Fiction Definition and 151 Threads

Fiction is any creative work (chiefly, any narrative work) consisting of people, events, or places that are imaginary—in other words, not based strictly on history or fact. In its most narrow usage, fiction refers to written narratives in prose and often specifically novels, though also novellas and short stories. More broadly, fiction has come to encompass imaginary narratives expressed in any medium, including not just writings but also live theatrical performances, films, television programs, radio dramas, comics, role-playing games, and video games.

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  1. yh5598

    A planet with yearlong solar eclipse

    I want to write a story about a planet that has yearlong eclipse that how its natives and ecology adapt to this celestial condition. I am just wondering how realistic/feasible it is for some planet to have a moon in stable orbit producing eclipse for 1-3 years, every 70-100 years.
  2. E

    Why is it thought that black holes could make us travel to the past?

    I very often see in movies and works of fiction that scientists explain that with a black hole you can travel in time and how the characters use black holes to travel in time, more precisely to the past Do scientists really believe that time travel through black holes is likely? If so, why?
  3. S

    Writing Realistic Science Fiction Scenes: Tips and Tricks from Scientists

    Hi, new member here. I'm a fiction writer and could use a bit of help in writing scenes based on real science. It's harder to make something up that clearly defies the laws of physics. Looking forward to dive into the forums. I'll try not to pester you with stupid questions, but please forgive...
  4. sbrothy

    Exploring Neal Asher's Prador Aliens: Do You Have Any Fave Aliens in Fiction?

    I'm currently reading Neal Asher a little more systematically. The books I read previously turned out to be part 2 of 3 and the-like. This time I started with the standalone novel "Prador Moon" as I think the Prador aliens - even if maybe just a "little" over-the-top - is one of the best alien...
  5. jedishrfu

    What once was Science Fiction now is Fact

    Today I learned that once again a Star Trek story is soon to become fact: In the story of the M5 computer, human engrams were used to augment a new class of computers to supercede the duotronic ones on the starship Enterprise. Now in real life, we have one based on mouse cells...
  6. S

    Exploring the Limitations of QM Interpretations in Fiction

    I recently finished reading a current novel whose main plot device depended on the Many Worlds interpretation as well as Observer-Created Reality. I wasn't too put off because every science fiction - type story is allowed a certain degree of temporary suspension of disbelief. As I plowed on...
  7. L

    Writer interested in fiction authenticity

    Greets! I'm a novelist, and as the title suggests I'm here to nail down authenticity within my fiction. What drives a great story, no matter how far it stretches the boundaries? The answer's two-fold; first in execution and next in authenticity. Nothing beats a story that takes hold of your...
  8. Dr Wu

    B The Redness of Red: fact or fiction?

    This question has been bothering me for sometime now: do we actually see colours? The colour red, for instance, has the frequency of 650nm, but does this explain its "redness" as experienced by humans? Many neuroscientists suggest this is just a phantom, that colours are subjective constructs...
  9. Zeeshan Ahmad

    I Time travel is a fact or fiction.?

    In my search about time travel for Is it possible or just a fictional thing as many of our estimed scientists and researchers have theoreticalize the time travel some how possible I have found some interesting information and articles regarding the the possibility of time travel and enlisting...
  10. BWV

    Is Science Fiction really a genre?

    So is Science Fiction really a separate genre, or just a way to create a new setting for existing genres (action, war, sea stories, spy, westerns, horror, epic fantasy etc)?
  11. DennisN

    Collection of Science Fiction jokes

    I recently saw some very funny memes about Star Wars (which I'll post below), so I thought about starting a thread about jokes about science fiction, e.g. SF movies. Please share funny jokes, pictures and memes about SF and their stories in this thread. And, yes, I know, I'm such a huge SF...
  12. K

    Ideas for novel I'm writing I would love some insight on a concept

    Summary:: Ideas for a novel I want to begin writing. Brainstorming ideas and need help with a certain concept. Any help is appreciated! Hello to you all, this is my first post, and I Google searched this astrophysics forum because I thought it might be a good place to begin asking for advice...
  13. The Bill

    The real 2020 as a 1980s science fiction story?

    What could a good science fiction writer of the 1980s have made with details consistent with the real world of 2020? So, fictional cahracters, but with technology and broad events the same as what's happened this year? Which author would you think would have made the most entertaining stories...
  14. hilbert2

    Fictional Weapon: Catalyst of Cellulose Auto-Oxidation

    Has any work of fiction contained an idea of a chemical weapon that acts as a catalyst of cellulose auto-oxidation and causes spontaneous ignition of anything made of paper (and possibly wood) already when it's present in air at ppm concentrations? Someone must have thought of that during the...
  15. nomadreid

    Library classification of mathematical fiction

    Imagine that you are a librarian or a book-seller, and you come across a book which is a cross between mathematical fiction and mathematics popularization: that is, it is heavier on the mathematics explanations than a work of fiction has a right to be, yet it is heavier on plot, much of which...
  16. Quotidian

    Evaluating the Scientific Accuracy of an EMP in a Hard Sci-Fi Novel

    I'm a sometime visitor here over the years, and have posted a few questions about philosophy of physics. But I'm now working on a sci-fi novel - actually the genre is 'hard sci-fi', that is, sci fi with a realist edge. Which is what leads me here. I have what I consider to be a good idea, but I...
  17. K

    Health Effects of Working Overnight: Fact or Fiction?

