![]() Is Your Character Alone?Ĭreating a one-man survivalist is a common device in dystopian storytelling. Of course, these ideas can change as you move through the story. Or, your character has a fuzzy knowledge about the society that existed before his current reality and recognizes that his reality is worse.ĭecide early on what your character knows, feels, and believes about the world he lives in. Perhaps your character was born into this dystopian wasteland and only knows its realities, without having any touchstone to the past. He may not know that anything exists beyond his immediate reality. What does your protagonist know and believe about his world? Perhaps he lives in a utopian compound, shielded from the misery of the world beyond the compound’s walls. Remember to give your main character something bright and positive that they appreciate, even if it’s a cockroach whom the main character befriends.ĭisney's WALL♾, Image Courtesy of Neogaf Do the Characters Know They’re Living in A Dystopia? It’s human nature to try to find balance and good in the most miserable conditions. ![]() Just like you and I are able to see both positives and negatives in the world around us, so can any relatable character you create. ![]() Your main character may or may not know that their world is corrupt or damaged in some way. Give your character something to look forward to. You can do this by introducing a secondary character who’s from another part of this world, or from news story tidbits. Give your reader context by pulling back to show others not directly connected to the protagonist. How are other countries affected by what’s happening in your dystopian society? Is there one global society? Is the world divided into factions that fight with each other? While it’s great to be specific, it’s majorly important to zoom back so that the reader can see the entire world. You’ll probably focus in on one country, maybe even one town. Let’s say you’ve created a dystopian society here on earth, set 50 years into the future. Otherwise, it will be a head scratching, confusing mess that will frustrate your readers because they have no idea of what’s going on. Whatever you do, make sure that the reader feels informed enough to carry on through the journey. It’s okay to discover new rules as you progress through the story along with, or even before, the main character. No matter how you choose to explain the rules, make sure you set it up within the first chapter if possible, giving the reader as much knowledge about the rules as the main character has. However, if he’s speaking to a newbie who has no idea how to operate in this world, it would make sense to explain how things work. If the main character is writing to himself journal-style, it may be unnatural to go into exposition about rules in engaging in this dystopian world. It could be self documentation in a series of journal entries. It’s important to decide who the narrator thinks he’s sharing the story with-it could be a newbie who needs to know everything about this world from scratch. The rules are part of your story, not an “oh, by the way.” Use the strength of your storytelling to weave these rules into the narrative.Įxplaining rules is far easier with a third person point of view, but you can still effectively discuss it as a first person narrator. So, if you’ve shared crucial information in there that you don’t flesh out in your novel, you’ll lose a lot of readers. Don’t create a prologue where you discuss the world’s rules, if you can help it. What I mean by that is to let it unfold naturally within the course of your story. Establish what the rules are in this dystopian world and do it early, but not too early.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |