Home Bookish Culture What does speculative fiction mean… to you?

What does speculative fiction mean… to you?

Last week I was asked by a publishing company to answer some questions for an author profile page. One of the questions was: what is speculative fiction?

Easy to answer, right?

Well, I’ve read other people’s explanations of what comprises speculative fiction, and when friends ask me I usually name a few Hollywood movies or TV shows to prove that they do actually watch and like it. Very broad examples often include:

Science Fiction = Star Wars / Star Trek / The Matrix / District 9 / Jurassic Park

Fantasy = Lord of the Rings / Harry Potter / Twilight / Ghost Whisperer / Thor

Horror = Psycho / Nightmare on Elm Street / The Blair Witch Project

But it was a publishing company asking me that question, not a video/DVD library, and I didn’t want to just repeat someone else’s definition, I wanted my own.

So I said:

“For me, speculative stories are thought-experiments. They are fantastical ideas that take us away from the everyday, sometimes very far away, sometimes so close it’s only when we shut the book we realise we’ve been away at all. They’re the ‘what if’ of fiction, the beyond and the magical. Speculative fiction can include science fiction, fantasy, horror, paranormal, alternate histories, dystopian fiction and everything in between. But I think it’s more than that. By putting characters in extreme or unusual situations, speculative fiction can show us who we really are.”

Thinking about the speculative fiction you read/watch and enjoy (yes, even those of you who don’t think you do!), what does speculative fiction actually mean to you – what do you get out of it?

Do you like the way it makes you think about life in a different way, about the future that might come to our world? Or do you prefer to just escape into a different reality?

I did a little survey on my Facebook page (like my page here!), and I got these results:

(results as at 22 March 2012)

Facebook Poll

Thanks to these Facebook pals for responding to my poll: Mary Victoria, Marianne de Pierres, Keith Stevenson, Michael Pryor, Devin Jeyathurai, Nick Tchan, Elizabeth Ottosson, Laura E. Goodin, Nyssa Pascoe, Graham Storrs, Alan Baxter, Füzzy Mijmark, Sarah Louise Martin, Elizabeth Chick-Burton, Cary Lenehan, Phillip George, Aj Spedding, Tyson Perna, Meta Kane, Bonze Anne Rose Blayk, Tarran Tyrannosaurus Jones, Neil Gossell, and Julie O’Brien.

Which option would you have picked in my poll?

Or perhaps you have a different reason – maybe you like speculative fiction because of the essential disaster avoidance techniques it shows you, or perhaps you love the emotional roller-coaster of experiencing such outer life?

Let me know – what does speculative fiction mean… to you?

Zena Shapter

Zena Shapter writes from a castle in a flying city hidden by a thundercloud, reaching across age and genre into the heart of storytelling. A multi-award-winning author of speculative and contemporary fiction, she teaches writing at festivals, libraries and schools, judges various literary awards, mentors and edits other writers, and encourages everyone to value the importance of creativity. She loves movies, frogs, chocolate, and potatoes, though not at the same time!

17 Comments:

  1. Mark Harding
    22 March 2012 at 2:26 pm

    Hey Zena,

    Great post. I used to hate the term ‘speculative fiction’ because it seemed like the term was used in relation to writers like Margaret Atwood and Cormac McCarthy to protect their works from being tarnished with the ‘sci-fi’ brush. But I think the usage has changed a little and is now much broader.

    I think it’s hard for many people to commit to ‘liking’ speculative fiction because of its broadness. If you’re really into sci-fi but don’t like fantasy or horror, you’ll probably identify sci-fi and not spec fic as your genre of choice.

    That said, I do love speculative fiction and would have chosen the ‘inventive concepts/imaginative ideas’ option.

    • Zena Shapter
      22 March 2012 at 2:41 pm

      Hey Mark!! (did you have noodles for lunch today?)

      You know, I never even thought that sci-fi fans might not like fantasy, or vice versa – I guess because, in my mind, there is so much overlap. Take “Star Wars”… most would classify it as science fiction, being set in space and all, yet the force is both clearly a fundamental element to the plot and arguably an element more at home in a work of fantasy.

      Ho hum, such is the real life experience one would glean from working in a bookshop I suppose!

      Thanks for your vote, Mark. That’s one more for ‘inventive concepts/imaginative ideas’!

