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How to Create a Believable Dystopian World

The first thing you need to do is decide what kind of world you want to build. There are many different types of dystopian settings like post-apocalyptic, futuristic, cyberpunk and others. The type of setting you choose will determine how your characters live their lives, what they wear, eat, drink, etc. So it’s important that you know exactly what you want before you start designing the world.

You can use any number of sources for inspiration. I used this one when I wrote my own dystopia novel. It was actually pretty helpful. You could also look at other books, movies or TV shows set in these worlds. They all have something interesting about them, so take note! Inspiration is the fuel of creation.

Your world should be believable. If you’re going to make up a whole new world, then you’ll probably have to spend some time making sure that everything works out as well.

Set the Scene

Once you’ve decided on the type of world you want to write, you need to decide where you want to place it. Obviously, if your world is in space, then you’d have to figure out how gravity works. But even if the world isn’t in outer space, there are still things you need to consider. For example, if you want to set your story in an urban environment, you might have to think about traffic patterns, crime rates, pollution levels and more.

If you’re writing a fantasy world, you might not have to worry too much about all of those things. However, if you’re building a science fiction world, you’ll definitely need to pay attention to details.

Choose a Time Period

This is another big decision. You need to pick a point in history, and stick with it. This means that you won’t be able to change anything about the world unless you go back in time. And by “anything”, I mean just about everything. Even though you might be tempted to add in a few extra gadgets or technology, you really don’t want to mess around with history.

So once you’ve chosen a specific period, you need to work backwards from there. Once you’ve got that figured out, you can start thinking about the people who lived during that time. What would life be like? Who were the leaders? How did they rule? What were the main religions?

Types of dystopian societies

Now that we’ve covered the basics of creating a realistic dystopian society, let’s talk about the various types of dystopias. Each has its own unique characteristics, which makes each one very distinct.

Post-Apocalyptic Dystopia

A post-apocalyptic society is one that has been destroyed by disaster. Whether it’s war, natural disasters or manmade ones, you’ll find yourself facing a lot of challenges after the apocalypse hits.

Futuristic Dystopia

Just because you didn’t get wiped off the face of the earth doesn’t mean that you’re safe. In fact, it might be worse than ever. Technology has advanced over the years, but now it’s threatening to destroy us all.

Cyberpunk Dystopia

In our modern world, we often forget that computers aren’t magic. Computers are just tools, and they can be used for good or evil. A cyberpunk dystopian world is one where technology runs rampant, and everyone is enslaved by it.

Explain the Rules

The rules of a dystopian world are important. After all, without them, your world wouldn’t feel real. So if you want to build a convincing dystopia, you need to explain the rules that govern your world.

For example, if you’re writing a futuristic sci fi book, you’ll need to come up with a way for humans to keep themselves alive. If you’re writing a post apocalyptic story, you’ll need to think about how people survive.

You may also want to include laws. Some stories will require that people obey certain laws, while others will allow complete freedom. Of course, you can’t have both. Either the law exists or it doesn’t.

You can bend the rules too. You can always weld your dystopian world into the realm of science fiction and use world rules that would otherwise break natural law.

Developing characters in a dystopian world

Characters in a dystopian world are going to be pretty different from those in other settings. For starters, they’ll probably live in extreme poverty. They’ll be forced to scavenge for food. And they’ll have no choice but to follow strict government regulations.

These factors alone make it hard to write believable characters. But what else do you need to know? Let’s take a look at some of the most common traits of these characters:

Low Intelligence Level

Dystopian worlds tend to be low on intelligence. The reason why is simple. People living under such conditions have little motivation to learn new things. Instead, they focus their energy on survival.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It gives you an excuse to make sure that your characters don’t understand anything that happens around them.

It also means that they won’t be able to contribute much to the story. They’re not smart enough to realize what’s happening around them.

So instead of trying to teach them, you should try to show them through actions. Make sure that they notice the changes in their surroundings, even though they may fail to grasp the significance of it.

Limited Knowledge

Another trait of characters in dystopian worlds is limited knowledge. These people usually don’t know how to read, so books and magazines will be out of reach. Even if they did manage to read something, they’d never understand it anyway.

This makes it harder for them to form relationships with other characters. They can’t talk to other people, because they lack the vocabulary needed to communicate effectively.

In order to overcome this problem, you can either give them a device like a computer tablet or a radio. Or you could simply limit the amount of information they encounter.

Strict Government Regulation

A lot of dystopian worlds are controlled by governments. That means that they’re ruled by laws, rather than by individuals.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with following the law. However, when you’re writing a dystopian novel, you need to remember that people living in such a society have very few choices.

They can’t leave their homes unless they receive permission. They can’t go anywhere unless they get a permit. They can’t speak freely unless they pass a test. In short, they’re completely restricted.

As a result, they’ll become extremely obedient. If someone tells them to do something, they’ll just do it without question.

To keep this in mind, you should make sure that your characters aren’t as free as they seem to be. Don’t let them wander about wherever they please. Keep them confined within the boundaries of the city.

And if you decide to add futuristic technology to your story, make sure that it has been regulated by the government. Otherwise, it might end up being used against the citizens.

Lack of Freedom

One of the biggest differences between dystopian novels and those set in other genres is freedom. Dystopian novels tend to be more restrictive than others.

That doesn’t mean that they restrict everyone’s movements. On the contrary, they allow certain freedoms. For example, they allow people to travel outside the city limits. And they don’t interfere with the personal lives of their citizens.

However, there are still restrictions. For instance, they make sure that no one leaves the city except for special occasions. And they strictly regulate who gets access to certain resources.

If you want to include a character that represents this type of freedom, you need to ensure that he or she knows the rules. After all, if they don’t know what’s allowed, then they won’t be able break any rules.

Social Class

One of the main reasons that dystopian societies exist is social class. People from different classes live together, but they rarely interact.

The rich live in luxurious mansions while the poor dwell in squalid hovels. The middle-class fall somewhere in the middle. Because these groups are kept apart, they fail to develop an understanding of each other.

To overcome this problem, you need to make sure that you give your characters some common ground. This way, they can begin to recognize similarities between themselves and others.

You can achieve this by making sure that the lower classes are forced into manual labor. You can also introduce them to members of the upper class. But whatever you do, make sure that they’re not treated as equals.

For example, you can force them to work under harsh conditions until they learn how to survive. Or you can make them slaves.

In either case, they’ve lost their freedom. And because of this, they can’t help but respect those who control them.

Blind Belief

Some dystopian societies are built on religious belief, and the character may start the story as just another religious zealot. Characters may blindly believe in the government or otherwise the overall dictator.

Stories like this usually have the character thrust into an event or situation where their beliefs are challenged and it’s up to the character to figure out his pathway in life.

Dystopian story clichés and when to avoid them

As I mentioned earlier, dystopian stories follow similar patterns. That means that you’re likely to run into a few clichés when writing a novel based on this genre.

Here are the most common ones:

1. The hero must undergo a transformation before becoming a leader

Characters in dystopian fiction often go through a series of trials and tribulations before achieving their goal. They’re almost always at odds with someone else.

They fight with a group of rebels. They battle corrupt officials. They even face opposition from within their own ranks.

But despite everything, they eventually become leaders.

This pattern is so popular that it’s actually a cliché. So if you use it, make sure that you explain why your character was driven to take action.

2. The protagonist has to find something important

A lot of dystopian novels revolve around a character trying to save the world. He’ll try to stop a war. He’ll try to prevent a crisis. He’ll try to change things for the better.

He’ll search for answers. He’ll uncover secrets. He’ll find the truth.

This is a classic plot device. It allows you to explore the kind of questions that people ask when faced with difficult situations.

However, if you use this pattern too much, then your readers will grow tired of it. So if you really want to write a good dystopian novel, make sure that you vary your approach.

3. There’s a big mystery at the center of the story

Dystopian fiction is all about mysteries. You find yourself wondering what happened to the protagonists’ families. Why did they lose their jobs? Why were they banished? What caused the society to crumble?

These are questions that keep your reader guessing. If you don’t answer them, then you won’t be able to hold the reader’s interest.

4. A strong female character plays a major role in the story

There’s no doubt that women play a huge part in dystopian fiction. In fact, many of the best books feature strong female protagonists.

The Hunger Games trilogy, Divergent, The Girl With All the Gifts, and The Handmaid’s Tale are just a few examples.

It’s not uncommon for the main character to be a woman. But there’s no reason to limit her to being a single girl. She could also be a man. Or she could be a young child.

5. The protagonist fights against oppression

The majority of dystopian novels involve characters fighting against oppression. Whether it’s a totalitarian regime or a military dictatorship, these stories tend to focus on how the protagonist tries to free himself or herself from the evil rule.

6. The ending isn’t happy

If you want to show that life isn’t fair for everyone, then you have to show that it’s unfair for your main character as well.

In other words, you should make the story end very differently than you expected.

You should see the protagonist die. You should watch him fall apart. You should see him fail.

And you should never expect your protagonist

Go for the Big Picture

To achieve success, you need to plan out your whole project. This means thinking about every aspect of it. From the beginning to the end.

From the structure to the style.

So let’s talk about the structure first. As we’ve seen, most dystopian novels follow a similar formula.

1. Introduction: The protagonist finds out about some terrible event that’s going to happen.

2. Complication: Something happens to the protagonist.

3. Resolution: The protagonist takes action to solve his problem.

4. Epilogue: Everything turns out okay in the end.

That’s pretty much it. And it’s easy enough to do.

All you have to do is start writing. Then you can fill in the details later.

The big picture is an unwritten, almost feeling, that is permeating your story from end to end. You might also call this your “message” of the novel. This is why it’s incredibly important to establish and then follow the rules you made for your dystopian world. Without this, there is no consistency, and your message gets lost in disbelief.

• Writing Prompts

56 Dystopian Writing Prompts

Escape to a dark, disheartened world with these 56 dystopian writing prompts .

Mass poverty, cruelty and fear cover a dystopian world. From the shelter-like homes to the dark, broken streets. Life is hard. When writing a story set in a dystopian world you need to describe the harsh reality of this world in great detail. Make the reader fear this world. Think about the leaders who have control. This control might be significant, where harsh rules are made to keep the peace. Alternatively, there could be a rebellion, where leaders have no control and civilians are running havoc. See our master list of world-building questions to help develop a believable dystopian world.

A dystopian world is a world in shatters and ruins. How did it become this way? What rules and regimes do civilians follow, if any? What type of crime is most prominent in this world? These questions will help you create a realistic and powerful dystopian world for your readers.

Looking for some name ideas for your new world? Check out this world name generator . You might also find this list of Earth day writing prompts and this list of over 110 sci-fi writing prompts .

Dystopian writing prompts

To help you create a powerful story about a society in crisis, here are our 56 dystopian writing prompts:

• In the year 2,121, sea levels have risen at an extreme rate. 98% of the Earth is now underwater. The remaining 2% is made of small islands scattered across the Earth. With resources at a scarcity, the islands must work together if they are to survive.
• A virus has wiped out 95% of humanity in the future. The only survivors are machines and a group of secret underground warriors who rebelled against technology for centuries.
• In the future, a virus has caused some humans to mutate into ravenous troll-like beasts. While the remaining humans have to learn to survive in the world with these beasts.
• The life expectancy of people has dropped drastically in the future. At the age of 18, humans start to deteriorate and slowly pass away. The ruler is an arrogant 14-year-old kid.
• Scientists have combined robotics with human tissue to increase the life expectancy of humans. Apart from the vital organs, such as lungs and heart, as well as parts of the brain, humans are mostly robotic. Eventually, humans start losing control of their bodies to machines. 
• From the moment a human is born to the day they die, humans are connected to the internet. Everything they need to know about life is on a screen to which they are connected. One day, a technology outbreak completely wipes the internet. Humans are switched off. What happens next?
• Scientists have found the secret to endless happiness. They create a new pill that needs to be taken once a day to remain happy. But is this new pill all as it seems?
• To promote equality in the future, humans have to dress the same and talk the same. Any inappropriate English and slang words are banned. All around the world, everyone must speak English. If these rules are broken, the rule breaker will be sentenced to prison or even death.
• With the brand new Cloner 3000, cloning is just a button press away. Clone your cat, your dog and even yourself if you dare. What are the potential dangers of cloning yourself too many times? 
• Law and order is destroyed in the future. People are free to do whatever they want without any consequences. Until a group of vigilante heroes decide to recreate the law.
• There are two types of people, the rich and the poor. The rich have an extreme amount of money and power. And the poor are living on the streets and undergrounds, struggling to get by. A poor orphan girl is adopted by a rich family and discovers a deadly secret about how the rich become rich. 
• The excessive use of technology and social media has meant that 95% of the world suffers from extreme social phobia. The slightest human interaction results in mass panic attacks. One brave human decides to create a group where people can meet face to face regularly to help them overcome this fear.
• Crime has become such a huge issue in the future, that every home in the world has become a prison cell. Prison guards patrol the streets and provide prisoners with the essentials. One guard feeling guilty that his family is locked behind bars, tries freeing them, and soon things get out of control. 
• Oxygen is the new currency in the future. Instead of money people buy, earn and sell little canisters of oxygen. Continue this dystopian story…
• Desperate to create the perfect world, the government provides every person with a free virtual reality headset. Once worn, the person is transported to a tranquil utopia. Meanwhile, the government secretly has other plans in the real world. 
• A virus has turned every tree, plant and flower on earth into flesh-eating monsters. The only way to survive is to kill all plant life on Earth, but how will the planet survive?
• A new mobile app in the future tells people when to eat, sleep, drink and essentially live. Without the app, humans would be lost, confused and clueless. A group of cyber hackers, hack this app to gain control of all humans. 
• Being the main cause of social disorders and suicides, the internet is banned in the year 2,098. With the ban of the internet, people slowly resort to the old ways of living before the internet ever existed. Until a group of individuals find a way to bring back the net. 
• Bored of old-style video gaming, humans resort to sticking chips inside prisoners. Once a prisoner is chipped, they can be controlled like a video game character. 
• Desperate to be beautiful and young, rich people resort to stealing the actual skin and facial features of ordinary people. These extreme surgeries soon start to have a weird effect on humans.
• The Earth has been destroyed by a huge asteroid. A few humans that survived by living underground finally emerge to start a new life on Earth. 
• With the Earth’s population at an all-time high, it’s time for every human to prove their worth. After the age of 16, humans must take a test every year. If they fail the test, they are killed immediately. One young adult scores incredibly high on the test making them the ‘chosen one’. 
• Due to the lack of resources on Earth, all luxury items have been banned. People survive on basic rations of bread, rice and beans each month. No vanity items, such as jewellery or make-up are allowed. One day a group of civilians discover that luxury items do exist, but only the leaders can use them. 
• For the sake of human evolution, scientists have turned the small town of Whitefish into a huge science experiment. No one is allowed to enter or leave the city unless they are told so. Every now and then, a new stimulus is introduced, so that scientists can record the human reactions for a research paper. 
• Write a story about the aftermath of World War 5. Who was at war and who lost it? What devastation did the war create on Earth?
• In the far future, robots are responsible for creating human life. They carefully program each human when they are born to do certain tasks in life. One human realizes that they don’t need to follow the orders programmed in them and fights for freedom.
• After a huge asteroid hits Earth, the last two survivors have to find a way to recreate life. It’s a modern, dystopian Adam and Eve story.
• World leaders ban religion and talk of God in the future. A man discovers a secret church up in the mountains where people secretly believe in God. 
• Due to animal cruelty, people are no longer allowed to have animals as pets in the future. All pets live out in the wild without any human masters. One homeless teenager finds a hurt dog in the wild and takes care of it. Eventually, authorities find out about this forbidden friendship.
• A bored scientist dedicates his whole life to recreating popular monsters like vampires, werewolves and Frankenstein in real life. He finally masters the procedure and offers it to rich people at a price.
• Tired of the rat race and busy city-living, people move to the country to live a peaceful and calm life. Eventually, cities like New York City become a playground for criminals and runaways.
• When the human population on land reaches an all-time high. One man goes on a quest to create the ultimate underwater city for humans. Continue this story.
• In the year 2,121, 100% of the population becomes vegan. Eating any sort of animal product is considered cannibalism. Farm animals realize that humans will no longer eat them, so decide to plan their revenge.
• Cyber-pets become a huge thing in the future. Technology advances so much that people would rather buy robotic pets inside of real ones. This results in more stray animals on the streets. With no human love, the pets turn into savages attacking both humans and the cyber-pets.
• Humans have left Earth for a better life on Mars. One day, thousands of years later, a space astronaut from Mars lands on Earth to find…
• In the future, the majority of jobs have been taken over by robots. The only way to earn money is to take part in a series of games and challenges created by the rich for their entertainment.
• Everyone on Earth has experienced some sort of mutation in the future. This mutation has made humans powerful and troll-like. As the only pure human (with no mutations), your character’s daughter is kidnapped by a group of mutants who want to use her blood to make humans human-like again. 
• Imagine you are the last human survivor on Earth. What would you do alone on Earth?
• Describe a future where all humans are either deaf or blind.
• You and your family live underground away from all the technology. Write a series of diary entries about life underground.
• Sugar is banned completely in the future. Even fruits that taste sugary are no longer available. You are the leader of a secret underground group that creates your own homemade sugar. However since humans haven’t tasted sugar in a long time, the results become very dangerous.
• Since Earth has been destroyed, every family lives in their own spaceship homes floating around the galaxy. Every now and then you need to protect your home from space invaders, pirates and of course black holes.
• Write a story about one boy, his dog and a group of robots living on Earth as the only survivors. 
• Lying dormant deep at the core of the Earth, dragons finally awake. After a series of powerful earthquakes, they burst through the ground one by one. 
• With surveillance cameras watching everyone. A new TV show called, ‘Did They Really Do That’ airs across the nation showing the most embarrassing moments of civilians living in your area. You then go on a mission to destroy all surveillance and destroy the TV show.
• One man’s dream to swim with the dolphins is taken to extremes, as he genetically modifies a group of humans, so that they can swim underwater. Unknowingly these humans turn into monstrous mermaid-like creatures.
• Huge floating islands are created all over Earth to cope with the increase in the human population. These floating islands become new countries on the map with their own rules and way of life. 
• In the year 3,021 world peace is finally achieved. Everyone lives in perfect harmony. But how was this world peace achieved? One curious civilian makes a shocking discovery.
• Write a news article about the latest riot happening in your town in the year 2,899. Why did this riot happen? Who was involved? Where did it happen? What exactly happened before and during the riot?
• You are a lab assistant for a company that creates genetic make-up for humans. The make-up keeps humans looking young for their entire lifespan of 180 years. One day you discover something shocking…
• Cats and dogs have evolved into human-shaped beings. They now rule Earth and treat humans like pets. 
• Due to natural extinction and the threat of disease, all animals are gone in the future. You and your family have created a secret underground zoo, which holds the last remaining animals on Earth.
• Write a story from the perspective of a servant robot who wants to be the mayor of the city. 
• Scientists have learned to extract emotions from humans and contain them in jars. At a price, you can remove negative emotions like anger, sadness and fear. You can also sell and buy positive emotions like happiness. To obtain a new emotion, you simply inhale the emotion directly from the jar. In a special clinic, over 10,000 jars of emotions are contained, until one day…
• The Earth is a massive video game for advanced aliens living on a distant planet. They randomly spawn monsters whenever they feel like, and can control any human they like. One day the aliens are so bored that they create a big scary boss monster for a town of people to fight.
• In an effort to create a better world, all humans must take a personality test. If your personality does not meet the criteria set by the government, then you are sent to work camps. People at the work camps live a horrible life of abuse, torture and endless hard work for 18 hours a day. Imagine that your main character fails the personality test, and is sent to one of these camps.

For more gritty ideas, check out our guide on what is dieselpunk plus story ideas .

What do you think of these dystopian writing prompts? Which one is your favourite? Let us know in the comments below.

Marty the wizard is the master of Imagine Forest. When he's not reading a ton of books or writing some of his own tales, he loves to be surrounded by the magical creatures that live in Imagine Forest. While living in his tree house he has devoted his time to helping children around the world with their writing skills and creativity.

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How to Develop a Dystopian World

Last Updated: August 10, 2021

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, volunteer authors worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 10,003 times.

Dystopian worlds can be terrifying yet intriguing. The likes of George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, Margaret Atwood and Suzanne Collins have all produced their own dystopian worlds which are all equally terrifying. This article will help you to develop your own.

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Writing Tips Oasis - A website dedicated to helping writers to write and publish books.

How to Write Dystopian Fiction: The Ultimate Guide

By Georgina Roy

Welcome to Writing Tips Oasis and the newest installment in our series of writing guides . In this guide, we will be tackling the task of writing Dystopian Fiction.

Before we proceed, let’s take a look at the definition: what is dystopian fiction, precisely? Dystopian fiction is a catch-all term for all short stories, novellas, novels, and films that take place in a futuristic world that is the opposite of ideal. An ideal world, where there is no hunger, no poverty, no crime, and every person living in it is equal and happy, is called a utopia. Therefore, when the world is oppressive, riddled with hunger, crime, totalitarian governments, and where no character lives a happy life, you have a dystopia.

In essence, due to the futuristic setting (unless you’re going for an alternate Earth type of story where the year is the same as the present, but the world is vastly different), dystopian fiction is considered a sub-genre of science fiction. This means that writing dystopian fiction by the book – by the rules of the genre – means creating a blend of futuristic science and a dystopian society.

In the first part of the guide, we will be taking a look at the different ways of creating a dystopian world. In the second part, we will be looking at the futuristic side of things. Nothing will take your readers out of the story faster than the lack of futuristic technology in your story, especially if the story takes place in the near or far future. Finally, to wrap things up, we will be taking a look at the plot, the story, and the characters, as well as the lure and dangers of social commentary: how to avoid sounding preachy, but still say everything that’s on your mind.

Every advice you will read in this guide – or any other online guides or books – should be taken with a grain of salt and modified until it works for you. Every writer is unique, and each writer writes differently and writes different stories. If a tip worked for us in creating a dystopian fiction story, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it will work for you. Hence why modifying everything is important. With enough modifications, you can mold any tip into a tool that works for you.

So, without further ado, let us proceed to the guide. Good luck!

Table of Contents

Part 1: Creation of a Dystopian World

Types of dystopian societies, part 2: creation of a futuristic world, 1. technology, 3. everyday life, 4. geography, 5. language/languages, 6. medicine and other miscellaneous, part 3: the dystopian fiction, 1. developing the story, 2. developing characters in a dystopian world, 3. dystopian story clichés to avoid, 4. addressing contemporary issues, 5. potential problems and social commentary.

In order to create a dystopian world, you need to create a dystopian society. Even in the worst post-apocalyptic world that you can imagine, if there is no dystopian society, you don’t have a dystopian world.

However, before you get to the dystopian society, you need a reason for its existence. For example, you cannot have a world where everyone lives with a master (slave society) unless you can show that, for whatever reason, this social arrangement works for at least one group of people (who, in this particular example, would be at the top). The reason can stem from two things:

• A natural disaster (or a man-made disaster) plunged the world into chaos and destruction – an Apocalypse – and from that, rose the dystopian society (as seen in The Hunger Games );
• A natural progression of our world.

Let’s talk a bit more about the second example. Our world has a lot of problems. Take any of them, exaggerate it to (seemingly) abnormal proportions, and you can create a dystopian society that can hit home for many readers. In a way, even if you use the natural disaster example, the dystopian society will still stem from the world’s current issues.

One of the best pieces of advice we can give you here is to read a lot of dystopian books. The classics, like Fahrenheit 451 , 1984 , A Brave New World , to modern examples like The Hunger Games , Divergent , The Maze Runner , and so on. The biggest reason why you should read every possible book in the dystopian genre is to get a feel of all the types of dystopian worlds that have already been created. We will take a deeper look at some of these types, and explain how these types of societies came to be. What you can glean from them is not only how to make them – some of them have actually already become clichés, as far as creativity goes – but how to make them original as well. As the saying goes, nothing in this world is new, and when it comes to fiction, the only thing that’s new is your interpretation.

1) The disease world

The easiest way to create a disease dystopian world is to have a major natural (or manmade) disaster that releases a virus into the air/water/etc. After the initial apocalyptic disaster and the chaos, the world will create a new pecking order. People may be forbidden to visit special areas; they might live underground or under domes made specifically to protect them from this disease. The people who built these will be the ones who are in charge. The ordinary people need to live under a strict code of conduct. They will have many things chosen for them, from who they live with to who they will date, marry, and procreate with.

They will also be the ones who try to help the people who do fall ill. You cannot have a dystopian world riddled with disease and not have at least one character get infected – and either succumb to the disease and die or survive.

Where does the dystopia come in? It comes through control. In every type of dystopian world, the dystopia comes from control. There are always things beneath the surface:

– In a disease world, the government might not be trying to help those who are sick;

– There must be regular checks to see if anyone has gotten sick;

– The sick people usually disappear from the face of the earth, and their families never see them again.

And then, you have things that happen in the world as a result of someone in the family being sick (and maybe even having died from it). For example:

• A girl might not be allowed to date or marry the one she loves because her dad had succumbed to the disease. She is labelled as unfit to procreate because her genes are susceptible to the disease;
• A person might be alienated from society due to the sickness;

2) The military world

The military world is easy enough to create: all you need is a military in charge of everything. Again, this world can be the result of a catastrophic disaster, or it can come by as a natural progression of our world.

What you need is a reason for the military to be in charge. This means that war is unavoidable – either civil war or a world war – and the military has taken charge of governing the people. As a result, the military will be:

– Controlling the channels of communication;

– Controlling the flow of information;

– Keeping the people in line by forbidding individual progress.

As a result, the people will be living in a constant state of military raids. When the military controls information, there will be a lot of contraband running around: music, books, illustrations, paintings, philosophy. Uttering the wrong word in the wrong crowd can be deadly. Not obeying the military means never seeing your family again. Again, it all comes back to control – in a military dystopian world, the military controls everything, and your life and well-being depend on how obedient you are.

3) Police states

A police state is very similar to a military state. However, instead of the military, you have a government that controls the population through the police. In this world, you don’t need a war for the police to be in control. The police state means strict curfew, strict manners of behavior, and again, uttering the wrong word in the earshot of the wrong people can get you imprisoned – and it can even get your family imprisoned as well.

One of the best examples in fiction of a police state is, of course, George Orwell’s 1984 . When you read it, you can feel the oppression as if you’re really there. For that reason, when you’re creating a police state, you need to put your character in situation where he will get into trouble, due to recklessness or rebellious behavior.

In the police state world, and in almost every dystopian world, you have two types of ordinary people. The first type is the openly oppressed: they live in poverty, survive by any means possible, and are forced to obey because they have no other choice. The other type is the type of people who work with the police and government, or work for them. They are just as equally oppressed – even though they probably are not in immediate danger of going hungry or broke – because they are asked to do atrocious things in the name of the country. This world offers you the opportunity to explore both sides of the coin. On one side, you have characters who live the oppression, and on the other side, you have characters who need to help the oppression against their will.

The previous examples were, essentially, dictatorships in different forms. Anarchy is the opposite. No one is being oppressed by the government, however, there is still oppression. The oppression comes from the people themselves.

The thing is, in any type of society, someone has to be in charge of things. It’s in our nature to look for leadership, for someone to guide us. In a society without a government, where anyone can seemingly do anything, you will have the creations of groups: factions, tribes, covens, communities. Again, even their rule will be hard won and easily lost – hence the constant state of struggles for power.

Also, imagine being an ordinary man or a woman in a world where you cannot really call 911 (or another emergency number) when you’re in trouble. Someone is cornering you on the street with a knife, asking you for everything you have and own at the moment. No one will stop to help you in a world of anarchy. Good Samaritans in such a world are rare. Even today, if you’re in trouble, there is a 50% chance that you will not get any help from passersby, especially if you’re in a big and busy city. But, imagine a world where you know, with absolute certainty, that no help is coming.

In a way, the anarchy world is even more difficult and stressful than the police state or military world. The other two strive on order and keeping the status quo, there is no status quo in an anarchy world and there is no order.

What does the ordinary man do in such a world? How do women survive in it? Can you buy off an attacker who is unafraid of any sort of retaliation? How do you protect yourself on a daily basis?

This means that the characters in such a world will need to be physically powerful. They will keep any sort of weapon on themselves to be prepared for any attack. Romance (romance can be present in almost every genre) will be rare and dangerous. And the best paid job will probably be that of a bodyguard. Because everyone will need one.

