Star Wars & The Science Fiction Author: What You Can Learn | Scott Gilmore

With such a hugely popular franchise as Star Wars, the science fiction author should be able to learn a lot. Here is what we can learn as writers from George Lucas’ original trilogy.

 

 

As a science fiction author, it all starts from my childhood. Ever since I was a child, I remember being engrossed with the original trilogy of George Lucas’ Star Wars. As a young boy, I was enveloped in the struggle of the Luke Skywalker against the Dark Side and Darth Vader.

In the years since the initial trilogy, there have been six other movies. With these latter trilogies, there has always been an air of controversy about how well they have been received, how actors played particular roles, and how certain multi-billion-dollar corporations may have missed the mark with their interpretation of George Lucas’ legacy.

Either way, I will always hold the initial trilogy in high regard as one of the greatest trilogies of all time. The storytelling and the world that was created by George Lucas was mesmerising. As a science fiction author, there are always lessons to be learned from storytellers like the Star Wars creator himself.

As I look to finish the final draft of my second novel, Anna’s Awakening, I like to reflect on my own journey as an author.

• What did I do right?
• What could I do differently?
• What can I learn from my writing experience?
• How can I make my next novel better?

These are all questions that run through my head as a creative person and also as an educator. Whilst I plan my Belfast Creative Writing Course ahead of its January launch, I want to look at the techniques of storytellers, like George Lucas, and see what as UK fiction authors.

In this blog, I look to share some lessons that I feel any science fiction author can learn from the characters, plot, and setting in the original trilogy of George Lucas’ Star Wars.

 

Characters From Multiple Backgrounds

As we look at what I believe to be the central aspect of storytelling, the characters, I feel that the original Star Wars trilogy has this nailed. As a science fiction author, we are likely exploring a world and a setting that is in some way different to what our audience or readership experience on a daily basis. This difference is why many people love science fiction as a genre as it allows escapism from the real world. However, in order for the audience or reader to feel that they recognise something in the world, they need to have believable characters who they can identify with in some way.

This is where George Lucas has an excellent storytelling ability. Within Episodes IV to VI, there are multiple well-written characters who will be remembered within science fiction forever. The way that Lucas was able to create archetypal characters like Luke Skywalker, Princess Leah, and Han Solo as human characters with great depth and backstory was amazing. He was then able to marry them to non-human characters, like C-3PO, R2-D2, and Chewbacca. The fact that two of these characters were able to communicate feeling and emotion through a series of perfectly placed beeps and growls show just how well George Lucas was able to craft a series of characters into his central theme of uniting people from multiple backgrounds against a common cause threat.

What can the science fiction author learn?

• Create characters with depth – it is well known that characters need to have goals and fears. However, I believe within fantasy and science fiction genres this is more critical. As the world that is being explored is somewhat unfamiliar, the characters and the relationship the audience build with them are what grounds our readers or audience,
• Instil human qualities – Even if you have characters from an imaginary background, giving them human qualities, like empathy, allows your readers to identify with the characters,
• Detailed backstory – Allowing our characters to have a backstory that is detailed and filled with intricate links to the story that’s being told can add drama and tension to the story we tell in our science fiction novel. As we saw in the three prequel movies, Luke Skywalker’s backstory was incredibly intricate. By creating such a web of interconnected stories, our audience or readers will see that the hero’s life is just as complicated as their own.

 

Characters’ Inner Conflicts

All good characters have multiple facets to them. To simply have a character plod their way through a setting and scenario with little danger or inner conflicts is a real missed opportunity. If our characters are able to approach the world and the scenarios they face with some for of inner wrangling, it can increase tension and drama as the story unfolds.

If we do have inner conflict within the characters we create, it means that it opens up the possibility for us to include a redemption arc for a villainous character, like Darth Vader. Throughout Star Wars, we see conflicts within characters, including:

• Luke Skywalker,
• Darth Vader,
• Han Solo, and
• Lando Calrissian.

Realistically, many of us know the likely outcome of these inner conflicts but it always entertains us to see the character battle with their own guilt and conscience. Watching our heroes face possible doom builds tension and allowing the surrounding characters to stew in their own juices lets us finally cheer them as an audience when they make the right choice.

What can the science fiction author learn?

• Create organic conflicts – One of my favourite science fiction characters is that of Han Solo and, throughout Star Wars, we see him wrestle with his former life as a smuggler. His constant battle with the ‘easier life’ and thought of returning to that life gives him the chance to make the right choice and help out his friends at the right moment. These organic conflicts can increase drama and also add depth to your character’s persona,
• Making the ‘wrong’ choice – In order for our characters to make the ‘right choice’, we need to present them with the opportunity to make the ‘wrong choice’. This is a key moment, as we need to see them be tempted and show a possible corrupt side that makes us distrust them as a reader or audience. Again, these need to come about naturally to allow the scenario to be believable to the reader,
• Detailed backstory – Again, this detailed backstory comes into play. We know, in the case of Darth Vader, how he was turned to the Dark Side. This backstory allows his redemption arc to be much more dramatic. Allowing our characters to have a detailed backstory gives the opportunity for them to have conflict as old relationships and past ‘wrong choices’ are brought back to the fore.

 

Settings To Inspire Generations 

When I think of Star Wars, I also think of the wonderful, diverse settings that George Lucas created within the original trilogy. With his use of extreme, diverse settings, it gives us an idea of the span and scope of the Star Wars universe.

The settings are wonderfully crafted and well-rounded in their development. I always talk about characters and settings being three-dimensional and, with Star Wars, we get a real sense of the depth of the settings. The characters are able to explore, battle, and live within worlds that almost breathe and become a character in themselves to either help or hinder our heroes on their journey to achieve their goals.

From the desert setting of Tatooine, swamp lands of Dagobah, ice world of Hoth, to the forests of Endor, our heroes come face to face with the highs and lows of their war against the Empire. These settings all have their own personality, feel, and originality that give us a real sense that these places are real. With the reality and beauty that George Lucas is able to envelop within these worlds, they truly do help the Star Wars universe come to life before our eyes.

What can the science fiction author learn?

• Create settings with depth – As we create characters with depth, we also need to craft settings that have real places, real areas of beauty, and real landmarks for our characters to explore,
• Setting as a character – As we look at the settings Lucas creates, the Rebels and the Empire both face their own trials and tribulations having to deal with the varying natural environments that they face. Luke almost dies in the blizzards and freezing temperatures and the forests of Endor provide obstacles to be dodged in exciting chase scenes. Allowing the setting to interfere with the story can help develop the world and fabric of the tale you tell,
• Detailed backstory – Planets and worlds, just like people, can have a detailed backstory to add to their history. It also gives you an opportunity to explore areas of this within your story. By having an uprising years before, or a dramatic event happen within the world in its past, you can add so much more to the world and the characters’ journey as they explore it.

 

 

As the final chapter of the Star Wars Saga draws to a close, some fans will inevitably feel let down while others will feel the movies have drawn to a satisfactory conclusion. Either way, the story will be consigned to the history books and the opinions of fans will rumble on for years to come.

By looking at the initial Star Wars trilogy as a work of science fiction, there is no doubt that any science fiction author can use elements of Lucas’ storytelling within their own novels. I know that I will continue to revisit those works and see something different every time.

For the science fiction author, we want to tell the best possible stories we can using elements of science to enhance the fiction we create. Whether the scientific elements are set in space, in a galaxy far, far away, or with real-life medical fears as I did in Inside Iris, science intrigues us. Therefore, it is up to us to utilise the works of master storytellers, like George Lucas, to inspire the generations to come.