Write Political Fiction

Political fiction is timely literature that seeks to change some facet of society or that persuasively espouses a particular political viewpoint. Political fiction can truly be powerful: stories have time and again served as a catalyst, a call to action, to inspire people to change their world. Only time will tell whether your story will have this lasting impact, but this much is certain: writing political fiction is fun and cleansing. Here are some steps to get you started as the next Voltaire, John Steinbeck, Ayn Rand, Gore Vidal, or George Orwell.

Steps

  1. Read political fiction. There's no better way than reading quality political fiction to get inspired and learn the tricks of the trade. Authors such as those listed above are good choices, but there are many, many other worthwhile works.
    • John Steinbeck,
    • Ayn Rand,
    • Gore Vidal, or
    • George Orwell
    • Tariq Ali
    • Aldous Huxley
    • Max Barry
  2. Think about what you want to change or call attention to. Chances are you've already got something in mind.
  3. Narrow down what you want to attack, like aiming at a target. A very broad attack on, say, "the government" is unlikely to create powerful writing, but too narrow an attack, such as on a single person, generally won't serve to bring about meaningful change. There are many exceptions to these generalizations, though. Instead, focus the story on a specific practice that raises your ire. Some authors of political fiction write on war; Ayn Rand took aim at the political distribution of wealth; Richard Edward Connell criticized recreational hunting in his short story The Most Dangerous Game and touched on multiple political and religious themes in the screenplay of the movie Meet John Doe.
  4. Choose your approach. The first impulse is usually to attack the subject earnestly and directly. This can be effective, but many times indirect approaches such as satire and allegory are more powerful. Satire, in particular, is a fun genre to write and, if written well, to read.
  5. Base your story on real circumstances. You probably won't use senators' real names, and you may not even use a real country as your setting, but the more connections your story has to real places and real events, the more likely readers are to understand and relate to it.
  6. Write a great work of fiction. Ignore for a moment that the urgent message of your book is far more important than the trite diversions on the bestseller list. Political or socially-conscious work is truly valuable, but that fact doesn't give you license to write a boring or poorly written story. If you really have something important to say, say it well, and make your book every bit as engaging as popular fiction. See the related wikiHows for tips on how to write fiction.
  7. Revise and edit your work once you've completed it. The creation of a good book typically involves 1 part writing to 3 parts revising and editing. See related wikiHows for help.
  8. Publish your work. It can be hard to find a publisher for controversial political fiction. The best way to get your story published is to make it an entertaining, high-quality work of fiction. If you've got that, but you still don't have a publisher, look to smaller presses, or publish the work yourself, either on paper or on the internet.

Tips

  • Use a subject that will remain relevant; rather than write about a one-time event, write about a repeated event, long-time practice, or an ongoing phenomenon. Examples include: war, terrorism, taxes, religion, corruption.
  • Don't rant. If you just want to vent, start a blog, or use YouTube. When ranting, you can be as loud and vulgar as you wish, whereas political fiction is a piece of literature and requires more subtlety.
  • Having trouble getting started? Try this approach to get your ideas flowing (it's a bit formulaic, but it might get you somewhere): choose what you want to attack; create a protagonist (main character) who is in conflict with the government, your antagonist; determine the fate of your protagonist; figure out how to get your protagonist to that fate.
  • Remember that some people won't agree with you. Don't worry, it doesn't mean the book you have written is not very good.

Examples of Political Fiction

  • 1984 by George Orwell
  • Animal Farm by Orwell
  • Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
  • The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
  • Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems by Galileo
  • Head of State produced by and starring Chris Rock
  • Left Behind series of books by Tim Lehay and Jerry B. Jenkins
  • The Ugly American by authors William Lederer and Eugene Burdick
  • Candide by Voltaire
  • Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut
  • The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
  • Shall We Tell The President? by Sir Jeffrey Archer
  • Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
  • Jennifer Government by Max Barry
  • Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

There are many more examples of political fiction. Why not add a few to the list?

Warnings

  • Don't be surprised if vested interests try to stifle your publication. In some countries, you can be imprisoned or even executed for writing political fiction. In others, you may find that publishers won't touch a story that's too controversial, regardless of its quality.
  • Beware libel and slander suits. Political fiction will usually offend some people, and if those people are obviously characters in your book, they may bring lawsuits against you. In some countries, libel requires that you tell a lie about someone, but in others, libel laws are more broadly interpreted.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

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