Futuristic Fiction: #Research for #Writers, Part 2, Activism.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction

Photo by Vanessa on Unsplash

This is a series on writing futuristic fiction, research in pursuit of facts, and questions asked to make ‘predictions’ as accurate as possible. A novelist and short story writer, I always start tales with characters, since character-driven stories best present the narrative. Most stories also have one or more themes under exploration. It’s those themes this series will investigate.


For me, the primary question is the ‘why’ of events. Why do things happen the way they do? What are the causes? Who benefits from any given political, social, commercial or philosophical situation?


Obviously, in dealing with future events, we need to examine many different topics. I’ve produced a list of 100 that may impact on such a story. Not all will be fundamental to every tale, but an awareness of these topics will inform the storyteller in ways that will inevitably influence the direction of a story. It’s such a long list, I decided to deal with them in alphabetical order.
This second post looks at ‘Activism’.

What influences activism, what are the causes, why do some protest and others comply or remain silent? Just some questions a writer needs to consider when including such activity in a piece of future fiction.

We all know social and main-stream media have encouraged, censored, exaggerated, questioned, and promoted activism recently. We realize there have been government attempts to rein in some of the extreme instances of such online activity. In some countries, China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran, come to mind, all forms of protest are cynically manipulated by politicians frightened by any perceived threat to their power. Will such behaviour survive the inevitable changes in the online life? It’s clear advances in technology will make it easier for people to bypass attempts to deprive them of information, and will take forms that deny access by the authorities. When the population is better informed, will protest increase in authoritarian states? And what will be the result?

Will more people be inclined to take risks in the name of issues they hold dear? Mass gatherings, sabotage, violent rebellion, nude protests, food strikes, flash-mobs, are among the tactics already used. Will future communication systems increase these methods of activism?

Will the probability of enhanced protective body armour and other similar personal defence systems embolden people and allow them to take more extreme action? Alternatively, will regimes be more prepared to punish, even eliminate, protestors? Will youth return to the days of the 1960s when students frequently fought for social injustice?

Currently, we’re seeing protests about the Climate Emergency, Racial Inequality, Pollution in its many forms, and many other aspects of life perceived as unfair. In the near, mid, far future, what will people protest about? Perhaps, bullying mega-states, corrupt mega-corporations, inequalities of food and water supply, misinformation spread through religion?

I seed these considerations hoping they’ll stimulate imagination when tackling this topic in fiction. And I remind writers that many aspects of the future will inevitably impact on protest; so much in life is interconnected and this quality is likely to increase as time passes.

So, in what ways do you see activism developing in ten, a hundred, a thousand years?

Kosmos Journal – The future of Activism

Adl.org. – How youth can engage in activism

Voxatl – Future of activism

New Yorker – The second act of social media activism

Pew Research – Public attitudes toward political engagement on social media.

Part 1 of the series is here.

12 thoughts on “Futuristic Fiction: #Research for #Writers, Part 2, Activism.”

  1. The article was amazing. Also wanted to come here and say that I just started my new blog called tea talks by apulstya and would love if u could follow. MY FIRST POST IS NAMED “And I looked into her eyes and saw”.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks, Apulstya. I had a look at your site and I’ve tweeted a link to your first post. But I have to be selective about the sites I follow, otherwise I would spend my life answering emails! When you’ve posted more I’ll look again. Good luck with your poetry.

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  2. I feel like Anne today, singing, “the sun will come out tomorrow.” It was good to see our new President sitting at his desk signing a stack of executive orders, even if you believe they can be reversed by another new president. This is now, and I have hope. Today, I am writing the last chapter of a book I have been working on for nearly two years. My main character is getting married. Have a good day and stay safe.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It was great to see that stack of new executive orders being signed, to reverse the idiocy of the previous incumbent’s term in office. We can but hope the American people understand the damage Trump has done to the image of their country, to the world in general and to the idea of democracy, and never again vote for such a charlaton, eh?
      You keep safe and stay well, Brenda.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks, Lynette. Plenty of material to play with for novels and short stories, I agree. As a radical, and an optimist, I’m constantly at war with myself: the reality fighting the hope.

      Liked by 2 people

    1. Having read a couple of tyour books, Asit, I can atest to the truth of your statement. However, not all future fiction is set in a distant future, so there’s a possibility I may still be around when the period in my latest work (yet to be published) comes into being. It’ll be interesting to see how accurate my storyline appears then.

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  5. I agree! Being the old fart that I am, I write about struggles, but with the good people winning in the end, mostly! Sometimes, humanity sucks, and evil raises its ugly head. Other times the sun comes out so we can believe again.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I agree, for the foreseeable future at any rate, Brenda. As an optimist, I’d like to think we’ll eventually deal with the biggest issues, but humanity being what it is, I have to say I doubt that.

      Liked by 1 person

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