68 Sci-Fi Tropes You’re Gonna Want to Know About

You know when you read the summary for a science fiction novel and see that one particular detail that immediately hooks you?

Maybe it’s an unexpected take on an alien invasion plot. Or a rebellion that echoes a resistance movement in the real world. Or a story told from the perspective of a clone.

Even if the thing that thrills you feels original, it’s likely rooted in a sci-fi trope—a storytelling element repeated across countless science-fiction stories. 

Like most commercial fiction, sci-fi is filled with tropes like the obsessive creator, interspecies romance, and lovable space pirates. And yet, you can use these ideas in your own writing without being hacky. 

That’s the beauty of tropes. You can surprise and delight your readers by reimagining, innovating, and subverting old, familiar storytelling tricks.

Not to mention, tropes become tropes because something in them speaks to us. Used artfully, sci-fi tropes can help you write a story that resonates with your readers and meets their expectations for the genre.

So let’s explore the story elements that genre fans just can’t quit. I’m about to unload a metric ton of science fiction tropes, including both current trends and classic devices.

First, I’d like to make sure we’re clear on what exactly we’re talking about and why it should matter to you.

What Are Sci-Fi Tropes?

A trope is a story mechanism you see repeated throughout a genre or even across stories of all categories. 

Of course, “mechanism” is a vague term. That’s because pretty much every element of storytelling can be tropified. 

A character can be a trope, like the egomaniacal genius determined to follow through with their dangerous invention. A conflict can be a trope, like the alien invasion that forces all the nations of Earth to join forces.

Settings, themes, symbols… there are tropes within all these categories.

What’s the Difference Between a Trope and a Cliché?

Like clichés, tropes are familiar and potentially predictable. But while clichés have been repeated to the point that they’ve lost all meaning, tropes can still enhance a story, especially if the writer offers an original spin on a familiar device.

Take alien invasion, for example. That’s one of the most common science fiction tropes there is, but from Invasion of the Body Snatchers to The Three-Body Problem, we’ve seen countless interpretations of what it could mean to have our home planet infiltrated by hostile aliens.

It’s worth noting, however, that a trope can cross over into cliché territory when its execution is hollow and unoriginal.

If your invading aliens are little green men who immediately ask to be taken to the leader, you’ve got yourself a cliché.

What’s the Point of Learning Sci-Fi Tropes?

If you plan to write science fiction, it’s important to get familiar with the genre’s tropes. This knowledge helps you connect with readers not just through your writing, but also through conversations on social media and in your newsletters.

Tropes become tropes because readers embrace them. They serve as a shorthand for complex themes, emotional experiences, and the kind of massive questions that define the sci-fi genre.

It’s also important that you can recognize the tropes that naturally occur in your writing. When you realize you’re touching on an idea or character that’s been done several times before, you can ensure your version offers a unique twist or even subverts expectations.

So let’s start listing some tropes.

Classic Science Fiction Tropes

We’ll start with the classics. These are the tropes sci-fi lovers have enjoyed since Dr. Frankenstein zapped his monster into being.

Since André Delambre turned himself into a fly.

Since Orson Wells punked everybody on live radio.

These tropes have stood the test of time, capturing the imaginations of readers and writers alike for decades and even centuries. If you see any that you plan to use in your own story, the challenge for you as a modern writer will be making that old stand-by feel brand new.

There are a lot here, so for clarity’s sake, we’ll break them down by topic.

Extraterrestrial Life Tropes

The possibility of extraterrestrial life has intrigued humans for years, and sci-fi writers have had a great time riffing on what it could mean to make contact with aliens. 

The list of tropes that follows isn’t exhaustive, but it does cover some of the most popular alien-centered ideas in science fiction.

The alien cover-up - Someone knows aliens exist, but they’re keeping the secret to themselves. It might be a secret society, but more often than not, it’s the government. 

First contact - Any science fiction story that shows humans and aliens connecting for the first time contains the first-contact trope. Examples include Alien, The Lives of Tao, and—get this—Contact.

Alien invasion - Leaning into our natural fear of the unknown, this trope explores what it would be like if extraterrestrial strangers came for our planet, forcing us to battle or bend the knee to beings we don’t understand. 

