Try taking a current technology and adding your own spin on it. You may add features to technology that complicate people’s lives or make it harder for them to connect. You could also create your own version of an existing technology by adding elements to it. For example, you may create a communications network that runs on how many likes you get on social media.
For example, you may tackle the issue of climate change by creating a world where cities are underwater and people live with a limited supply of oxygen.
For example, you may look at the effects of gentrification by creating a dystopian world where only a select group of young men thrive in modern, clean homes and the majority of women and old people live in sewers.
For example, you may wonder, what if no one had any rights except for a select group of people? What if women were only used for reproduction? What if corporations ruled the world?
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley 1984 by George Orwell The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins The Earthseed Series by Octavia Butler The Giver by Lois Lowry Son by Lois Lowry
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley 1984 by George Orwell The Giver by Lois Lowry
What are the laws of the world? Is there a legal system, and if so, what does it look like? How are people punished for their actions? Does everyone receive the same punishment for their actions? What is considered taboo in the world?
For example, you may go for a descriptive, moody opening like the first line of William Gibson’s Neuromancer: “The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel. ” Or you may go for first lines that gives character and personality like Chuck Palahniuk’s Choke: “If you’re going to read this, don’t bother. After a couple pages, you won’t want to be here. So forget it. Go away. Get out while you’re still in one piece. Save yourself. ”
For example, you may have a main character who is employed by the shadowy government in control in the dystopian world. You may then show the main character struggling to help others overthrow the government.
For example, you may have a minor character who is the mother of the main character. She may try to help the main character succeed in overthrowing the shadowy government using her little known hacking skills.
For example, you may describe the metallic smell of the government headquarters, run by robots. Or you may describe the charcoal taste of the food given to the poor and elderly.
For example, you may have a main character who tries to ignore the evil actions of the dystopian government until it affects their family. They may then decide to take on the government so they can free their family.
Reading the novel aloud can also help you catch spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors.
