Writing Science Fiction: Characters & Point of View
Populating your worlds with new lifeforms
Science fiction is known for its incredible world building, brain-melting ideas and imaginative technology. But a story doesn't come to life without engaging characters, no matter the genre, and this course is designed to help you infuse your sci-fi stories with memorable characters.
By the end of the course you will:
- Understand the difference between archetypes and stereotypes
- Know how to build characters through observation
- Understand the importance of point-of-view
- Be able to use first, second and third person perspectives
- Be able to combine character and situations to generate a plot
Course contents
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PreviewGreetings from your tutor (1:47)
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PreviewAll fiction is about people
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PreviewArchetypal characters
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StartExercise #1: Observing characters
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StartWhat defines a character?
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StartRead: Never Let Me Go and 1984
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StartExercise #2: Create a character
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StartExercise #3: Continue your Journal
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StartHalf-way quiz
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StartMultiple characters (0:52)
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StartRead: How Beautiful With Banners
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StartWhat does it matter whose story I am telling?
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StartThe points of view available to the writer – Part 1
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StartExercise #4: Using first person
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StartThe points of view available to the writer – Part 2
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StartThe points of view available to the writer – Part 3
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StartExercise #5: Using third person
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StartRead: The Girl-Thing Who Went Out for Sushi
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StartRead: Immersion
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StartExercise #6: Continue your journal
Your Instructor
Ian Nettleton is from the north of England but he has lived in Norwich for two decades. His novelette, Falling Star, was published in a science fiction anthology, Angles, in 2008 and his novel, The Last Migration, was runner-up in the inaugural Bath Novel Award 2014 and runner-up in the inaugural Bridport Prize Peggy Chapman-Andrews Award 2014. He is represented by Sue Armstrong of the Conville and Walsh literary agency. He has a PhD in Creative and Critical Writing from the University of East Anglia and teaches creative writing at the Open University (undergraduate and MA) and the University of East Anglia. He is currently editing a literary thriller set in Queensland, Australia, called Out of Nowhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Photo by Adam Miller on Unsplash