Hello Everyone! I’m here today to talk about Aliens and Extraterrestrials! This is a fun subject and close to my heart as I LOVE Sci-Fi and I just got finished being on an Alien Species Panel at San Diego Comic Con!
I’ve Loved Sci-Fi longer than Fantasy and Paranormal believe it or not! Yup! I have an R2D2 Backpack and purse. I have a Millennium Falcon Keychain. My twitter tone is R2D2 and my ringtone is Darth Vader’s Imperial March. To top it off, my kids and I went to San Diego Comic Con, Long Beach Comic Con and Salt Lake City comic con as Jedi this year.
Okay, enough about me! So one thing that I was asked on the Comic Con Alien Civilization Panel was, how do I create my aliens? Though I haven’t published a sci-fi novel yet I have written two. And there are a few components I think are essential to writing realistic aliens.
1) What is their planet like? To create aliens you have to first think of their world and the ecology of it. Is the weather a harsh desert? Or is it a water planet? Is the sun especially cruel or are there ice caps as far as the eye can see? Those things will determine what the people are like. Harsh sunlight will force people underground or will cause them to be weather worn and sun darkened. An icy planet may create people who have extra hair for staying warm. Large bodies with an extra layer of fat or possibly skinny and starving people who never have enough to eat. So think of the landscape and what the environment would mean to the species that live there.
2) Use your imagination. The last thing people want to read is white men travelling in space to find more white men. It was Star Trek that gave us the notion that when humans from Earth travelled to a new planet, every person was the same species. But if you look at Star Wars, there are hundred of species and races on one planet. You can do it either way or a bit of both, but what ever you do, please be creative. Make your people different in some ways from Earthlings. Even if they are completely humanoid. Maybe the are taller, or shorter. Maybe they are more advanced or not as advanced. Maybe their skin is a different color because of the sun’s rays. Maybe their eyes are a strange color because of the food they eat. Think of ways to make your aliens unique.
3) How are they compatible? This is a big one that you need to decide. I have my own personal opinions and the differ from others, but here it is. Humans and monkeys have a difference 2-5% DNA. That’s not much. Now think about your aliens. How much difference is there in the DNA of your aliens verses humans? In my current books there is enough difference, even though they are related, that my aliens cannot have kids with humans. Whether or not you decided your aliens can have kids with humans, you need to decide for yourself.
4) Technology and Power. Technology and power are the last things I think about when creating a race. Why? Because just like environment the power and technology that your race possesses help to shape your races as well. Don’t think so? Well think about what technology and power have done for us. Prosthetic limbs, artificial teeth, plastic surgery, etc. And what has our power done for us? Microwave foods, people sitting more and watching TV and playing on computers which leads to health problems. Processed foods, junk food, people used to easy and convenience. Is that what your aliens are like? Or are they lacking those things and what does that do to their personalities or races in general?
Creating alien races is just as fun as creating paranormal creatures but you have to be careful. Sci-fi readers are voracious and if your science doesn’t make sense or add up they’ll ding you for it. The best thing to do with sci-fi is to make it your own.