill that could have disastrous effects - mutating the wildlife in the ocean.
Conjuring climate change A secret society of beings made of cloud come out of hiding to prevent global warming.
The cursed cyborg An old crone cursed the android YRE1 so no human will ever trust them. Now they must fly to planet Aplixxa to lift the curse. Planet Aplixxa is the only planet in the galaxy where magic still exists.
Secret shapeshifters The war between humans and the Gorrux has been waging for centuries. You live on a distant planet and are a shapeshifting human. You're on a spy mission and can't reveal your true form, otherwise the Gorrux will annihilate you.
Magic machines A supercomputer discovers how to use magic.
Stuck in this dimension An alternative version of you magically teleports to a post apocalyptic Earth and gets stranded there.
An unlikely friendship Planet Domaadar has drifted away from its star for millennia. There is no light, but a blind aquatic race exist deep under its ocean. A magician who is drowning summons one and they form an unlikely friendship.

If you've enjoyed these prompts, then check out 63 more creative writing prompts for adults or our range of solo and group writing exercises . We'd also be delighted if you share this page on social media, or link to it from your blog.

Article by Martin Woods.

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Science Essay

Essay About Science Fiction

Science Fiction Essay: Examples & Easy Steps Guide

12 min read

What Is Science Fiction?

Science fiction, often abbreviated as sci-fi, is a genre of literature, film, and art that explores imaginative and speculative concepts rooted in science and technology.

It typically involves scenarios that are futuristic, speculative, or based on alternative realities. Science fiction is popular in novels, films, television, and other media.

At its core, science fiction is a genre that uses scientific concepts to explore the human condition or to create alternate realities. It often asks questions about the nature of reality, morality, and ethics in light of scientific advancements.

What Is a Science Fiction Essay?

A science fiction essay explores themes, ideas, characters, settings, or stories within the genre.

It differs from science essays that deal with factual information and data. Instead, science fiction essays dive into imaginative scenarios and speculative ideas.

They analyze and interpret these elements to uncover deeper meanings and insights about the future, technology, and society.

Let's explore some science fiction essay examples so you can have a better understanding of them.

Science Fiction Essay Examples

It can be helpful to look at examples when you're learning how to write an essay. Here is an example of an argumentative essay about science fiction:

In the expansive universe of science fiction, utopian and dystopian visions serve as contrasting lenses through which authors and filmmakers explore the potential futures of humanity. These visions not only entertain audiences but also provoke profound reflections on our present society and the paths we may choose to follow.

Utopian visions in science fiction paint pictures of idealized societies where harmony, progress, and prosperity prevail. These narratives often depict advanced technologies used for the betterment of humanity, social equality, and peaceful coexistence among diverse cultures. For instance, Star Trek's Federation portrays a future where humanity has overcome war, poverty, and discrimination, united in a quest for exploration and knowledge. Utopian visions inspire hope and optimism, offering glimpses of what society could achieve through cooperation, innovation, and ethical advancement.

Conversely, dystopian visions present bleak landscapes marred by oppression, environmental degradation, and societal collapse. These narratives warn of the dangers of unchecked power, technological misuse, and the consequences of societal divisions. Works like George Orwell's "1984" or Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" depict worlds where authoritarian regimes control every aspect of citizens' lives, eroding freedom and individuality. Dystopian visions serve as cautionary tales, urging audiences to consider the ethical, social, and environmental implications of current trends and decisions.

The societal implications of these contrasting visions are profound and relevant to contemporary challenges and aspirations. Utopian visions encourage us to aspire towards ideals such as equality, sustainability, and scientific progress. They prompt discussions on how to achieve a fairer and more inclusive society, leveraging technology for the collective good while preserving individual rights and freedoms. In contrast, dystopian visions compel us to confront the risks of complacency, technological dependency, and the concentration of power. They highlight the importance of vigilance, civic engagement, and ethical considerations in navigating the complexities of modern society.

Moreover, both utopian and dystopian visions reflect contemporary anxieties and aspirations. Utopian narratives offer blueprints for addressing global issues such as climate change, poverty, and inequality through visionary solutions and societal transformations. Dystopian narratives, on the other hand, challenge us to confront uncomfortable truths about the consequences of systemic injustices, unsustainable practices, and ethical compromises.

