Thirty-eight years ago, the first Star Wars movie was released. In case you’ve been asleep or on another planet for the past couple of months, you know that the newest in the series, The Force Awakens, will open in theatres on December 18th. People started camping out two weeks in advance to be first in line for the latest in the ever-expanding Star Wars universe, movie number 8. While the ground-breaking visual effects of the original film helped propel it to movie history, it’s the story that endures and provides the foundation for the subsequent issues; one can still enjoy watching the first Star Wars, even if the once-very-special effects seem run-of-the-mill today.

In literature, the science fiction writer must create special effects in the mind’s eye. The rules for great sci fi are the same on paper as they are on film: take the rudiments of great fiction and keep logic as the foundation from which wonder will lead the reader’s imagination. Here are the rules:

• Introduce a memorable protagonist with human traits (whether human or alien) so the reader can relate to qualities and situations of that character.
• Present the protagonist with a dilemma — an antagonist (another being or a situation) — and build tension by before showing resolution.
• Make the resolution worth the journey – for the reader as well as for the main character.
• Research the “science” behind the science fiction to develop a firm, believable foundation before letting the imagination soar into sci fi fantasy. Keeping up-to-date on the latest science news can provide inspiration and keep the story fresh.
• Create a background for any alien aspect of the story – culture, language, psychology, history, biology or geology – even if those elements don’t appear in the finished story. That background gives depth to the alien elements, whether or not they are detailed in the story.

Science fiction asks us to suspend belief and imagine “what if…?” The most successful and enduring sci fi literature includes this out-of-this-world dozen:

Frankenstein – Mary Shelley
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea – Jules Verne
The Time Machine – H.G. Wells
I, Robot – Isaac Asimov
The Martian Chronicles – Ray Bradbury
Stranger in a Strange Land – Robert A. Heinlein
Solaris – Stanislaw Lem
Dune Chronicles – Frank Herbert
2001, A Space Odyssey – Arthur C. Clarke
The Left Hand of Darkness – Ursula K. Le Guin
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
Ender’s Game – Andrew Scott Card

Many of the authors listed have written several great science fiction books and many of the list books have been adapted to film. All of them are worth a look.