What do you think is the difference between science fiction and fantasy? Which do you prefer and why?
When I tell someone I like to read science fiction, they will often recommend a book that, to me, seems more fantasy than science fiction. Bookstores usually lump them together and it is true that there is often an element of both in a book. That's had me contemplating the criteria I use to distinguish the two types of books and I was wondering if other people use the same criteria.
To me science fiction keeps one foot on the ground while fantasy tends to float. In other words, science fiction is rooted in science. It uses scientific theories and hypotheses and tries to imagine what might be possible given what we believe to know. (Notice that I say 'believe' because we are always making new discoveries that cause us to change our ideas of what we know.) I've heard many scientists say that they went in a particular direction with their research and application because of something they read in a science fiction book. To me science fiction is a good choice for someone who likes the relativity of non-fiction and the imagination of fiction.
Fantasy, on the other hand, doesn't care if something doesn't seem possible-- the more improbable the better! Don't get me wrong, I read a good share of fantasy too, but I find science fiction keeps my interest better than fantasy.
There are similarities galore between the two genres. When the bad guy is about to use overwhelming force against our hero and all looks lost, the deus ex machina ending is either... (SciFi:) the phaser's crystalline matrix is finally aligned and he fires just in time, or (Fantasy): the Crystal of Power is finally within reach and he casts the spell just in time.
Vulcans or Elves, transporters or keyholes, time machines or time turners, both genres involve a fantastic setting. One deals with superior technology, the other supernatural power or wisdom. But they both use the fantastic to explore issues of human nature and the struggles of good, evil and everyday living through a lens that lets us step outside our normal lives for a better look. If we look at Romulans and Klingons engaged in interstellar battle or a dwarf threatening an elf, we can be dispassionate observers and say, "How infantile." Then maybe we make a connection and say, "Oh wait, Christians vs. Muslims, white men threatening black men, we're just as bad, aren't we?"
One thing I have enjoyed thanks to science fiction is showing my teenage son historical views of the future. What did people in 1950 imagine we would have in 2000? Many imagined we would have travelled beyond the moon. The mid-1960s TV show Lost in Space had the Robinson family lifting off from Cape Canaveral (not Cape Kennedy) on October 16, 1997. Our space odysseys in 2001 didn't include manned trips to Jupiter, let alone Alpha Centauri! But the microprocessor revolution that allowed many families to afford laptop computers was almost completely missed. Who knows how we'll get 2050 wrong (and right)?
But in either genre (and I'll admit to preferring SciFi over Fantasy, though I LOVED the Harry Potter books), it's all about the story and the characters. All the special effects in the world can't make a bad movie good, and the same principle is true in fiction. If you want to read a great book that will improve your skill at writing in these genres, buy How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy by Orson Scott Card, a master in both worlds.
David Ash Author of Haiku for Christmas
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I agree with you whole-heartedly David! I have not tired of the Wheel of Time Series because the story and the characters are so enjoyable. Alas, Jordan never finished it and we are left hanging... I had heard rumors from the Tor rep that his wife had plans to get his last book published, but I haven't heard more since then. I wait and hope.
I thought I'd read every book Card ever wrote--he is one of mine favorite writers--but apparently I've missed one. Though I don't really aspire to write myself, I am sure if Orson Scott Card wrote it, it must be worth reading.
I had heard rumors from the Tor rep that his wife had plans to get his last book published, but I haven't heard more since then. I wait and hope. 