    Often heard that it's not good for health to work through the night and sleep in the day, is there any medical support on this issue?? Or only a belief??
  18. Lars278

    All science fiction movies are wrong

    According to the Drake Equation there are probably 10,000 communicable civilizations in the Milky Way at the same level of development as the human civilization on Earth or even more advanced. And if there are 100 billion galaxies in the universe there should be 10^15 communicable civilizations...
  19. H

    Ice Ages & Tilting Earth: Separating Fact from Fiction

    I came across an article regarding a study that claimed ice ages correspond with extreme changes in the tilt of the Earth. I'm curious what others think about this. Is this just another unqualified scientific study put out there to confuse the climate change debate? Is the science behind it...
  20. H

    Explore a Peculiar Hollow Earth World: Gravity Possibilities

    Hello everyone! I am an undergraduate getting three bachelors in Anthropology/Ecology/Neurosciences (just to show off of course), but sadly no true physics (I don't show off that much, I'm still humble). I am working on a personal project, a tabletop role playing game, where my main struggle is...
  21. stockzahn

    I Exploring Reynolds Vortices: Fact or Fiction?

    Dear all, recently I read in a belletristic book about Reynolds Vortices. In the fictitious story the author writes about special (Reynolds) vortices generated in the whitewater, which can be passed in only one direction by objects of a "critical" density, which then will be kept in the vortex...
  22. ZapperZ

    Artificial Gravity in Science Fiction

    We get this type of question now and then, even in the main physics forums. One such question in the Sci Fi forum is from this one: https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/what-is-the-largest-possible-rotating-wheel-space-station.950770/ So I don't know of people have seen this video from a few...
  23. Anil Chadha

    Engineering (Science) Fiction - An Introduction

    Science Fictions have contributed much to entertainment and spreading awareness of issues related to complex scientific matters among the youth and the common man. It has also contributed to art etc. This has resulted in a spreading of scientific temperament and thereby has helped in adopting...
  24. hsdrop

    Exploring the Personification of Universal Laws in Physics Science Fiction

    I have a fun idea that I would love to get outside input on to help character building. What if the laws of our universe were beings that keep the laws in place by being them: like entropy, gravity, or electromagnetism? I'm not looking so much for how that would look but more personalities of...
  25. TheQuestionGuy14

    Could Time Travel In Fiction be applied to real life?

    I've watched a lot of time travel movies, most are just pure sci-fi. Bht some movies use parallel universes to explain the time travel in the plot. Here's where my question comes in: Say if time travel ever was invented, but it created parallel universes when people went back. Would this mean...
  26. B

    Research for Science Fiction Story

    I'm researching a topic for a sci-fi story. One of the elements is a "space glove", basically a network of nets that "catch" rods of ballistic projectiles launched from the peaks of mountains by railgun. Any comments or insights would be helpful. Here is a data dump of my scribblings on the...
  27. hsdrop

    Science fiction stuff that could never happen

    I would not mind hearing about some of the things that we have either read or watched in the sci-fi world that could never happen in real life (pet peeves and/or total imposables) just to have a little fun debunking and setting strate some of the thing that we have all seen that other may...
  28. EnumaElish

    AI made of light "possibly science" or "pure fiction"?

    At the end of the movie about a robot boy who sleeps a long time under water ("AI"? by Spielberg?), sentient beings seemingly made of light appear. That's what I remember anyway. Is that within the possibilities of known science? Can light particles behave as organized matter in and of...
  29. L

    Fiction hypothetical about axial rotations

    Hello everyone! I am a fiction writer with a hypothetical question. For my work I have a new planet, the same size as Earth, with a moon with just a very slightly longer mean orbit (a few days). I have been reading about tidal locking which ensures that observers on the planet only see the...
  30. DCR

    I need some science fiction help

    Hello, all. In my spare time I enjoy writing short stories in various themes. The one I'm currently working on is in the Science Fiction genre—a fairly standard "starships and space exploration" job. I've devised some extensive background for this particular storyverse (I intended these...
  31. S

    Tachyons, the Double Slit Experiment, and a bit of Fiction

    Hello, All! I'm writing a bit of fiction, and as a newcomer to the world of Quantum Physics, I thought I'd clarify a few concepts here, to avoid lapsing into technobabble. I'm trying to make something along the lines of the film Primer, which tries to incorporate as much realism as possible...
  32. Grarr McGrarr

    Sweet Spots in Gravity Wells for the purposes of fiction

    I'm a writer and I like to play in the science fiction sandbox but keep a firm grasp on what is possible. I recently started working on some notes for a setting in which we have begun to colonise the solar system. To the question at hand. The further you fall into a gravity well, the more you...
  33. Stephanus

    FTL: Who Proposed It & What Other Sci Fi Uses It?

