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Q&A Can a person get bogged down by science fiction research?

The golden rule when writing sci-fi is 'just enough to tell the story'. If you've spent 3 years on this and you're still doing research then, basically, you're doing it wrong. Write the story. I ca...

posted 7y ago by Robert Grant‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T06:13:14Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/27106
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar Robert Grant‭ · 2019-12-08T06:13:14Z (almost 5 years ago)
The golden rule when writing sci-fi is 'just enough to tell the story'. If you've spent 3 years on this and you're still doing research then, basically, you're doing it wrong. Write the story. I can't emphasise this enough WRITE. THE. STORY. Then go back and fill-in the gaps where it makes sense or is necessary, always remembering that if it doesn't 1) move the story forward or 2) reveal something about a character, then it can probably be cut.

You're not writing a scientific paper, you're writing a story. Real science and good research can help sell the plot, but it's not going to rescue a poor story. And remember, 99.9% of your audience won't have a clue and won't care whether the science is right anyway, they're not scientists.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2017-03-10T20:38:27Z (over 7 years ago)
Original score: 1