Wednesday Writing: Parallel Worlds

Posted on by Teagan Riordain Geneviene

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Parallel world where Mao Zedong is USA president
Parallel world where Mao Zedong is president

Hello, everyone.  Years ago, when I started publishing books and serials in the steampunk genre, I discovered that a lot of readers weren’t familiar with steampunk or any of the “punk” variations.  Now, when I’m randomly posting bits from a parallel world story, it occurs to me that such stories may not be any better known (or recognized) than the various punk forms.  So, today I’m discussing parallel worlds.

Yes, “parallel worlds” is considered a subgenre within science fiction.  You’ve probably seen at least a couple of these, even if the category seems unfamiliar to you.  Do you (in the USA) remember a TV series in the late 1990s called Sliders?   It’s a good example of a parallel world story.

The video above is poor quality, but I couldn’t find much for the series on YouTube.  Anyhow it’s the main character, Quinn, watching a video of himself, telling himself about the many parallel worlds he has visited.

Yes, there are also “alternate history” stories.  I don’t want to belabor the difference, because it’s a tangent, the fine points of which can give anybody a headache.  Besides, there aren’t really any clearly established, hard and fast rules.  However, here’s one way of defining the difference between the two:  Alternate histories usually involve time travel.  Whether or not that divergent history is from time travel, it is about a single world.  A modern example is author Charlaine Harris’s Gunnie Rose series — a Western-style, dystopian, alternate history, adventure.

Parallel worlds, on the other hand, are part of speculative fiction that explores the idea that other worlds exist alongside our own, at the same time.  These are typically a subgenre of science fiction, but sometimes they are fantasy.

Sometimes the parallel world story might play out to highlight the difference that a small change might make.  “It’s a Wonderful Life” (the classic Jimmy Stewart film) is generally considered a parallel world story because the main character, George Bailey, is shown an alternate reality where he was never born.

Jimmy Stewart Its a Wonderful Life 1946
“It’s a Wonderful Life” scene, 1946

At other times the parallel world story is much broader, and they consider the impact of those differences across a country or the entire planet.  There may be only a few fundamental differences (that resulted in massive changes), or nearly everything might seem utterly different.  A lot of them are also post-apocalypse tales.  

Some parallel worlds have such sweeping changes that the story can get bogged down by all the exchanged terms and names.  Here’s a negative example, made up off the top of my head:

“What’s that you’re peddling, Zpilph? I like that vilo color.  You’re looking manzo. Are you going to the tickler?”

“Greeting, Fugzel. It’s my new zipper. Yes I’m going to watch the new mind-blow. But first I need to use my beautifier on my hay.”

Translation:  “What are you driving?  I like that purple color.  You’re looking good. Are you going to the theatre?” 

Reply, “Yes, it’s my new car. I’m going to see the new movie. But first I need to comb my hair.”

Do you see how changing dozens of minor details can get in the way? 

In some stories, it’s reasonable for many things to need altered names, especially places or countries.  To make it easier for the reader, I like to keep those exchanged names in line with old names from real life history.  For instance, in The Rise of Mnemosyne, I’ve changed the names of the nations, and some of the states.  However, I used names that were given to those areas in times long past.  The area we name the state of Arizona was once called Arizuma.  The country of Mexico was once referred to as Azteca, at least by some people.

Reasonably, “America” (named for explorer Amigo Vespucci), could have been named for his surname.  Using that take, gives the reader a hint when the United States of America became the United Holdings of Vesputius (UHV).

I could go on, but frankly, the way WordPress has screwed up the editor for posts, is so bad for me that I’ve accidentally deleted this post three times, and everything I try to write, paste, or format is taking five times longer than it should.  Yes, I complained about that again.  Touching the arrow keys (which I use frequently in editing) sends me to some unlikely point in the post.  I have to trick it before I can place a video anywhere besides the top of the post. And where the devil is the preview button? Sigh…  Moving on.

In a bit of “late breaking news” author D. L. Finn has included her wonderful review of A Peril in the Vines in her book reviews.   I hope you’ll visit her blog for it and other great books.

Click here for the reviews

Do you have a favorite parallel world story?  Tell me about it in a comment.  Friendly comments are encouraged.  Hugs!

♣ ♣ ♣

  And now the obligatory shameless self-promotion…

A Peril in the Vines

Universal Purchase Links

A Peril in the Vines 

e-book:  relinks.me/B0DS4G7RSD

Paperback:  relinks.me/B0DS69GJDV

A Medium’s Peril full series link: relinks.me/B0CG2SXX24

♣ ♣ ♣

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Copyright © 2025 by Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene

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52 thoughts on “Wednesday Writing: Parallel Worlds”

  1. Terrific post, Teagan. Explaining and detailing the parallel world is a window opener. Your example, It’s a Wonderful Life, is perfect. And, congratulations on the wonderful review.

