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Jan. 21, 2004
Words Tell the Tale
Science fiction and fantasy are sometimes put together in the category "speculative fiction." Does this make sense?
Yes, if what you want is to group stories that contain any imaginative element at all, stories that speculate about a world that's unlike the one we know. Otherwise, science fiction and fantasy are more different than they are alike.
Science fiction looks at "what if . . ." questions. It considers the consequences of scientific ideas and discoveries on society and on ourselves. It relies on what we know about the universe because the same rules of science apply throughout the story as much as possible.
Fantasy, on the other hand, looks at questions such as:
- Where have our ideas and beliefs come from?
- What is good and evil?
- How do we make choices?
Fantasy authors set up worlds in which only the rules of the story must apply. They create those rules in order to tell their story.
These differences give us clues that help us decide whether an author is writing science fiction or fantasy. Pay attention to the words used to tell the tale.
As you know from writing your own stories, an important part of storytelling is choosing the right words. You want to convey your meaning to your reader. In science fiction and fantasy, the right words also help remind the reader what type of story it is.
Here's a list of word pairs. Each word of the pair has a similar meaning, so you could use either one in a story. But which one of the words gives your story a science-fiction flavor? Which one would be better in a fantasy? Use a dictionary to help you, if you like.
Science Fiction or Fantasy?
- assistant / familiar
- astrologer / astronomer
- atom / bit
- chemist / alchemist
- elixir / solution
- enchantment / state
- evidence / sign
- force / magic
- foretell / speculate
- instructions / spell
- mixture / potion
- physic / medicine
- quest / search
- realm / dimension
- scry / predict
ANSWERS
This week's recommended scifi books
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