How does anarchy come to be?

The easiest answer is financial crisis. When money becomes worthless and what you can take with your hands is what you will eat and have, when governments are unable to control the population – nor the police – you have a state of anarchy. However, you can use any kind of cause for an anarchy state. A wave of disease can kill millions of people, and you can have anarchy in the aftermath.

As we previously said, people flock to leadership. We want someone to be in charge so that we don’t have to worry about streetlights and clearing the snow in winter. We like having electricity, TV, and internet. As a result, your story needs to have the seeds of a new civilization.

5) Alien invasion

This is the easiest dystopian world. The alien invasion gave us our alien overlords. Now we live under their rule. They are in charge of how we speak, the jobs we have (all paying minimum wage that barely allow us to survive). The aliens can take children to raise them and brainwash them with their propaganda.

But, like we previously mentioned, it’s all about the interpretation. Remember, your story is not about the invasion itself – in your story, humanity got invaded some years ago (give or take a century, in order to establish the new society). For example, if the aliens invaded 50 years ago, you will still have remnants of the previous world. People will still have memories of how it used to be before the new regime. The story of the alien invasion itself will belong in a different genre – science fiction, or apocalyptic fiction, maybe even post-apocalyptic fiction, which would encompass the time period after the invasion, but before the new civilization has been set.

The aliens themselves can be benevolent or malevolent. A very common example are the benevolent aliens who took over our planet because we were ruining it. They would still be oppressing us, but their cause would be “for the greater good.”

Malevolent aliens, on the other hand, will be oppressing humanity for their own gain. They can have advanced technology we can only dream of developing, and use that to control all of humanity. In a way, this world is very similar to military world and police state, with the difference that the dictators in this case do not come from our world.

6) Inhospitable environment

Similar to the disease ridden dystopian world, the dystopian world with an inhospitable environment can be a dictatorship – where the government controls the population because the outside world is unsafe (as seen in Inside Out – the novel, not the film, as well as Divergent – where the fence keeps the monsters at bay). This world can also be an anarchy world, where every person has to fend for themselves.

What you need here is the reason for the inhospitable environment. The easiest example is radiation. If there are places you cannot go without getting severe radiation burns, then you have places with an inhospitable environment. Another example is the earth itself. Let’s say that global warming gets exponentially progressive, then what will be the result? Will the people be able to live in areas where it’s too hot? And the other extreme, will the people be able to live north of the equator? What would be the result of a nuclear war? How would humans survive in a nuclear winter?

Again, here you need to think not only about how the people would survive and what their daily lives would look like – but also about their society, how and why is it oppressive, because that is what will change the genre from post-apocalyptic science fiction to a dystopia.

7) Constant war

Constant war can be one of the subtlest types of a dystopian world. In Orwell’s 1984 , they even have the slogan “war is peace.” In a world like that, war becomes the driver of the economy, and the people succumbed to it face the police or the military as its face. For that reason, the world with constant war is often a military or a police state.

As previously mentioned, you can have a constant world war, or a constant civil war. In constant world war, the actual war can be fought in a different place in your world, far away from your protagonist, serving only as a social background to the story. In this case, the ordinary people will be away from it, but feel the effects. An oppressive dictatorship can easily take control over the population if said dictatorship’s military is the only thing standing between the population and the foreign invaders. In a way, you would be creating a military world and a police state where war is the reason behind everything. As such, war will also dictate the everyday life of the population.

On the other hand, a constant civil war world is completely different. Here, your characters will be placed in the middle of the conflict between the two factions. Who is your true friend and who is working for the other side? Friends turn against friends, while enemies might need to band together to survive. Moreover, this world offers you the opportunity to have the world itself as a vital plot element, rather than only having it as a background to a different story.

Whichever way you choose to go, keep in mind that you need to show the war in your world. In a constant world war, your characters will have to be aware of it. Whether they actively try to get involved, or get more information about it is not relevant, as long as they are aware of it. When it comes to constant civil war, your characters will not be able to escape from it – unless they go to a different country.

8) Controlled breeding in population

There is something uniquely oppressive about living in a world where someone else gets to decide who you will have children with, when you will do it, how, and so on. In order to create a society where this is the norm, you need to give a good reason for it. There must be a reason why breeding has to be rigidly controlled by the government.

A very easy example is damaged genes – where the government has the right to deem your genes unfit for procreation and forbid you from creating a family. In fact, the world itself can be perfect, the people might never go hungry and they may live in a utopia – however, when you don’t have control over your own family, what is the point of it all?

Another example is sterility. The government may be controlling the population through forced sterilization. It’s not too difficult to find a reason for it: even today, the world is facing overpopulation problems. What happens when there are over 20, 30, 40 billion people in the world? That’s right, the government needs to find a way to curb and corral breeding, as crude as it may sound. And as a result, you can have a world where you don’t choose if you’re going to have children or not, but the government will do it for you.

As with the constant civil war example, in this world, your characters will be in the nick of things. Using controlled breeding simply as a background to your story set in a dystopian society poses the question as to why your story is happening in such a world. Many readers will probably ask themselves if the story is related to the world in any way. If the answer they come up with is no, they will lose the will to suspend their disbelief (the process where the reader accepts everything you present in a book as real) and you will not get loyal fans and readers.

9) Combinations

Of course you can combine different elements to create a unique dystopian world that has not been seen before. However, as with any other genre that allows for experimenting in worldbuilding (epic fantasy, urban fantasy, science fiction and all their subgenres), you cannot simply throw everything at the wall and see what sticks.

In other words, your combinations should make sense.

For example: in an inhospitable world, it’s easy to imagine that the people will flock to form groups rather than succumb to a centralized government. However, if you add problems with procreation to that world, a centralized government will provide the people the resources they need in order to survive and bring forth a next generation.

As previously mentioned, in police and military states, constant war can come as both the cause for their formation – or as a result of it.

Another thing that you must decide is what happens with the dystopian society by the end of the book. In The Hunger Games , the government, such as it was, got toppled. That, however, is not the case in Orwell’s 1984 . In other words, your story can either be the story of how a dystopian society comes to an end – or it can be an individual story within a dystopian society where the society itself remains relatively unchanged. Most often, the society gets trampled and a new hope is on the horizon for all of its citizens. If you choose to go the other way, make sure that the story itself doesn’t require that. Or, do not have your characters start a revolution just to go out in a blaze of glory without changing anything.

The futuristic world needs to be a part of your dystopian world, unless you’re writing about an alternate earth. And even then, the alternate earth needs to be different than our earth, and that is done through several elements:

Technology: you need ultra-modern technology to make your world believable.

People: cultures, groups, tribes, families. How will the people behave in your world, and how the world affects their behavior is an important worldbuilding element in a dystopian society.

Everyday life : what does your character do for a living? How and why? What kind of jobs have opened up as a result of your world? What do people do for fun? And are they allowed to do anything for fun? and more.

Geography: has the face and appearance of the world changed in any way? Are the continents still the same, or have they moved? Is there any new flora and fauna hiding in the ocean’s depths and the safari’s wilderness?

Language/languages: this is an interesting one – how many languages do you have in the world?

Medicine: do people have access to modern medicine?

These are the basic elements. Let’s take a deeper look at each of them.

We talked a bit about suspension of disbelief – and when it comes to a dystopian society that takes place in the future, nothing kills suspension of disbelief faster than a lack of modern – ultra modern, in fact – technology.

We’re not saying that you need to create a teleportation device for your dystopian society to be believable. However, you must change the everyday life of the characters – make it vastly different from what we have today in order to make the society believable. In fact, you can even create a whole dystopian society around access to modern technology.

To keep in line with our combinations and examples, this is easily seen in The Hunger Games , where the people from the Capitol have access to modern medicine and technology, while the people in the districts struggle and starve. Another example of this can be seen in Uglies by Scott Westerfield. In the world of the Uglies , you undergo a plastic surgery at the age of 16. This surgery makes you beautiful and enables you to access all the benefits from society. There is only one catch: the plastic surgery also erases your previous memories and enables the government to control you. There is no family, no unity, only pleasures and benefits. On the other side of the coin lay the Uglies – the people who have not gone under the knife. They live on technological remains, and their life is difficult, but they have managed to keep their own personality, identity, and individualism.

Modern technology can change everything. From transport to medicine, to jobs and education, and for that reason, technology needs to be a vital part of the world.

We will talk more about creating characters in the third part of the guide. Here, we will be taking a look at the people in your dystopian fiction story. In your novel, you will have characters who will need to be fleshed out well and appear real. However, you will also need characters who will easily fade into the background. These people are a part of your world.

What groups have these people formed? What is the norm? Do they band together in families or live as loners?

The nature of your world will have a big say in this. For example, you cannot live in an inhospitable environment completely alone. On the other hand, a world where the state police rules, will banding together in groups or families be encouraged or discouraged?

Moreover, how do these people act? What is the norm, and what is considered bad in your dystopian society? The easiest course of action is to keep the social norms close to what we are familiar with in our everyday lives. However, keep in mind that your story happens years, maybe even centuries into the future. How have the social norms changed, and what kinds of social norms have been built in the meantime?

Answering these questions will help you flesh out your world. For example, you need to know your characters’ backgrounds, even if those backgrounds never actually come up in the story. You are the one who needs to know them in order to flesh out your characters. When it comes to the people, and all the other worldbuilding elements, you need to know these things for the same reason. They might not come up directly into the story, but it will help you show, rather than just tell about, your world better.

Before your story begins, your protagonist and all the other characters that will be involved in the story have everyday lives. In order to flesh out your world, imagine one day in your protagonist’s life, a day that happened before the story started, a day that can be considered normal, where nothing out of the ordinary happened. Imagine your protagonist waking up, having breakfast, going to work, what happens there, where he or she has lunch, what he or she eats, what he or she does for fun after work (if possible). Which friends does he or she see, and where? Is going to a bar for a drink a normal thing, or is it just not done?

What does your character use for transport? Do cars work in your world? Is there a tube, an underground railway, or do people go to work in flying zeppelins? What are the jobs of the future? What games have been invented? In an oppressive society, how do people have fun, why, and when?

Again, the chances that you will be able to show the ordinary world directly into the story are slim. However, you need to know what the ordinary world and everyday life of your characters and other people are like, so that you can build your story on top of that foundation.

We mentioned previously that due to the fact that the story happens in a world of the future, you need to know what that world looks like. Again, the easiest course of action is to just keep the landscape and overall geography the same. However, depending on how many years into the future you go, you might need to make some drastic changes.

For example, one thousand years from now, the face of the earth will be changed. Look back into history, and note how fast these changes have happened, and you can be creative and come up with a new landscape that will make sense and make your world more realistic.

If your story happens three hundred years from now, instead of one thousand and more, you don’t need to change the face of the earth. However, you do need to think about how the landscape will change. New towns and cities might have sprung up in the meantime, especially if these cities and towns are necessary for your story. In fact, the more you change the everyday world of today, the better, because you want to convince your readers that this is what the earth will be like in three hundred years.

Transport also depends on geography. In an inhospitable environment, how are roads built and why? Do roads get domes overhead for protection, or are they just built underground? What kind of technology is being used to cover long distances? Again, it doesn’t have to be a teleportation device, but, what do planes and ships look like, and are they able to work and function the same as today?

Also, do you need to use any of those in your story? If you do, make sure that these things are presented in your story in a way that ensures that they are a part of the world, not just things you invented to move your story forward. In other words, if people use oversized zeppelins to get from one place to another, make sure that the readers understand that this is normal. In that case, if your characters have another form of transport, make sure to explain that this is outside of the norm and why.

Languages can really make a difference in a world. Considering that the story happens in the future, you can go two different ways:

– Have a universal language that everyone understands;

– Have a multitude of languages appear in your story.

This doesn’t mean that you need to invent a new language.  A lot of novels feature people speaking in different languages without having said language make an appearance in actual words. Sometimes you can just describe it: staccato words, guttural tones, etc. Other times you can have a character understand it and translate for the protagonist. Other times the protagonist can be in a situation where he or she doesn’t understand the speakers – it makes for a good dramatic situation and calls for solutions that solely depend on body language and mimics. And yes, of course, if inventing languages is something that you enjoy, showing it in your novel will flesh your world out even more.

Access to medicine is a big part of any world, especially a dystopian one. If one or more of your characters get injured, where and how do they get help?

Moreover, what new diseases ail humanity in the future, and how curable are they? If you have a disease ridden dystopian world, medicine becomes even more important, especially if it’s the oppressive government that controls the cure.

If ordinary people cannot get easy access to medicine, do they turn to herbs? Is there a black market where the medicine you get is half a cure and half a curse? Who would manage it and why, and how did that come to be? What is the connection that your characters have with it?

When it comes to other miscellaneous, that depends solely on you and your imagination. The world is not just made of jobs, transport, family, fun, medicine, and landscape. There will be trinkets, gadgets, futuristic looking houses and buildings. Locks, keys, advertisements, means of communication and communication devices. And more. The way that you imagine these things and their role in the everyday life of your characters must be present in the story, again, as the foundation upon which you can weave your plot and story.

Once you combine the dystopian society with a futuristic setting, you will have a dystopian fiction world that presents a good foundation upon which your story can be built, brick by brick. What you’re still missing, in this case, is the story itself.

A good story has a well-developed world, characters and plot, the unity of time and space – as in, the readers will get to learn what happened, when, and where – told through the eyes of a narrator. The narrator can tell the story through first person point of view, third person limited point of view, third person omnipresent point of view, or second person point of view (which is probably the rarest type of point of view in fiction).

So, let’s take a look at how to better develop your story and characters and keep it free of clichés.

As we previously mentioned, in a dystopian world, your story is either connected to the dystopian society, and at the end of it, either the society is beginning to change, or it has been toppled like a house of cards. If your story is not connected to the dystopian society, then the dystopian society becomes just a background for it.

Of the two options, the first one offers a better opportunity for a cohesive story. Utopian societies are a myth because the task of making everyone in the world happy and content is too difficult for a society to manage – and even when it does, there is always something lurking under the surface, like in Brave New World , and the utopian society easily turns into a dystopia. On the other hand, dystopian societies beg to be toppled down. For that reason, most dystopian stories either have the main character escape said dystopia, or the society itself is toppled.

