Writing Intriguing Sci-fi Premises (part 3)

Does your setting have to be as seemingly unique as the overcrowded space station setting in “The 100?” No, but you'll find that it can always help to try to put a unique twist on a setting to set it apart from others of its kind. For instance, the setting I proposed yesterday involving a small world occupied by a powerful foe that imposes their ideology—that setting is based on events in the history of several nations. You can always start from a place of familiarity and it often helps to do so, because it will be something people will more readily identify with. It's more difficult for an audience to try to relate to something totally obscure, so keep some familiar themes present. The next step is to take that familiar setting and add something different. What if the oppressed world needed to hide a devastating secret from the occupying foe? Or what if the people of the oppressed world—painted to be the victims at first—turned out to be preparing to conquer and oppress other worlds, and their plans were foiled by the occupying force? There are a number of possible twists on expectations that can turn the initial premise into a pressure cooker to catalyze the reactions of your characters.