Why we need more people writing and reading sci-fi right now

I have firmly planted my stake in the science fiction genre. It makes up most of what I read, watch and definitely write. But aside from being a mega fan of the genre, I also find it to be one of our most important forms of expression.

For a long time, it’s been relegated to a nerdy counter culture. When most people think of the genre they think of Star Wars and Back to the Future. And while those titles have a special place in my heart, it doesn’t really speak to the core of the category.

I’ve talked before about the likes of Orwell and Huxley and Atwood being prophets of their time. I’m far from the first to see the world around us as a living sci-fi story. But I think we need more of it. 

We tend to rehash the classics and marvel at how accurate they are, but we can’t just linger on decades-old literature. There are a ton of modern day stories being told that continue to look ahead, critique the now and prepare us for reality. We need more critical eyes on the current science fiction and more writers imagining the world that is on our horizon. I believe we’re at a pinnacle time in modern history and if we don’t all contribute to defining where we’re headed, we’ll be drug into a place we don’t want to go.

Write your way out of the dystopia

What I feel like we’re lacking lately is a way forward. Whatever side of the avalanche of issues you land on in our society, the overall feeling I get is that humankind feels stuck. We can’t lift our heads from our phones. We feel obliterated by the mental weight of the world’s suffering. There’s so much conflicting information and so many unknowns that we exist in a state of news-induced paralysis. (That’s where “they” like us.)

I can get that way with shocking regularity. 

The times where I don’t feel that way though, is when I’m writing science fiction. When I’m trying to imagine the capabilities of the human mind and build a fictitious world around the real-life plans of the elite, I feel something take over. A deeper knowing. An intuitive intelligence. A natural order. Clarity.

I have nothing but respect for all the researchers and truth seekers out there trying to know the facts and nail down the “what” of this world. The tireless hours they spend reading studies and interviewing experts helps me stay aware of what’s happening. But rarely do I feel like we’re getting to the “how.” How are we supposed to function with this info? How are we supposed to move forward as a society? How do we enlighten others entrenched in old paradigms? The part I feel we’re missing is the exploration of what we can do to evade the seemingly inevitable collapse and instead thrive!

I have a lot of hope for humanity. A lot of trust in love. But when I do the daily scroll, I feel hopeless. Faithless. Burnt out. I feel like pulling my kids in close to me and shutting everything else out.

Writing sci-fi gives me time to ruminate. I get to dream my way out of the horrors. And as so many of the greats that wrote the classics have proven, what we write in a story can become reality… if only we’re brave enough to imagine a new world. 

Not enough different perspectives

Without getting into my overall feeling of the traditional publishing industry (maybe someday I’ll talk about it), there is a very limited lens through which fiction is allowed to be seen on the main stage. There always has been. It’s a controlled institution like any other.

After ten years in the industry, a life filled with loving books, and my own dive into indie publishing, it’s become glaringly apparent that publishing is no better than the one-sided news outlets. While it can still produce well-written books that I buy and can enjoy, the “acceptable narratives” exist in publishing just as much as the media. There’s no room for a difference of opinions. Speak out of line and you’ll never get a deal.

Controversial thoughts or alternative ideas are non-existent when they have to pass through the gatekeepers obligated to the big guys. 

An example I’ve used before is climate change. You literally can’t write a science fiction book about the demise of mankind anymore without that end coming because of climate change. I hold strong, passionate feelings about protecting the environment and how we treat it now. I live on a farm where we raise our own animals, grow our food and produce about 100 eggs a week for Christ sake. But especially in the last couple of years, the publishing industry has gone all in on the climate change talking points. From The Tomorrow War to The Avengers and just about every traditionally published sci-fi book I’ve picked up, it HAS to be included. I wonder if these creators even decide on that or if an editor does.

Bottom line is, if the world is destroyed, it’s because we selfish humans fucked up the planet. Of course the subject is never on the corporate greed and captured “regulating” bodies in our government that allow it. Or on establishing a symbiotic relationships with the planet through things like permaculture in order to save it. It’s just poopoo you dumb people did this to us. It breeds buy in to the plans of the same ruthless rulers who got us here in the first place. 

Not to mention, when I look around, I see the likelihood of us all turning on each other a way more plausible end than the Earth ceasing to produce in our lifetime. But you’re not allowed to say that in traditional sci-fi. All must be on the same page that climate change is our end. Period. End of discussion.

My point being, this one track mindset has everyone thinking about each problem in a singular way instead of a dynamic one. And then handing the solving of that problem over to the ones most responsible for creating it. 