However, that doesn’t mean that you cannot develop a story in a dystopian world where the society itself is left completely unchanged and unscathed at the end of the story. What you should not do is touch upon the topic of rebellion and changing the world without delivering at the end. So, how can you develop the story?

A good story has a tightly woven plot and fleshed out characters. The tightly woven plot depends solely on your protagonist: unless you have an ensemble of protagonists with their own point of view chapters, you are telling the story of one person among many. That means the following:

– Your protagonist needs to get a goal very early in the story;

– Your protagonist needs to decide to pursue that goal, and have his or her backstory, together with his or her personality, support that decision;

– Your protagonist needs to embark upon a journey that will change him by the end of the story.

The easiest way to imagine each step is the following:

– The ordinary world, where your protagonist resides;

– Receiving the call to adventure: the setup of the protagonist’s goal;

– Refusing the call, then accepting the call to adventure, the call to the journey;

– Embarking on the journey, and starting to work on achieving the goal;

– Encountering different things along the journey that incited the change within him or her;

– Making mistakes and learning from them;

– After going through both the physical and emotional grinder, the protagonist comes out stronger and better, defeats the enemy, achieves his or her goal, and takes the cake. Cue going back to the ordinary world – or staying in the new world.

Previously, we talked about the people in general in a dystopian world, the creation of groups, tribes, families, their values and cultures and languages. When it comes to creating characters, you can play with some of the following tools:

– Combine the backstory of a character with his or her personality to give him or her a unique, personal goal within the story;

– This will enable you to give the characters a character’s arc, i.e. have the characters learn something by the end of the book and change in a significant way;

– With the combination of background (group in the society, language, culture, family) and personality, you can develop a unique voice for each character.

What’s more important is that each character needs to be important to the story and the protagonist. If the character is not important, then there is no reason for his or her appearance in the story, other than the fact that you want him or her to be there.

On the other hand, avoid using clichéd characters to fulfill a role. For example, if you need someone to be knowledgeable of all things technology, do not have him be a tall, skinny male, with messy hair and glasses, who speaks only in long, explanatory paragraphs and lives and breathes the knowledge. He or she would also have a background. Maybe it’s a girl who dances in her free time. Maybe she delivers the best results when she listens to hard core heavy metal music.

The list goes on. It’s very good to take a look at archetypes, however, it’s the combination of multiple archetypes, often in a contradictory way, that creates the layers of a character.

We all know what clichés are, so let’s jump right into the most common clichés in dystopian fiction:

– Oppressive government that gets toppled;

– Beasts on the outside of a community fence;

– Limitation of knowledge and information;

– Controlling communications;

– The hero who is genetically engineered to be so;

– An extreme divide between the rich and the poor;

– The hero who topples the government was pursued by that very same government.

There are more clichés, of course. From government issued jobs, where you don’t have a say in your profession, to tattoos that denote your status, and many other examples.

Does this mean that you’re not supposed to use any of the clichés?

Of course not. In fiction, things and scenarios and settings become a cliché because they are overused. However, as long as you’re able to add an original spin to a cliché, your story will remain interesting and cohesive. If tattoos denote the status of the citizens, make sure that there is an original idea behind it, and that you will do something original with them. Again, avoid throwing everything at the blank page to see what sticks. Think things through carefully before adding anything that might be considered a cliché in your story. Moreover, make sure to have another pair of eyes on it – often, we writers use clichés in our stories without being aware of it.

A lot of dystopian novels tackle contemporary issues. The level of success in this depends both on the specific issue and the story that the writer has told. The problem here is that often; writers attempt to tackle contemporary issues unsuccessfully.

If you decide to do this, make sure that you know what you want to want to say. For example, if you decide to take on world hunger, increase it to unimaginable levels, and use it as a setting in your story. Also, make sure that there is a point to it.

The reason why writers address issues in their novels, regardless of genre, is because they have something to say about it, and because they want to make their readers think about it. However, most often, writers do it for the first reason and often, without a clear message. It’s what happens when readers say in their reviews that they liked the theme, they liked the idea, but the execution of said idea fell short for them.

In other words, when tackling contemporary issues, know what you’re trying to say. Do not be too convincing in it either – because it’s better to entice the readers to think about it, rather than pound down your opinion with a club.

As we said in the previous section, tackling issues is difficult. However, social commentary presents an even bigger challenge. Not only do you have to do it in a sensitive manner, you have to be careful – sounding too preachy can alienate most of your readers.

The potential problems here are many. It’s enough to offend one reader who has a lot of online followers. Said reader makes a statement about your novel and then you will have a lot of eyes on your story – and not in a good way.

This doesn’t mean that you need to keep a lid on social commentary, though. As we previously said, the best thing that you can do with a dystopian novel is to make your readers think. There is a lot of philosophy in A Brave New World . There are many things to think about in The Hunger Games .

So, how can you do it while avoiding any negative backslash?

First, you must choose your words carefully. Second, the social commentary needs to be relevant to the story or the history of the world. Often, you can use it as a contrast – what used to be compared to what it is now. However, it would sound odd if a 15-year-old started spouting off about everything that’s wrong with society. Even your readers will probably not take those words seriously. In other words, do not put in social commentary just for the sake of it. Make sure that it happens naturally within your novel, at the right place, the right time, and that the characters who are actually involved in the scene have a reason to do so.

Out of all genres, the dystopian fiction offers a lot of leeway for creativity and imagination. You can imagine white towers of glass and steel supported by the sweat and work of the impoverished and imprisoned. You can imagine that and give a solid reason for its existence. In addition, you’re not limited to science – years and years into the future, who’s to say that humanity wouldn’t develop magical powers? Who’s to say that there will not be technology that is nothing more than magic?

The traps here are holes: holes in the background, holes in your plot, continuity errors with your character’s background and errors in your worldbuilding (a city used to be in the West, then, a few pages later, it’s in the East). But, the biggest trap is the society itself. You need a solid reason for its existence.

For example, let’s say that in the future, every person lives with a master. The masters are the rich people, the slaves are the poor people, and neither one of them gets a choice in the matter. They need to live as master and slave. However, at the end of a four-year tenure, the slave gets to choose a new master.

The above described is a premise. Without a solid background reason for the existence of such a society, any story built in that world will topple like a house of cards. Why? Because the prisoner/slave can just escape and live out his life in the wild. There is nothing to gain from choosing a new master. And there is nothing that supports this society, because it doesn’t even seem like the master has any choice or benefit from the arrangement.

In conclusion, make sure that your premise makes logical sense and that you can support it through the history of the world. Then, make sure that, at all times, you know where your story is going, and do not begin story threads and side plots that you cannot finish. Let your imagination soar, but keep it in check, and keep away from preaching your opinions of the world.

We hope you found our guide on how to write a dystopian novel useful.

How to Write Dystopian Fiction: The Ultimate Guide is an article from Writing Tips Oasis . Copyright © 2014-2017 Writing Tips Oasis All Rights Reserved

Georgina Roy wants to live in a world filled with magic. As an art student, she’s moonlighting as a writer and is content to fill notebooks and sketchbooks with magical creatures and amazing new worlds. When she is not at school, or scribbling away in a notebook, you can usually find her curled up, reading a good urban fantasy novel, or writing on her laptop, trying to create her own.

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How to Write a Dystopian Novel

Last Updated: December 22, 2023 Approved

This article was co-authored by Lucy V. Hay . Lucy V. Hay is a Professional Writer based in London, England. With over 20 years of industry experience, Lucy is an author, script editor, and award-winning blogger who helps other writers through writing workshops, courses, and her blog Bang2Write. Lucy is the producer of two British thrillers, and Bang2Write has appeared in the Top 100 round-ups for Writer’s Digest & The Write Life and is a UK Blog Awards Finalist and Feedspot’s #1 Screenwriting blog in the UK. She received a B.A. in Scriptwriting for Film & Television from Bournemouth University. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. In this case, 90% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 186,862 times.

Dystopian writing focuses on a future world in which things have not gone well for the human race. This genre can be a fun way to explore technology, global issues, and powerful institutions in a creative, action packed way. To write a dystopian novel, start by brainstorming ideas and reading good examples of the genre. Then, sit down and compose the novel with well written characters and a detailed dystopian world.

Brainstorming Ideas for the Novel

• 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
• The Maze Runner by James Dashner

• The Selection by Kiera Cass

Writing the Novel

• 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.

Polishing the Novel

• Reading the novel aloud can also help you catch spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors.

Expert Q&A

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/writing-dystopian-fiction-7-tips
• ↑ https://nybookeditors.com/2016/02/how-to-build-a-dystopian-world/
• ↑ https://www.toptenz.net/10-great-opening-lines-in-dystopian-literature.php
• ↑ https://josephblakeparker.deviantart.com/art/6-Tips-for-Writing-Dystopian-Fiction-537030426

About This Article

Since dystopian novels frequently focus on technology and the impact it has on society, choose a kind of technology you’d like to write about, or create your own version of an existing technology. Once you’ve brainstormed some basic themes for your dystopian novel, it’s time to create the rules for your fictional world, such as the laws, legal system, and punishments. Finally, decide on the major conflict that the characters will need to fight against, such as an unjust government. To learn how to polish your novel, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How to Write a Dystopian Movie or TV Show

Utopia is a narrative term created by writer Sir Thomas More as the title of his fictional political satire published in 1516. It created the idea of a near-perfect society with little crime, poverty, or violence. It later evolved into the notion of paradise — an ideal place that most would love to live in.  Sounds great, right? Well, with every paradise comes its antithesis. That place is known as a Dystopia.  So, how do you write a dystopian movie or TV show? Let's break it down!

What is a Dystopian Story?

A dystopian story is characterized by its portrayal of a fictional society or world that is marked by oppression, suffering, and often, a sense of hopelessness or despair. If a utopian society is the ideal place to settle, then a dystopian society is most people’s worst nightmare. 

Dystopian settings are frequently marked by:

• Tyrannical governments and oppressive authorities
• Catastrophic deterioration in societal conditions

Just imagine the worst a society could get — that’s pretty much the setting of a dystopian story. And within those settings, you usually witness protagonists rising up against tyrannical and oppressive antagonists and villains that have control over the people by way of propaganda, censorship, lies, denial of free thought, and enforcement of conformity.  

Read More: The Biggest and Baddest "Big Bads" of Sci-Fi & Fantasy

'Mad Max: Fury Road'

Examples of Dystopian Movies and TV Shows

Examples of cinematic dystopian stories include:

• 1984:  Based on George Orwell's novel, the film portrays a totalitarian society where the government monitors and controls every aspect of people's lives.
• THX: 1188:   In the 25th century, a time when people have designations instead of names, a man, THX 1138, and a woman, LUH 3417, rebel against their rigidly-controlled society.
• Blade Runner:  Set in a bleak future, this film follows a detective who hunts down rogue artificial humans known as replicants in a dystopian Los Angeles.
• The Matrix:  This sci-fi classic envisions a world where humanity is enslaved by machines and trapped in a simulated reality, while a group of rebels fights to free them.
• Children of Men:  In a world where infertility has led to a global crisis, a disillusioned bureaucrat becomes involved in protecting a pregnant woman who may hold the key to humanity's survival.
• The Hunger Games:  Based on the best-selling novels, the franchise is set in a future society divided into districts and follows a young woman who must participate in a brutal televised competition to the death.
• Mad Max: Fury Road:  This post-apocalyptic action film features a wasteland where resources are scarce, and a group of rebels fights against a tyrannical warlord.
• Snowpiercer:  After a failed climate-change experiment freezes the Earth, the last survivors live on a train that circles the globe, with social classes and conflicts emerging onboard.
• The Handmaid's Tale:  Based on Margaret Atwood's novel, the TV series depicts a future where women are subjugated and used for reproductive purposes in a theocratic society.
• The Last of Us:  Based on the hit videogame series, the TV series depicts a postapocalyptic zombie-like story where a pandemic has killed off much of society. The dystopian element is showcased by a paranoid government body that becomes oppressive to ensure the survival of the human race while attempting to do so in a very inhuman way. 

'The Last of Us'

Key Themes to Use in Dystopian Movies

You have a plethora of story options and themes to utilize when writing a dystopian movie or TV show. Here are just a few:

Totalitarian or Oppressive Government

This is where you usually start. Dystopian movies typically feature a government or ruling authority that exercises extreme control over its citizens. 

• A totalitarian regime
• A dystopian dictatorship
• A surveillance state

These governing or ruling powers often enforce strict rules and regulations that limit individual freedoms to maintain their power. This will become the source of all of your story's conflict — and dystopian movies need  a lot  of it.

Social Injustice

This is where your characters come in. Dystopian societies are often marked by profound social inequality and injustice. Discrimination based on class, race, or other factors is common in these stories and drives the character arcs of your protagonists.

There is usually a clear divide between the privileged elite and the oppressed masses. That will fuel the conflict within the story and begin the arc of your characters as they deal with these conflicts.   

Lack of Personal Freedom

Dystopian worlds frequently depict a lack of personal freedoms and civil liberties. Citizens may be subjected to constant surveillance, censorship, curfews, or restrictions on their actions, thoughts, and speech. This creates a boiling point where your characters move from the first act to the second as they rise up against those who oppress them. 

'The Handmaid's Tale'

Economic Hardship

Economic hardship is also a common theme in dystopian movies. Audiences can often relate to this element because it exists in the world we live in today. In these dystopian stories, many citizens struggle to survive due to the scarcity of resources. This economic hardship can reinforce the divide between the haves and the have-nots — creating that boiling pot dynamic within characters that are looking to break free from their strife. 

Technological Control

In some dystopian stories, advanced technology is used as a tool of control and oppression. Governments may use technology for surveillance, mind control, or to maintain their grip on power. This dynamic creates an excellent series of conflict hurdles that your characters must surpass. 

'The Matrix Revolutions'

Environmental Decay

Many dystopian movies explore environmental degradation and the consequences of unchecked pollution, climate change, or ecological disasters. These factors contribute to the overall bleakness of the setting. This is often used as a forewarning to audiences when it comes to possible circumstances of issues we face today in our society. 

Loss of Individuality

In dystopian societies, individuality and personal expression can be suppressed. Citizens may be forced to conform to a rigid set of norms and expectations, and any deviation from these norms is punished. 

