# Life science/biology professional input on a sci-fi short story **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 27, 2016, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-science-biology-professional-input-on-a-sci-fi-short-story/764200 "2016-08-27T22:29:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2016, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-science-biology-professional-input-on-a-sci-fi-short-story/764200/1 "2016-08-27T22:29:39Z")
I got permission from the mods ( **Colibri** , to be specific – he was my first choice but he’s busy traveling) to start this thread. If it’s in the wrong forum, then mods feel free to move it. I recently finished writing a sci-fi short story with a strong biology element, and I’m hoping to find a biology/life sciences professional who would give me their input on whether I got the science right (or as right as it can be in the world of my story). It’s about 3000 words long. If anyone’s interested, please PM me! ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-science-biology-professional-input-on-a-sci-fi-short-story/764200/2 "2016-08-28T07:34:13Z")
I don’t know jack squat about biology…but I’ll happily read it for style, grammar, etc.! I’m also a decent judge of “plausibility” in SF, so I could tell you whether a non-biologist can follow the terminology, explanations, etc. You want a “control sample” readership? ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-science-biology-professional-input-on-a-sci-fi-short-story/764200/3 "2016-08-31T04:34:12Z")
Oh, you want a full-work bio-picker? Um, I can bump the thread for you, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-science-biology-professional-input-on-a-sci-fi-short-story/764200/4 "2016-08-31T06:05:16Z")
An ecologist might be helpful; there’s a bunch of ecology in the story. (Fun story! Thank’ee for letting me read it!) ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-science-biology-professional-input-on-a-sci-fi-short-story/764200/5 "2016-08-31T07:39:55Z")
I’ll give it a shot. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-science-biology-professional-input-on-a-sci-fi-short-story/764200/6 "2016-08-31T12:42:57Z")
I wouldn’t worry about getting it right as much as making sure it keeps the story moving and interesting. Science fiction does not require scientific accuracy, and some of the best stories in the genre ignored science if it got in the way of the story. Write the story first. You can finesse the science later. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-science-biology-professional-input-on-a-sci-fi-short-story/764200/7 "2016-08-31T12:48:48Z")
One of Niven’s first stories (“The Coldest Place”) was written based on what was the best available science at the time, but between when it was accepted and when it was published, a new discovery came out that contradicted it. He frantically contacted the publisher and said that they had to pull it, because it was now invalidated. The publisher (correctly) said “Who cares? It’s still a good story.”. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-science-biology-professional-input-on-a-sci-fi-short-story/764200/8 "2016-08-31T13:18:50Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I wouldn’t worry about getting it right as much as making sure it keeps the story moving and interesting. Science fiction does not require scientific accuracy, and some of the best stories in the genre ignored science if it got in the way of the story. > > Write the story first. You can finesse the science later. The story is done (the first draft, anyway) – I wrote it and then decided that a biologist’s input might be helpful. And if anyone else is interested, please PM me your email address. I appreciate the input so far! ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-science-biology-professional-input-on-a-sci-fi-short-story/764200/9 "2016-08-31T14:32:43Z")
At 3000 words, you may as well paste it here . Send it to me, in any case - I’m not a biologist, but I have life science credits. 🙂