Ryan Mark's Blog - Posts Tagged "dystopian"
Understanding Change through YA Dystopian Fiction
We all know our world is changing at a drastic rate – but keeping up with how and why is difficult without becoming confused or feeling patronised.
Global changes - whether environmental or social - can seem dry and boring or difficult to understand coming from news readers or journalists. A better way to approach them might be to pick up a YA novel.
Showing, rather than telling a specific issue, i.e. wars or the melting of the polar ice caps, is one of the most important skills a writer can use when trying to get a reader to fully engage with the issues that are contained within their stories, especially environmental ones, which as previously discussed in the above paragraph, can sometimes be hard to understand.
Two books that I’ve read which have been successful in this sense for me are: Floodland by Marcus Sedgwick, and, The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Both of these authors managed to successfully explain the issues which led to their stories through their clever use of description and character’s emotions – which are two great ways in which a writer can successfully hold onto a reader’s attention and engage them in the issues of their world and what their characters are going through, thus showing the reader the state of the world of their stories.
One of the issues I looked in my YA Dystopian novel, Tremor, was the depletion of the Earth’s oil resources, and the problems that could stem from complete exhaustion. I found the best way to put this issue forward was not to use large descriptions or speech from one character, which could overwhelm a reader, but to incorporate it fully into the events of the storyline, rather than breaking away from the events and going into mass explanation on the issue, therefore showing, rather than, telling.
Global changes - whether environmental or social - can seem dry and boring or difficult to understand coming from news readers or journalists. A better way to approach them might be to pick up a YA novel.
Showing, rather than telling a specific issue, i.e. wars or the melting of the polar ice caps, is one of the most important skills a writer can use when trying to get a reader to fully engage with the issues that are contained within their stories, especially environmental ones, which as previously discussed in the above paragraph, can sometimes be hard to understand.
Two books that I’ve read which have been successful in this sense for me are: Floodland by Marcus Sedgwick, and, The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Both of these authors managed to successfully explain the issues which led to their stories through their clever use of description and character’s emotions – which are two great ways in which a writer can successfully hold onto a reader’s attention and engage them in the issues of their world and what their characters are going through, thus showing the reader the state of the world of their stories.
One of the issues I looked in my YA Dystopian novel, Tremor, was the depletion of the Earth’s oil resources, and the problems that could stem from complete exhaustion. I found the best way to put this issue forward was not to use large descriptions or speech from one character, which could overwhelm a reader, but to incorporate it fully into the events of the storyline, rather than breaking away from the events and going into mass explanation on the issue, therefore showing, rather than, telling.
The YA Dystopian Genre and Global Issues
There are hundreds of global issues facing the world at present. What better way to draw attention to them than the YA Dystopian genre? An exciting story is a great way to introduce readers to important themes and capture their attention in an engaging way.
The stories that come under this umbrella mostly depict a violent future for the world (The Road), some having society controlled by a totalitarian regime (The Hunger Games, Divergent), which was brought about by the current behaviours of society remaining unchanged, for example, continually draining the Earth’s natural resources, or, continued contribution to global warming, to name a few. The stories may be set in the future, but the reasons leading to that future are very close to home, and so, this genre is one way in which a concerned author can put forward world changing issues to a teenage reader while keeping them entertained and captivated at the same time.
A variety of issues and subjects can be covered in a book that falls into the YA Dystopian genre, from war, death, oppression, despair and environmental catastrophe, and if introduced into a plot that can hold the reader’s attention for a long period, these issues can be subtly placed into their minds without being too intrusive in the way in which they are described and put forward.
This genre gives readers the chance to read about such issues, without having to live through the hardships of what might be happening in that particular future. It gives the reader an experience and lets them imagine what such a world would be like, and maybe might make them think twice about leaving their mobile phone on charge all night…
The YA Dystopian genre can also be used to introduce global issues to a younger reader with limited global knowledge, without having to over complicate the description with too many scientific terms and explanations, which is great when trying to make them aware of the troubles that are currently ricocheting through our society.
The stories that come under this umbrella mostly depict a violent future for the world (The Road), some having society controlled by a totalitarian regime (The Hunger Games, Divergent), which was brought about by the current behaviours of society remaining unchanged, for example, continually draining the Earth’s natural resources, or, continued contribution to global warming, to name a few. The stories may be set in the future, but the reasons leading to that future are very close to home, and so, this genre is one way in which a concerned author can put forward world changing issues to a teenage reader while keeping them entertained and captivated at the same time.
A variety of issues and subjects can be covered in a book that falls into the YA Dystopian genre, from war, death, oppression, despair and environmental catastrophe, and if introduced into a plot that can hold the reader’s attention for a long period, these issues can be subtly placed into their minds without being too intrusive in the way in which they are described and put forward.
This genre gives readers the chance to read about such issues, without having to live through the hardships of what might be happening in that particular future. It gives the reader an experience and lets them imagine what such a world would be like, and maybe might make them think twice about leaving their mobile phone on charge all night…
The YA Dystopian genre can also be used to introduce global issues to a younger reader with limited global knowledge, without having to over complicate the description with too many scientific terms and explanations, which is great when trying to make them aware of the troubles that are currently ricocheting through our society.