    Anybody knows who's the first to suggest FTL? Gene Roddenberry? And what about other sci fi FTL. Do they use warp drive or other means? Thanks.
  34. Khatti

    Science Reading List for Science Fiction Authors

    This question is for the scientists and academics out there. What books on the scientific disciplines do you wish Science Fiction writers would read? I can think of books written by people like Brian Epstein and Michio Kaku. Another source would be textbooks. Anyone out there have any thoughts...
  35. Ogi

    Writing Sci-Fi Story: Creating an Alien World - Help Needed

    Hi, everybody :) I joined this forum because I'm currently writing a sci-fi story and I want to create an alien world that is scientifically correct, but due to my lack of knowledge and experience I'm facing some big troubles. I have a ton of questions(I hope I won't bother you much). So here is...
  36. J

    The Bible -- no, the other one....

    Scriptwriters refer to the reference document keeping track of the consistent information of the fictional universe as the bible. Mostly this is character background information like rarely heard family names or the like, but for science fiction it is often how the physics of the universe works...
  37. M

    Discover Literary Science Fiction: Exploring Depth and Value in the Genre

    An coworker's loves Charles Dickens and reads all sorts of other books with "high literary content". Most science fiction doesn't qualify as great literature. Lots of shallow character development, generally simplistic moral conflicts, etc. Mostly we have good stories in interesting...
  38. L

    Magic Numbers in the Nucleus: Fact vs. Fiction

    I am really not sure and do not understand how you find out what are the magic numbers in case of nucleus. Here in leson lecturer said that magic number is ##114##, and in other resourses I find number ##126##? Do we have any real confirmation of this?
  39. L

    Writing fiction, steam power, hydrogen internal combustion engine

    Question: is it possible to have any of the following - 1. Steam engine in a car 2. A steam internal combustion engine 3. A hydrogen internal combustion engine Background info Hi all, I am working on a fiction short story for fun. It is set in a parallel universe so history and a few...
  40. L

    Wind forces, sraightline v cyclonic

    Hello, I have question about wind forces on a human body. (Wind force may be an incorrect phrase.) I have looked at a few other threads but haven't found an answer yet. Thisnisnfor a fictional short story I'm writing for fun. Info - SciFi A character in armored suit is hanging upside down...
  41. GiantSheeps

    Hard Science Fiction Fans: Recommendations & Farside by Ben Bova

    If anyone else here is a fan of hard science fiction, do you have any recommendations? I just read Farside by Ben Bova and I really enjoyed it, so I'd say it's worth a read if you come across it.
  42. Marc Nash

    How Does Modern Physics Inspire Fiction Writers Like Marc Nash?

    Hi there, my name is Marc Nash from London and I write fiction. Why am I here? Because modern physics has all the best metaphors and most interesting paradigms that leaves us writers hanging our heads in shame. I am a lay person in science, having studied physics only to O-Level (in the UK) when...
  43. Borek

    LaTeX Is LaTeX Suitable for Publishing Fiction Books?

    I am in need of preparing a book for publication (collection of short stories). Simple text, no images, no formulas, the fanciest thing needed is some paragraph formatting with left/right margins, plus some titles/subtitles. Almost doable with any word processing software. But I don't trust...
  44. dontbearrogant

    Exploring Energy Shields in Star Wars Fiction

    So being a Star Wars buff I can't help but wonder if it would be possible to make a similar type of energy shield as per what are mentioned in the vast collection of Star Wars books out there, any thoughts anybody?
  45. K

    Wireless Energy Transfer: Just Science Fiction?

    There's been some buzz about wireless energy transfer for quite some time now, but it seems really far fetched to me that we will get any significant power usage out of wireless energy transfer. What do you guys think? Does this form of energy have any significant potential at all, or is it just...
  46. S

    Hiring astronomer for science fiction?

    I'd like to hire an astronomer to help me with a writing project (fiction). Do you guys have any tips on how I can go about doing this? The work should be somewhat simple (I would think at least), it involves crafting a fictional galaxy and a few star systems therein. Sorry if this is the...
  47. Greg Bernhardt

    News Celebrating Tom Clancy: A Master of Thrilling Fiction

    One of my favorite writers! My favorite of course is HRO, but I also loved Patriot Games, CPD, Rainbow Six and Without Remorse. http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/02/us/tom-clancy-obit/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
  48. S

    What are good time travel theories to use for Science Fiction?

    Hello! Sorry, I'm not not exactly sure if this post is in the right thread. But I would just like to ask what time travel theory is appropriate, and hopefully much easier to use, for science fiction? I am planning to write a semi sci-fi short story, and it involves using time travel: to the...
  49. M

    What does science fiction really mean

    Science fiction in my opinion means something scientific that isn't real (at the moment). Looking through history, star trek ect a lot of science fiction there has become a reality. I'm interested in hearing from people who teach / research physics if there was ever a time when something was...
  50. K

    Deja Vu: one amazing science fiction movie

    De javu is the best science fiction movie i have ever watched,,, the characters are amazingly matching although it is so confusing about this moves from past to present and vice versa but the movies is great :cool:
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