Hive mind aliens - A group of alien beings share one interconnected consciousness. They’re unable to operate independently, so this one is good for exploring themes of conformity and free will.

Interspecies romance - Sometimes a human and alien fall in love. Their love story might be commonplace or a star-crossed connection.

Humans and/or Earth as a commodity - Maybe the aliens want to take over Earth because their planet was demolished in an intergalactic war. Maybe they can use human blood to cure a plague. Maybe they’re sciency types who just want to study us. Whatever the reason, we’re a hot commodity.

Alien zoos - Zoos are popular on other planets, too! But get this: their zoos include humans who are held captive in the alien’s approximation of a typical Earthling habitat.

Aliens struggling to make sense of human culture - Extraterrestrials study humanity and are  baffled by our contradictions, irrationality, and something called “emotions.”

Space Travel Tropes

Vast galaxies, bizarre planets, extraterrestrial neighbors… science fiction reminds us that the universe is full of mysteries still waiting to be discovered.

And you’ll find many of the following tropes in the genre’s most popular intergalactic travel tales:

Intergalactic war - It’s a lot like the kind of war we know, only it’s between entire planets and somehow even more is at stake.

Warp speed - The fun of space travel in science fiction is exploring distant galaxies. But getting there would take for-ev-er without warp speed capabilities.

Cryosleep - This is another great way to pass the time when you’re galaxy-hopping. Also known as suspended animation, this is when a space explorer essentially enters a controlled coma in low temperatures to preserve the body. They basically snooze their way through several years of travel.

Generation ships - Here we have yet another approach to tackling the “intergalactic travel takes forever” problem. Generation ships are massive spaceships headed for a planet so far away that only the descendants of the original travelers will actually reach the destination.

Lost in space - A shocking accident leaves a crew or individual alone in the vastness of space without communication or coordinates.

Terraforming a distant planet - Something went horribly awry with Earth, so now humans are trying to make a different planet habitable.

Diverse space stations - Several different alien species populate a space station, demonstrating how extensive space travel is and how normal intergalactic relations are in the world of the story.

Space pirates - They’re like ocean pirates, only in space. They may be villainous like the Reavers in Firefly or fun, lovable characters… like the protagonists in Firefly.

Space tourism - Space travel has become so commonplace that people with zero astronaut training can vacation in space hotels or visit other planets.

Time Travel Tropes

Whether they travel by time machine or wormhole, time travelers throughout sci-fi find themselves running into the same physical challenges, ethical dilemmas, and philosophical debates.

Here are just a few of them:

Time loop - A character gets stuck repeating the same events over and over until they can figure out how to break out of the loop.

Quest to alter history - A character travels back in time to change a specific event in the past. Their goal might be to save all of humanity or to repair something in their personal life.

Butterfly effect - This is the idea that the smallest action can lead to massive change over time. This concept raises the stakes on time travel; a visitor from the future could inadvertently cause a war with a sneeze.

Fixed timeline - In this sci-fi trope, it turns out that history is unchangeable. Even with a time traveler’s interference, fate finds a way to create the same result.

Time travel tourism - Time travel is now accessible to common folk. Go ahead. Have your Roaring Twenties birthday party in the actual 1920s.

Alternate universe - It’s a lot like the universe your characters know and even includes alternate versions of them. But there’s at least one notable twist, like spiders rule the planet or everybody has hot dogs for fingers.

Alternate history - Okay, so your characters don’t actually do any time travel or dimension hopping in this one. It’s more that the reader gets to experience the butterfly effect by seeing how a different decision or outcome would change not only one historical event but everything that followed.

Alternate history is both a science fiction trope and an entire subgenre of speculative fiction.

Advanced Technology and Artificial Intelligence Tropes

Progress is messy, and science fiction provides the perfect opportunity to explore the good, the bad, and the ugly of advanced technology.

I’m talking about stuff like…

The dangers/ethics of scientific progress - This theme is one of the most common science fiction tropes. What do we risk by pursuing innovation at all costs? What if technology turns out to be nothing but evidence of our hubris?

Technology in the wrong hands - An innovation intended to enhance the quality of life for all people becomes a weapon of control in the hands of a villain or corrupt government.

