How To Write A Science Fiction Novel: The Most Important Tips

I started writing the Sequetus Series, which is a twenty-three book science fiction epic, in 1989. I thought it would be a fast thing to write. I sat down and started writing, with a pen.

The story is about an extraterrestrial intelligence agent who was sent to this planet to find out why it was so secret, and why it was not intervened with, by out there. There were too many points of this planet that made no sense from out there. To write this book I took on a lot of reading, writing and research. (The three Rs of writing - reading writing and research.) It took many books later before I was finished; in fact, twenty-five years. So, what did I learn during this time and experience?

I read a lot, and I studied courses on writing English in the meantime. I did learn, and here is what was most important:

PERSIST: You have to have persistence. If you want to write, take all the rebuffs, and hardships, and be willing to get around them, regardless. Be willing to do everything you can to make sure your book does not fail. This includes marketing, sales, getting great covers and more.

INSPIRATION: You will need to inspire yourself. Write about what inspires you. If you are inspired, that will pass on to others in your writing. This especially applies to the subject you are writing about.

RESEARCH: This is a very important part of your writing. You must research your subject. Go there and live it if you can. I sometimes write about battles and what it is like to be in such an area, and what might run through the minds of those present. I have spent almost a year and a half in two civil war zones, trying to end the wars. I have worked at other and different disaster sites. I have seen the dead, and done a lot to prevent death. I have worked with both rebels and government forces to end two civil wars. This is an experience of life I can use to build up my stories.

In my books I was very curious about what was going on, on this planet. I possibly found such things as towers on the moon, structures on Mars, and even a possible structure rotating about this planet on a polar orbit, long before the first Sputnik was launched. Its name is dubbed Black Knight. See opposite for its photo.

The photograph of the moon's surface above is of the maria. This is the lava that has spread out over the moon. The moon is not cold inside. It is hot. Its lava is called maria. It spreads out over the craters. The lava is created as the moon rotates the Earth. The Earth is not in the centre of the moon's orbit. So the moon is closer and then further from the Earth. This causes friction as the moon squashes and contracts when it is closer, and expands when it moves away. The moon is also not in a plane in line with the Earth. It is on a plane in line with the sun, instead. It should not be, but is, so in my story, I use it to propose that the moon was put around the Earth 11,000 years ago.

In the above large photo, is a smaller crater with a small set of two towers, with retaining walls around the crater which are in no other crater.

I was interested in what is time, and how does it connect with the physical universe, and how does it relate to life. I wanted to have my character to be able to traverse time. This took research. After doing my research I am completely convinced that traversing time is possible for life.

So research is key. Your information and what happens in your story must seem real. Your reader might think your story superficial if it lacks reality. But understand, it is the reader who is the ultimate judge.

REMOVE THE CHAFF: The best way to write is to simply write what comes to mind. But then you have to go over and over your script, and remove the dead wood. While the writer might want to have the reader read it, the reader does not want to waste his or her time and read chaff. So the writer must adopt the point of view of the reader, and ask, would I want to read this?

MYSTERY: Mystery is the mortar that holds all your bricks together. Think of your data in the text as bricks. You are the bricklayer. The mortar is what gives that brickwork strength and continuity. Without mystery you will find it very hard. More mysteries makes your mortar stronger.

With the above, I believe you can create a good novel. Remember, that the artist is very valuable in society. He dreams the dreams that others follow, and makes into a reality.

Good luck to your future writing.