How I Write – Adrian Tchaikovsky: How to Write Great Science Fiction

Podcast: How I Write
Host: David Perell
Guest: Adrian Tchaikovsky
Date: December 31, 2025
Summary by: [Assistant]

Episode Overview

In this deep-dive conversation, David Perell talks with prolific science fiction and fantasy writer Adrian Tchaikovsky—winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Children of Time and author of over 60 works—on the meta-mechanics of writing. Tchaikovsky opens up about worldbuilding, plot structure, crafting believable characters, blending science and imagination, writing compelling fight scenes, and more. The episode is a goldmine for aspiring writers and genre fans, exploring both nuts-and-bolts advice and philosophical insights about the creative process.

1. Planning, Outlining, and Worldbuilding

Tchaikovsky's Approach

• Started developing immersive worlds as a tabletop roleplaying game master (00:43).

  "When you're creating a world for a roleplaying game, you make it very robustly because you don't know what the players are gonna break. That translates into making a world for a book." (B, 00:49)

• Uses detailed chapter-by-chapter outlines in Word docs—not physical boards or walls of post-its.

  "I generally just produce a...word document and it will be chapter by chapter: this happens, this happens…" (B, 02:01)

• Favors linear outlining, but allows for flexibility when new ideas arise or logic issues are found during drafting.

  "Sometimes you'll get an idea that…it'll be better just to have a bit of a detour here…Or sometimes...the logic of this does not work..." (B, 02:47)

• Never plans the final ending in advance—lets the story’s trajectory dictate the conclusion.

  "[Letting] the trajectory and momentum of the book to that point, then tell you how it should end has worked really well for me." (B, 04:11)

The Role of Fun and Exploration

• Finds world creation joyful and exploratory:

  "It's the most fun...It's imaginative. It's an exploration." (B, 05:40, 05:53)

• Begins with a "what if" premise, then lets logical consequences ripple out to construct the world (06:15)

  "You’re dropping a stone into a pool and…the ripples…you follow them out, and each set of ripples is a consecutive sort of logical therefore…" (B, 06:15)

Building Cohesive Worlds

• Emphasizes "ground up" construction: the world must feel robust and logically consistent.

  "If I have done my job properly...the world has already got that level of reality to it, that sort of robustness." (B, 10:59)

• The world isn’t static—a well-built world will naturally suggest story flashpoints, conflicts, and characters.

2. Originality and The "What If" Premise

• Judges ideas based on originality, avoiding well-trodden ground unless he finds a unique spin.

  "I've never really done a dragon…people have done so many dragons and they've done [them] in so many different and interesting ways. I would need a really interesting take in order to go there…" (B, 07:53)

• Good "what ifs" are those that feel like they could grow into a full book, sometimes by combining elements.

  "A lot of the books I've written have been when two of these ideas have clicked together and...there is a complete book that I can get out of that." (B, 09:45)

3. From World to Character to Plot

• Characters emerge organically from setting and world conflicts (14:14).

  "I will go out into the streets of Ilmar, this city, and I will see who I meet. And this character is a…magical pawnbroker…then all of that is giving you your plot..." (B, 15:34)

• City-based settings force complex, interconnected relationships; unlike epic travelogues, characters must deal with the fallout of their actions.

  "If you're in a city, you don't have that luxury. You have to stick around and live with the consequences…" (B, 17:38)

• Complexity is "challenging," but rewarding (18:47).

  "Challenging is fun…it's also commensurably more rewarding when you've done it." (B, 18:52)

Imagination & Visualization

• Visualizes worlds through a mix of sensory input and a "gestalt" or mask.

  "There's kind of like a mask you put on. And then when you're looking at things through that mask, you're seeing…what this world looks like." (B, 20:14)

4. Crafting Believable Characters

• Characters are best when grown "out of the world." Their backgrounds and motivations are naturally imbued with the world’s logic and conflicts.

  "He's growing out of the world in the same way as all of the other characters...attached to all the other parts of the setting..." (B, 21:48)

• Characters develop depth and surprise even the author.

  "Characters will always have more depth...they start off with just…a handful of adjectives…but because they're coming out of that world…they have this going on, and that going on..." (B, 23:56)

5. Science in Science Fiction & The "Big Lie"

• Describes a continuum from hard SF (strict science) to fantasy (magic-driven).

  "There is a whole continuum between like the hardest of hard science fiction…and then you go all the way…to full on secondary world fantasy." (B, 25:25)

• Uses the "left wall"—the limits defined by scientific knowledge—as his creative border.

  "What science says is possible, that is your left wall…You can only expand outwards from that." (B, 26:09)

• Does targeted research, consults genuine experts (e.g., with octopus spaceships or spiders).

  "I got hold of someone...who designed submarines [to ask about water-filled spaceships]." (B, 27:25) "I was able to go in and talk to their entomology department for an entire day…" (B, 28:51)

• On plausibility:

  "There is a particular way that science informed science fiction lands that fantasy doesn't necessarily." (B, 30:19)

• The "One Big Lie" principle: One major scientific stretch is permitted, but everything else must closely adhere to reality to maintain believability.

  "You can get away with one big lie...but in order to support your one big lie, everything else needs to be true." (B, 30:56)

6. Fantasy, Magic, and Genre Borders

• Fantasy worlds require their own internally consistent "left wall" (rules/magic).
• Magic almost always comes with a cost—otherwise, "why has anyone got a problem at this point?" (B, 36:43)
• Enjoys exploring mixtures of genre, e.g., combining gothic horror, clones, and post-tech societies.

