Some of the most memorable and lasting stories fall into the speculative fiction genre. Spec fiction lends itself to extensive and immersive series that captivate all kinds of audiences. Fantastical and out-of-this-world elements stick in your mind, and the incredible powers that the characters possess and face make your heart start pumping.

Star Wars. Harry Potter. Lord of the Rings. Because of the popularity of stories like these, many people want to try their hand at spec fiction and become the next Tolkien. It seems simple on the surface—I mean, what can go wrong if you’re making everything up, anyway?

A lot. A lot can go wrong.

If you don’t go into this journey prepared, you can end up making some huge mistakes with spec fiction, and your potential audience won’t appreciate it—neither will you when the bad reviews start rolling in! So stick with me for just a couple of minutes and I’ll show you exactly what it takes to write in this world-bending genre.

What Is Speculative Fiction?

Speculative fiction is just a fancy name for any kind of fiction that departs from reality. Anything that deviates from the norm is considered speculative, even something as simple as a monster in a horror story. Most often, spec fiction is associated with science fiction and fantasy, its two biggest genres.

What Does Successful Speculative Fiction Look Like?

The most successful stories in spec fiction often have these components:

• A series of books
• A detailed world and a consistent magic or science system
• Adventure/action-based
• A large cast of characters
• Massive stakes (think world-ending)

Do speculative fiction novels need to have all of these? No, but they’re pretty important if you want to attract a massive fan base in this genre (think of the popular spec fiction stories I mentioned earlier). You can absolutely write a sci-fi romance or a “light” fantasy story like I did, but don’t expect it to become a cult classic. You may still find many dedicated fans if you market your book right, though!

Who Should Write Speculative Fiction?

• Not every writer is suited for every genre. You’ll excel in speculative fiction if:
• You often create non-realistic ideas
• You enjoy dealing with fantastical elements
• You’re good at the more technical parts of story planning like organising, worldbuilding, and creating magic systems
• You can work with subgenres (as most spec fiction stories have them)

Why Speculative Fiction Is Difficult

One of the hardest things that people new to the genre face is getting over their expectations. No, speculative fiction is not easy because you can make everything up. Yes, you still have to do research. Yes, the story and its world still need to be logical.

Spec fiction is actually difficult because you have to make things up. You have to deviate from our logical world to create another logical world. You no longer have exact real-world experiences to use; instead, you have to put a spin on your experiences to make something completely new. And this something new still needs to make sense; your readers will notice if your magic system is inconsistent and they won’t like it.

The challenge is creating something totally unrealistic and making it feel realistic.

You also have to do something new. Everyone and their grandma has remade Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter a million times; try something new! Speculative fiction fans are always hungry for new ideas.

Is It for You?

Speculative fiction may be difficult to write, but it’s so rewarding, too. It gives you lots of freedom for creativity, but keep in mind that it’s tough work. Making everything up isn’t as easy as it sounds, and unless you’re willing to put in the time to make all the puzzle pieces come together, you’re probably better off writing a different genre. But there’s no harm in trying—start out with a short story and see where things go from there!

Do you enjoy reading or writing spec fiction? What challenges do you run into? Drop a quick comment and let me know!

Happy writing!
—E.J.

---

If you enjoyed this post, I hope you’ll consider buying one of my books, donating to the blog, reading my stories on Vocal, and/or taking a look at my RedBubble shop so I can continue to produce 100% free content!

Photo by Cosmic Timetraveler on Unsplash