Teleportation - Teleportation allows characters to immediately transport themselves to a far-away location. As a storytelling device, it’s sort of like warp speed in that your characters can cover a lot of interesting ground in a short period of time.

Relationships between humans and technology - Whether it’s a beloved robot nanny or Scarlett Johansson’s disembodied voice, a human being experiences a profound bond with an android.

The lines between humanity and AI blur - Artificial intelligence becomes self-aware and experiences emotion, making it more difficult to pinpoint the differences between AI and humanity.

The robot is the protagonist - Maybe this allows the reader to observe human folly through extremely rational eyes. Or maybe it offers a sneak peek into the mind of a machine slowly learning how to be human.

Robot rebellion - Whether it’s because of a programming malfunction, villainous manipulation, or because the robots have become self-aware, tech turns on humanity. 

Dystopian Future Tropes

A dystopian sci-fi novel is an opportunity to imagine how a society would respond under the worst circumstances.

Who takes advantage of their neighbor’s vulnerabilities? Who sacrifices everything in the name of a brighter future? Can your reader forgive what your characters do to survive? And is this dystopian hypothetical all that different from real life?

The tropes that follow are great tools for exploring those questions.

Government surveillance - They’re using all that fancy future technology to watch everything your characters do.

Military state with terrifying technology - Citizens don’t stand a chance against the artillery, robots, and/or biological weapons controlled by the government.

Super soldiers - They could be genetically modified to possess superhuman abilities or they could use terrifying power armor to dominate their enemies (or their own citizens).

Loss of individuality - The government or society punishes free thought or individual expression. This might be due to extreme government control or it could be the unfortunate side effect of attempting to design a conflict-free utopia.

Corporate domination - Money is power. Corporations control everything. And I guess we’re still saying this is a science fiction trope and not actual life.

Environmental collapse - Maybe humanity destroyed Earth. Maybe aliens or bacteria or a flood did it. Whatever the cause, these characters now must figure out how to survive with extremely limited natural resources.

Dystopia created by “utopian” technology - The tech was designed to promote harmony, equality, safety, health… whatever. Instead, it’s being used as a weapon of oppression.

Resistance movement - A group of underdogs rise up against the fascist government. You’ll rarely find a dystopian novel without this trope. 

Modern Science Fiction Tropes

As our scientific understanding progresses, so does science fiction. Concepts that used to seem so far-fetched, like artificial intelligence and commercial space travel, are now just part of our regular news cycle.

And sci-fi writers are gonna do what sci-fi writers do: 

Imagine how today’s technology will evolve over the next several decades, centuries, or millennia. Stretch what’s possible into something that seems impossible. And, most importantly, plug our current fears about innovation into a story about the future that awaits us.

So let’s discuss the sci-fi tropes that are particularly popular in modern science fiction. You’ll see many of these in classic works, too, but the topics they fall under are hot-button issues today…

…which means the tropes they inspire are alive and well in all the recent bestsellers.

Post-Apocalyptic Tropes

Welp. So much for that planet.

The world has more or less been destroyed, and now there are a few stragglers left to figure out how to survive on this rotating ball of radioactive waste.

Here are the tropes you’re likely to run into in a scenario like that:

Humans caused the apocalypse - While science fiction still blames the aliens from time to time, a lot of post-apocalyptic fiction points the finger at humanity. We destroyed Earth with our petty wars, human-caused environmental collapse, or an artificial intelligence uprising made possible by our own hubris.

Nuclear wasteland - Whether it’s because of nuclear war or careless experimentation (probably both, honestly), the world is now riddled with nuclear waste and radioactive abominations.

The only one left - In many post-apocalyptic stories, the protagonist is the lone survivor of their species, culture, or community… at least as far as they know.

Scavengers - These are often tertiary characters who fill out the post-apocalyptic world. Scavengers are exactly what they sound like; they survive by swiping anything they can find, from food to medicine. They may be dangerous, though they’d often prefer to swipe things sneaky-like.

Micro-communities - Now that law, order, and civilization are things of the past, survivors break into smaller societies that represent their approach to post-apocalyptic life. There are violent gangs, relatively peaceful communes, nomads, and survivalist communities. Oh! And organ harvesting rings.

