Your protagonist is pinned down, enemy laser cannons blasting into the Venusian rocks she’s hiding behind, hopes of rescuing her fellow astronauts fading toward impossibility. Her need has propelled her this far, into a pursuit outside her normal world. The storming of a planet. A price paid. And whether or not she achieves her goal, she’ll return home a changed woman.
Hers is a universal story, as old as myth. Not because of the AI drones, oxygen leaks, and wormhole-time-travel (in fact, despite them), but because of the structure. The basic building blocks and the universal language of story.
Twelve sci-fi novelists have come together to offer their insights into this universal language. With their experience—and your passion—you’ll be able to get your protagonist out from behind her rock and sprinting toward the end.
Establishing the Protagonist
The first step in the hero’s plotline is establishing her status quo in the story. In science fiction, it’s especially important to set the hero in her known reality because not only will the protagonist change, but so will the world around her.
When it comes to setting the hero in her world, Pierce Brown, bestselling author of , offers this advice: “To
