Hi everyone,
I’m developing a sci-fi project that includes a layered cosmological model (used as internal narrative logic rather than hard science).
To make sure the story stays engaging, I have a key question for writers and showrunners:
How do you structure a complex narrative so it remains exciting and emotionally compelling for the audience?
More specifically:
How do you balance mystery and clarity?
How much information should be revealed per episode to keep tension high without overwhelming viewers?
What’s the right rhythm between “answers” and “new questions”?
How do you ensure characters stay at the emotional core when the worldbuilding is intellectually dense?
Are there structural techniques (progressive reveals, character-driven mysteries, dual timelines, thematic anchors…) that work especially well for this kind of storytelling?
I’d love to hear about strategies, successful examples, and pitfalls to avoid when handling high-concept sci-fi in a series format.
Thanks a lot,
philippe
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You could try reading some East European SF like the books of Stanisław Lem (in case you haven't already), it may help you find some different framing if not an answer to that frustrating question. In...
Expand commentYou could try reading some East European SF like the books of Stanisław Lem (in case you haven't already), it may help you find some different framing if not an answer to that frustrating question. In the context of writing SF for movies I think every SF movie cannot go further than being anthropomorphic and that is the limit of the genre as a whole that we have to accept or come to accept and not question it. I think SF screenwriters, and directors tried various strategies to hide that fact or motivate it, but this limit is there once you are aware of it even in great movies like Kubrick's or John Carpenter's (not Avatar which is the worst in this area). As a simple exercise why not look at how cats behave, they don't need a civilization to live and flourish ...they just went for a symbiosis where we do all the work for them and them after 7000 years of known shared history and 'evolution' can't be bothered to do anything else because they don't have to. Someone mentioned dolphins too... clearly Disney would give us a speaking friendly one on the screen, because it pays off.
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Radu Popp-vinteller i do agree. but villeneuve, based on the book by chiang, did a mind boring job of creating extremely unidentifiable aliens in arrival—the body design is quite stereotypical but the...
Expand commentRadu Popp-vinteller i do agree. but villeneuve, based on the book by chiang, did a mind boring job of creating extremely unidentifiable aliens in arrival—the body design is quite stereotypical but their simultaneous logograms (described as non linear orthography) which reflects their block universe view of spacetime is gloriously alien
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In creating any world, alien, human, or otherwise and as stupid as it sounds, first figure out your specie's evacuation habits (bodily wastes) and plumbing systems. I know it sounds stupid, but once y...
Expand commentIn creating any world, alien, human, or otherwise and as stupid as it sounds, first figure out your specie's evacuation habits (bodily wastes) and plumbing systems. I know it sounds stupid, but once you figure this out, (and mind you, you don't have to mention it anywhere in your story) you'll start to think about their day to day activities. Are they a day species or nocturnal. Are they a clean society or one that lives in debris. Are their waterways clean and life giving or polluted and bacteria ridden All of these factors will start to fall into place building up to, but not limited to, the motivations between the more advanced of the species to the lowest form of survivor behavior. Again, you don't have to mention any of this, but it literally sets the stage for the advancement of a civilization. Try it for a few days and if it's not working for you, try something else. It helps me create worlds.
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Philip David Lee sh!t out ya worlds!
(i mean that as a compliment)
James LO Thanks James. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it actually takes you away from your world building to looking at it as not something mystical or extravagant, but puts the world in a more grou...
Expand commentJames LO Thanks James. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it actually takes you away from your world building to looking at it as not something mystical or extravagant, but puts the world in a more grounded focus.