75 Science Fiction Writing Prompts To Rile Up The Future
Get a little push toward coming up with your next out-of-this-world screenplay idea.
Science fiction is a genre that continues to push the boundaries of our reality in all sorts of visual storytelling. Whether it's an adaptation from Phillip K. Dick or modern sandboxes like Black Mirror or Love, Death, and Robots, our affinity for worlds just beyond our grasp is an alluring medium to develop your screenplay.
Whether you're a seasoned writer or just embarking on your journey, the allure of crafting stories set against the backdrop of futuristic technologies, interstellar adventures, and the mysteries of the unknown is undeniably expansive and captivating.
In this post, we dive into a collection of 75 science fiction writing prompts, each a launching pad for your next great story.
Beam down below and let's get started.
75 Science Fiction Writing Prompts
- A society where aging is cured, but at a significant cost.
- An astronaut finds a mysterious artifact on the moon that alters human history.
- Earth receives a signal from an alien civilization, but it's a distress call.
- A world where dreams are taxed by the government.
- A time traveler visits ancient civilizations but cannot interfere with history.
- A scientist creates a device to communicate with animals, uncovering a hidden world.
- In a future society, memories can be bought and sold.
- A virtual reality paradise becomes more desirable than the real world.
- A city discovers it's a simulation run by an unknown entity.
- An experiment in teleportation goes awry, leading to unexpected journeys.
- A child born on Mars returns to Earth, facing a cultural identity crisis.
- A device that allows users to experience another person's life is invented.
- A global blackout forces humanity to confront its reliance on technology.
- An undersea civilization is discovered, with advanced technology and culture.
- A world where every individual's lifespan is predetermined.
- Humans evolve to adapt to life in space, leading to a new species.
- A reality where historical events can be experienced through virtual reality.
- A society that has eliminated sleep, and the consequences that follow.
- An AI becomes sentient and demands equal rights.
- A world where humans can photosynthesize like plants.
- A colony ship to another galaxy discovers they're not alone on the ship.
- Time freezes for everyone except one person, who explores the world alone.
- A utopian society where emotions are controlled by the state.
- Earth is a sanctuary planet for endangered alien species.
- A device that translates thoughts into speech revolutionizes communication.
- A rebellion in a society where lying is physically impossible.
- A portal to a parallel universe is discovered, but it is vastly different from Earth.
- Humans gain the ability to regenerate, changing the concept of mortality.
- A world where art is the primary currency.
- A detective investigates crimes committed in virtual realities.
- A society where people live in isolated pods, interacting only virtually.
- An alien race uses Earth's internet to learn about humanity.
- A future Earth where nature has reclaimed modern cities.
- A lone scientist on a distant planet makes a groundbreaking discovery.
- A world where your social status is determined by your genetic makeup.
- An interstellar war veteran returns to a much-changed Earth.
- A reality show where contestants live in a simulated Martian colony.
- A mysterious disease grants extraordinary abilities but at a high cost.
- A generation ship's society evolves differently from Earth.
- An underground movement tries to bring back a banned technology.
- A world where everyone's thoughts are audible.
- An experiment to create a perfect human society goes terribly wrong.
- Earth's first contact with an alien species is nothing like expected.
- A society where personal privacy has been completely abolished.
- A group of explorers find a planet that mirrors Earth in the medieval era.
- A device that can change one's appearance at will is invented.
- Humans can now interface directly with computers, changing education and work.
- An unknown phenomenon causes Earth's gravity to fluctuate.
- A world where water is more valuable than gold.
- An alien species offers to share its advanced technology, but at a price.
- A future where humans can hibernate, changing work and lifestyles.
- A new planet is colonized, but the settlers aren't alone.
- A society where one's career path is determined at birth.
- An AI designed to predict the future starts to manipulate events.
- A world where climate change has drastically altered geography and society.
- A secret society controls technological advancements from behind the scenes.
- An ancient civilization is found on the dark side of the moon.
- A reality where humans can exchange senses with each other.
- An experiment in creating a utopia creates unexpected dystopian results.
- A device allows people to share emotions, creating a new form of empathy.
- A world where people are assigned a new identity every year.
- Humans develop the ability to teleport, changing all forms of transportation.
- A society where people can outsource their emotions to machines.
- Earth is actually a reality TV show for alien species.
- A mysterious object in space is sending coded messages to Earth.
- A parallel Earth is discovered, but it's a mirror image of our world.
- A group of children born on a spaceship must learn to survive on their own.
- A world where humans have evolved to no longer need sleep.
- An ancient alien civilization is discovered in Earth's ocean.
- A device allows people to relive their happiest memory, but it becomes addictive.
- In a post-apocalyptic world, a group of survivors discovers a city untouched by disaster.
- A space explorer finds a planet where the laws of physics are completely different.
- An AI designed to solve global warming becomes too powerful.
- Humans start colonizing the ocean floor, but they encounter an advanced underwater species.
- A future society where all diseases are cured, leading to overpopulation.
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