'Children of Men'

Resistance or Rebellion

As mentioned above, many dystopian stories feature a protagonist or group of individuals who resist the oppressive regime. These characters often embark on a journey to challenge the status quo and seek freedom or justice. This works as both a character element and a story element. 

Commentary on Contemporary Issues

Screenwriters and filmmakers often use dystopian stories to serve as social and political commentary, highlighting and exaggerating issues and trends present in the real world today. This is where you can really get the audience to relate to the issues the characters are dealing with because they are augmented, exaggerated, and speculative versions of what we see in today’s society around us. Look no further than the likes of  The Handmaid’s Tale  for an example — a series that stands as the result of the tipping of scales from where we may be teetering today. 

So, all, or at least some, of these elements are where you should start in your dystopian screenplay. Now let’s explore the basics of how you can develop and write your story. 

How to Write Your Dystopian Movie

In the end, it’s your creativity, ingenuity, and vision that will create the next great dystopian film. But here are some foundations that you can use to develop and write your story. 

Start with Worldbuilding

Dystopian stories are initially all about the world you build. That’s what really stands out. Rebellions and uprisings are great — and all of that will come — but what will differentiate your dystopian story from all of the others that came before yours will be the particular dystopian world you build. 

Ask yourself these development questions:

• What started this dystopian society? 
• Is it post-apocalyptic, near-future, or set on another planet?
• What is uniquely frightening about the dystopian world you’re going to build?

You need to see this world. You need to know what it looks like, what it feels like, what it sounds like, and how those elements are different from what we’ve seen in prior dystopian movies. 

Find Relatable Themes and Issues to Explore

You want and need to connect with the audience. The easiest way to do that with a dystopian story is to find those augmented, exaggerated, and speculative versions of what we see in today’s society around us — and then use them to wrap around the world you are creating.

Ask yourself questions like:

• What if we let corrupt politicians have all of the power?
• What if we allowed Artificial Intelligence to run our world?
• What if we had a second Civil War?
• What if we had a Third World War?
• What if we ignore global warming? 

Whatever the hot point issues in our current world may be, you can find themes to explore. 

Create Your Cast of Characters

Then you need to figure out who the characters who populate your dystopian world. 

• Who is the oppressor?
• Who is being oppressed?
• How are they being oppressed?
• For what purpose is the oppressor oppressing people?
• Who is going to rise up against the oppression?
• Why are they the ones to lead the resistance or uprising? 

Your lead protagonist(s) need to have a higher purpose and a deeply layered inner character arc to warrant them being the ones to lead the oppressed. 

Your supporting characters need to fill in the blanks that the protagonist(s) lack. 

And let’s not forget the most important element — the antagonists and villains. They need to embody the oppression that the protagonists are fighting against. While the protagonists can preach about the oppression they face, and the reasons why the oppression is inhumane enough not to live under any longer, the antagonists and villains need to embody why they feel the oppression is necessary.

This leads to the ultimate conflicts of your story as protagonists versus antagonists/villains boils and boils until the pressure can’t be contained any longer.

Start with the Ordinary World of the Protagonist

Presenting your main character in their everyday life at the start of your dystopian story provides an opportunity to showcase the start of their  inner  and  outer  character arc. 

It then shows how profoundly difficult their journey is going to be when faced with the choice to take the call of adventure to rise up against the dystopian oppressors. 

• Show the oppression.
• Show their struggle. 
• Show their ordinary life and how it will be rocked when they choose to rise up.

Now, you have a couple of options on how to showcase their ordinary world. 

• Show them under the rule of the oppressors. 
• Introduce them on the outskirts of the oppression and wanting to free their people.
• Or, as a third option, have them be part of the oppression who wakes up and decides what they’ve been doing was wrong.

Consider the Ordinary World openings of the following: 

• In  The Hunger Games , Katniss is living in District 12 with her family, struggling to survive.
• In  The Handmaid’s Tale , June is on the outskirts of the oppression, trying to escape to Canada when she, her husband, and her daughter are caught by Gilead foot soldiers.
• In  The Last of Us ,  Joel  is working the dystopian system to survive and try to find a way to find his brother. While he’s not the oppressor, he’s also not trying to lead an uprising against them. He’s doing what he can to survive. 

Read More:  Exploring the Twelve Stages of the Hero’s Journey Part 1: The Ordinary World

The Rest is Up to You

There’s no one single way to write any genre or subgenre of movies. When you’re dealing with a subgenre like dystopian movies, you need to educate yourself on the common elements that define such a story (see above) and find a unique and interesting take on it. 

• Subvert expectations. 
• Find ways to offer unexpected  twists and turns .
• Take the audience down one path, only to push them onto another.
• Play with  character archetypes , cliches, and tropes. 
• Find unique set pieces and sequences. 
• Pile on the conflict. 
• Raise the stakes . 

Know what a dystopian story is, embrace the key story and character elements, build your dystopian world, consider finding relatable themes and issues audiences can identify with, create a compelling cast of characters on both sides of the struggle, showcase their ordinary world while selling the setup to the audience, and then find ways to make your dystopian story engaging and unique. 

Read More: 101 Epic Sci-Fi Story Prompts

CHECK OUT OUR SCI-FI & FANTASY NOTES  SO YOU START YOUR STORY OFF ON THE RIGHT TRACK!

Ken Miyamoto has worked in the film industry for nearly two decades, most notably as a studio liaison for Sony Studios and then as a script reader and story analyst for Sony Pictures.

He has many studio meetings under his belt as a produced screenwriter, meeting with the likes of Sony, Dreamworks, Universal, Disney, and Warner Brothers, as well as many production and management companies. He has had a previous development deal with Lionsgate, as well as multiple writing assignments, including the produced miniseries BLACKOUT, starring Anne Heche, Sean Patrick Flanery, Billy Zane, James Brolin, Haylie Duff, Brian Bloom, Eric La Salle, and Bruce Boxleitner, the feature thriller HUNTER'S CREED, and many produced Lifetime thrillers. Follow Ken on Twitter  @KenMovies  and Instagram  @KenMovies76 .

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Are we living in a dystopia?

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Associate Professor of Political Science & International Relations, Valparaiso University

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Dystopian fiction is hot. Sales of George Orwell’s “1984” and Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” have skyrocketed since 2016. Young adult dystopias – for example, Suzanne Collins’ “The Hunger Games,” Veronica Roth’s “Divergent,” Lois Lowry’s classic, “The Giver” – were best-sellers even before.

And with COVID-19, dystopias featuring diseases have taken on new life. Netflix reports a spike in popularity for “Outbreak,” “12 Monkeys” and others .

Does this popularity signal that people think they live in a dystopia now? Haunting images of empty city squares , wild animals roaming streets and miles-long food pantry lines certainly suggest this.

We want to offer another view. “Dystopia” is a powerful but overused term. It is not a synonym for a terrible time.

The question for us as political scientists is not whether things are bad (they are), but how governments act. A government’s poor handling of a crisis, while maddening and sometimes disastrous, does not constitute dystopia.

Legitimate coercion

As we argue in our book, “ Survive and Resist: the Definitive Guide to Dystopian Politics ,” the definition of dystopia is political.

Dystopia is not a real place; it is a warning, usually about something bad the government is doing or something good it is failing to do. Actual dystopias are fictional, but real-life governments can be “dystopian” – as in, looking a lot like the fiction.

Defining a dystopia starts with establishing the characteristics of good governance. A good government protects its citizens in a noncoercive way. It is the body best positioned to prepare for and guard against natural and human-made horrors.

Good governments use what’s called “ legitimate coercion ,” legal force to which citizens agree to keep order and provide services like roads, schools and national security. Think of legitimate coercion as your willingness to stop at a red light, knowing it’s better for you and others in the long run.

No government is perfect, but there are ways of judging the imperfection. Good governments (those least imperfect) include a strong core of democratic elements to check the powerful and create accountability. They also include constitutional and judicial measures to check the power of the majority. This setup acknowledges the need for government but evidences healthy skepticism of giving too much power to any one person or body.

Federalism , the division of power between national and subnational governments, is a further check. It has proved useful lately, with state governors and mayors emerging as strong political players during COVID-19.

Three kinds of dystopias

Bad governments lack checks and balances, and rule in the interest of the rulers rather than the people. Citizens can’t participate in their own governance. But dystopian governments are a special kind of bad; they use illegitimate coercion like force, threats and the “disappearing” of dissidents to stay in power.

Our book catalogs three major dystopia types, based on the presence – or absence – of a functioning state and how much power it has.

There are, as in Orwell’s “1984,” overly powerful governments that infringe on individual lives and liberties. These are authoritarian states, run by dictators or powerful groups, like a single party or corporate-governance entity. Examples of these governments abound, including Assad’s murderously repressive regime in Syria and the silencing of dissent and journalism in Russia.

The great danger of these is, as our country’s Founding Fathers knew quite well, too much power on the part of any one person or group limits the options and autonomy of the masses.

Then there are dystopic states that seem nonauthoritarian but still take away basic human rights through market forces; we call these “capitocracies.” Individual workers and consumers are often exploited by the political-industrial complex, and the environment and other public goods suffer. A great fictional example is Wall-E by Pixar (2008), in which the U.S. president is also CEO of “Buy ‘N Large,” a multinational corporation controlling the economy.

There are not perfect real-life examples of this, but elements are visible in the chaebol – family business – power in South Korea, and in various manifestations of corporate political power in the U.S, including deregulation , corporate personhood status and big-company bailouts .

Lastly there are state-of-nature dystopias, usually resulting from the collapse of a failed government. The resulting territory reverts to a primitive feudalism, ungoverned except for small tribal-held fiefdoms where individual dictators rule with impunity. The Citadel versus Gastown in the stunning 2015 movie “Mad Max: Fury Road” is a good fictional depiction. A real-life example was seen in the once barely governed Somalia , where, for almost 20 years until 2012, as a U.N. official described it, “armed warlords (were) fighting each other on a clan basis.”

Fiction and real life

Indeed, political dystopia is often easier to see using the lens of fiction, which exaggerates behaviors, trends and patterns to make them more visible.

But behind the fiction there is always a real-world correlate. Orwell had Stalin, Franco and Hitler very much in mind when writing “1984.”

Atwood, whom literary critics call the “ prophet of dystopia ,” recently defined dystopia as when “[W]arlords and demagogues take over, some people forget that all people are people, enemies are created, vilified and dehumanized, minorities are persecuted, and human rights as such are shoved to the wall.”

Some of this may be, as Atwood added , the “cusp of where we are living now.”

But the U.S. is not a dystopia. It still has functioning democratic institutions. Many in the U.S. fight against dehumanization and persecution of minorities. Courts are adjudicating cases. Legislatures are passing bills. Congress has not adjourned , nor has the fundamental right of habeas corpus – the protection against illegal detention by the state – (yet) been suspended .

Crisis as opportunity

And still. One frequent warning is that a major crisis can cover for the rolling back of democracy and curtailing of freedoms. In Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale,” a medical crisis is the pretext for suspending the Constitution.

In real life, too, crises facilitate authoritarian backsliding. In Hungary the pandemic has sped democracy’s unraveling. The legislature gave strongman Prime Minister Viktor Orban the power to rule by sole decree indefinitely , the lower courts are suspended and free speech is restricted.

Similar dangers exist in any number of countries where democratic institutions are frayed or fragile; leaders with authoritarian tendencies may be tempted to leverage the crisis to consolidate power.

But there are also positive signs for democracy.

People are coming together in ways that didn’t seem possible just a few months ago. This social capital is an important element in a democracy.

Ordinary people are performing incredible acts of kindness and generosity – from shopping for neighbors to serenading residents at a nursing home to a mass movement to sew facemasks .

In politics, Wisconsin primary voters risked their lives to exercise their right to vote during the height of the pandemic. Citizens and civil society are pushing federal and state governments to ensure election safety and integrity in the remaining primaries and the November election.

Despite the eerie silence in public spaces, despite the preventable deaths that should weigh heavily on the consciences of public officials, even despite the authoritarian tendencies of too many leaders, the U.S. is not a dystopia – yet.

Overuse clouds the word’s meaning. Fictional dystopias warn of preventable futures; those warnings can help avert the actual demise of democracy.

[ Get facts about coronavirus and the latest research. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter. ]

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Society in Decline: Your Guide To Writing a Dystopian Story

Dystopian fiction, considered to be a subgenre of science fiction, covers all novels, novellas, and films that are set in a sometimes-futuristic, always-unjust world in which the average man or woman has little say over their respective lives.

Common threats to humanity that occur in dystopian fiction are loss of freedoms, food and resource insecurity, general suffering amidst injustice, etc. If you base your protagonist in a setting in which they continually suffer at the hands of an oppressor and few citizens live securely, you're writing a dystopian novel.

Ask "what if?" to prompt a sharp storyline

If you're set on writing a dystopian novel but can't settle on the type, then ask your "what if?" Think of our current world and ask what it would look like if we lost certain rights, freedoms, advantages, etc.

For example, what if religious zealots accrued enough power to take over and rule your country? What if half the sea life was wiped out across the world's oceans? What if time travel was mastered by the wrong people who chose to go back through history and alter the planet's most life-changing events?

Know the law of the land

Now that you have an idea of what type of dystopian story you want to write, it's time to establish its laws, or lack thereof in some cases.

No matter what type of dystopian world you choose, rules will inevitably play a major role. While it might be tempting to jump in and begin writing, it's best to create the appropriate rules for your story and setting so you can refer to them as you write and edit.

Novels set in dystopian worlds tend to revolve around a detailed plot and intricate setting, so with a set system of laws and guidelines on hand, you can avoid the literary faux pas of inconsistency and ensure continuity for your reader.

If you're having trouble coming up with a defined set of rules, you can try to answer the following questions:

• Who, if any, is the governing body within your world? E.g., is it the government, police, military, civilians who have attained power post-coup, etc.
• How are the rules and regulations enforced by this body?
• How are transgressors punished when they break the rules?

Know your world's history

Whether you choose to reveal the cause of your world's dystopian elements or keep it to yourself, it's a good idea to know just how your characters' current way of life came to be. In The Hunger Games it's revealed relatively early that the games were established as a penalty for a past rebellion aimed at the Capitol.

However, The Walked Dead series creator refuses to explain the cause of the outbreak that led to the zombie apocalypse. Spell it out for the reader or keep the answers in the background to maintain a little mystery surrounding the inception of a world gone wrong.