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  2. I’m a big fan of parallel world stories. I also watched Sliding Doors that Darlene mentioned above and enjoyed it. The concept of how being a few minutes earlier or later can have such a huge impact on your future amazed me. Hugs to you and the Scoobies, Teagan!

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    1. Oh, Darlene, I’m sorry. It’s hard, looking back at those “turning point” moments. That’s a good way to think of it.

      I wasn’t familiar with Sliding Doors, but I found the writeup about it when I started looking for examples for this post. It looks like a good one. Hugs.

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  4. I’m sure I’ve read some parallel world stories but my memory is in very poor working order these days. I like the concept though. I sometimes feel like I see glimpses of one out of the corner of my eye. Would “The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe” count? I always think of portals when I think of parallel worlds. (K)

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  5. We are in the WP alternate world together, Teagan.

    I can barely comment anywhere, unless I try 3 times. This is my second try here & now.

    This post is manzo, thank you!

    Heading to Denise’s. If you don’t see a comment, don’t wonder why, but I’ll try!

    Hugs!

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    1. You are so kind, Resa — thank you. I appreciate that effort. Not to mention the frustration, and that your hand probably still hurts some.

      I hope you’re relaxing and enjoying your drawing projects. I look forward to seeing the results. Hugs winging back to you and shy Misha.

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      1. I went to Denise’s. I couldn’t leave a comment. I got “Your comment can’t be posted”.
        I’ve discovered I can bypass/correct that by going to the subscribed button on the lower right and clicking on the 3 buttons.

        Then I get a message saying “Sign in to WP”, but I’m already signed in. Nonetheless I click that, get a pic of me in a circle with continue underneath.

        Then I can comment. WTF.
        Anyway, there is no “Subscribed” button on Denise’s blog. I refreshed several times, but it did not appear.
        HUGS!

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        1. Don’t worry, Resa. Thank you for trying. I get that error message at many blogs, and it’s maddening. For most blogs I’ve started going straight to the “Reader” version, but there are a lot of blogs that don’t let me do that either.

          Take good care of you. 🙂

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    1. Hi, Liz. To me the line between them — and time travel stories too, is very blurry. It seems like in plots and concepts a lot of the elements overlap. So who can really say which a story is when there are elements of other sub-genres? However, it’s an intriguing diversion to ponder.

      You might be interested in Philip K. Dick’s “The Man in the High Castle.” It is a “blurry” one. It looks like an alternate history (with Nazis). I had not read or watched it (recently made into a TV series) so didn’t realize that it was other than a simple alternate history. Now, looking into it, I see that “because it actively explores the concept of multiple, distinct realities existing simultaneously“. 

      Thanks for reading and commenting. Hugs.

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  7. What a great post, Teagan! And you mentioned my favorite Christmas movie. The only other parallel universe stories I can think of were already mentions: H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine (and I like the original movie version) and of course, A Christmas Carol.

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  8. A wonderful discussion about writing about parallel worlds, Teagan. The idea of parallel worlds, or multiverses, has intrigued scientists and philosophers alike. While some theories in quantum physics suggest the possibility of multiple realities existing simultaneously, concrete evidence remains elusive. The concept challenges our understanding of space, time, and existence, leading to intriguing discussions about the nature of reality itself.

    P.S. I believe in parallel worlds! I find that writers have the uncanny ability to foresee the world as it is and many other possibilities that will occur in the future. Do you remember Dick Tracy and his “watch” that he talked into. No one believed that we would see that type of technology.

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    1. Hi, Rebecca. I like parallel worlds because it gives endless fuel for my game of “What If?” I’ll say to a friend “What if (fill in the blank with some unlikely but feasible thing) caused ___.” Or was used in stead of, or a similar comment. The friend is supposed to take that “what if” to the next level. “Then there might be ___. If we had that, then what if…”

      LOL, since you know about the deep end of this pool, let me tell you about my quantum physics theory. Of course there is string theory, but the tangle of “what ifs” doesn’t click with me. The universe is filled with order. Consider the countless things in nature with spiral shapes. So why would the “strings” of time and reality potentially get into a tangled mess? That in mind, my version of string theory is “Bubble Theory”. Have you ever used a child’s bubble blowing ring & soap toy, and seen multiple bubbles come out? All attached to one another at multiple spots? In my thinking, rather than reality-strings coming into contact wherever they touch in that tangle or realities, the contact points of each bubble (realities) would be adjacent parallel worlds.

