Science Fiction Project Inventing Your Alien

Science Fiction Project Starter What was the first ‘alien’ you can remember seeing in a movie or on TV? Write down what you remember about it and how you reacted when you saw it. Were you scared or were they a friendly creature?

Science Fiction Project Lesson Objective 1.To consider some of the factors that need to be taken into account when inventing a fictional alien. 2.To consider some alien creatures other people have invented. 3.To start to create your own alien.

Science Fiction Project Inventing Your Alien How do science fiction writers make up aliens? Good science fiction writers who try to invent believable aliens with bodies that follow physical rules, start by coming up with an extraterrestrial world. For example, they might wonder: How many suns does it have? What's its climate like? Is its gravity similar to that of Earth, or is it stronger or weaker? Based on the answers to such questions, the writer has an idea of how to design the aliens that come from his or her fictional planet, along with how to describe their skin, appendages, build and any other special characteristics.

Science Fiction Project Inventing Your Alien Such detailed work, grounded where possible in hard science, is what makes sci-fi different from ordinary fiction or fantasy. It's fiction, but it must also follow enough of the rules of science to be plausible. One of the "laws" of sci-fi writing is that authors can freely invent and expand on present knowledge, as long as their scientific inventions can't be disproved and don't specifically violate any of the laws of physics. That leaves writers with a great deal of leeway, but there are also cases where writers (and sci-fi filmmakers) create impossible science, which can limit the believability of a story. The best sci-fi, then, imagines future science that is so credible that scientists one day endeavour to make it real.

Science Fiction Project Inventing Your Alien All life, whether on Earth or a planet in another galaxy, evolves in response to its environment. Without understanding the environment that the creature evolved in, you'll never be able to create a plausible form of life. So for example, you should consider the gravity on your alien world: A high-gravity world will produce short, squat creatures, while a small moon will produce tall thin ones. And an Earth-like world is unlikely to produce life forms much larger than our dinosaurs.

Science Fiction Project Inventing Your Alien How does your creature eat? All life needs energy, and this energy must be produced in a way that the life form can easily convert. So how does your alien consume "food" and create energy? Really, it just depends on the ecosystem you create for its homeworld. Even if you never show that ecosystem, you should be aware of how it functions so your alien can function as part of it. And really, you should choose whatever makes the best story. Especially if their favourite snack is MAN!

Science Fiction Project Inventing Your Alien How does your creature move? On Earth & through space. Your alien has had to travel through space to get here either to knock and say hello or to invade, enslave or eat us all! Once they are on planet Earth they have to move around. Do they have legs, if so how many; or do they float above the ground like Daleks?

Science Fiction Project Inventing Your Alien How does your creature communicate? We talk, will your alien? Or will it be telepathic, good for mind control; or perhaps it uses a mechanical translator so you can understand it. If it speaks perfect English, or Arabic then it has learned the language which means it has been studying our culture for a long time.