Nature reclaims the planet - Humanity has more or less destroyed itself, so it’s nature’s time to shine. Cities are overrun with wild vegetation. Animals roam wherever they want. It’s equal parts eerie and magical.

Familiar ruins - This is a big trope in sci-fi movies and TV shows where the image of an iconic landmark in ruins can have a skin-crawling effect for viewers who recognize the landmark from real life. Think the Statue of Liberty in Planet of the Apes and Griffith Observatory in Fallout.

Virtual Reality Tropes

Can we create an alternate reality for ourselves? Can we be confident that the existence we know is the real reality? What even is the truth?

Sci-fi asks and answers those questions with these virtual reality tropes:

Life is a simulation - The main character discovers that their entire reality is fabricated. Their understanding of truth and existence has been determined by someone else. 

Virtual reality as escapism - VR becomes a way for characters to avoid the challenges of the real world and disappear inside a more appealing life. This often goes hand-in-hand with:

Preferring one’s VR identity - A character feels better about who they are in VR than who they are in real life. 

The thin line between VR and reality - The prevalence of VR poses the question of what constitutes “reality.” How can something you experience—something that has the power to influence your life and relationships—not be real?

Trapped in virtual reality - This one’s pretty self-explanatory. A character becomes trapped in VR and must figure out how to return to the real world.

Corporate control - An evil corporation (or corporations) uses VR to manipulate and control people.

Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Tropes

The better we understand biology, the more good we can do for ourselves and the world. Also, the more bad we can do. Like all scientific advancements, it’s a bit of a depends-who-holds-the-power situation.

Here’s how science fiction authors apply this idea to their stories:

Genetic modification - Characters use bio-enhancements to achieve superhuman physical abilities, beauty, or intelligence. Genetic modification could be accessible to an entire society, exclusive to the rich and powerful, or put to terrifying use in the military. Or really any other purpose you dream up.

Designer babies - Expecting parents have their babies genetically engineered for perfection. This raises an absolute yacht-load of ethical quandaries about individuality, authenticity, and playing God. 

Clone identity crisis - A clone discovers that they’re merely a carbon copy of someone else’s DNA, leading to profound questions about identity and what it means to be an individual.

Mutants - Mutants can be good folks who have cool powers and support the spandex industry, like the X-Men. Or they can be horrifying abominations. Or they’re only a little different from/better than human beings but still face discrimination. Dealer’s choice.

Biological warfare - Attacking one’s enemies with biological toxins or infectious agents like viruses or bacteria is not chill. But it sure is compelling to watch a villain come into possession of such a small and silent killer in a science fiction story. 

Nanotechnology - Once you start manipulating matter at the atomic level, almost anything is possible. You can cure diseases or infiltrate your enemy's bloodstream. Sci-fi writers have turned to nanotechnology time and again, both as an inspiration for a compelling plot line and an easy fix when a character needs to pull off something extraordinary.

Environmental Catastrophe Tropes

The possible destruction of Earth is top-of-mind for readers and writers alike these days. Who knows why? It’s a mystery.

Nevertheless, it’s a theme you see a lot in modern science fiction, and it tends to inspire tropes like these: 

Mass extinction - With most of the planet’s resources gone, there’s little hope of survival… for anyone. Only a few species (and possibly some robots) remain. 

Environmental refugees - These could be refugees fleeing a continent that’s no longer inhabitable or beings forced to abandon their entire planet in search of a new home.

Famine - Kind of an obvious one, but famine is often a signifier that environmental catastrophe is on the way if it hasn’t struck already.

Dead zones - These are areas that are uninhabitable by most or all living things. On Earth, this typically means there’s too little oxygen or too much nuclear waste. On an alien planet, it might mean something different.

Urban decay - With fewer humans around to maintain civilization, cities crumble, becoming husks of the bustling metropolises they once were.

Transhumanism Tropes

Transhumanism fascinates and terrifies me. The basic idea here is that humans can use science and technology to transcend their current limitations and become superhuman.

