What are the main categories of sci-fi plots? These types can overlap or be hard to define. There are a finite number of basic story shapes, but they can be modified or combined in seemingly endless, creative ways. This is true in every genre but particularly in sci-fi. Ever since Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein in 1818, sci-fi has asked when humans go too far with technology, a question recent shows like Black Mirror also raised. In 2011, Alasdair Wilkins at Gizmodo provided spot-on examples and analyses of popular sci-fi plots. Although many more examples have been published since, genre staples such as time travel, interstellar travel like on Star Trek, extraterrestrials and their invasions, and post-apocalypse life have endured for decades. Here are some of the most iconic sci-fi plot types, with some inevitable overlap.
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Want more on plot and genre conventions? Can’t get enough sci-fi? Or how about some sci-fi “predictions?”
