List of science fiction novel tropes
What are tropes?
Tropes are common themes, plot devices or motifs. In other words, they are common scenarios and patterns that take place in a novel of a particular genre. For example, a common trope in science fiction novels is the alien invasion, where an army of aliens swarm an often unprepared earth!
Here is a list of science fiction tropes to use as inspiration in your own novel.
List of science fiction tropes
Alien tropes
Aliens crash land on earth
Clone has an identity crisis
Benevolent aliens
Alien coverup – the government is lying about the existence of aliens
Alien zoo – where humans are kept as exhibits in an alien zoo
Hive minds
Hive mind aliens
Aliens make contact with earth
Aliens are humans
Superorganisms
Extraterrestrial life
Humans gain superpowers
Born in a lab
Sentient aliens
Alien races with no emotions
Alien encounters
Alien invasion
UFOs
Interspecies romance
Space and time travel tropes
The lone survivor
Translation droids
Space odyssey
Space opera
Time travel tourism
Hyperspace
Slipstream
Warp drives
Embryo space colonization
Accidental space travel
Contact
Space scoundrel
Galaxy domination
Galaxies
Intergalactic war
Interstellar travel
Time paradox
Time loop
Warp speed
Travel to the centre of the earth
Space exploration
Space ships
Space westerns
Generation ships
Terraforming a planet
Space stations
Intergalactic battleships
Space pirates
Parallel universe
Time travel
Lost in Space
Space tourism
Cloaking devices
Apocalyptic tropes
Imminent death
Nuclear wasteland
Mass extinction
Dead zones
Post-apocalyptic
Post-apocalyptic world
Urban decay
Overpopulation
Dystopian tropes
Corporate domination
Loss of individuality
Class conflict
Resistance movement
Dystopian futures
Survival
Utopia creating dystopia
Utopia
AI gone rogue
Military state
Technology and science tropes
Nanotechnology
Made up technology – whack 'nano', 'gamma' or similar onto a made-up word and suddenly you have your own futuristic technology.
Domed cities
Artificial intelligence
Technology in the wrong hands
The ethics of scientific progress
Designer babies
Biological warfare
Mind control
Mind swap
Quest for immortality
Cryosleep
Shapeshifting
Parasites
Cloning
Creating Monsters
Mad scientist
Teleportation
Organ harvesting
Life is a simulation
Humans and the machine
Super soldiers
X-ray vision
Amnesia
Technologies
Genetic modification
Mind reading
Implants
Biological immortality
Robot tropes
Sentient AI
AI gains empathy
Cyborgs
Robot protagonist
War and fighting tropes
Battles in space
Deflector shields
Lasers
Blasters
Warring planets
Space drugs
Alternate reality tropes
Simulated Reality
Alternate universes
Alternate history – this trope explores what would happen if a pivotal event in our planet's history, such as a war or the rise of a powerful person, ended differently than it did.
Altering history – opposed to alternate history where a historical event from the past ended differently, the altering history trope is when someone tries to alter a event in the past, such as the death of a loved one.
Butterfly effect – where one small event results in a significant change.
Trapped in a virtual reality
Virtual reality
Philosophical dilemmas
The chosen one
Mysterious artifact
Planets where everyone wears the same thing – we've all seen this one!
Environment tropes
Ecoterrorism
Nature reclaims the planet
Famine
Micro-gangs and communities
Bioterrorism
Environmental disasters
Environmental collapse – when earth is destroyed due to an environmental disaster.
Environmental refugees
Colony world
Forgotten civilisations
Scavengers
All the best with your science fiction novel! If you're not ready to go back to writing and feel you need more procrastination – I mean, planning – time, why don't you look at my developmental editing services or free writing advice?