Description
Science can be communicated in many ways—so why not give creativity free rein? From travelling to distant planets to encounters between different species to visions of the future of our society, science fiction short stories transport readers to another world through storytelling and offer a new way to engage with scientific content. Exciting fictional stories meet clearly communicated scientific findings. The short story first piques the reader’s interest in the underlying science. A short paragraph then explains the study or concept and establishes the connection to the story.
Target Audience
- Adult citizens
- Children 7-12
- Teenagers
You can do it with all those groups, but we did it with professionals from different fields like public engagement or the cultural and creative sector.
Benefits
Benefits
The world is full of people who enjoy reading stories and want to immerse themselves in another world. Short stories offer an unexpected introduction to science. They combine fictional content with real research and invite active engagement with science and its findings. Creative stories can spark interest in the research that underlies them. Complex research designs can be simplified and explained clearly through a story. Authors can actively play with the tension between reality and fiction. In addition, stories have the potential to reach a large audience, and the stories can be tailored to younger vs older age groups depending on the genre.
Preparations
- Find places to publish (see examples) or use your own blog/website
- Research a study or scientific concept
- Set the parameters, such as the word count or chapters, if a longer story
- Design the setting: Does the story take place in the distant future, in a parallel world, or on Earth with futuristic elements? Is it about plot and/or character development?
- Design characters: Focus on one or two main characters
- Build conflict and plot, keeping the suspense in mind
- Appeal to emotions, for example, with personal experiences, ethical questions, or surprising twists (e.g., an open ending or cliffhanger)
- Come up with a title and a short teaser that invites readers to continue reading
- Add an explanatory section at the end of the story that explains the scientific background
- If necessary, seek feedback and revise the story
Institution
Dr. Helena Hartmann, a psychologist, neuroscientist and science communicator from Germany (see her website: www.helenahartmann.com). This format was first published in German on the website of wissenschaftskommunikation.de (https://www.wissenschaftskommunikation.de/format/science-fiction-kurzgeschichten/).
Resources
- Science & Fiction short stories: http://www.scienceandfiction.net/
- Consilience, an online journal with poetry and art: https://www.consilience-journal.com/
- Futures: The Science-Fiction-column from the journal Nature: https://www.nature.com/nature/articles?type=futures
- English short stories by Kevin Jay Mercurio: https://www.kjbmercurio.com/short
- Science and Fiction – A Springer book series: https://www.springer.com/series/11657
- The Brain Essay competition: https://academic.oup.com/brain/pages/brain-essay-competition
- The Apex Magazine for Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror: https://apexbookcompany.moksha.io/publication/1
