Writing dystopian in a time like this...

Hint - It's exhausting!!!

Picture this… three years ago, sitting at my desk, thinking about the story I wanted to write. I decide that it would be interesting to consider what a borderless world looks like. I decide the only way this borderless world will come to existence is if there is a lack of existence of so much else….

A world that has been struck by wars, unceasing pandemics, and catastrophic climate change that has left much of the remaining population heading north, seeking clean air, protection from extreme weather, and a sharing of resources unheard of.

But, alas, humans in that world did what humans do best in this one, and they got greedy and territorial. And those in power shut out anyone outside of the very best land. Closed the borders, and raised up protections so strong against the outsiders that no one stepped out of line.

And it is in that world that we find our protagonists. But lately, my protagonists are begging for a break. Begging to live in a world and timeline that is a little less interesting, a little more boring…. or maybe that was the text from someone near and dear today. It wasn’t my protagonists at all.

Frankly, I can’t find the energy to spend time with Aggie and Norah in the never-ending news cycle of suck, and the never-ending social media feeds of division and ugliness.

Last year I learned the preferred term for the dystopian genre had shifted to near-future. But I didn’t realize how near future we were talking. And it’s supposed to be fiction people. Fiction, where we escape, and live out fantasies of having powers, and the ability to affect change. Where we can become bad ass ninja bitches and risk everything to take on the bad guy, but know we will be ok, because it is fiction. Just a story.

So this week, I am going to shift my perspective. I am going to write something light, and fun, and—let’s face it not likely funny, I’m not good at funny, at least not on purpose. But something that is a departure. Something that isn’t trying to work out the world in my written words, something that isn’t tackling the latest issue that is giving me and so many others heartburn.

Maybe a romance… or a cozy murder mystery—yes that’s a thing. Or maybe just a fairytale.

I’ll find my way back to Aggie and Norah. But in the meantime I have a prompt that involves a labyrinth, liars, and lovers that is looking to be addressed, and that is where I am setting my intentions for this writing night. I hope I don’t get lost in the maze, but if I do, I will at least design it to be beautiful and relaxing—for some…