Dystopian writing focuses on a future world where things haven't been going very well for the human race. Whatever the motivation behind your dystopia, there are many ways to write a novel of this genre so that it is full of action, depth and intelligence.
Steps
Step 1. Think of a world-class topic that you are passionate about
It could be pollution, politics, government control, social protests, poverty or privacy issues. All the suggested topics could lead you to develop an exciting exploration of the dystopian world represented in your novel.
Step 2. Ask yourself three very important questions
What would happen if…? And in the future? What would happen at this point? For example, based on the topic of pollution:
- What if you can't throw out that garbage bag and leave it on the street? What if everyone did like me?
- How would this affect our future?
- What would happen next?
Step 3. The last question should allow you to find a good topic for your novel:
if not, try to rethink the theme you have chosen. The question "what if" is very important, because it will allow you to understand the motivations behind your story and explain what is happening in your dystopian universe.
Step 4. Do extensive research on the chosen topic
In the case of pollution, try to understand its history, what its effects and related topics are.
- Take notes and divide them into sections, or draw a circle diagram in the center of which, instead of writing the common elements between the topics covered, you could list the pros and cons of pollution.
- Know as much as possible the topic you have chosen and try to understand in depth the ways in which it could have an effect on your world. Otherwise it will be more difficult for you to understand how to develop your story.
- When researching your topic, don't rely on information rigidly. Let your imagination enrich the data with further details and allow your imagination to interpret what you read differently.
Step 5. Ask the opinion of those around you on the topic you have chosen
How does the world evaluate pollution, death and genetically modified organisms? Your novel must have prominent figures, antagonists, protagonists: all of them must have an opinion on what is happening. Remember that, no matter how horrible the topic is, you have to rely on history: for example, in the era of the American Revolution, the colonies were full of both Loyalists, loyal to Parliament, and Patriots who were opposed to it. A novel based on this period will have to contain these elements in order to appear realistic.
Step 6. Before starting to write, it is important to do some research on the fundamental element of your novel:
dystopia. Read dystopian novels, watch movies of this genre, and learn the cause-and-effect method that underlies this type of story. Learn how the domino effect works. You will have to formulate events in such a way that they lead to certain consequences, which in turn will provoke specific actions and events until you reach the finale in a big way: this is the structure that your dystopian novel must have. For instance:
- I don't throw the garbage in the bin.
- People follow my example.
- The company is no longer interested in separate collection.
- We are starting to use technology more and more.
- We create more junk.
- We get lazy and don't care about the world anymore.
- We suddenly find ourselves living in a world like that of WALL-E.
Step 7. When you have done as much research as possible about the topic you have chosen, you will be able to understand the snowball effect typical of dystopian novels
- A dystopian society represents the opposite of a utopia, that is, a perfect society.
- The characters in your society, aside from perhaps the antagonists, will have to live a repressed and controlled life.
- Authorities could use a variety of methods to control citizens, such as military power, surveillance, and invasive technology.
- All you have to do now is create your own world (characters, environment, storyline, etc.).
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Think like Darwin: how can a situation change and evolve? Things not only evolve, but they can eventually turn into something unrecognizable. Think about what life could be like in hundreds of years, about the technical, social and biological evolution of that time. Will the machines fly or become obsolete? Will humans continue to evolve?
Write a Dystopian Novel Step 7
Step 8. Try to understand what the situation is like right now and imagine how it could become in the future, even after centuries
For example, the need for home security is increasing due to rapidly growing crime. In some areas, people are afraid to leave their homes at night. Could these people, in the future, lose their social skills and become prisoners in their own home? In a similar scenario it is possible to hypothesize that, in the future, houses could be built specifically to house these hermits. The windows could be very small, thus reflecting the fear of the outside world. Everything needed to live could be delivered to these people directly at home, through an internal delivery system or a drone, without having to open the front door. Homes of the future may not have a front door at all. One could live and die without ever going outside …
Step 9. Read and watch dystopian masterpieces
For example "WALL-E", already mentioned above, is a film set in a world so polluted that all its inhabitants have moved into space. "Divergent" by Veronica Roth is a novel based on a society divided into five factions. "The Hunger Games", written by Suzanne Collins, is about a competition in which boys face off to the death.
Advice
- Keep a journal with the title of your novel on the cover. In this journal, write down all the ideas you have in your head for your parallel universe: minor details, main characters, social structures, and the like. Eventually you will find yourself making continuous connections between these elements to add detail and texture to your universe, as in a dystopian world, details are key. Readers will be looking for as much detail as possible, so try to spice up your story!
- Have fun and let your imagination run wild, just as if it were a fantasy book. Once you have acquired the right attitude, it will seem that the novel writes itself!
- Don't be afraid to go into ghoulish, eerie, or scary details. A dystopian novel is based on these elements: it might sound an illusion or a utopia, but the trick is to make the reader understand how horrible the world in question is and make him fear that it might actually happen.
- Remember that not all dystopian novels have to be set in the future. You can write a dystopian novel set in the past, changing an important historical event so that the temporal consequences are different (for example Adolf Hitler does not kill himself and invades America… what could happen?).
- A dystopian novel is often an analysis of real life, in the sense that your writing will allow you to express your opinions on the subject matter. One of the benefits of a novel is that it allows you to voice your thoughts using incredible literary tools, which will reflect in the reader's thoughts for a long time, even after you finish reading.
- If you need tips on how to write a dystopian novel, try reading Fahrenheit 451 or 1984, two very popular classic dystopian novels.
- Use as many literary tools, metaphors, similes and personifications as possible, as this world is unlike any other and, in a sense, is a fantasy universe. The only way to make it concrete and credible is to connect it to aspects of the real world, using metaphors to fully represent the power of the ideas you want to express.
- When writing, don't worry about plot holes or minor details, at least in the first draft.
