It’s always dangerous terrain to look at the different forms of story. Someone said (I’ve no idea who) that there are six basic story ideas. I put them in the same basket as those that think computers can test songs for the likelihood whether they’ll be hits (and there are machines that claim to do this now!).

I don’t think there’s any basic story idea, no universal premise that can’t be twisted into something else. There are themes though which permeate some science fiction stories, which might be generalised to help us understand possible directions for science fiction writers.

I’ve been thinking about such themes for some time. And, have even seen some writings on the subject. Most of what follows is a synthesis of some of the things I’ve read and personal observations. I hope they’re helpful for writers looking for creative outlooks that will help them approach their work:

    Distant Future
    A story of a distant future (eg. a man caught inside a ship on the edge of the galaxy that has to cope with a rogue robot).

    Extrapolation
    Where a current trend is extrapolated to such an extreme that it gives a dramatic base for a story (eg. Philip K Dick’s short story ‘Sales Pitch’, about a robot that is it’s own salesman).

    World Ending
    A story about the end of the world, usually through some scientific or unexplained means. Usually such a story involves the presentation of something previously perceived as valuable (eg. money, cash) to have no more value to the character who knows the world is coming to and end.

    The Dimensional Portal
    Where a portal has been opened to another dimension and the characters have to contend with cross-dimensional circumstances (Greg Egan’s story in Axiomatic about an S-junkie).

    The Time Portal
    Through some narrative device the characters can travel through time (eg. Orson Scott Card’s ‘Time Lid’ or Margo Lanagan’s ‘White Time’).

    Glimpse of The Future
    Where a character glimpses the future through some means which causes them to react differently to present circumstances (like the ‘Time Portal’ method above, but the means of finding out about the future might not be a device, but a dream or something else).

    The New Invention / Special Power
    Where a character has unique capabilities that cause a struggle for power / source of conflict for the story, which have been introduced by: i) a novel invention, ii) a new character (eg. a group of aliens arrive that are psychic and are exploited for this purpose), or iii) an event (a character falls and hits his head and suddenly can solve any problem ever created).

    Extremes
    Where a theme of the story is taken to such an extreme that it becomes different than what has been done before. Often, these become humorous. For example, a woman who has the power to turn everything to gold by touch (even a pizza).

    Two Themes Clashing
    When two themes common to a genre are clashed together to produce something new. (eg. Zombies and Aliens = Zombie Alien Story)

Of course, any of the above can be used together as the ingredients to make a ripping story.