A Future Less Ordinary

It seems strange to talk about influences on my writing since I'm not doing much of it right now, but it is on my mind.

The poster for the movie "The Matrix" taken from Wikipedia.

I should say this right up front - I love cyberpunk.  For those not familiar with the genre, a widely known example of it is the movie The Matrix.  It's a futuristic and dystopian science fiction story.  What sets it apart from other stories is the element of science fiction, the way that humans and machines meld in the stories.  It's all very interesting to me, since I did once study engineering and have been highly influenced by science fiction my whole life.

Anyway, I haven't been writing much lately, but some cyberpunk concepts have been rolling around my head.  The best thing about writing the future, no matter how bleak it can get in a story is that you can also write about the high points.  Did humans make great scientific achievements?  Find cures for diseases that have long plagued us?  End poverty?  Sure thing - put them in, but it happened before the cataclysmic fall.  There has to be something that makes the world wrong, even if it isn't obvious.  Villainy can be cloaked in a good-will and promises of a bright future.  There's nothing I love more than a richly layered antagonist character or group.

Visually, cyberpunk can be sophisticated, beautiful and very stylized.  The future is often symbolized by minimalism, and that's an aesthetic that speaks to me personally.  Clean lines, metals and rounded edges all work well in design.  Being able to see the details is an important part of writing, and liking that particular style brings them to mind easier.

A future hero can be shaped by an environment of the author's choosing, not necessarily events that from the past.  It's fun to be able to make up so much, yet have it be based in a world that is familiar and still new to the reader.  Writing future or alternate realities isn't something that I've done much of but I do enjoy reading it a great deal.  An interest in the subject is the first step to writing, because it causes the author to be more invested in the work.  If you want to read it, then (hopefully) it will be easier to write.

I don't know what I will write next, but I have a lot of ideas in mind.