Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Cli-Fi: the future of fiction -- Millennials' notes from Albatrossity and MwSinclair

 
 
''Cli-Fi: the future of fiction''

More and more Millennials are taking up  the cli-fi call to action, and it makes sense. As Milliennials, they grew up with much more awareness of man made global warming (also mad-made global warming, as in M.A.D. = Massive Assured Destruction) and climate change impacts, so their outlook on the present and the future is insightful. And I have found that more and more Milliennials are picking up their pens and keyboards to start writing their own cli-fi novels and cli-fi screenplays. It's happening nationwide in most English-speaking countries and also in Europe and Asia.

I came across this post by albatrossity the other day, which was titled "Cli-Fi: the future fiction'':


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    • Literary Status:just starting, unagented
    • Location USA Northeast region
                  
    Hello fellow writers,

    ''Some of you may have heard of the emerging genre of "cli-fi", also known as climate fiction. But I suspect that, for most of you, it's a relatively new idea.

    ''The nascent category is devoted to stories that prominently feature the topic of climate change. Given that 2015 was by far the hottest year on record, that the general public is increasingly concerned about the problem now in 2016, and environmental degradation continues to show up in works of entertainment [think 10:04], I think cli-fi is about to come into its own. Check it out here at Grist:

    http://grist.org/liv...tches-so-what/

    ''I've only read one cli-fi novel, ''Odds Against Tomorrow'' by Nathaniel Rich, and I thought the story was alright, though the prose was absolutely delightful. I just finished penning my own manuscript about Millennials coming to terms with the fact that the world is going to be a very different place from the one they grew up in, and I think the topic is fascinating -- so why isn't ''cli-fi'' more front and center??

    ''Writers are starting to realize that climate change is another fact of life, as pervasive an element as gravity. I'm just curious to know your thoughts about the issue -- have you incorporated climate change, even subtly, into your works? Have you conceptualized its implications in the story you're telling? Maybe it doesn't play a role at all; maybe it plays a big role. But I think for fiction to be realistic if it's set on Earth today or in the 21st century, it has take into account that things are changing quickly. Ain't nobody writing a novel about Miami in 2100 -- there [very well might not be]  a Miami in 2100.''

    ''Anyway, I just wanted to get people thinking about climate change, and maybe present some interesting ideas as to how to work it into a story. I think the more exposure climate change gets in media, the more likely people are to do something about it. And that, to me, sounds like a pretty good deal."

    ONE COMMENTER, MR MWSINCLAIR, WHO RUNS THE SITE, POSTED IN REPLY:

    Hello albatrossicty,

    I think you'll find a lot of it in genres like apocalyptic and post apocalyptic fiction. Indeed, our own [YA cli fi novelist] Mindy McGinnis did pretty well with her debut novel, Not a Drop to Drink, and there are lots of good stories with these themes in mind.

    Interesting comment about Miami. But there may be a New Miami by then. As you say, it's up to someone to write about it now...

    MWSINCLAIR's Literary Status: published, unagented, media
  • Location USA Northeast
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  • Publishing Experience:Journalist covering U.S. nonprofits, foundations, and life in general. President and Chief Elephant Officer of Elephant's Bookshelf Press, LLC. Since establishing the company in 2012, we have published ten books, including short stories by several AQC writers and debut novels by AQC authors A.T. O'Connor (aka Cat Woods), "ScubaSteve" Carman, and R.S. Mellette. Heading into 2016, we're aiming to publish at least two books, including the second Mellette novel and an anthology. In 2015, I saw a few memoir/nonfiction pieces published in Red Fez. I expect to do more of that in 2016 and beyond, while also looking to add freelance editing and writing clients.

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