If tempted to write a utopia, keep in mind that the society will face several problems among readers:
n It will stretch plausibility - No society can be so perfect that it all problems disappear, for often what matters most to us are personal problems, not larger economic/political/philosophical issues. Even if every one of us is fed, medically cared for and materially prosperous, there still will be the plagues of love gone wrong, of office politics and of death.
n It will read more like a description than a story - That’s bad news because usually the descriptions of a perfect society are downright dull. Consider Dante’s “The Divine Comedy.” The journey through Hell (the dystopia) is far more interesting than the journey through Heaven.
n It will run against the cynical bias of our times against utopias - Even if you address the personal psychological problems and human interaction and provide beautiful descriptions, the world will seem more like a suffocating dystopia to some readers. Indeed, some blog sites are even dedicated to showing why Star Trek’s “socialist” society would never work.
Visit my Web site about writing science fiction, Inventing Reality.
(c) 2008 Rob Bignell
Tags:
description, dystopia, plausibility, typesof science fiction, utopia
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