Sounds nice and all, but this is sci-fi, so you know there are downsides, and those downsides are fun to explore with the following tropes:

Uploaded consciousness - A character uploads their consciousness to another being or machine. Why would anyone want to do such a thing? It could be a simple matter of convenience, like letting your iPhone see all your thoughts so it can set up your calendar. Or it can be something bigger, like combining human consciousness with mechanical might.

The quest for immortality - A character attempts to use technology in their quest to live forever. They might try cloning themselves, dabbling in bio-enhancements, or—you guessed it—uploading their consciousness to a machine because what could possibly go wrong?

Mind-machine interface - This is that fun thing where a character can operate a machine with their mind. Seems awfully convenient in theory, but should the machines really have that much access to our thoughts?

Cybernetic enhancements - This is when you add machinery to a human body to improve its function. These days, that’s not entirely science fiction. Cybernetic enhancements exist in the real medical world to help patients live healthier or more mobile lives.

The transhumanist sci-fi trope involves extreme enhancements to gain power or (again) immortality, ultimately resulting in a cyborg—a being that’s part human, part machine. 

Post-human society - Some sci-fi novels take one of these ideas to the furthest extreme, eliminating humanity as we’ve known it and presenting a society where we’ve been replaced by something more impressive. 

Maybe AI runs the show now. Maybe it’s clones or cyborgs or the electric typewriters we offered our consciousness to. 

This is sci-fi, and there are no limits.

How to Use Sci-Fi Tropes in Your Writing

Now that you’re an expert on eight gajillion different sci-fi tropes, how can you use this information to enhance your writing?

As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, the trick is to make the trope your own. 

Start by trying to understand why the trope has become a trope. Why is this idea so beloved or so natural to science fiction storytelling that we see it over and over again? More importantly, why are you drawn to this trope?

Let’s say you really want to write a robot protagonist because you love the idea of exploring humanity through the eyes of an outsider. 

Now, the cookie-cutter approach is to write your robot as an incessantly logical machine that cannot fathom human emotion. That’s the obvious take. Don’t settle for it. Or at least, don’t stop there.

Get more specific. What do you find particularly compelling or bizarre about the human race? How would this specific robot process those qualities? Take into account the functions that your robot was built to fulfill. It’s not just logical; it’s designed for a specific kind of logic.

You can even take it a step further and subvert the trope. What if the robot instantly recognizes that human emotion is rooted in impressively complex logic? 

Ultimately, the secret to working with tropes is treating them like you’re discovering these ideas for the first time. That, and avoiding the mistakes we’re about to discuss.

Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

Before I send you on your way to work your favorite sci-fi tropes into your next novel, I’d like to give you a heads-up about a few potential pitfalls. You’re capable of overcoming all of them, but if you’re not actively looking for them, they could trip you up.

So eyes open.

Clichés - I’m not talking about the tropes themselves. I’m talking about the clichés within the tropes. Little green men in your alien invasion story. Flapping butterfly wings in your time travel novel. Embrace the familiarity of the trope, not the exact execution.

Letting the trope take over - Tropes are fun! But don’t let them steal the show. As clever as your time loop is, your readers care way more about what it means for your protagonist to be caught in the loop, how they’re going to get out, and how the experience changes them.

Overused tropes - Sometimes genre fans get burned out on a particular trope. When a theme or idea proves to be really popular, writers and publishers crank out more of it in the hopes of bringing in more sales. That works great until it doesn’t.

So stay engaged with your subgenre’s reading community. Note any tropes they’re positively sick of seeing and adapt accordingly.

Get Tropey With Dabble

Understanding the tropes of your genre is an essential step in connecting with your audience. This knowledge will help you write a story that resonates with them and speak to them in their language.

Now the only thing left to do is write your sci-fi novel. And Dabble is here to help.

The Dabble writing tool is an all-in-one situation. It’s packed with features for brainstorming, plotting, drafting, revising, and even formatting. 

The famous Plot Grid helps you keep all your story elements organized. Use Story Notes to create a custom worldbuilding bible. Get to know your characters using character profiles.

We also have a science fiction template to make the whole process even easier. You can find the template here.

Best of all, you can try all Dabble’s features for free for 14 days. You don’t even have to enter a credit card to get started. All you have to do is click this link and find out how it feels to plan, write, and revise a novel at warp speed.