What if?

At the time of writing, I seriously think the only parts of my body that aren't aching are my arms and thighs, which probably explains why I'm trying to sit incredibly still in an attempt to prevent further muscle strain and aches whilst typing this. Anyway ...

So another week goes by and time marches on regardless of how hard you beg it to stay. Believe me, I've - metaphorically - tried grovelling on my hands and knees and all it does is sneers at me and run away pft.

As a reader and a writer, I'm currently fascinated with the literary genre of dystopia recently though I can't exactly tell you why. So what is dystopia?

According to Wiki, which besides Google is my first online source for reference lol, "a dystopia is an often futuristic society that has degraded into a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian. Dystopian literature has underlying cautionary tones, warning society that if we continue to live how we do, this will be the consequence. A dystopia, thus, is regarded as a sort of negative utopia and is often characterized by an authoritarian or totalitarian form of government."

Sounds a bit wordy or complicated? Well then, let me introduce you to Siaw Hui's abbreviated definition of dystopia ;) Simply put, dystopian literature asks the question of: "What if society decided to (insert blank)?"

Don't believe me? Well then, let's take a look at the story premises of dystopian novels - some of which I've read and some which I want to read. For this I shall enlist the help of my other good online friend, Goodreads :)

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury asks the question of "What if society decided to ... ban books?"

Unfortunately, Goodreads doesn't have an English preview so I can't provide one -.- It's such a famous book though that if you don't mind spoliers, you could Wiki the plot :)

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Goodreads summary: It is the world of the near future, and Offred is a Handmaid in the home of the Commander and his wife. She is allowed out once a day to the food market, she is not permitted to read, and she is hoping the Commander makes her pregnant, because she is only valued if her ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she was an independent woman, had a job of her own, a husband and child. But all of that is gone now...everything has changed

Question: What if society decided to ... totally strip women of their free rights?"

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Goodreads summary: Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy. But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love...

Question: Well frankly, there are two questions for this one. "What if ... love was a disease? What if society decided to ... forcefully implement its cure on all its citizens?"

Get my drift? :)

Dystopian literary works are all about a major something that changes society as we know it. In Fahrenheit 451, the major something was banning and burning books, the ripples of consequence in society? Equally major as well: book lovers and book harbourers become fugitives on the run from the law, people no longer read and engage in critical discussions that books give rise to, libraries are empty deserted buildings no longer housing books, "firemen" are no longer people who put out fires but rather people who start fires ... to books. Montag (the main character of the book) is a fireman himself.

Then we have a hero/heroine that rises to challenge the major something, the decision that society has made. In Fahrenheit 451, we have Montag who decides to challenge the logic of burning and banning books. In Delirium - which I haven't yet read by the way, since it's a novel that just debuted this year - Lena falls in love and I'm presuming, will now challenge the logic of love being a disease and being forced to receive a cure for it.

As a writer, I believe "What if" is a great question to ask when you're brainstorming about a new plot. It's also a terrific question to ask when you're planning character arcs and stories. It is the best question to ask when you're writing, period.

So for example, let's have a look at one of my current WIPs Dark Lily. Plot question? "What if ... someone decided to murder politicians in the Ventyn government?" For the character arcs and stories, believe me when I say that each character had at least one "What if"? question specifically asked to them. However, I can't reveal those what if questions because they are central to the story and each character's growth. So suffice to say, in general most of my Dark Lily characters are asked "What if ... you had a troubled past? Would your troubled past have repercussions that echoes into your present and future? How strong would those repercussions be?"
Coming back to the topic, despite all my fascination with dystopian literature though, I know it's not my strongest suit when it comes to writing. That may change as I grow older, but I can say, with a hundred percent certainty, for now it is not a genre that fits me. Why?

Well, for starters, the "What if?" questions that sets up any storyline I have are not exactly major changes to society as we know it. Granted, they are major changes to the main character life as he/she knows it and society may feel a bit of it, like with Dark Lily it's only logical that Ventyn society will be panicking  like any real-world society would when they discover some anonymous murderer is picking off their government officials, but really it still doesn't affect some random person on the street personally.

Case in point? Think about The Handmaid's Tale. If you're like me in that you're female, and if you were part of the society in The Handmaid's Tale, you'd be thinking: Oh crap! What's going to happen to me now? Who's my male master?" etc. etc. If you were in Dark Lily however, you'd probably think: Who's the crazy psycho killing those government officials and why is he/she killing them? Is it some foreign country trying to undermine our government for their purposes? Oh my gosh oh my gosh!" etc. etc. but you won't be thinking: Oh my gosh! What if the crazy psycho kills me? because you are just a random person on the street, said crazy psycho only targets government officials. LOL Well there is a probability that he may go even more psycho and not be choosy about his targets but that's besides the point :P

I think humans in general though, have a continued fascination with "What if?"s. They're not good questions to dwell on, granted, but there are still questions that we find ourselves asking once every now and again. "What if I didn't send him out to buy groceries? Perhaps he wouldn't have been hit by the car and will still be at home with me." "What if I had made my move on her earlier, perhaps I would have been her boyfriend instead of him." If you really think about it, life is made up of "What if"s, it's just how fast and how well we can get over it, dust ourselves off and say "Well, it didn't happen so I'd deal with it" and move on :)

Till next Sunday, I'd be off then!