Things You'll Need:
- A great idea
- Great characters
- Knowledge of dystopian stories, literature, and movies
- Computer (much better than hand written or a typewriter)
- Dedication
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Step 1
Read the greats. You don't want to copy the greats, but if you want to write a great dystopian novel then you need to know what's been done in the genre before. 1984, Brave New World, and Fahrenheit 451 are probably three of the greatest ever, but there are literally dozens, if not hundreds, of really good dystopian novels. Read several of the classics to get a feel for how these stories work.
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Step 2
Read modern dystopian classics. William Gibson & Margaret Atwood both write very different, but equally amazing, dystopian novels. Read "Running Man" or "The Long Walk" by Richard Bachman (Stephen King), or Terry Brooks with "Armageddon's Children." There are tons of great works out there, and watching apocalyptic movies is another way to get that flavor and the mind working on what you want your dystopian novel to look like.
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Step 3
Take a lot of notes. If you're like me, ideas can strike randomly at any time, and don't necessarily immediately attach to the main story. Single lines or paragraphs of good prose, character ideas, sub plots, plot solutions, twist endings, and world details all tend to come in bits and pieces. You don't want to lose the gems while crafting the larger work.
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Step 4
Think about the story you want to tell. What is the world like? How did it get that way (even if you don't reveal this fully in the story, you should always know how things have come to be in your world)? Who are the main characters? What makes this story different? What makes it worth hearing? What makes it stand out? If you can't answer these questions, keep looking. This is all information you need to know in order to write a quality dystopian novel.
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Step 5
Outline your plot, then get writing. Remember that in dystopian worlds the world itself, the setting, counts as a main character in the story and is equally as important. Don't push this so far that you give a 40 page history when that background isn't necessary to the current story, but remember that the world should never completely fade into the background.
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Step 6
Write, write, and write some more. Write a first draft as quickly as possible, and don't revise until later. If in doubt, add in the extra writing and scenes in your heard into the dystopian novel you're writing. Brain vomit. You can always revise later.
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Step 7
Once you've written a first draft, leave it alone for a month. Then come back and revise. Be honest with yourself. As a professor once told me, the passion is in the first draft, but the magic happens in the molding from revision.
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Step 8
Enjoy the process, and share your dystopian novel with the world!
