Welcome back to another blog hop, with #OpenBook. Here’s this week’s prompt.
Don’t forget to click the link to see what everyone else has to say on this week’s subject. It’s at the end of my post.
Do you avoid or actively include writing about the current political atmosphere in your stories?
Ten years ago, if you had written a story featuring the current state of the world and its politics, it would have been classed as fantasy or post-apocalyptic fiction. If it wasn’t dismissed as being too “far-fetched.”
Fortunately for me, most of my stories are set in the future, or an alternative now. Where you don’t have to concern yourself with current affairs, only the effect you choose to let them have on your world.
Writing about the future gives you a chance to offer your opinion, in social commentary, or as a critique of the way things are now. You can also use your characters to suggest or implement solutions to the problems of today, without getting dragged into arguments.
Terry Pratchett was great at doing this in his Discworld novels.
In stories of the future, or an alternative now, you have a lot of scope to reference current affairs and frame them in a different light. You can look back on them, with a kind of wistful longing (or loathing, depending) as historical facts.
In my future worlds, I’ve often used the truth that nothing really changes to make a version of today’s issues the current affairs in my universe.
I’ve dealt with environmental issues, political blocs, corporate conspiracies involving tame politicians and elites turning a blind eye when it suits. These are all current issues, ones that I’m sure will still be going on in the seventy-third century, or in the Steampunk world of Norlandia.
All you need to do then is see where time and the law of unintended consequences takes your narrative.
What do you think about this week’s subject?
Let me know by leaving me a comment.
While you’re here, please click the InLinkz link to check out what my fellow writers have to say about this week’s topic.
I’ll be back with another post on Thursday, see you then. Meanwhile, have a great week.
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Lela Markham
I agree! Today’s supposed disastrous government reform may — in a century — turn out to be what prevented another disaster. Or what we all think is a great idea right now could be the exactly thing that throws the world into chaos. We don’t know the future and we also don’t know “what didn’t happen.” I love alternative history for that. What if we’d done this, instead of what we did do? Where would the world be now?
Richard Dee
Part of the fun is deciding what the law of unintended consequences would make of it all.
P.J. MacLayne
Yes, fantasy (in whatever form) is a great way to provide commentary on current world events
Richard Dee
Absolutely. All names may be changed, yet the point can be made.
Snapdragon
That one of the reason I like the sci-fic genre. Political intrigue can be written in but it does not has to be tie too much in to modern politics.
Richard Dee
Yes. And the great thing about looking back is that you can always see the answers.
Kelly Williams
There’s a lot more freedom in fantasy & scifi to have the discussions as they become hypothetical and removed from identity. Star Trek has been a great purveyor of this, to the point fans of a certain ideology don’t realize it’s progressive and are stunned to discover it!
Richard Dee
Absolutely. As a writer, you can learn a lot from watching how scripted drama deals with issues. The City on the edge of Forever is a prime example.