October 31, 2014

Why I Write Climate Fiction

Climate fiction is a genre term used for writing and other forms of art that are based on themes of climate change. Stories in the climate fiction genre, commonly referred to as cli-fi, can take place in past, present or future, although they most commonly take place in the near future. As such, cli-fi stories are places where our minds can easily take us. Change in climate may be a bold or a subtle theme, but in most cases they challenge us to consider the implications of climate change for ourselves and future generations.

Climate fiction often crosses other genres. Cli-fi novels frequently have a place in the science fiction genre due to the role technology can play in future changes. Other common genres are fantasy, mystery, and romance.

I find myself quite clearly choosing climate fiction as my genre. I am passionate about our earth. I was writing about our connection to the earth before I ever heard of cli-fi. I wrote very pointedly about climate change last November but didn’t learn about cli-fi until I’d written well over 50,000 words. It’s definitely my passion!

I thought it might be helpful to explore why I have this passion. The two main reasons are that writing is my passion and having a healthy earth to live in is my passion. I grew up in rural southern Ontario where it was normal to spend the day outside as a kid. I had the freedom to explore the hills and valleys and streams of my neighbourhoods. To this day, I need to garden with bare hands so that I can feel the soil and the plants. Even living in the city, I need to spend time outside every day, to find some way to connect with the air, the sky, the trees, the plants.

Writing cli-fi gives the opportunity to ask and try to answer a host of questions. How did we get here? What will the future look like in 30 or 50 or 100 years? Is there hope for us? It’s an opportunity to explore who people are, what makes them do what they do, what it takes to make changes.

We are all living the reality of climate change right now, but our reactions to it differ greatly. Some of us deny it, some of us fight back, some of us tune it out, and some of us groan in depression. The possibilities for story ideas are endless and even overwhelming. There are the many imagined futures depending on what the changes for our planet might look like. There are the many ideas for solving the problems that will result, like flooding and drought. And all of these details and possibilities are interwoven with the great varieties of characters that will populate these stories.

In the end, I write cli-fi and work at making my art something that others can read because that is my contribution to our fight for the survival of our planet. Perhaps my imaginings and efforts will encourage other people to find their own part to play.

This is the night before November. To some it is Halloween, but to me it is the night before National Novel Writing Month. November is the month I devote to my passion of writing. Every spare moment is spent writing. No distractions tolerated (well, very few). It’s my month to give my creativity free reign.

I have a cli-fi novel that needs lots of revision work, so I am not writing a novel this November. But I will be writing. I am writing short stories in the cli-fi genre. I find that idea exciting and a little scary, on the night before November.

1 comment:

  1. Congrats on your NaNo success! I think you should make a commitment to your next writing goal and post it here so we can help you stay accountable!

    ReplyDelete

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