Failing Science Fiction

From Discover Magazine:

“The first teaser trailer for the upcoming film “Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens” treated viewers to the familiar sights and sounds of many science fiction ideas that moviegoers loved from the original trilogy: a hover vehicle skimming above the ground, a whimsical droid’s beeps and bloops, a shot of X-Wings flying in formation, and the hiss of a lightsaber being revealed. Such technologies have inspired young girls and boys to become scientists and engineers, and have even helped spawn several U.S. military projects. Yet the Star Wars films manage to dazzle us with their technological fantasies without having much meaningful to say about how technology actually works.” (http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/lovesick-cyborg/2014/12/22/illusion-star-wars-technology/#.VJiUQsBg)

When the Science Fiction genre came into its own, authors explained how and why things worked, and for this reason I find less enjoyment with many modern stories that are label SF, yet lack this element. Without such explanations does the writing move from SciFi to Fantasy? Are writers' grasp of scientific principles too shallow to meet this requirement? Is that a fair assessment?

So, what exactly is Science Fiction? Turning to Wikipedia, there are a couple attempts to define this somewhat elusive genre. “According to science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein, "a handy short definition of almost all science fiction might read: realistic speculation about possible future events, based solidly on adequate knowledge of the real world, past and present, and on a thorough understanding of the nature and significance of the scientific method." [Heinlein, Robert A.; Cyril Kornbluth; Alfred Bester; Robert Bloch (1959). "The Science Fiction Novel: Imagination and Social Criticism". University of Chicago: Advent Publishers.] One of my early mentors, Rod Serling's definition was "fantasy is the impossible made probable. Science fiction is the improbable made possible." [Rod Serling (1962-03-09). The Twilight Zone, "The Fugitive".]”

I use the term, “elusive genre” because it can be divided into hard and soft categories with a slew of sub-genres. I all too frequently see fantasy stories labelled as SF thus confusing the two. It is important to label one's story correctly if for no other reason than marketing to the right group. Therefore, it behoves a writer to look up each of those genre and understand what they are, and what they aren't.

SF - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_fiction

Fantasy - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasy

In fact, whatever genre a person writes in, or thinks they are writing in, the writer should become familiar with the definition and parameters. It only takes a few strokes of the keyboard.

If you are interested in writing SF, looking for story prompts, or simply interested in what's happening around you, here's a link to obtain Discovery Magazine in your eMail free: http://discovermagazine.com/magazine/newsletter.