      Then, of course, there’s the theory that all times, throughout history, in every universe, no matter how long ago or far away, happen in one single moment. And after that moment time is over. It gives one a different take on the phrase “a moment in time.” Thanks for reading and ponderating. Hugs on the wing.

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  10. I fo enjoy parallel worlds, Teagan. I was a fan of Sliders, and it’s a Wonderful Life is a favorite. Sorry you are having issues writing blogs. I lose my comments all the time and have to rewrite them when I touch the wrong thing. Not as bad as losing a blog though. Thank you for sharing my reviews, too. Huge hugs xi

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    1. Thanks very much, Tim. It’s a great thought exercise when taken into “if-then” progressions. In a world where one person or another was never born, sure there would be differences, but expanding on that to the extenuating results, and so on is when it gets interesting to me. Hugs.

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  13. Thanks for this informative post, Teagan. Genres, sub-genres, related genres…I swear, it’s enough to drive a poor boy crazy. I knew about Steampunk, but you’ve introduced me to a variety of punks (and you’ve done a very good job of it).

    WordPress does seem to be getting rather picky about where and when a keypress does what we want it to, or takes us on a journey.

    My favorite parallel story is actually called “The Parallel” – it’s a Twilight Zone episode about a spaceman who lands in a slightly different version of Earth.

    Now I am copying this comment before splitting it into paragraphs. That way, when WordPress tells me I’m not logged in, or simply that “This comment cannot be posted” I can start over. I apologize in advance for the duplicate comment that appears about 30% of the time. I hope you have a great day in whatever world you’re in 😉

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    1. Sorry, Dan. Making comments/replies is a royal pain too. Bushwa! I think the comment gremlins have really been AI all along. So the post-edits gremlins are too. Worst of all, they seem to have learned to conspire with one another. I’m joking… I think…

      I was hoping you would think of a Twilight Zone episode. Thanks. I knew there must be one, but all of them feel so surreal to me that (with WP being so aggravating) I couldn’t remember which. The original Star Trek episode with Joan Collins came to mind, but by then I gave up on posting more.

      I hope it’s a good week there. Hugs.

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      1. Ah, “The City on the Edge of Forever.” I thought of that, but I wasn’t sure if that should be considered time travel, or now. That was a very good episode.

        I am sorry about the gremlins. Between the duplicate comments that appear randomly with no explanation and the ones that refuse to post, I think these things are working together.

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        1. When I looked it up, it seems to generally be considered a parallel world episode. They made an alternate timeline when they changed the past. I guess the new timeline is the same as a parallel world to the “They” who decide everything.

          That’s one more reason for me to be glad to find a consensus that “there are no hard and fast rules” regarding what is a parallel world story. There are so many places where it gets blurry.

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          1. That works for me, Teagan. If it’s a good story (which yours always are) I guess I don’t care it it fits into a category. I mean, we have so many categories because somewhere along the way, someone colored outside the lines.

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  14. I loved this post, Teagan. My favorite parallel story is in A Christmas Carol when the spirit of Christmas future shows Scrooge what it will be like if he continues on his miserly path. I like It’s a Wonderful Life too but you grabbed that one. Thanks for getting the juices rolling this morning. I’m wondering that maybe you should go back to classic if it is available. I know I lost Classic for a while but it came back when I go to “All Posts.”

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    1. I didn’t think of that one, John. It’s a great example.

      The Classic editor is what I’ve always used — until now when it’s disappeared. As you were saying, it was lost and then came back, with me also — and now it’s gone again, no matter how I go about getting to the creating or editing of a post. WP can be different depending the device, browser, and/or view. Everyone doesn’t get/reach the same thing in the same way. So, there must be a way around it… LOL, it’s a little like the parallel worlds of WordPress. Hugs.

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  16. Congratulations on the brilliant review, Teagan. I hope to get to A Peril in the Vines soon. And thanks for a fascinating post. I always think of Sliding Doors when talking about parallel worlds and stories, but I hadn’t given much thought to that aspect of It’s a Wonderful Life (well, yes, but not in those terms).

    And I’m sorry about the blogging difficulties. I’ve had the same issue with the arrows as well, although because my posts are very simple I don’t have major problems. Thanks for persevering.

    Fingers crossed blogging gets smoother for you, big hugs, dear Teagan, and love to the Scoobies.

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