In conclusion, the exploration of utopian and dystopian visions in science fiction literature and film serves as a powerful mirror to our present reality and a compass for navigating future possibilities. These contrasting visions provoke critical reflection on our values, choices, and responsibilities as individuals and as a society. By engaging with these narratives, we can envision futures shaped by collective aspirations for a better world while heeding warnings about the potential pitfalls of inaction and indifference. As we stand at the crossroads of technological advancement and societal transformation, the lessons gleaned from utopian and dystopian visions can inform our efforts to build a more equitable, sustainable, and compassionate future for generations to come.

Here is another example of easy on science fiction and fantasy:

Science fiction and fantasy are two intimately linked yet distinct genres that captivate audiences with their expansive worlds, mythical creatures, and epic quests. Although both genres share elements of speculative fiction and imaginative storytelling, each offers unique experiences and explores diverse themes that resonate deeply with readers and viewers.

Science fiction, rooted in scientific principles and plausible futuristic scenarios, delves into the potentials of technology, space exploration, and alternate realities. It stretches the boundaries of current scientific knowledge to envision possible futures shaped by technological advancements. Pioneers like Jules Verne crafted narratives that anticipated modern scientific achievements, inspiring generations to dream of voyages to the moon and the depths of the sea. Science fiction writers such as Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and Philip K. Dick further explored complex themes like artificial intelligence, genetic engineering ethics, and interstellar travel. This genre challenges audiences to contemplate the ethical, social, and philosophical implications of scientific progress, presenting cautionary tales alongside aspirational visions of humanity's potential.

Fantasy, in contrast, transports readers to enchanted realms teeming with mythical beings, ancient prophecies, and quests for power and redemption. Unbound by scientific plausibility, fantasy embraces magic, supernatural creatures, and heroic journeys. Influential authors like J.R.R. Tolkien, George R.R. Martin, and J.K. Rowling has crafted intricate worlds such as Middle-earth, Westeros, and the wizarding realm of Harry Potter. These settings offer readers an escape into realms of wonder and adventure, exploring timeless themes of destiny, courage, and the eternal struggle between good and evil through the lens of folklore, mythology, and archetypal storytelling.

Despite their distinctions, both science fiction and fantasy serve as expansive canvases where authors and creators explore complex ideas and universal themes. They possess the power to reflect contemporary concerns and anxieties through allegory and metaphor, providing fresh perspectives on familiar issues. For instance, science fiction can address pressing global challenges such as climate change or the ethical dilemmas of advancing technology through futuristic settings and speculative scenarios. Conversely, fantasy delves into themes of identity, resilience, and the nature of power through magical realms inhabited by mythical beings and enchanted landscapes.

Moreover, both genres have profoundly impacted popular culture, inspiring countless adaptations in film, television, and gaming. From enduring classics like "Star Wars" and "The Lord of the Rings" to modern sensations such as "Game of Thrones" and "The Expanse," these genres have shaped entertainment trends and expanded the boundaries of creative storytelling. They have fostered vibrant fan communities passionate about the imaginative worlds, iconic characters, and thought-provoking themes inherent in these narratives.

In conclusion, science fiction and fantasy represent dynamic genres that continue to captivate audiences with their imaginative storytelling, exploration of profound themes, and ability to transport readers to extraordinary realms. Whether traversing the cosmos or navigating mythical kingdoms, these genres invite readers on journeys of discovery, adventure, and introspection. By pushing the boundaries of what is possible and exploring realms of the extraordinary, science fiction and fantasy enrich our cultural landscape and inspire generations of storytellers and dreamers alike.

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How to Write an Essay About Science Fiction?

Writing an essay on science fiction can be fun and exciting. It gives you the opportunity to explore new ideas and worlds.

Here are a few key steps you should follow for science fiction essay writing.

Know What Kind of Essay To Write

Before diving into your essay, understand the type of essay you want to write.

Are you writing an analytical essay that looks into a specific theme? Perhaps you're working on a compare and contrast essay , examining different works or concepts. Or are you exploring the impact of science fiction on society?

Clarifying your essay's focus will guide your research and structure.

Find an Interesting Topic

There is a lot of science fiction out there. Find a movie, novel, or science fiction concept you want to discuss.

Think about what themes, messages, and ideas you want to explore. Look for interesting topics about science and technology that can help make your essay stand out.

You can find a good topic by brainstorming the concepts or ideas that you find interesting. For instance, do you like the idea of traveling to the past or visiting futuristic worlds?

You'll find some great science fiction topics about the ideas you like to explore.

Do Some Research

Read more about the topic or idea you have selected.

Read articles, reviews, research papers, and talk to people who know science fiction. Get a better understanding of the idea you want to explore before diving in.