Compare then vs. now through your characters

Whether you have an ensemble protagonist cast or a solo main character, it's informative and entertaining for the reader to be provided a comparison of the old, yet superior way of life to the newer, no-so-improved status quo.

A character born into a dystopian world will view the constraints of their time far differently to someone who has tasted freedom and lost it. This latter type character, even in taking a minimal role in your story, might light the spark that sets a younger, more determined team along the path to rebellion.

Establish strong motivations

A character's — or overall society's — actions don't occur in a vacuum: each need strong motivations to either, for example, undertake a coup or survive a totalitarian regime. The innocent party in a dystopian story may be motivated to regain control by enduring or witnessing the suffering of the downtrodden, whereas the guilty party is likely motivated by their warped ideology, extreme greed, and desire for power.

A strong and established motivation for a character's actions is a necessity across every literary genre, but writers can at times get caught up in the action of a dystopia and forget to share the reason behind those actions.

If you're unsure of what exactly is motivating your protagonist to act, ask yourself:

• How does my character benefit or lose from continued compliance within their status quo?
• Will life improve for my protagonist — and society overall — if they rebel against their oppressors?

Setting your story

Considering the suffering endured by those living in a dystopian world, it's no surprise that the typical dystopian setting is bleak and desolate. In some cases, the land is ravaged following a natural disaster, in which resources are scarce and venturing outside can be fatal. Here, pay attention to detail and retain some aspects of the old world order, like buildings or landmarks.

In other cases, the physical nature of a setting is undisturbed, but the overall nature is foreboding and hopeless due to a lack of autonomy. Certain settings are typically found in dystopian stories, and while clichés should be avoided at all costs, remember that adding your own spin and exhibiting a flair of imagination will add nuance to your setting.

Popular types of dystopian settings

While there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to writing, if you plan to write a dystopian story, you should be more than familiar with the general types of dystopian fiction. Think of your favorite dystopian stories and see if they fit into one of the following categories.

Disease-ridden world

With this type, you have two main choices: Set your novel in the midst of a major disaster that spreads a deadly virus, or place your characters in a somewhat inhospitable world post-virus, still living with the consequences. Perhaps only the affluent have access to medical care and the powerful now call the shots, and your protagonist is neither, simply trying to survive an in increasingly unjust world.

Permanent military control

To survive a military or police controlled world, your character must obey what rules have been implemented, at least for the time being. But before you place any military in control, you first must establish exactly why they're in power. Was your country's government intent on avoiding international conflict, bowing to the whims of other country's so often that its military decided to take control? Or was the military industrial complex so profitable that a military was permanently installed to keep funds rolling in?

Invasion of aliens

Remember that it's best to place your characters under alien control years after their conquest. If you choose to start your novel with the invasion and feature your characters as they maneuver this new way of life, you're crossing the border of dystopian fiction and entering sci-fi territory. Perhaps your protagonist is living somewhere still unknown to the aliens, plotting with their cohorts to regain control? Or maybe the aliens in question are acting with our best interests in mind, so your protagonist attempts to reason with the alien overlords rather than launch an attack.

Anarchy in a power vacuum

This type is less about control and more about the daily struggle of man to exist in a chaotic and dangerous world. Nobody is benefiting from oppression, but suffering is prevalent. Perhaps your characters' government was disbanded or removed in favor of citizens running the show and failing to provide the necessary resources. Or a civil war waged in the past has left a government destroyed, with rival factions infighting to take over, and your protagonist fills a leadership role to inspire like-minded people.

Your dystopian novel doesn't have to fit neatly into one category: feel free to combine the different types to give yourself the literary space you need to tell your story. For example, following a global pandemic, a previously reviled political group or party is the only one to provide the resources people need to rebuild their lives. Stirred by this apparent benevolence, the people appoint them as their governing body, only to be controlled after those in power install a police state to dominate the proletariat.

Be vigilant when writing

Your options for creating a dystopian world in which your protagonist can merely survive or eventually thrive are limitless. With the space to flex your literary prowess, you can establish any kind of world that falls in line with the above guidelines that form a dystopian story.

But with this space for creativity comes risk: writers can find this space to be imaginative somewhat too freeing, and this is where plot holes, inconsistencies, and failures of clarity tend to occur. As mentioned, have an exhaustive list of rules and details on hand as you write, and, unless you're intentionally aiming for mystery surrounding the cause of the status quo, ensure that you've established for the reader the reason your dystopia currently exists.

Header photo by Dmitriy .

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16 Dystopian Writing Prompts

• Posted on 24 Dec, 2022
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Below are 16 writing prompts for dystopian story ideas. Surprisingly, this is the first post I’ve done specifically for dystopian writing.

Dystopian Government Control

In a dystopian future United States, where the government controls every aspect of life, a group of rebels fight to overthrow the oppressive regime and bring freedom back to the people. The only problem is, the government in charge operates out of a secret location, and all enforcement is by androids, which can easily be replaced and flown in.

Mind Manipulation by the Government

In a society where technology has advanced to the point of being able to control human thoughts and emotions, a group of individuals struggle to hold on to their humanity and resist the government’s attempts to manipulate them.

Hunted Dystopian Survivors

In a dystopian world where the environment has been irreparably damaged by humans, a small group of survivors must navigate a harsh and dangerous world in order to survive. Unfortunately, they are being hunted by a powerful underground political group that benefits from the rest of the planet’s misery.

Dumb Rebel Warriors in a Dystopian Future

In the distant future people are ranked and divided by their intelligence and abilities, a group of outcasts must prove their worth and fight for their right to be treated as equals. Unfortunately, they really are kinda dumb.

Dystopian Population Control

The government has implemented strict population control measures in which a couple can only have one child.  A young family must navigate the challenges of having a second child in a world where having more than one is strictly forbidden. Part of their plan is to flee the mainland and live on a remote island. But they have to get there before it’s discovered that the woman is pregnant.

Weaker than the Rest in a Dystopian World

In a world where humans have been genetically modified to be stronger and more intelligent, a group of unmodified individuals must fight for their right to exist in a society that sees them as inferior. Unfortunately, they are kinda weak.

Fighting Misinformation in a Dystopian Society

In a society where the government has complete control over the media and information that people are allowed to access, a group of rebels use underground networks to spread the truth and fight for freedom of expression.

A No Communication Allowed Future

In a world where all forms of communication have been banned in an effort to control the population, a group of rebels use secret codes and underground messaging systems to organize and resist the government’s attempts to suppress them.

A Future with No Career Choices

In a society where people are divided into strict castes based on their profession, one man is trying to grow and lead an army to overthrow the system and create a world where people are free to choose their own path in life.

A Case For the Weakest to Live

In a world where the government has implemented a strict policy of eugenics, a group of rebels must fight to protect the rights of those who do not meet the government’s standards of perfection. Now a case has come before the grand court that will test a century worth of eugenic laws.

A Future With No Memories

In a dystopian society where people are required to undergo mandatory memory wipes in order to maintain social stability, a group of rebels fight to preserve their memories and their individuality.

There Are No True Utopias

In a world where the government has created a perfect utopia, a group of rebels discover the dark secrets behind the facade and fight to bring the truth to light.

No Art in this Dystopian Future

In a world where the government has implemented strict laws to control the population’s access to art and culture, a group of rebels use underground networks to fight against the oppressive regime.

A Dystopian Future With No Ugly People

In a society where people are ranked and divided based on their appearance, a group of rebels fight to overthrow the system and bring about a more inclusive and equal society.

Controlled Healthcare in a Dystopian Future

In a world where the government has implemented strict laws to control the population’s access to healthcare, a group of rebels use underground networks to fight against the oppressive regime.

No Food for the Weak

In a world where the government has implemented strict laws to control the population’s access to food and resources, a group of rebels use underground networks to fight against the oppressive regime.

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Utopias & Dystopias

Eng 2000: perspectives in literature, professor belli, spring 2014.

Category Archives: My Utopia

My “utopia”.

My “utopia”, my perfect place, my “dream world” would be something not too way over the top like flying spaceships, or robots bringing me drinks. It would be a very quiet, calm, and peaceful place where I can actually hear my thoughts, and individuals are all treated fairly, and everyone isn’t afraid of sharing their opinions about life or society without getting bad looks from others. I’m not saying I’d be living in a cube or anything like that. Of course the water would be always deep blue, the weather would be not too hot but occasionally cool, the skies would always have puffy clouds and bright blue skies, and the stars would shine the most brightest at night. My “utopia” would be a place where it would be safe to walk outside in the middle of the night without having to think about something dangerous happening to you. A place where you can go to a park and hang out for several hours without having to think about a hundred different things that run through your head constantly.

What would it be like to roam around Time Square in peace & quiet?

My “utopia” is most likely a very different type of “utopia” then what I would probably read elsewhere, but I would rather have peace, a place where you can relax, be quiet, and hear your thoughts, then to think about how I would live in selfish type of manner. I think my “utopia” is this way because we live in a society today where things are very bad, the economy is down, people are getting laid off, children are being bullied through social media, and the most unimportant people in the world are getting the most attention in the news rather than the people who are out there changing the world for the better. My “utopia” would probably be a long shot from becoming reality, BUT if there’s ever a place like it, then expect me to be the first one to move out there.

My Utopia World

I dont know any Utopia stories so I will just write about my own life and how I would like it to be in a Utopia world. In my utopian world there would be no violence, such as wars and domestic violences. I would like peace within this world. No more arguments with one another because then someone might have a different opinion and want to try change my world like what Kuno wanted to do in the story The Machine Stops. I would want this world of mine to be hot all year around but not too hot passing the hundreds. The weather should be about 70-90 degrees. The two images I attached is a mixture on how I would like my Utopia world to look like because I like hot weather and city landscapes. If I could get both that would be perfect.

My utopia world will treat everyone with respect and not leave anyone out. Everyone will definitely have equal opportunity on getting a job and in this population it is not going to be over populated since there are not unlimited resources in the world. I want everyone to be working and earning for their families. In this utopia world I sure want my dream job which is to be a photographer or a graphic design so I can be happy to go to work everyday. There is no such thing as pain and suffering. I want everyone to be socially active and not shy so they can interact with each other to share love and happiness. With love and happiness the society can grow strong because of good communication skills and the wonder jobs they create and have. The education system in this utopia world will be good enough so everyone graduating college can get a job and not be out of luck. The expenses for things will not be too expensive or too cheap depending on what product because they will have money to purchase almost anything they want with the money they earn from their  jobs. This world will be no littering on the floor to keep a clean environment. Also there will be no homelessness so people wouldn’t have to ask for money cause their less fortunate. This utopia society will not have diseases for people to get sick and if that was not possible then they are going to have great doctors who know what they are doing a hundred percent at all times. The population is not too big so I will like for people to like for twice or 3 times longer in their life time than ours. My utopia world will go on for years and centuries growing and growing because of its wealth in love, resources, and good knowledge. In Utopia stories things tend to be so perfect and still have a down fall to something, so I am guessing as perfect as my world sounds, their can be a down fall to something so perfect.

—was given extension through email–

In my head, I imagine my own personal utopia as a futuristic looking big city with lots of tall buildings and huge plots of land for people to live in.

The general architectural style would be a type of modern but countryside blend. Lots of straight lines and sharp corners but using a lot of natural/ bio-degradable materials.

There would not be any form of central government/laws mainly due to everyone naturally being morally good. Everyone would be selfless to a sense in which if someone else needs help, everyone will pitch in to help them. Everyone would have the freedom to do whatever job that pleases them and currency will be more of a barter system instead of I hand you cash for food. In example, I am a carpenter in my Utopia and I need some eggs from the local farmer. The farmer’s barn door is broken and he needs a new one. So in exchange for a weeks’ worth of eggs I will build him a new door. This will prevent a lot of poverty and social issues that are current in today’s world. All of the homes would be customized to what that particular person wants in a home. Whatever goes on in your personal life will be your own business that no one else needs to know about. So simply if you do not want anyone else knowing about something you are thinking about, no one will force you to tell them and you will not be judged for not telling anyone. You can be whoever you want to be in my utopia without ever being judged for your actions. So regardless what your sexuality/religion/physical deformities are, you will never be judged for them. As far as education goes, everyone will learn the basics of reading/writing and basic mathematics. But if you have a specific trade you want to go in, you will either have to teach yourself or reach out to others in your field to learn what they know. It will also be your responsibility to teach others what you know when they come to you. You can keep some trade secrets to yourself though. Such as if your profession is to be a chef, you can keep a recipe to yourself.  This way no one gets stressed out over education and will ultimately enjoy what they are doing. Once you get into you trade, you need to work to get everything you want. If you want something new for your home or maybe something for your profession you need to either make it yourself or barter for it in some way. Things will never just be handed to you. If you want something, you have to earn it. Nothing will ever be easy in that sense. However it won’t be as difficult as it may seem. In example, if you want a new piece of furniture for your home, you will just have to do a job for the local carpenter and then you will be paid with that piece of furniture.

Utopian Dream

My perfect world, my Utopia, would for one be a peaceful place. Wars wouldn’t exist because people would be honest with each other and work together to resolve conflicts through speech and coming to understandings. Technology would continue to thrive, making things much easier for people but also encouraging people to go forth and meet with one another, have discussions, and be social without the help of technology. Society would have given up on categorizing people and all prejudice would be eliminated. Not one person would ever have to feel left out or alone, as we would all be able to get along with one another without feeling hate or any sort of malice towards one another.

I imagine the world green and sunny. The environment taken into account even with the amount of technology being used. I imagine something along the lines of The Shire from Lord of The Rings. Rich green hills, with houses built into them, sheltering people but not destroying the luscious landscapes. Warm light from the houses would cast a comforting glow across the hills at night, welcoming and inviting. Everyone would have their own little niche to call home, and none would remain homeless.

Work would be available for all, and poverty would be eliminated. Everyone would be on the same level as one another, and no one would have more. Greed would be a thing of the past, and ultimately eliminated. People would always have the urge to better themselves, and stray away from any path that would ultimately lead to crime or causing one another any pain or suffering.

I also think manners would be heavily enforced, I feel like our world right now is severely  lacking in that. I think if more people practiced manners it would lead  the world towards a more beautiful place.

I think all of this would create my Utopia. Unfortunately I do know that there is always two sides to each coin, and it never goes as planned, but this to me would be a Utopia I would love to immerse myself in.

