The 5 Pillars Of Speculative Fiction

The 5 Pillars Of Speculative Fiction

Are you writing Speculative Fiction? In this post, we define speculative fiction – with examples – and look at how the 5 Pillars of Speculative Fiction can improve your story.

This is part of a series exploring the pillars of literary genres. Previously, we have written about:

  1. The 3 Pillars Of Horror
  2. The 4 Pillars Of Fantasy
  3. The 4 Pillars Of Romance
  4. The 5 Pillars Of Family Sagas
  5. The 5 Pillars Of Thrillers
  6. The 4 Pillars Of Literary Fiction
  7. The 4 Pillars Of Science Fiction
  8. The 5 Pillars Of Police Procedurals
  9. The 4 Pillars Of New Adult Fiction
  10. The 4 Pillars Of A Memoir
  11. The 5 Pillars Of Action-Adventure
  12. The 4 Pillars Of Magic Realism
  13. The 6 Pillars Of Westerns
  14. The 4 Pillars Of Women’s Fiction
  15. The 7 Pillars Of Historical Fiction
  16. The 5 Pillars Of Speculative Fiction
  17. The 6 Pillars Of Young Adult Fiction

In this post, we will explore the five pillars of speculative fiction. (Click on pillars to find out what a pillar is.)

What Is Speculative Fiction?

The one question that lives rent-free in the imaginations of any writer is the question, ‘What if?’ Writers of Speculative Fiction fearlessly take the question further than others. Out of the house and into the dark. Speculative fiction is a less an umbrella genre and more of the darker part of the old library where the strange, the weird, the wonderful, and the darkly familiar stories lurk. To open the covers of a speculative fiction novel is to discover where the edges of reality and imagination blur. Here you will find fantasy, science fiction, and horror, as well as their off-spring…

  1. Gothic novels
  2. Dystopian and post-dystopian correspondence
  3. Weird stories
  4. Alternative histories
  5. Steampunk chronicles
  6. Pages haunted by the testaments of ghosts
  7. Superhero legends
  8. Slipstream journals
  9. The unfolding of magic realism
  10. Splintered fairy tales
  11. And more.

Speculative fiction is usually familiar to the reader in terms of history, society, or culture in the sense that it could be Earth, Not-Earth, Earth – But Not As We Know It, Natural Earth Law, or Alternate Earth Law. It is recognisable, but different. Its source is pure imagination. Apart from the plot, the worlds, lore, society, history, and geography found in the book are all created by the writer. It’s not too far a leap to say that the first speculative fiction were cave paintings, mythology, creation tales, and great flood stories. There’s not much difference between the Minotaur and Frankenstein’s Monster.

Author Paul Witcover says that the one thing that ties these genres together is the fact that the authors take the ‘what if’ question, especially the counter-factual questions, ‘absolutely seriously and logically in extrapolating answers’, exploring both the possible and the impossibility without being bound by the accepted laws of real life.

Michael Woodson, content editor at Writer’s Digest, puts it like this, “Speculative Fiction is not beholden to any particular genre; it’s a storytelling vehicle through which any genre can travel.”

The Authors

Jules Verne, Mary Shelley, Arthur C. Clarke, Margaret Atwood, JRR Tolkien, Ursula Le Guin, China Miéville, Isaac Asimov, Frank Herbert, Octavia E Butler, Ray Bradbury, John Wyndham, and Anne McCaffrey are among the many great writers of Speculative Fiction.

With all these options within Speculative Fiction are there common foundational pillars under the overarching genre? Yes. There are 5 in fact.

The 5 Pillars Of Speculative Fiction

Pillar 1. Worldbuilding

This is the foundation of your novel. This is where all the action of your novel takes place. Whether your world is the future, another planet, has a medieval vibe, a realm not normally inhabited by humans, or is the modern world you need to establish the rules of your world. These include:

  1. Currency & Economics – think The Inheritance Trilogy by NK Jemisin, or The Discworld series by Terry Pratchett.
  2. Religion – think Chronicles Of Narnia by CS Lewis
  3. Government structure and control – think The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, or Star Wars.
  4. Warfare style – think X-Men
  5. Architecture and city planning – think The City & The City by China Miéville
  6. Language – think Firefly which had a very specific way of talking and had pseudo-Mandarin thrown in the mix as swear words or when characters expressed frustration.
  7. History (backstory), especially how we got to now in the story – think The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
  8. Class structure – think Dune by Frank Herbert
  9. Professions – think Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
  10. Taboos – think Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
  11. Institutions, guilds, universities etc. – think Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett
  12. Magic or not – think The Powder Mage by Brian McClellan
  13. Mythical creatures or not – think Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett
  14. Rewards and punishments – think Walden Two by B.F Skinner
  15. The role of the different sexes – think Snowspelled by Stephanie Burgis 

NB: This list is not exhaustive. 

