How do you write relatable characters in science fiction?
“I’m struggling with how I should write sci-fi future with human-like aliens. I don’t want to focus on differences but rather on similarities between them. I also don’t understand how to write their indoor activities and everyday life in the future. Like, how are they going to manage everyday tasks—make dishes, clean house, etc.? How can I make it more future-like style?”
Science fiction is all about the art of taking the familiar and extrapolating it out into what could be possible. It’s a balancing act between letting readers feel immersed in a new world, but connecting with your characters in a way that feels relatable.
Alien characters who share our humanity are a huge part of that familiarity. It lets readers see themselves in your characters, regardless of who they are or what they look like.
Writing human-like aliens with a focus on similarities
Lead with universal experiences
The strongest connection between humans and human-like aliens lies in shared experiences like love, fear, ambition, grief, family bonds, friendship, and the desire for meaning. Shared experiences are the threads that make characters relatable, both to each other and to the reader.
Instead of opening with physical descriptions that highlight otherness, introduce your alien characters through emotions, relationships, and goals. A character worried about disappointing their parent or excited about a first date is entirely relatable, even if they have purple skin or three eyes.
Use differences as texture, not as the focus
Differences add texture and interest, so you don’t need to ignore them entirely. The trick is to make them secondary, not the primary focus. Mention a character’s unusual feature the same way you’d mention a human character’s red hair. It’s a descriptive detail, not a spectacle that needs to be highlighted.
For example, instead of: “Kira’s four arms made her stand out in the crowded bar.”
You could try: “Kira drummed the fingers of her lower hands on the table while the ones above cradled her drink.”
The difference is there, but it’s woven into the character’s actions, rather than made into a statement.
Find the emotional common ground
Ask yourself what your alien characters want that any reader would understand. Is it security? Love? Recognition? Freedom? Then, build your characters around these universal desires, and their alien nature becomes secondary to their humanity.
Writing about everyday life in a futuristic setting
The familiar made unfamiliar
When writing in a science fiction setting, you don’t need to reinvent everything. You can evolve what we already have. People will still need to eat, clean, rest, and manage their homes, even if they’re alien to us. The how changes, but the why remains the same.
Think about how technology has already changed our daily lives. We didn’t stop cooking, but we did change how we do it. When writing about future or alien domestic life, you can follow this pattern: the tasks remain familiar, but the tools will differ. They might also bring their own set of negative tradeoffs you might also like to consider.
Show, don’t tell
The biggest pitfall when writing science fiction settings is over-explaining. Resist the urge to detail every piece of technology or point of difference. Instead, let your characters interact with their environment, and your readers will experience the setting naturally.
Rather than explaining how the dishwasher of the future works, show a character casually tossing plates into a unit and grabbing a clean mug moments later. The reader fills in the gaps, and your world feels lived in rather than like a product manual.
Use sensory detail
What does a home in your sci-fi feel like? When a character walks into a room, what do they smell? What do their clothes feel like? What kind of lighting do they see in their city? What do their meals taste like?
Small sensory details make your setting tangible and can help you avoid too much exposition or info-dumping all at once.
Getting the balance right
The most effective science fiction often works because it’s not that different from our own world. The emotional stakes are recognisable even when the setting is strange. Your human-like aliens arguing over whose turn it is to run the cleaning cycle is instantly relatable.
Readers will accept your future world if the characters within it feel real, even if they’re fundamentally alien. You don’t need to justify every piece of technology or explain every custom. Instead, focus on your story instead of your worldbuilding. Let it serve the narrative, and not the other way around.