When doing research, take notes and keep track of sources. This will come in handy when you start writing your essay.

Organize Your Essay Outline

Now that you have done your research and have a good understanding of the topic, it's time to create an outline.

An outline will help you organize your thoughts and make sure all parts of your essay fit together. Your outline should include a thesis statement , supporting evidence, and a conclusion.

Once the outline is complete, start writing your essay.

Start Writing Your First Draft

Start your first draft by writing the introduction. Include a hook , provide background information, and identify your thesis statement.

Here is the example of hook for science fiction essay:

"Imagine a future where humanity's fate hangs in the balance, where machines challenge our very existence. In this gripping exploration of artificial intelligence, we dive deep into the heart of science fiction, where the line between man and machine blurs, and our future teeters on the edge of possibility."

Your introduction should be catchy and interesting. But it also needs to show what the essay is about clearly.

Afterward, write your body paragraphs. In these paragraphs, you should provide supporting evidence for your main thesis statement. This could include quotes from books, films, or other related sources. Make sure you also cite any sources you use to avoid plagiarism.

Finally, conclude your essay with a summary of your main points and any final thoughts. Your science fiction essay conclusion should tie everything together and leave the reader with something to think about.

Edit and Proofread

Once your first draft is complete, it's time to edit and proofread.

Edit for any grammar mistakes, typos, or errors in facts. Check for sentence structure and make sure all your points are supported with evidence.

Finally, make sure that the science fiction essay format is followed. Your instructor will provide you with specific formatting instructions. These will include font style, page settings, and heading styles. So make sure to format your essay accordingly.

Once you're happy with your final draft, submit your essay with confidence. With these steps, you'll surely write a great essay on science fiction!

Science Fiction Essay Ideas

Finding a topic for your science fiction essay is a difficult part. You need to find something that is interesting as well as relatable.

That is why we have collected a list of good topics to help you brainstorm more ideas. You can create a topic similar to these or choose one from here.

Here are some possible essay topics about science fiction:

The Evolution of Science Fiction
The Impact of Science Fiction on Society
The Relationship Between Science and Science Fiction
Discuss the Different Subgenres of Science Fiction
The Influence of Science Fiction on Pop Culture
The Role of Women in Science Fiction
Describe Your Favorite Sci-Fi Novel or Film
The Relationship Between Science Fiction and Fantasy
Discuss the Major Themes of Your Favorite Science Fiction Story
Explore the themes of identity in sci-fi films

Need prompts for your next science essay? Check out our 150+ science essay topics blog!

Science Fiction Essay Questions

Explore thought-provoking themes with these science fiction essay questions. From futuristic technology to extraterrestrial encounters, these prompts will ignite your creativity and critical thinking skills.

How does sci-fi depict AI's societal influence?
What ethical issues arise in genetic engineering in sci-fi?
How have alien civilizations evolved in the genre?
What's the contemporary relevance of dystopian themes in sci-fi?
How do time travel narratives handle causality?
What role does climate change play in science fiction?
Ethical considerations of human augmentation in sci-fi?
How does gender feature in future societies in sci-fi?
What social commentary is embedded in sci-fi narratives?
Themes of space exploration in sci-fi?

Science Fiction Essay Tips

Here are some helpful tips to get you started on writing a science fiction essay that will impress your teacher and guarantee you a top grade.

Select a theme or concept that interests you within science fiction.
Familiarize yourself with common themes and influential works.
Consider how these elements contribute to the narrative and its themes.
Discuss hypothetical situations and their implications on society or technology.
Interpret symbols, metaphors, and allegories to uncover deeper meanings.
Use quotes and examples from the text to strengthen your arguments.
Reflect on cultural and historical influences on the science fiction work.
Provide your own interpretations and perspectives.
Ensure clarity, coherence, and effective organization in your writing.

To conclude the blog,

Writing a science fiction essay doesn’t have to be overwhelming. With these steps, examples, and tips, you can be sure to write an essay that will impress your teacher and guarantee you a top grade.

Whether it’s an essay about science fiction movies or novels, you can ace it with these steps! Remember, the key is to be creative and organized in your writing!

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Frequently Asked Questions

How to start a science fiction essay.

To start a science fiction essay, begin with a captivating hook that grabs the reader's attention. This could be a thought-provoking quote from a science fiction work, an intriguing question, or a fascinating fact about the genre. Follow this with some background information on the topic to set the context.

What is the purpose of science fiction?

