Every story needs a setting. A world, a universe, even. And if your story doesn’t take place here, you’ll have to create the world. This is worldbuilding. Worldbuilding is like building an iceberg. Only a tiny bit shows, but this piece is supported by the rest of the iceberg. The purpose of worldbuilding is to […]
Sci-Fi: Science or Fiction?
Image from the 2015 story “Letters to Bobbi” by Tatum Cocotus In my first post on the cyberpunk genre, I mentioned that cyberpunk was a “softer” sub-genre of sci-fi. But what does “soft” sci-fi mean? In this chapter, I will answer this question and discuss the difference between hard and soft science fiction. So, what […]
Steam and Gleam: A Look at Steampunk
In this chapter, I’ll be talking about possibly the most famous sub-genre of Science Fiction: Steampunk. Unlike cyberpunk, steampunk has a pretty consistent aesthetic. It has lots of grinding gears, hissing valves, and pipes spitting clouds of steam. Everything is plated with brass and iron. It’s basically an extrapolation of the industrial revolution. Steampunk really […]
