Science Fiction is the genre of limitless possibilities. Literally, without limits on time, space, character or plot. If the author can dream it, they can do it. Why, then, are some clichés so hard to kill in SciFi? Because they are as seductive as the Tenth Doctor when he stutters. It’s easier to blaze from a well-marked trail, and readers expect to see something at least vaguely familiar in the story.

Used well, used sparingly, or even turned inside out, these tropes can make for some awesome literature. Overuse them, and your plot deserves a squash in the trash compactor.

Here are some well-known science fiction plots, accompanied by a recommendation that either subverts the trope or does it well.

1. It Was All The Twilight Zone

Surprise! They were all living in a marble the entire time. Or on the fungus between a giant’s toes, or in the fur…