I have been writing my current story for some time now and I have smashed into a road block. I dont think my current storyline is believable in todays world, with these uncertain times I really dont feel it will fit in. Its getting very hard to write the kind of story I want to do, I want to write science fiction, I want to do a cyberpunk genre like story but that seems to be a storyline overdone and now pretty much out of date. My original concept had the world I created being caught up in the same basic situation our current world is in. Terrorism, war, fear it was the foundation of my story. Now my original story had this huge company in it that wanted to use its technology to control others, using the fear caused by terrorism and war this companies plan was to take over the military of many nations to bring the world under its control. But in todays world the big evil corporation angle seems out of date, with big companies going under the cyberpunk approach of having a big company that controls everything seems silly and a work of true fantasy. I believe in blurring the lines of reality and fantasy and that line has become too crooked over the years. So what to do? Should I make my story about a military complex now since a society obsessed about defense seems the next logical choice. But a military complex storyline will compromise the ideals one of my characters has, and his character is perhaps the most important character in the story. Here is what I had, this scientist had just invented a machine to turn people into cyborgs and he wants to use it for good purposes like healing the sick and injured. Now this character has just moved to another nation (the nation I set my story in) because he was asked by the army of his old nation to use his machine for war. This is the kind of character who has seen the horrors of war up close, heck one of the reasons why he created this machine is because of the horrors he had saw in a war. The characters history is that he was a field medic and after he got out of the war he devoted himself to cybernetics, he has seen a lot of sorrow in his life but he wants to bring the world good because in his mind there must be a way to make things better. He believes his machine can help, but the thing is that he will regret himself if it was used as a weapon. So if he stayed in one nation he would have had to deal with a military complex but in this other nation he has to do the same thing? I am just dry of ideas, how will this character get funding as its his experiment that kicks the whole story off, the main characters are cyborgs created by his machine but how can he make this machine without some kind of money? It was easier to create a company as it would initially seem neutral or even benign but as time passed it would prove no better then where this character came from. This character would not make the same mistake twice by trusting yet another nations military when his own proved that it wanted to use his device for death. I want there to be this cloud of deception atmosphere, where those who could help this character out appear to be good at first but reveal their true intentions later... I just dont know what I should do next.
A story shouldn't be made to mirror modern society or by whats 'In'. Write it how you like it, because it will come out better than way.
Well some of the best science fiction mirrors the society it is made in and I am just following in those footsteps. I like to make my characters and world as close to the world we are in as the characters are a reflection of what is happening in the world today. I like to take the semi realistic approach, yes deliver a story about high tech society like the world I created but base its situation in reality. my approach to storytelling is to dance the fine line between reality and fantasy
He didn't mean (I think) you shouldn't mirror it, but that you shouldn't force the story to mirror it. I mean that, don't let the "right now" fashion affect your story if you don't want to.
well I sort of want it to as I want people to relate to it. The plights of the main characters reflect the ones we face each day, and I think its a good approach. Of course I am trying to make this as open as possible so it cant be dated.
Exactly. Also I'd venture to say that 85+ percent of people didn't have the big corporation fear or whatever other fear you're going to go after here. You only hear about it because the minority always expresses an opinion. Not to say people didn't take a look at it or have minor concern, but I don't think even that would be a book people can relate to. You're better off just writing a strong plot that people will enjoy. If you're going to fight this opinion you already have your answer for yourself anyway.
Agreed. Also, only one thing that bugs me... Is it really a machine that convert people into cyborgs? Doesn't sound very plausible, especially for the realistic setting you want. Might want to try something like he develops artificial muscle tissue that can replace any kind of muscle in the body or something of the sort.
Could be a dialysis machine that replaces your blood with nanite-infused blood, which like, build the cybernetics inside of you on a molecular level. Or something. Unless you're writing hard sci-fi, a totally scientific explanation isn't really needed. As long as it's not glaringly illogical.
I was in the same boat as you, worrying about if some of the technological and societal stuff I had dreamt up for my story would actually seem logical. I chose to set it in 2055, but I really wasn't sure if the real world was on a path that would make my vision of 2055 a realistic one. After thinking it over for a bit, I realized we don't know what tomorrow will bring. The economy might be down today, but it could (and pobably will) pull a complete 180 over the next decade or so. In 2055, we might all be living in cardboard boxes, outrunning mutant cockroaches, or we might be sippin martinis on the moon, being served by sexy robots. That's the neat thing about the future; it's whatever you make it. So write away and fear not.
well the situation here is that we are dealing with a race that is a bit more advanced then ours in technology. They have nanotechology, cybernetic grafting, cybernetic replacements and most of that tech isnt too far out of our reach. Its not like this device magically makes people cyborgs, I do have a process in mind for the cybernetics involved that can be done in our lifetimes. But socially the race I came up with is not too much advanced then we are, they still have crime, they still have terrorism so socially they are a lot like us. I deal with a lot of plausible technology in my storylines such as nanotech as I feel we can do it. Cybernetic grafting and replacement is already becoming a real possibility so the tech involved is within our reach. The machine just makes the cyborg process easier, it uses a mix of technology to make it work. So I am not dealing with a very star trek type tech here, that might be too far ahead but my tech can be achieved in the next 30 years if we live that long
I just read The Fantastic Voyage with my class and even though that type of technology is not all that popular its still a good story. Good story telling is not a fad. Your reader will not care if the race in your book is light years ahead of us now. They will care that the story is well crafted.
Well I do think I have a well crafted story yes. But the thing is that I have been wanting to get away from the evil company angle for ages anyhow, this just seemed to be an opportunity to just dump it. Its just a matter of what I will put in its place that matters here. I know right now the story I have sounds overdone anyhow, and thats what I am trying to avoid.