In my ideal world, it would be warm all year round.  Not too hot and not too cold, the type of weather we call “hoodie season.”  People would strive off of peace, happiness and love.  There would be no war, it would be a complete hippy town.  The people in my utopia would still go to school and get an education, but instead of tuition being thousands of dollars, tuition would be affordable to everyone.  There would be a cure to every disease known to man, and everyone would have equal rights.  There would be more then enough time in a day for me to be able to go to school, go to work, hang out with friends, and have alone time.  There would be no poverty and no economic differences between people.  The people would not be rich, but then again the people will not have to struggle with financial issues.  There would be no murderers and people would only die from natural causes (excluding the curable diseases.)

In my ideal world, there will be tunnels connecting my house to my friends houses so therefore we would always be able to hang out whenever we want.  We would kick back and listen to the songs of The Weeknd, because his music always puts me in a euphoric mood.  I’d be able to wake up when I want to, arrive to school when I want, and also work.  I would own my own business and work for myself.

In my utopia there will be art museums on every corner and they would all be free.  Jazz music would play in the museums and the dinner would be free.  My wardrobe would be amazing because I would be able to virtually shop and my clothes would appear in front of me with the push of a button.  I would drive a nice car and not have to worry about traffic all the time, and when I feel like taking public transportation, MTA would be free.  No more monthly metro cards!  Flights to travel the world would also be free in my utopia.  I would be able to get out of bed and hop on a plane to Italy without worrying how I would pay for the ticket.  I would live in the most amazing condo that oversees the city and I would have the cutest little dog to keep me company.  I’d have a machine to do all my cooking and cleaning so all I would ever have to worry about is being happy and enjoying myself.  My utopia would be a place where everyone got a long and everyone would be happy.  They would strive off of making others happy and making the world a better place.

Here’s a link to The Weeknd’s Youtube channel if you want to check his music out (:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0WP5P-ufpRfjbNrmOWwLBQ

  I couldn’t really think of a story   of a utopia to write, so I am just writing about my own   life, as my utopia . M y utopia would be a simple world. I would be working with a job that I love   doing   to support myself and my family for the rest of our lives.   I’d have a comfortable life, living in a nice house.   I would be living somewhere with a tropical climate, where there is no winter. The weather around me would be 75-80 degrees. Nice weather everyday and nothing but days laying on a beach with the sun shining down on you. There would be no such thing as rain or cold weather and there would be happiness surrounding everyone everywhere. 

In my utopia the world would be a better place. There is no violence, no crime and no pollution. All people everywhere are equal and treat each other with respect. There would be no such thing as someone living with hunger, poverty and there would be no one that is homeless. My utopia would also consist of all stray animals having a home. 

Education would be available to everyone and everyone has a fair chance of getting any type of job they would want. Nowadays college education is expensive which makes it hard for many people to attend college which stops many people from getting the educations they should have and need. I would make getting a college education more easy for the average person because everyone will have the ability to attend college. There would be no limits on what a person can do with their lives. Even if one person is not as smart or educated as someone else they will not be looked down on.  All people would be happy with their career choices, unlike modern times where many people are unhappy with their jobs. Money would not be a problem, which is a problem for millions of people across the world. Everything would be reasonable for people no matter how much money one person makes. 

There would be no such thing as sickness. All people would live long, happy and healthy lives. There would be cures for all sicknesses and diseases. There would be advances in technology and medicine everyday. People all over the world would be doing everything to better their communities, lives and make the world a better place. No war, no fights and no bad feelings towards others. People help out one another. 

I think that my view on a utopian society and world will be similar to a lot of people’s ideas too. Many people want peace, money, education, health and happiness. With these things I think that the way the world is right now if all people are working together we can achieve my ideas of what a utopia really is.  I don’t think it will be too hard to achieve this utopia because it is just a normal life with positive things around everyone.

A Perfect World

Imagine a place full of green. Where instead of buildings, trees are what soared to the sky. Mountains and hills housed humans and the concrete which grayed up our streets did not

Housing in a small mountain

exist. Everything was all natural so pollution would never risk life on earth. Transportation was normally made by foot. Horses and other animals helped with that, they would give them rides and help pull wagons or carriages for them.

Humans, they did not know greed or envy, they disliked but they did not hate, no judgement was given. Everyone was friendly they greet each other one way or another, either with a kiss, a hello, or a welcoming smile. Every village had a source of water many of them had wells but there were also lakes, waterfalls and rivers. Vendors would gather near their source of water, picture it like a farmer’s market or a fair. While going to get their water they would pick up their necessities as well. People here didn’t use money in fact they didn’t even trade. Knowing that people were happy with their produce and products the vendors were content, more happy if they were given a compliment.

Now what would this place be without a special gift? In this place humans had a special connection with animals. Ancient tribes believed that animal spirits would help as a guidance and over time the magic connection with animals grew. At the age of 8 children would go and stay with the town priest or priestess for a few day. During this time, they would meditate and find what type of animal would help them and give them guidance. When the animal was found, the spirits would surround the child and mark them with their image. This gift allowed them to speak with their animal in a meditation state or not.

With happiness people recovered quickly from sickness. They did not damn pain, they saw it as an experience, not to do a silly mistake twice or as a message, when something was wrong with their bodies. Death was seen as a celebration, to be released from one’s body and having the freedom to roam the earth and skies. When someone was release their friends and family would wear white to represent the freedom given to their relative, this was the only time one wore white and a gathering would be held by their watering hole where dancing, singing, drinking, and eating were present.

Having everything and everyone working together is what made this perfect world. Having respect and not taking advantage, sharing with everyone is what kept this world together.

No more pain and suffering

I believe at some point in time everyone tries to imagine a perfect world, with the idea of world peace being top priority. I have thought about a particular world but have never expressed my insights on it since it’s guaranteed not to occur since the world revolves around challenges (challenges people face on the daily basis).

My idea of a Utopian world is not far of from the world we live in today. I imagine a world where pain and suffering would be abolished. To wake up every morning and not worry about meaningless things such as bills, problems, money and all materialistic things. To wake up and take in the fresh air, to close your eyes and be thankful for another glorious day, to enjoy life and what it has to offer.

In my opinion, pain is an emotion that triggers your mind, heart and soul to break down and have a melt down whether it is a small or drastic melt down. In my world, this would not exist. Pain is categorized in many different levels: emotional, mental and physical. Pain can be shown by tears in someone’s eyes, the decision to self harm because of a particular pain one is experiencing, the loss of a loved one, and the list goes on and on. My Utopian world will abolish the idea of “pain,” pain in my world shows a level of defeat, the citizens of my Utopian world shall always rise no matter what obstacles they will face, what problems that my occur. By abolishing pain, it gives us all the mental, physical and emotional strength to strive and come up with solutions to move on and be strong.

With pain comes suffering. I personally believe being a witness or a victim of suffering can really deteriorate one’s life, heart and soul. Suffering is losing hope and I feel that is the worst feeling to have; knowing that there is no solution to end the suffering. In my Utopian world, there shall ALWAYS be a solution. No one shall suffer in any way, whether it is the struggle to make ends meet, a health problem and other predicaments where we experience pain and find no solution, we suffer.

My Utopian world doesn’t consist of materialistic things or live in a world that is considered “perfect.” But take a second and imagine, with the current world we live in today, imagine waking up one day and not have the slightest pain to worry about. Imagine you can live a day without you or the entire world suffering. Didn’t you notice how fresh the air really is? Now imagine, a world like this. A world without pain and suffering. People can work minimum wage, others are becoming rich by the second but at the very end everyone is doing well, not worries about money, any level of pain and suffering? A peaceful world you can say.

This is my idea of a Utopian world. Yes, there isn’t much of a difference in today’s world, but if you subtract pain and suffering from the original equation, we shall all become a powerful, strong, driven world where we all can live in peace.

Imagine it.

In my ideal world everyone would be at the same economic level. There would be healthcare for everyone. Poverty would not exist. There would be and even amount of supply and demand. Nobody would want more then they already have. Everyone would have a home designed exactly the way the want it. They’d be able to choose where in the world they want to live. Anyone who commuted a crime would be sent to prison. They would never be let out and the death sentence would not exist. Happiness would exist everywhere and everyone would be polite. Everyone would greet each other and speak to each other kindly. Being rude would not exist in this world. Everyone would go to school and school would definitely be interactive.

The education system would involve taking kids on trips to workplaces as well as to museums and different countries. There would be levels to school and once children knew what they wanted to do they would choose. They wouldn’t have to spend years learning at a school to then start their career. They would be allowed to go to this workplace and have a mentor who teaches them everything. Everyone would get together with their family every week. They would plan events together and it would be wonderful.

A person in this world would die of old age. No one would be sick or have any deathly disease. No one would be able to smoke as smoking causes disease. The people would truthfully have a decision to everything. They would decide what, when, and where they did everything. What someone wanted to do at the end of the day would be their decision and money wouldn’t be an issue. The only thing that people wouldn’t be able to choose to do is something that would harm others. No one would be discriminated against. There would a penalty against anyone who discriminates or does anything to harm someone’s self esteem. Bullying in school would not exist.

Technology in this world would be advanced. Whether people wanted to use this technology was solely up to them. Technology would be a helpful device in this world but not essential. People in this world would be able to create whatever they felt the need for both artistically and mentally. One of the things that wouldn’t exist would be cars, they would be a thing of the past. People would need to walk everywhere to enjoy nature. Everyone would also be environmentalists. They would care about nature and the planet we live on.

Animals would play a big role in this world. They would live in a vast area where each of them would have a section. Everyone would help the animals and they would go visit them. There would be no animal abuse. People would be able to have as pets the animals we have now including some others. There would be no war everyone would live in peace. All countries and nations would help each other with anything they needed. I call this My World or is it?

If I could have my own specific Utopia I imagine that the buildings and cities would all have a nice and vibrant feeling to it.  There would be no dirty or broken down buildings and the city would be clean. The different cities have different feelings to it and diversity in the buildings, culture and food. I’m pretty sure this is contradictory as everyone and everything is supposed to be equal, but I think that it shouldn’t mean making everything (especially building structures) exactly the same. Everyone is equal but there can be different variations in the feel of the cities that the people live in. This is due to the fact that everyone can be creative and the different architects that build the different cities do have different views and visions on what they want the building to look like. That the chefs in each city can make different types of food from a different city, due to having different ideas. Everyone is encouraged to think outside the box and create something that all of society can enjoy. Anyone can go anywhere to enjoy and experience the variation in the different cities, and no one is denied the right to explore the other cities. So even though there is variation, everyone is still equal because everyone can experience what each and every city has to offer.

Technology has expanded rapidly, and people use all the different types of technology on a daily basis. However, unlike in the story “The Machine Stops” people have not isolated themselves due to it. Everyone knows the consequences of becoming too dependent on technology because everyone is wise and educated. Everyone knows the consequences corruption and crime could have on the city and everyone works together as equals for the well being of the city. Being creative is encouraged as this allows for more innovation and progress for the city and its people. The people aren’t oppressed and the society works as a whole, allowing for easy communication with anyone.

Since everyone is equal no one is denied the right to education, they could be what they want, and being financially stable is experienced by everyone . Crime is non existent, and people can go anywhere at anytime without fear of other humans like in the world today. People are open to each other and know each others boundaries. There are no hidden agendas in the reasons of why people do things. Yes, everyone has their own boundaries and secrets, but there is no ill intent in their reasoning. Work hours are reasonable and everyone has a break in the middle of the day so that when they get back to work they can be just as energized as they were in the morning. No ones expenses go over the amount they make and no one has to worry about things like money or rent. This results in everyone being able to try anything they want and go anywhere they want. This is my view on Utopia even though I’m positive there are contradictory elements to it.

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Create A Dystopian Society Essay

Show More Would it be nice to live in a perfect society? Free from hunger, war, poverty, and more? Well unfortunately, a utopian society does not exist. A utopia is defined as “an imaginary and indefinitely remote place. A place of ideal perfection especially in laws, government, and social conditions. An impractical scheme for social improvement” (Merriam-Webster.com). In the book, The Giver by Lois Lowry, it explores the idea of what if we lived in a utopian society. However, as the story progresses we see that the utopian society is actually a dystopian society. A dystopia is defined as “an imaginary place where people lead dehumanized and often fearful lives” (Merriam-Webster.com). Therefore, can we ever create a utopian society? If so, how can we create it? …show more content… First, we must decide what type of utopia we want to create. There are religious utopias, a peace utopia, an ecological utopia, and much more. I am going to focus on creating a basic peaceful utopia. In this utopia, people all have jobs, there is no homelessness, no hunger, schools are well funded and teach life skills, there is no war, and we all live in peace and harmony. To do this, there must be someone who must make decisions on what will work for our society and creating a perfect society. In The Giver, it is the Council of Elders that make these decisions. In real life, these people can also be seen as dictators. These dictators make decisions on what they believe will create the perfect society through any means necessary. However, there is no such thing as a perfect society because everyone has a different idea of what will make society great. And when people use means of intimidation, murder, war, and other things, then the society is not

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The Hunger Games: A Dystopian Society

Can you imagine the feeling knowing that at anytime, a close one could be taken away. A best friend could be stolen. A family member could be killed. Even yourself could be sacrificed for nothing. Do you think that the emotions a family member may encounter, the sadness of an entire community, or even just the thought of dying, is worth it to provide a dominant government their “Hollywood ending”? Well, in the book “The Hunger Games” written by Suzanne Collins , Katniss Everdeen lives in a dystopian society where her community is divided by 13 different groups. Each year, their government randomly selects two participants from each group to play in the Hunger Games, which is a fight to the death among the other participants. In the book, Katniss’ …show more content…

For instance, the text in the Hunger Games script states ¨Peeta doesn't get it- until she unzips that pouch around her waist and extracts a couple of those berries… he kisses her, gently. They stand back to back...¨ Katniss and Peeta just decided to eat the poison berries so they couldn’t give their government what they wanted, which was a clear one-person winner. This evidence supports my claim because Katniss and Peeta wouldn’t let them have one winner, which basically messes up their government’s system. They both made the decision that they would take their own lives just so the government didn’t get their way. They wanted a change, they wanted to end the Hunger Games. This is where it begins to connect to my claim. Singling people out in a life or death situation when they are apart of a community is not fair at all. If the community experiences something positive, then everybody deserves to experience the happiness. But like this situation, if one person is going to experience something negative for the good of the community, than everyone should share the pain equally. In this story, Katniss has been placed in a life or death situation basically against her will, just for the good of the community. If someone is going to be …show more content…

Children do not deserve to be in the type of situation Primrose did. They’re children for crying out loud, they deserve to have a life just as much as you and I do. And communities should come together if they really want to have a positive impact on their community, not just sit there and watch one representative suffer. Never be afraid to stand up for what you want. Don’t watch somebody suffer for you, stand up for what’s right and join them in the fight for improvement and

Examples Of Dystopia In The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games is a well-known book written by Suzanne Collins. A dystopian society is a futuristic, imagined world that has the illusion of a perfect world. In the book, Panem is a dystopian society. It is a dystopian society because it is futuristic, it has constant surveillance, and it exaggerates worst case scenarios

Good And Evil In The Hunger Games

In life there is always some sort of violence and there always seems to be a good and a bad side. The Hunger Games, directed by Gary Ross is a movie about 24 tributes fighting to the death for the Hunger Games crown. The prize is riches, fame and freedom from ever having to physically fight in the arena again. It is a game of violence, ferocity, and blood, and only one tribute can win. Even though stories often have a Battle between Good and Evil, it is Katniss’s internal conflict confronting her own good and evil that portrays humanity with a longing for destruction, violent inclination, and sense of separation.