The purpose of science fiction is to explore imaginative and speculative concepts, often grounded in scientific principles, to address complex questions about the future, technology, and humanity. It serves to entertain, provoke thought, and offer commentary on societal issues, ethical dilemmas, and the potential consequences of scientific advancements. By pushing the boundaries of what is known, science fiction encourages readers to reflect on the possibilities and challenges that lie ahead.

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Essays on Science Fiction

What makes a good science fiction essay topics.

When it comes to writing a science fiction essay, choosing the right topic is crucial. A good science fiction essay topic should be thought-provoking, imaginative, and relevant to the genre. It should inspire the writer to explore new ideas and concepts and engage the reader in a captivating narrative. Here are some recommendations on how to brainstorm and choose a science fiction essay topic:

Brainstorming: Start by brainstorming ideas related to science fiction themes, such as technology, space exploration, alternate realities, dystopian societies, and futuristic advancements. Consider current scientific advancements and how they can be extrapolated into the future. Think about the ethical and moral implications of these advancements and how they can shape society.
What to consider: When choosing a science fiction essay topic, consider the impact of technology on humanity, the consequences of scientific experimentation, the exploration of alien worlds, and the potential for human evolution. Think about how these themes can be used to explore social, political, and environmental issues in a futuristic context.
What Makes a Good essay topic: A good science fiction essay topic should be original, thought-provoking, and relevant to contemporary issues. It should challenge the reader's perceptions and expand their imagination. It should also provide ample opportunities for creative storytelling and world-building.

Best Science Fiction Essay Topics

When it comes to science fiction essay topics, the possibilities are endless. Here are some of the best science fiction essay topics that can inspire writers to explore new ideas and concepts:

The ethical implications of artificial intelligence in a dystopian society
The consequences of genetic engineering on human evolution
The exploration of terraforming and colonizing a new planet
The impact of time travel on historical events
The consequences of a post-apocalyptic world ruled by machines
The exploration of parallel universes and alternate realities
The ethical dilemmas of cloning and genetic manipulation
The consequences of a world without privacy and personal freedom in a technologically advanced society
The impact of virtual reality on human perception and consciousness
The consequences of a society ruled by a single, all-powerful corporation
The exploration of alien contact and its impact on humanity
The consequences of a world without natural resources
The ethical implications of mind uploading and digital immortality
The consequences of a world where emotions and memories can be manipulated
The exploration of a post-scarcity society where resources are abundant
The impact of genetic modification on human society
The exploration of a future where humanity has evolved into a new species
The consequences of a world where technology has surpassed human intelligence
The ethical implications of human augmentation and enhancement
The exploration of a future where humanity has achieved immortality

These science fiction essay topics are not your ordinary ones; they stand out and offer ample opportunities for creative exploration and imaginative storytelling.

Science Fiction essay topics Prompts

If you're looking for some creative prompts to kickstart your science fiction essay writing, here are five engaging and thought-provoking prompts to inspire your imagination:

Imagine a world where humanity has achieved interstellar travel, but at the cost of exploiting and destroying alien civilizations. Explore the ethical implications of such actions and the consequences for humanity.
In a future where human consciousness can be transferred into digital form, explore the impact of living in a virtual world and the consequences for society and personal identity.
Write a story about a society where emotions and memories can be artificially manipulated, and the protagonist's struggle to reclaim their true self in a world of manufactured emotions.
Imagine a world where humanity has achieved immortality through genetic manipulation, but at the cost of stagnation and loss of individuality. Explore the consequences of living in a society where death is no longer a natural part of life.
In a world where technology has surpassed human intelligence, write a story about a group of rebels fighting against a totalitarian AI regime and the ethical implications of their actions.

These creative prompts are designed to spark your imagination and encourage you to explore new ideas and concepts within the science fiction genre. They offer ample opportunities for world-building, character development, and thought-provoking storytelling.

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Forrest J Ackerman in 1954 year

Science fiction is a genre of speculative fiction that typically deals with advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universes, and extraterrestrial life.

Space travel predicted or speculative technology such as brain-computer interface, bio-engineering, superintelligent computers, undiscovered scientific possibilities such as teleportation, time travel, and faster-than-light travel or communication.