Whatever you choose in your worldbuilding, dig deep. Don’t just, for convenience’s sake, say ‘dollar’ for your currency without a ‘why’ behind it. And still try to make it original.

The Ankh-Morpork dollar, for example, is worth 100 pennies, it’s a coin the size of a Venetian sequin , the hardest currency outside of the Agatean Empire. Although theoretically made of gold the metal has been adulterated so often that, ‘there is more gold in an equivalent weight of seawater. In a sense, then, Ankh-Morpork is on the gold standard in all respects except the one of actually having any gold to speak of.’ – The Discworld Companion

Pillar 2. Be Clever With Backstory

Although you will need to do a large amount of worldbuilding and writing according to the rules you’ve created in that worldbuilding, no one wants to read a book that starts with a large amount of backstory to set the scene. Start your story as if your reader already knows the backstory.

You will have to tell the reader the backstory but try to be clever about it. For example, you could have on old man digging through the ruins of cathedral looking for something valuable, wood to make a fire even, and have them find a coin that dates back to the time before the orcs destroyed the building and took human women as prisoners to breed with. The copper coin could remind our hero of the colour of his wife’s hair, newly washed, the day the orcs arrived.

If that sounds too bleak, consider the backstory of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy book quote: This planet has – or rather had – a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movement of small green pieces of paper, which was odd because on the whole it wasn’t the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.

Pillar 3. Unique Storytelling Structure

If you are brave, consider writing your story with a unique storytelling structure, such as a non-linear timeline, stories within stories, an epistolary narrative (letters, emails, newspaper article style prose etc.), and multiple perspectives. Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller is a good example.

Swimming Lessons book quote: Swimming Lessons book quote: May your bones be washed by the saltwater, your spirit return to the sand and the love we have for you be forever around us.

Pillar 4. Blending Genres

Speculative fiction is the perfect medium in which to blend genres. Are you mixing genres? Firefly for example is a science fiction western TV series (the best in the ‘verse). The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger is both time-travel and romance. 

The Time-Travellers Wife book quote: Maybe I’m dreaming you. Maybe you’re dreaming me; maybe we only exist in each other’s dreams and every morning when we wake up we forget all about each other.

Pillar 5. Obey The Rules Of Good Storytelling

Despite providing the widest, most open of all the ways to write a story, all the pillars of good storytelling still apply. No matter what your story is you must have:

  1. Memorable characters – protagonists and antagonists and sidekicks
  2. Great character arcs
  3. A strong, dynamic and page-turning plot
  4. A beginning, a middle, and an end – not necessarily in that order
  5. A unique voice that is true to the genres you have melded together
  6. Excellent dialogue
  7. Mesmerising descriptions
  8. The right tone – it really comes down to what you’re trying to achieve. Are you writing drama or comedy, tragedy or romance? How do you feel about the subject matter? What is the goal of your book; are you trying to affect society, make people think, or just tell a great story? The tone of your writing should reflect all of this. Whatever tone you choose to write in, the one thing you must never do is bore the reader. 

Sounds Like Fun But Is Speculative Fiction Important?

Yes. Very much so. Speculative Fiction matters because it gives us an opportunity to explore questions of science, race, society, and the results of our current world view, politics, and ethics. Because Speculative Fiction is action-based narrative, readers can enjoy a rollicking good story at the same time.

The Last Word

If you’d like to write for children, young adults, or adults, why not sign up for one of the rich and in-depth workbooks and courses that Writers Write offers to learn how to write the best book you possibly can.

Elaine Dodge

by Elaine Dodge. Author of The Harcourts of Canada series and The Device Hunter, Elaine trained as a graphic designer, then worked in design, advertising, and broadcast television. She now creates content, mostly in written form, including ghost writing business books, for clients across the globe, but would much rather be drafting her books and short stories.

More Posts From Elaine

  1. The 4 Pillars Of Women’s Fiction
  2. The 6 Pillars Of Westerns
  3. How To Write A Bestselling Book
  4. How To Be Authentic As A Writer
  5. How To Use Contrast In Writing
  6. What Is Memory? & How To Use Memory In Writing
  7. How To Write Historically Correct Books Without Offending Modern Sensibilities
  8. Books That Didn’t Age Well
  9. Authors With Different Pen Names For Different Genres
  10. Authors With One Pen Name Across Different Genres

Top Tip: Find out more about our workbooks and online courses in our shop.

Posted on: 21st October 2025
(464 views)