      • Mark Harding
        22 March 2012 at 3:00 pm

        I agree there is overlap to a certain extent, but I feel that the tropes of fantasy are much stricter than the tropes of sci fi (in that you can have a sci fi like Star Wars with a fantasy element but not the other way around). Speaking personally I don’t mind fantasy but I love sci-fi. I don’t think there’s a rivalry between the genres, but some people like spaceships, others prefer wizards. And I was boring and had salad for lunch.

  2. Mark Rossiter
    22 March 2012 at 2:49 pm

    Yes, great post & reply by MH above. I think I’d tick every option in your poll.

    For me, speculative fiction is a wide and conveniently value-free writing term. Perhaps too free, since it covers the range you’ve mentioned, if not all fiction (I mean, it’s all speculative, in a way). But your word ‘fantastical’ helps to separate it from regular fiction.

    The fact that it avoids the pigeonholing of the traditional genres (horror, sci-fi, fantasy) kind of opens everything up. Personally, I’ve always loved the speculation of nineteen-eighty-four, Atwood, The Road, Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban, all that dystopian stuff, but I recognise the term does encompass much more.

    Am reading Things We Didn’t See Coming, by Steven Amsterdam, and loving the weird close-to-us-but-not-happened-yet-ness of it all. Nice and grim. In one story, it rains all the time. Like 8 months without stopping. Not so far into the future, eh. Lol. Weep.

    • Zena Shapter
      22 March 2012 at 5:11 pm

      Eight months without raining? Was it set in Sydney in the years 2011/12 perchance? If so, it would surely be prophetic!

      But come on, Mark R, surely you can pick just one option to metaphorically tick. It’s too easy to say all of them… Go on, pick just one!

  3. Justin O'Leary
    23 March 2012 at 1:23 pm

    Speculative fiction is a broad term, so for a better understanding I looked at Wikipedia and now have a new appreciation for what it covers. For your Facebook poll, I would have chosen the second one, contemplating life/humanity in a different way. I prefer to write in a time period 20 to 40 years from now because I’m interested in how we’ll all relate to one another when there’ll be more gender equality and when hopefully there’ll be less discrimination in so many areas of life. My favourite novel is The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin because it covers gender and humanity in an interesting way.

    • Zena Shapter
      23 March 2012 at 2:10 pm

      Hi Justin!

      I haven’t read that novel, but have read other of Le Guin’s work. You’re right, it is fascinating to speculate about what will be, and it often amazes me how much things can change in just a decade, let over alone twenty to forty years. I guess I’ll just have to add “The Left Hand of Darkness” to my to-read pile 🙂

  4. Matthew Wright
    23 March 2012 at 3:02 pm

    Like Mark, I’d go for “all of the above”. To me, ‘speculative fiction’ doesn’t really describe the field of fantasy and SF. The term ‘speculative’ could mean anything, whereas “F&SF” is pretty specific. I was brought up on the stuff and still enjoy some of it today. “Horror” to me is something a little different – you could call it “fantasy”, but it keys into a much narrower range of ideas, tropes and thought than what is available in F & SF.

    Matthew Wright
    http://mjwrightnz.wordpress.com
    http://www.matthewwright.net

    • Zena Shapter
      23 March 2012 at 4:00 pm

      And what about the F & SF you still enjoy, Matthew… which option in my poll would you have ticked had the question read “I like fantasy and science fiction because…”? Can you pick just one?

  5. ~Tim
    29 March 2012 at 1:30 am

    I’ve never liked the term speculative fiction. As has already been pointed out, all fiction is speculative to some degree. Plus, most fiction writers work on spec as opposed to on assignment or work for hire.

    Anyway, if forced to choose just one answer in your poll, I think I have to go with “I’m fascinated by inventive concepts and imaginative ideas.”

  6. sydney Aaliyah
    2 April 2012 at 4:35 pm

    Hi Zena,
    Maybe you can help me. I heard someone describe their writing as contemporary fiction and reality fiction. Any idea what that means?

    Interesting post. If someone asked me, I would have said I don’t like science fiction, but Star Wars franchise and Matrix franchise define what I love to WATCH. I just never READ them. I should probably give these books a try. In books, I lean towards chick lit (no sappy romance stuff) and horror (Stephen King can do no wrong).

    • Zena Shapter
      2 April 2012 at 5:16 pm

      I’ve heard the phrase ‘reality fiction’ a lot recently too. I think it refers to stories based closely on the author’s real life experiences (more closely than other stories). The best person to ask though is Mark Harding. He used to work in a bookshop and knows all about these kinds of things 🙂 Try him at @ml_harding

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