Seven Movies You Must Watch Before Writing a Sci-fi/Supernatural Novel

In fact, that’s kind of sequel of another Article I wrote: 5 Books you Must Read before Writing a Sci-Fi/Supernatural Novel. I hope that putting both together articles I can help you writing, and the world by increasing a little more of the Sci-Fi/Supernatural writers list. A really enjoy those genres. Now, let’s go to the Movies.

1. The Matrix (1999)

   

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   In1999, when Matrix got into the Movie Theaters, it became a huge phenomenon, and created a new Movie Making Voice that reaches us to the present days. I never had access to The Matrix’s script, but I guess it was an writing piece. So many genius ideas in just one movie. And now you ask: how The Matrix is going to help you writing a novel?

   The Matrix taught a very important lesson to all the fiction creators in the world, including writers. Audacity. In writing Sci-Fi and Supernatural, audacious ideas are one of the most important elements that keep the reader turning the pages of a novel. A Sci-Fi and Supernatural writer must take his craziest ideas and turn them into acceptable ones during the writing. The whole concept of reality inside reality was so weird back then (although there was something similar in the Argentine movie Vanilla Sky) that some people took a long time to understand, and yet, Matrix became a very loved movie. The execution of the story was so good that the weirdness feeling went away. When writing a novel, take your most audacious and weird ideas and write them in the way that they doesn’t feel weird anymore to the reader.

2. Terminator (1984)

   

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   Although the poster is from the first Governator (oops, I mean Terminator), I actually refer to it and all the sequels. In Terminator a very interesting fiction phenomenon happens: the complete disregard to logic limits. Yes… that’s it. In Terminator, the explanations for Time Travel and the complete lack of concern with Time Paradox or any sense at all, make Terminator a great movie. For the writer, the lesson is: when writing a novel, don’t get too worried about logic.

   Sci-Fi and Supernatural audience are very tolerant with the lack of logic, and every now and then, this same audience actually enjoys it, as in Terminator. Michael Critchon frequently adds a whole bunch of scientific explanation that although interesting, are frequently over-explained to the point of boredom. So, when writing Sci-Fi and Supernatural novel, don’t worry too much about logic; the reader won’t.

3. Interview With The Vampire (1994)

   

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   I know that in my last article I made some jokes about the novel “Interview with the Vampire”, but I never said it was bad. In fact, it was a great piece of writing and became the great movie responsible for the destruction of any possible friendship between Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise.

   This movie teaches a very important lesson to the writer. When writing a novel, you can touch controversial social topics as long as you do it in a tasteful way. You know what I’m talking about, don’t you? If you don’t, think again. Do your remember the incredible homosexual vibe in the Movie? Well… homosexuality is a controversial topic to the general audience. Homophobes are also movie watchers, and yet, I hadn’t heard a single complain from homophobes about “Interview with the Vampire”.

   So, when writing your novel, don’t be afraid to approach controversial topics as homosexuality, as long as they seem tasteful in your writing. Elegance is the trick to write a novel and put inside it anything you want.

4. Constantine (2005)

   

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   With that Movie, Hollywood once again entered the realm of Taboo. Religion and Anti-Religion were present in the whole movie. Well… remember when I said in the last topic about treating controversial topics with subtlety and delicacy? Well… when writing taboo you must blow it. Yes; the rule is the opposite, and if you want to bring taboo to your novel, you must write to shock and overwhelm the reader with taboo. Remember “Da Vinci Code”. I hated the novel and the movie, but the Taboo was so powerful that I was compelled to see the movie until the end, and for Supernatural and Sci-Fi writers, taboo is a friend. There are thousands of taboos, mostly religious, that can originate amazing novels.

5. Highlander (1986)

   

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   In this article my reference to Highlander regards only the first movie. In fact, while you read this article, let’s make a pact and pretend that those unbelievably disgusting sequels didn’t exist, allright?

   Highlander teaches the writer about an important aspect of writing “mystery”. When writing a Sci-Fi and Supernatural novel, you don’t need to explain much. In fact, the less you explain in your writing and the more you let the reader to speculate, the more intriguing an addictive will be your novel. In Highlander we didn’t understand where did Connor Mcleod came from, how did he get immortal, and what was the purpose of becoming mortal. This mystery made a great movie, and it would be perfect if the producers didn’t commit the awful crime of giving hideous explanations in the sequels (sorry; I know we made a pact, but I couldn’t resist making nasty comments about these movies).

   So; when writing a novel, don’t over-explain. The less, the better. Readers are also creative people.

6. The Lord Of The Rings (2001)

   

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   When writing your Sci-Fi or Supernatural Novel, you must pay attention to background and scenario; those are very important elements in these genres. In the book “The Lord of the Rings”, the background was flawless, and the movie really captured it. If you compare the book and the movie, you will get to the most important thing: details. Not all details are important and you shouldn’t bore you reader writing a long description of the main-character’s ear lobe. When writing your novel, you must identify the important details, the ones that really contribute in building the scenario and background. The other details you must give them to the reader. Let the reader imagine your reality as he pleases; it will certainly improve the reading experience.

7. Hancock (2008)

   

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   Originally this movie wasn’t in the list, but I just saw this movie and loved it. The story is kind of crappy but the Hancock character is fantastic. If you need inspiration to create a character, Hancock may be a way to begin. Of course, you can also use my article Building Characters for your Novel (and that is just shameless self-advertisement). Well… really… great movie. I don’t have a really good excuse to put it in this “writing your novel” list yet, but I will think in something later. Anyway… watch it.

I hope those movies help you in writing your novel. In any case, if they don’t, you will have watched seven great movies.