  "I wanted to see can I do a book that is simultaneously gothic horror and also is exploring things like clones and post-tech society." (B, 51:07)

7. Writing Maxims & Breaking the Rules

• Skeptical about universal writing advice.

  "Whenever I run into a dogmatic writing take...I can always think of a circumstance…where you do want to do it like that." (B, 38:01)

• Process is highly individual; rejects the idea that all stories must follow the hero’s journey.

  "I do not like the idea of the hero's journey…to say all stories must follow. If you're reducing something that far, then you're left with a model that is completely worthless." (B, 40:21, 40:57)

• Best advice: hold models and maxims lightly.

  "Any piece of advice is useful so long as it doesn't...become law." (B, 41:49)

8. Writing Great Fight Scenes

• Deep personal experience: stage fighting, LARP, sword training (42:06)

• Validity matters to knowledgeable readers:

  "You are writing essentially for a fairly educated audience who know what end of a sword to stick into people." (B, 42:25)

• Fight scenes should have:

  • Clear perspective and chaotic flow ("the slot in someone's visor" viewpoint)
  • Emotional and character development, not just technical detail.
  • As little technical description on the page as possible; let research inform moments, not dominate.

    "Once you have learned all these clever things...put as little of that as possible on the page…nobody wants to read a fencing manual..." (B, 47:37)

  • Let the fight advance the story or reveal character.

    "A fight scene is also a vehicle for advancing the narrative." (B, 46:37)

• Uses physical models (e.g., son's toy insects) to choreograph skirmishes (45:21)

• Emotional realism is crucial; LARPing experience gave insight into the "feel" of conflict.

  "You feel it. You feel it here…that's what I gained...to put on the page...what it feels like to be in a fight." (B, 49:11)

9. Artistic Growth & Inspiration

• Always seeks to do something new or different with each book.

  "There will be a particular idea I want to explore, or...moment of emotional impact I want to try and generate…" (B, 50:30)

• Aspires to evoke the numinous—a sense of awe and hidden reality—in future work.

  "There are a couple of books I have read which have inspired in me this incredible sense of the numinous...At some point I want to write a book that inspires a similar kind of sense." (B, 51:07)

• Fascinated by "post-tech" societies: settings where characters live among ruins they don't understand.

  "There is a certain tragedy and grandeur to your story playing out in the wreckage of a past that has mostly been completely forgotten." (B, 52:32)

• Explores narrative triangles of knowledge (author, reader, character), using unreliable narrators or hidden knowledge for tension (53:23-57:37).

10. Subconscious & Deliberate Creation

• Balances conscious construction with subconscious creativity.

  "Ideally, as a writer, your subconscious and your conscious are working in lockstep..." (B, 58:05)

• Develops faith in the subconscious to connect plot and character in ways not visible during initial planning.

11. Improving as a Writer

• Sets specific craft goals (e.g., writing mosaic stories, generating awe).
• Learns by reading modern peers more than classics.

  "I always find it more useful to read my peers...we're all already informed by this great melange of previous writing." (B, 59:27)

12. Emotional Connection & Endings

• Connects readers through emotionally real, "inhabited" characters—each with genuine wants, fears, and reactions.

  "Having the characters be real to themselves and true to themselves is probably one of the ways you then get the audience to feel along with them." (B, 61:19)

• On endings:

  "The ending is the most important part of a book...the bit that your readers are left with. And if the ending does not work, then that's what they're taking away." (B, 63:12)

• Ending must be both the logical result of all that’s come before and a genuine surprise; lets the book's momentum dictate the ending instead of imposing one.

  "I will let those details turn up organically and hopefully that's what gives the book…a satisfactory ending. Because it's the only ending the book can at that point have." (B, 64:21)

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• On worldbuilding and planning:

  "Getting information to the right place within a book is 90% of planning it." (B, 02:01)

• On city-based stories:

  "If you're in a city, you have to stick around and live with the consequences." (B, 17:38)

• On scientific plausibility:

  "There is a particular way that science informed science fiction lands that fantasy doesn't necessarily." (B, 30:19)

• On writing advice:

  "Every writer does it differently…There's no one way of doing this...at the end of it, you always converge on having a book." (B, 38:44)

• On writing fight scenes:

  "In order to write really good, engrossing fight scenes, you need to have a sense of perspective and flow." (B, 43:05)

• On endings:

  "The ending needs to be the bit where everything that you intend to tie up...turns out to have been inextricably leading to that ending, even though…that wasn't remotely obviously where it was going." (B, 63:12)

Key Takeaways

• Imagination meets structure: Start with an original "what if," build a world from the ground up, and let logic and play go hand-in-hand.
• Characters must be interwoven with their world, and stories should allow authentic character growth and surprises—even for the author.
• Scientific research and discipline (“left wall”, “one big lie”) are crucial in SF, but don’t let them stifle narrative or emotional resonance.
• Genre conventions are flexible—construct rules for your world, but don’t rigidly follow writing dogma.
• Let scenes, especially fight scenes, do double duty—advancing character, plot, and worldbuilding, without heavy-handed exposition.
• Growth as a writer is continuous, driven by personal goals, reading widely, and an openness to both inspiration and deliberate craft.

For those dreaming of crafting new worlds and epic stories, Tchaikovsky’s insights are both inspiring and practical—a rare glimpse behind the curtain of great science fiction and fantasy writing.