Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

Post History

60%
+1 −0
Q&A The role of the supernatural in hard science fiction

I would propose that there is a simple yardstick to measure whether your "supernatural" elements are making your story a fantasy story. Imagine stripping out the Sci-Fi elements and setting the st...

posted 5y ago by Jedediah‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T09:28:57Z (about 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/44070
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar Jedediah‭ · 2019-12-08T09:28:57Z (about 5 years ago)
I would propose that there is a simple yardstick to measure whether your "supernatural" elements are making your story a fantasy story.

## Imagine stripping out the _Sci-Fi_ elements and setting the story in the present. Is it a fantasy story now? That's your answer.

A ghost story **in space** is not a fantasy story. It's still sci-fi.

A story with religious faith and maybe a miracle or two **in space** is not a fantasy story. It's still sci-fi. Example: [Out of the Silent Planet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_of_the_Silent_Planet)

A story about wizards and unicorns **in space** is probably a fantasy story. Example: [The Darksword Trilogy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darksword) (On the other hand, maybe your story happens on a holodeck, maybe? But that's still probably going to appeal more to a Fantasy audience.)

(Star Wars is a famous example of a story that would clearly be a fantasy story if it wasn't **in space** and **with robots** )

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2019-03-26T21:55:54Z (over 5 years ago)
Original score: 1