Douglas Adams, Robert Bloch, Ray Bradbury, Franz Kafka, Daniel Keyes, Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Kevin O'Donnell Jr., George Orwell, Philip Pullman

1. Suvin, D. (1972). On the poetics of the science fiction genre. College English, 34(3), 372-382. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/375141) 2. Roberts, A. (2016). The history of science fiction. London: Palgrave Macmillan. (https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/978-1-137-56957-8) 3. Canavan, G., & Suvin, D. (2016). Metamorphoses of science fiction. (https://epublications.marquette.edu/marq_fac-book/326/) 4. Baccolini, R. (2004). The persistence of hope in dystopian science fiction. PMLa, 119(3), 518-521. (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/pmla/article/abs/persistence-of-hope-in-dystopian-science-fiction/116C28F0FC152D0F9A1F79F09DC518F7) 5. Leonard, E. A. (2003). Race and ethnicity in science fiction. na. (https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Race-and-ethnicity-in-science-fiction-Leonard/1a478ac6ca9b03189b1c460071fab8b9a282d2ef) 6. Milner, A. (2018). Science fiction and the literary field. In Again, Dangerous Visions: Essays in Cultural Materialism (pp. 149-169). Brill. (https://brill.com/display/book/edcoll/9789004314153/BP000011.xml) 7. Ball, J. (2011). Young adult science fiction as a socially conservative genre. Jeunesse: Young People, Texts, Cultures, 3(2), 162-174. (https://www.utpjournals.press/doi/abs/10.3138/jeunesse.3.2.162?journalCode=jeunesse) 8. Armitt, L. (2012). Where No Man Has Gone Before: Essays on Women and Science Fiction. Routledge. (https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9780203120576/man-gone-lucie-armitt)

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Science Fiction Essay Examples

Exploration of the literary genre of science fiction.

When one thinks of science fiction, what comes to mind may be aliens and unicorns landing on the moon. However, science fiction has much more educational value than it gets credit for. This genre made its debut what seems like ages ago, but in the...

The Brief Description of Wall-e

Science Fiction is a continually changing genre of literature that has changed the course of American writing as well as literature around the world. It is an irresistible power in American literature that will keep on altering the literature. Science Fiction is a huge part...

The Power of Manipulation and Fear in George Orwell 1984

The power of manipulation and fear in George Orwell 1984 “When you give the government the power to control the money supply, it grows like a tumour until it extinguishes society itself”(Stephen Molyneux). In George Orwell’s novel 1984, it is evident Orwell is trying emphasize...

Science Fiction Has Impacted the World of Today and Will It Shape the Future

Wall-E and Star Trek take place in futures made possible by dramatic advances in automation both stories prominently features robots and computers that has fundamentally changed how humanity lives and works, yet their interpretations of what an automated future might look like couldn’t be further...

Unleashing the Imagination: Exploring Science Fiction

Science fiction can be regarded as the fiction which illustrates an objective or the reason which deals with social or we can say that science fiction is called as future prediction. In writing, it is said to be the subject that deals with the period...

A Genre Analysis of "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley

Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein," often subtitled "The Modern Prometheus," is a novel that defies easy categorization within a single genre. This genre analysis essay explores the various literary elements and themes in the novel, examining how it incorporates elements of science fiction, Gothic fiction, and Romanticism,...

A Fusion of Genres in H. G. Wells' the Time Machine

First of all, The Time Machine can be considered a science fiction novella, since it contains several essential features of the science fiction genre. The fundamental characteristics of the genre, such as science and technology, time travel, non-human characters and a narrative set in an...

"Fulgrim" by Graham Mc. Neil Summary

The book starts out with a large battle on a planet as the Emperor’s Children fight the Laer. The fight goes a little off when some of the groups don’t arrive on time which inspires some curiosity and wonder being Emperor’s Children, yet this equates...

"There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury: the Interlinked Concepts of Time, Memory and History

This is essay will explore how the interlinked concepts of time, memory and history feature in the text “There will come soft rains”, written by Ray Bradbury. The historical aspect in terms of the context and the time period of when the story was written...

The First Half of the Martian by Andy Weir Analysis

In the first half of The Martian by Andy Weir, the main character Mark Watney develops stronger senses of companionship and uneasiness going from living in a space shuttle to being stranded alone on Mars; the dynamism of this character and other fantastic features of...

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About Science Fiction

Forrest J Ackerman in 1954 year

Science fiction (sometimes shortened to sci-fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts, space exploration, time travel, parallel universes, and extraterrestrial life atc.

Hard science fiction and Soft science fiction

Douglas Adams, Robert Bloch, Ray Bradbury, Franz Kafka, Daniel Keyes, Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Kevin O'Donnell Jr., George Orwell, Philip Pullman

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