We need more writers. More artists. More science fiction producers to actually THINK about what all we’re facing. The “climate change in every sci-fi novel” trend feels like a big “look over here” attempt to keep us from critical analysis and thoughtful exploration of one another. 

(At some point I’ll get into pollution and preserving the Earth vs. the climate change agenda that seeks to monetize all natural resources and limit the little guys while further empowering the 1%. Then we’ll talk about all the ways they are using entertainment to soften us up so that we hand over the literal keys to the entire kingdom. But that’s another conversation for another day.)

I’ve also found that almost every single author published has to be very loud and very aligned about very specific social issues. Another trend I find utterly lacking in authenticity given the exclusion of any voice that might have something else to say. For example, in an effort to overcorrect for their painful lack of representation pre-2010, the publishing industry has swung far to the other side where they only want stories from people of color or the LGBTQ community that express the horrors of racism or homophobia they face. As if that’s all people of color/LGBTQ people have to comment on. They don’t elevate stories about Black love or Asian family culture or migrant success. They want only the horror. Only the grit. Low vibration stuff. And god forbid a person of color chooses not to focus on the color of their own skin at all… then they aren’t living up to the “own voice” demand. If it isn’t tragic or teeming with social touch points, agents don’t seem to want it. Is that true representation? When you tell these previously excluded minorities you only want one side of their story?

And nothing has become more clear than what is and isn’t an acceptable conversation around medical choice. Every traditional sci-fi author I follow has posted a picture rolling up their sleeve, has a mask on in their profile or is outright verbally assaulting those who choose differently. I’m not saying they shouldn’t be allowed their opinion and choice… I’m merely pointing out it’s the only one allowed in traditional spaces. Shows like You (granted not sci-fi) and Y: The Last Man are just outright murdering and wishing death upon “anti-vaxxers.” I have no doubt we’ll see a slew of books that match this tone soon as well. Is that the best we have to offer? Is that what all creatives think? Is this how we breed a better world? Wish death on those that the loudest voices deam wrong? Isolate ourselves in a safe echo chamber of singular opinions? It has to get better than this.

This way of publishing and producing keeps us scared of this world instead of loving it. It keeps us in a mindless fear-state in both our news and our entertainment. It divides. It makes the idea of another opinion ludicrous if not outright threatening. Yes there are terrifying things in this world, but there’s also beautiful things. And differing perspectives that can exist simultaneously. 

Creativity sets us free from the shackles of culturally acceptable conversations. Imagining the future lays its foundation in front of our feet. 

We need to think, and feel, our way out of these times. And writing a story about how one might do that, I believe, is a brilliantly effective and liberating way to grow. No matter your beliefs.

This applies to EVERY cultural, global, historical and psychological issue we’re suffering from at the moment. This is an all hands on deck time in history. And at a moment where many think entertainment has degraded to nothing more than overt propaganda, we all need to be creating the next generation of novels, movies and TV. Speculative fiction, simply put, is something we can’t live without right now.

I’m not a sci-fi fan

During the release of my first book, I had a lot of people say “I don’t usually like sci-fi, but I loved this.” 

Flattered as I was, I think it speaks to the misunderstanding around science fiction. Most think lazer guns, space travel and robots, when the genre’s true purpose is to lay out options for our path forward, generate warnings around trends, and expand our ability to believe in more than what we’re told is possible. 

When 2001: A Space Odyssey came out, it was the first book that introduced the concept of satellites to the world. When Lady Gaga has a pin nearly identical to the The Hunger Games’ mockingjay during the inauguration, we can all go hmmmmm… When we hear that pre-crime isn’t something simply relegated to PKD’s Minority Report, we can feel hesitation at the idea of putting our presumed guilt in the hands of unworthy authorities. 

It gives us context for understanding the future and seeing our way out of the current control structure. It can also serve as a dire warning for what happens if we do nothing. 

I believe in my heart that the better we understand sci-fi and express ourselves through this medium, the closer we can get to solving some of the world’s most pressing problems. It gives us the chance to explore our world without limitations and develop a future we actually want. Writing breeds empathy and unity. Indie publishing and films give voices to alternative ideas that aren’t sponsored by corporate giants. Propaganda-filled, mainstream-approved entertainment can’t do that for us. We have to do it for ourselves.

It’s time for a creative revolution! 

So if any part of you feels the urge to write a story about our future… do it. If you’ve never consumed sci-fi through the lens of “this might be what’s headed our way” dig deeper. I love many genres of entertainment, but as for me, science fiction is the only one that moves my mind forward.