From time travel to distant planets, aliens or possible future inventions, science fiction or better still, speculative fiction, has many options to offer any aspiring author of the genre. Even though it feels sometimes that many of the great ideas have already been selected or explored before, there are still so many ideas that can be looked into.

This week, I read a wonderful and captivating science fiction novel that rekindled my love for books in this genre. Life on Ampelus by Grant Winston chronicles the lives of two scientists and their work on a distant planet that is one of the many planets that have been colonized by humans.

I know you what you might be thinking… “I have read that before, and not just once but multiple times.” Many sci-fi books contain plots that follow a similar thread; life on distant planets where humans colonize alien species or vice versa. But, there is always some way you can spruce up your book and make it a great read for your fans.

Sci-fi books can be very complicated for the reader, so you need simple language and themes that are comprehensible. You do not want your book to be too complex, even for you. Keep the plot clear and build your characters sufficiently to fit the themes. Too many unnecessary scenes or characters are a no-no. You want to keep it clean and clear, especially, if your target audience is young readers.

What I liked most about Life on Ampelus was the author’s ability to describe the topography of the interesting planet. The plant and animal species were so well related that I could easily imagine what the planet would be like if it was real. Grant Winston also kept it simple, following one particular theme and letting everything else flow into it.

Too much detail is also a bad thing. Yes, unfortunately. Balance is also important. The difficult part comes in letting your audience get a glimpse of the new world you are about to immerse them in while keeping the pace going and the action happening. I think then the focus should be on letting the reader understand how the background of the storyline differs from their normal world. Concentrate on aspects that are quite different as opposed to describing the whole backdrop.

In Life on Ampelus, Winston focuses on describing the alien species. In the book, an alien named Martha is vividly described (I will skip describing her. You will not like her description). The form of travel, the plant species and the differences of the atmosphere are also other aspects that stood out.

If you are writing around a topic that you do not understand or have much knowledge about, do tons of research. Read books that explore your main theme and see how they can be stretched to create something fun or thought-provoking. Let your imagination run wild (maybe not too wild?). It is when you understand the present that you will be able to imagine the future.