editing - Rewriting a scifi story to fit with actual science, should I do it as I go?

Rewriting a scifi story to fit with actual science, should I do it as I go, or just write first and make the needed changes while editing?

My world exists in my mind, clear and palpable. but I am somewhat...

Let's just say that when I read something I find annoying I usually don't finish the book, no matter how interesting everyone tells me it is.

I want my world to be as realistic as possible. It's a fantasy scifi world, but it doesn't mean it shouldn't follow the laws of physics.

So, as I come across a situation that causes me to doubt the reality of it, should I just keep on writing and worry about that when editing (maybe mark the place I need to work at), or research and deal with the needed changes now?

Thanks.

Answer

The reason why some people like hard science in their science fiction (as opposed to the "science fantasy" you see in TV shows like Star Trek) is because in clever hard science fiction, the plot is derived from the science elements. The hard science is not just scenario dressing, it's what drives the plot. So when you write the story first and then insert the science later, you are wasting a lot of interesting plotpoints which can be derived from the constraints, possibilities and quirks of real-world science. But in a soft sci-fi story which focuses more on character interaction than on the science, this is just a secondary concern.

But there is also another risk: You might write a critical plotpoint and then after you wrote the whole story you realize that it simply can not be reconciled with the laws of physics. Then you have three options, and neither is really good:

• Change that plotpoint, which means you are potentially throwing away half of your story.


• Keep it in, knowing fully that it's a plothole. A reader might forgive it when your whole story is rather soft sci-fi, because in that case they wouldn't assume anything to follow the laws of physics. The reader might also forgive it when it would be a very minor detail you got wrong. But a critical plotpoint which is scientifically implausible in an otherwise scientifically accurate story? That will make it hard to suspend disbelieve.



• Hang a lampshade on it. Acknowledge the break from reality by having characters attribute the plotpoint to some unknown sci-fi phenomenon they don't fully understand either. This, of course, might in some cases raise further question, like why the phenomenon and its implications aren't even more interesting to the characters than the actual plot it is trying to make work or if it wouldn't also affect other plotpoints.

To avoid these situations, do the reality check first, then write it down.