As humans we have a constant question of what will happen to us? What does our future hold? This thought is terrifying because for most as we don’t tend to think of an amazing future where world peace is achieved and we’re striving as a species. What comes to most peoples mind is a future where either humanity has perished or we are suffering the consequences of current social issues such as poverty, climate change, war etc. Dystopian books, films and media push this narrative, they display frightening futures based on current trends in the world, serving as a warning.
Key Elements of a Dystopia
- A present-day issue the story connects to. This is what separates the dystopia genre from genres like horror or science fiction.
- A setting that is familiar enough to our current world to be believable.
Kazuo Ishiguro’s book Never Let Me Go shows these dystopian traits. The book displays a future where humans are cloned and used for organ harvesting, drawing on real-world issues of both oppression and dehumanization. Certain groups are treated as less than human, and more like resources than people. This books questions what defines humanity and what it means to live a meaningful life. Never Let Me Go is a sub genre called“soft dystopia,” presenting a world that is calm, controlled, and disturbingly accepting of its injustice. In my opinion, soft dystopias are even more terrifying than chaotic ones because of how closely they resemble our own world. They show how easily something horrifying could become normalized.
For our project, we had to show our understanding of how dystopian narratives are built by writing our own dystopian story. We had full creative control, so I chose to base my story loosely on the horror film Seven (directed by David Fincher). My goal was to create a world where government control and surveillance are completely normalized. People behave exactly as the government wants, not out of loyalty but out of fear. In this society, a religious government has taken over, and citizens are executed for committing any of the Seven Deadly Sins. However, the sins are defined so broadly that almost any action can be punished. Eating more than your government-issued rations is labeled “gluttony,” and expressing strong emotion can be considered “wrath” or “greed.” I wanted to explore how easily fear can control a population, how people adjust to injustice, and how normalization can make even the most horrific actions seem ordinary.
One challenge I faced during the writing process was staying motivated to finish. Crafting the world and setting the tone came naturally, but creating a structured plot with a clear climax and resolution I found was harder. I also struggled to decide which details to keep and which to remove. Throughout PLP, writing hasn’t always been my strongest skill, but this story is one of the pieces I am most proud of. This project gave me a new appreciation for creative writing.
At the beginning of the project, we wrote a learning intention outlining what we hoped to improve. One of my goals was to strengthen my creative writing skills, since it’s something I haven’t done often. Through this project, I learned how to use descriptive language and the five senses to build atmosphere. I also practiced reducing unnecessary details and focusing on what was most important.
I wanted to truly enjoy the story I created, and one of my main goals was to produce something original and imaginative. I began with an initial idea, but as I started writing, I realized I wasn’t connecting with it. Instead of forcing myself to continue, I chose to shift directions and develop an entirely new storyline—one that felt more engaging and authentic to me.
This process also aligned with my personal mission goal from the start of the year: to practice resistance and persistence. Even though rewriting the story required significantly more effort, I pushed through because I wanted to improve the quality of my work and create something I was genuinely proud of. In the end, choosing to start fresh allowed me to produce a more creative piece while demonstrating perseverance and commitment.
Overall, this project significantly improved my confidence and ability as a creative writer.
Link to my story below