The Hunger Games : A Hero 's Journey

In the history of cinema, most movies involving a hero 's journey involve mostly the same plot; man gets a call, goes on a journey, gets in a battle or two, and saves the helpless woman from some evil source. The Hunger Games has the same plot as other hero films, but takes a complete turn on the actor encompassing the hero. The hero in this film is a Katniss Everdeen, a poor girl from a dystopian society. In this film Katniss volunteers for her sister to be in the Hunger Games, which is an event where individuals are thrown into an arena where people from twelve districts fight each other to the death for entertainment. Katniss must win the hunger games and make it back to her family. Katniss eventually befriends Peta and they defeat all obstacles and win the Hunger Games together. The Hunger Games is a perfect example of a hero 's journey plot. It follows the steps that any hero journey movie would, including the call, crossing the threshold, a supreme ordeal, companions and mentors, a transformation and the end gift. This film encompasses the classic hero journey plot, with an exception of having a strong female lead instead of male.

Conformity And Civil Disobedience In The Hunger Games

However, forcing Districts to give up their resources isn’t enough for the the Capital. It demands the Districts to surrender one boy and one girl to go into the annual Hunger Games, an annual fight to the death, in order to prevent all out war. Katniss, the main character in the book, ends up being part of the Hunger Games alongside Peeta. Katniss then has to fight for her life because only one victor is allowed by the Capital. Because of this situation in the book, conformity and civil disobedience play a huge role in the Hunger Games.

Sociological Perspectives In The Movie The Hunger Games

Firstly, “The Hunger Games” is set in a futuristic period where war and rebellion have caused a serious problem with the development of society (or its progress). Basically, in the Hunger Games Universe, both men and women are thrown into a situation where the success of their families and hereditary lineages is based solely off of social status. Even in the beginning of the movie, it is made clear that people from differing districts cannot simply make normal exchanges and social interactions with each other due to the cruel and brutal nature of the social bar that was raised extremely high off the bat. In other words, in order to be viewed as successful in the Hunger Games universe, one must be in an elevated social class position so as to be respected and accepted by the upper-class members of society (those members being the men and women fortunate enough to be located in districts one, two, or three). This fact is highlighted in the scene where Peeta graciously gives Katniss a purposefully burnt loaf of bread in order to help her feed herself and her family alike. However, Peeta gets beaten for his act of kindness by his mother because bread is seen as the only way to efficiently make a stamp or impact in the society in which they found themselves living in. Therefore, food and clothing were always in high demand due to their value in making connections with

Contemporary Hero 's Quest Presentation Speaker Notes

I chose to the modern mythology known as The Hunger Games a novel written by Suzanne Collins and later adapted into a feature film. The novel was actually part of a trilogy The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay. The story begins by introducing you to our main character Katniss Everdeen who lives in a world run by the Capitol where President Snow resides and has enforced a form of martial law on all 13 districts. Every year the Capitol hosts their annual Hunger Games which is a form of entertainment for the Capitol. Out of every district two tributes, one boy and one girl will be picked to participate in the Hunger Games which is a battle to the death. Whichever tribute manages to survive till the end will be rewarded by getting to stay in the capitol and their district will be given more food and supplies. The reason Katniss becomes a part of the games is because her little sister prim is chosen during the reaping to be the tribute so Katniss hearing her sisters name volunteers as tribute to save her sisters life but she tries to win the games for her district and to provide for them. The only problem is she finds it hard to murder the other tributes because they are all so young and she doesn’t see why she must kill them for the Capitols entertainment.

The Hunger Games Research Essay

• 3 Works Cited

In The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins expresses two themes. The first one is that we can’t let the government use their power to treat, and use people like they want, they are oppressing them. “At one o’clock, we head of the square. Attendance is mandatory unless you are on deaths door. This evening, officials will come around and check to see if this is the case. If not you will be imprisoned.” (Collins, 16) we can see that the Capitol forces the people to participate in the reaping by threatening them. “When I was younger, I scared my mother to death, the things I would blurt out about District 12, about the people who rule our country, Panem, from the far-off city called the Capitol. Eventually I understood this would only lead us to

Dystopian Hunger Games

In the article “Why Young Adults 'Hunger' For the Hunger Games and Other Post-Apocalyptic Dystopian Fiction” Debra Donston-Miller states that dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction is very popular among young adults as it is so cleverly expressed by the title. Miller suggests that this popularity is due to “a deep-seated social need or anxiety”. Young adults feel they relate to some extent, in the sense that there is pressure on them to define themselves. Personally I agree with Miller because I have read divergent and there is a sort of gnawing at the back of my head that the protagonist and I were not that different. Granted, I’m not fighting for my life like said protagonist, but the reminder to define one’s self to fit into society is there.

Comparison Between 'In The Penal Colony And The Lottery'

For example, in the novel Katniss insults the government, “ Taking kids from our districts, forcing them to kill another while we watch- this is the Capitol's way of reminding us how we are at their mercy.” (Collins, pg.18) The deaths in the game are a lesson to the people and their price to pay. There is little people can do because the authority, the government, thinks it is fair punishment and has total control. In addition, Katniss explains, “...The Capitol requires us to treat the Hunger Games as a festivity, a sporting event pitting every district against the others.”(Collins, pg.19) The Hunger Games is entertainment for certain people, it is even called a holiday. Wealthy people from the Capitol sponsor and invest in valuable tributes like athletes. The government and the prominent sponsors are entertained by the competition and the non-supporters have no voice or the ability to

The Sociology of the Hunger Games Essay

• 2 Works Cited

In a not-too-distant, some 74 years, into the future the United States of America has collapsed, weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war, to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 13 districts. Each year, two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games; these children are referred to as tributes (Collins, 2008). The Games are meant to be viewed as entertainment, but every citizen knows their purpose, as brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts. The televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem as the 24 participants are forced to eradicate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch. The main character

Totalitarianism In The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games promotes the idea of a total government control. The Capitol controls everything that the twelve districts do. The world of Panem is divided into 12 districts where each district has its own role to fulfill from luxury to coal mining. "Taking the kids from our districts, forcing them to kill one another while we watch. This is the Capitol's way of reminding us how totally we are at their mercy" (Collins 18). This shows that the districts all pay a yearly sacrifice to the Capitol in the form of tributes. Another of showing that the Games is a dystopian society is that any evidence of an act of rebellion will result in the government having to kill anyone who gets in their way. "Look how he take your children and sacrifice them there is nothing you can do. If you lift a finger, we will destroy every last one of you. Just as we did in District 13" (18).

Essay on Hunger Games

The dystopian protagonist that is present in the Hunger Games is Katniss Everdeen. “Finally, I am too restless to even stay in bed. I pace the floor, heart beating too fast, breathing too short. My room feels like a prison cell. I run down hall to the door to the roof. The energy field enclosing the roof prevents any desperate form of escape” (Collins 148) Katniss is often struggling to escape or feels like she’s trap, she knows that she’s a tribute in the hunger games and is afraid that she will never see her family again if she doesn’t come out as the victor. Through Katniss’s perspective you can easily recognize that there is something wrong with the society that she lives in. “ I want to do something, right here, right now, to shame them, to make them accountable, to show the Capitol whatever they do or force us to do there is a part of every tribute they can’t own” (Collins 237). Katniss knows that the Capitol is cruel and wrong for having the hunger games, forcing the tributes to kill one another

Essay on Cultural Analysis of The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games, written by Suzanne Collins, is set in a dystopian country called Panem. This country is split up into twelve districts, and the districts are lead by the Capitol. Annually, the Capitol forces children of the districts to fight in the Hunger Games until only one child is left alive. The Capitol uses the games to show their power and to discourage the people of Panem to start another war. The games are very entertaining to the people of the Capitol, and the whole country is required to watch on television. Even though this seems unusual to enjoy watching children fight to their death, this idea has been around for thousands of years.

Theme Of Communication In The Hunger Games

In the Hunger Games, one young male and one young female are randomly selected from each District, or town, every year to go into war with one another. Only one of the twenty-four make it back out of the game alive. The mayor announces the chosen ones every year at a ceremony known as the reaping, where he explains the history and purpose of the games. There was a war in the past between the Capitol and the Districts. Since the Capitol won, they hold the Hunger Games in honor of their victory. The story mostly focuses on a specific Hunger Games tribute, Katniss Everdeen, who chose to volunteer for her sister who was originally chosen as tribute. Katniss and District 12’s boy tribute, Peeta, are shipped off to train for the games for a few weeks in order to learn more about how the game is played and how the Capitol actually has a huge hand on who wins depending on their likeability. People who live in the Capitol actually send survival gifts in the games, which is the key to winning.

The Hunger Games: A Dystopia In The 21st Century

A dystopia in the 21st Century consists of an unpleasant society that's made to seem as if it were a utopian world, but in reality is quite the opposite because of its unjust laws and rules, oppressive society, and harsh rulers. According to John Adams the word "dystopia" comes from Greek origin meaning literally a "bad place. [2] Dystopian fiction is a literary genre that "explores" political and social structures, usually of a futuristic setting. This genre has grown to be immensely popular, especially in the "Teen" category. The dystopia genre is relatively new as it's less than a century old. The dystopias usually consist of a protagonist going against a system made to seem like a utopia and fighting its oppressive government in hopes of defeating it and freeing themselves along with everyone else.

Related Topics

• Suzanne Collins

Create Your Own Dystopian Society

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A dystopia is a vision, of an often futuristic society, which has developed into a negative version of Utopia (perfect society). A dystopia is often characterized by an authoritarian or totalitarian form of government (dictator). It features different kinds of repressive social control systems, a lack or total absence of individual freedoms and expressions and a state of constant warfare or violence. You will create an original dystopian society. You will need to be creative and thoughtful in coming up with a fictional place that was intended to be perfect, but has gone wrong. You must create a citizen of this society that will be the Protagonist of your project, through which the story will be told. Meaning, this citizen should realize that the society is wrong and should try to shine a light on the problems through his or her narration–tell it from his or her perspective. Any writing in this assignment should be printed in adherence to MLA format (double-spaced, 12pt font, Times New Roman, 1 inch margins). Project Requirements: 1. BACKSTORY: A dystopian story has a backstory: a war, natural disaster or other terrifying event is introduced early on in the story to set the stage. Describe the backstory for your dystopia. 2. SETTING: Describe the setting of your story. What does the place look like where your citizens live? What rule or laws apply here? What do the buildings, homes, cars, etc. look like? What year is it? 3. GOVERNMENT: Describe the government in your dystopia. What kind of government exists? Who is in charge? 4. CITIZEN: Describe the average citizens in your dystopia. What do they wear? What do they do for a living? Do they have children? How do they behave on a daily basis? What do they do for fun? How do they respond to the government? a. Consider having the citizen introduce him or herself in the beginning of the project, and throughout the other sections, allow his or her characteristics–beliefs, interests, experiences, etc.– shine through. *Combined, these four sections should compose no less than 2 pages of text. 5. PROPAGANDA: An informational text or other form of media from the government of your society. This can be a poster, letter, memo, brochure, political cartoon, video, etc. Comments: Final Grade:_______________ Points 0-3 4-6 7-9 10 Backstory The backstory is missing, unorganized, unclear, or minimal. It is unclear as to how the dystopia was created. Little to no effort went into the creation of the dystopia. The backstory shows some organization and includes minimal description of the creation of the dystopia. The story is generally entertaining, and it is clear that a moderate amount of effort went into the creation of this dystopia. The backstory is clearly constructed, is interesting, and depicts the creation of the dystopia. It is clear that effort went into the creation of this dystopia. The backstory is clearly constructed and organized, is interesting, and vividly depicts the creation of the dystopia. Great effort went into the creation of this dystopia. Setting The setting is missing or undeveloped. No fine details are included and little to no effort is apparent. The setting is somewhat description but lacks details and depth. Moderate effort was put forth. No laws were included. The setting is descriptive and shows structure. Some fine details are accounted for. Includes 3 laws in society. The setting is vivid, thoughtful, and welldeveloped. Great attention to detail is visible. Includes at least 5 laws in the society. Government Government is missing or undeveloped. Little to no effort. Government is somewhat developed and shows only minimal effort. Government is developed but lacks attention to details. Government is highly developed and shows great attention to details. Citizens Citizens are missing or undeveloped. Little to no effort went into their creation. Citizens are somewhat developed, but lack depth and interest. Minimal effort was put forth in their creation. Citizens are developed but lack depth. They may be easy to relate to but they are expendable to the story. Citizens are interesting and well-developed. They are easy to relate to and essential to understanding the dystopia. Propaganda Propaganda is missing or minimally interesting. Shows poor construction and thought. Little to no effort. Propaganda is moderately creativity and interesting. It shows some thought and planning. Propaganda is interesting, relevant, and creative. It shows effort in planning and construction. Propaganda is thoughtprovoking, relevant, creative, and well executed. Great effort.

Last Updated on April 25, 2020

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