Science Fiction Themes: World Building (Part II)
Author Hal Clement (http://www.fantasticfiction.com/authors/... made quite a reputation for himself with his ability to create new worlds in hard science fiction tales. You can learn a lot from reading some of Clement's many short stories.
One of the most popular techniques of science fiction writers is the creation of fictional worlds that make a point about the problems in our own world. Several different writers have used this technique to make a point about the role of women in our society. Among these writers the works of Ursula K. LeGuin (http://www.mala.bc.ca/~mcneil/leguin.htm... and Sherri S. Tepper (http://www.non.com/books/Teppe_Sheri_cc.... are worth checking out. LeGuin's The Left Hand of Darkness is a must read for any aspiring science fiction writer. While Tepper's Shadowland and ???, are great examples of world building. Along these same lines you may also want to read Margaret Atwood's (http://www.web.net/owtoad/) The Handmaiden's Tale. Though not set on an alien planet, this tale of a future Earth is fascinating.
On the issue of sequels and revisiting created worlds you will want to explore Isaac Asimov's (http://www.clark.net/pub/edsiler/WWW/asi... classic Foundation Series and Robert Silverberg's (http://www.owmyhead.com/silverberg/oldsi... Majipoor Series. Both describe very different worlds but give you an idea of how far you can go with a single world-building blueprint. Of course, many authors return to favorite worlds. LeGuin has recently written a sequel to The Left Hand of Darkness. ???? takes LeGuin and fans back to the much loved world. We need only to look at the success of J.K. Rowling's (http://cknell.tripod.com/potter/jkr.html) Harry Potter Series (http://harrypotter.warnerbros.com/web/ho... to see that fans will eagerly return to a favorite world again and again.
Further Information
If you would like to further explore world-building, here are some great places to visit on the internet.
http://www.sfwa.org/bulletin/articles/bu... This is an extensive and helpful article on world-building by Patricia C. Wrede. It is primarily geared towards fantasy writing, but there is a lot of information that science fiction writers will find useful.
http://www.sfwa.org/bulletin/articles/ba... This is an article on world building written by Stephen Baxter about how he uses the techniques of world building in his own writing.
http://www.zompist.com/kit.html This site is devoted to the creation of alien languages. Depending on how detailed you are in your world creation you may want to create your own alien tongue. This site offers a lot of helpful advice for those who want to make up a new language.
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