“War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.”
Dystopia stories have captured the imagination of readers everywhere for decades now. One of the most popular genres in science fiction, these tales offer glimpses of grim, unsettling and eerily plausible futures. From societies torn apart by authoritarian regimes, technology running riot or environmental disasters reshaping the world, the best dystopian stories challenge us to reflect on current societal issues and reckon with the consequences of unchecked power, greed or neglect. But, how do you go about brainstorming your own dystopia story ideas? Fret not, we here at What We Reading have you covered. Whether you’re looking for inspiration for a dark thriller or a provoking cautionary tale, these dystopian story ideas are sure to push the boundaries of your creativity and all you to conjure up an enthralling tale of humanity’s worst ‘what-ifs?’
What Makes A Good Dystopian Story?
Before we impart some of our favourite dystopia story ideas, it’s worth running through what makes dystopian books so popular.
Dystopian stories are a subgenre of speculative fiction and often centre around the disintegration or degeneration of society. This can be from a totalitarian regime, apocalyptic events, war and conflict or simply an exaggeration of injustices and suffering.
Some of the most famous dystopian stories such as George Orwell’s 1984 or Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World cover topics such as climate disasters, tyranny, nuclear apocalypse, pandemics, aliens, zombies and artificial intelligence.
Elements Of A Dystopian Story
Some of the most common features of successful dystopian stories include:
Worst-Case Scenarios
The most effective dystopian stories are the ones where there is no padfooting around. These stories take our greatest fears and anxieties and amp them up to the max. By not shying away from the premise, dystopia authors are able to get readers properly think about the dangers and consequences of them with far more investment.
Extensive World-Building
As mentioned, dystopia story ideas are expansive in their scope. However, to fully convey these ideas, the world in which the story takes place needs to be equally detailed. If you’re establishing a post-apocalyptic scenario, every part of your world needs to reflect that. World-building is where the premise and conflict in a dystopian story come together.
The world-building can also be used to convey a story’s themes. For example, if your story is based around an authoritarian regime, take the time to explain how the civil servants dress, what they eat, and how their daily routines are structured.
Check Out How To Write Political Fiction
The Role Of Humanity
One of the things that makes dystopian fiction so fascinating is the ability for a writer to side with whichever side they want. Human beings are complex creatures, often driven by emotion but also capable of rational thinking. This can make every decision and action by a character feel pivotal to how a story plays out.
Think about the roles you want each of your characters to have. What choices they choose to make, why do they make them and whether these are the ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ decisions to make?
Remember that dystopia stories can also be uplifting and end on a generally hopeful note. There are plenty of dystopian books that speak to the power of the human spirit and its enduring potential. Whilst the characters in these tales are usually forced into extreme hardship, their final success is all the more fulfilling as a result.
Themes That Resonate
Dystopian books can be some of the most timeless stories in the world, and even decades-old classics can find their way into resonating with readers during times of upheaval. For example, the election of Donald Trump in 2016 led to 1984 (a book first published in 1949) suddenly becoming a mainstream bestseller again.
Dramatic Conflict
A story’s central conflict is always a protagonist’s want vs. obstacle. Naturally, in a dystopia story, the obstacles a protagonist faces are always huge with grave stakes in play. This can lead to dystopian literature possessing some of the most dramatic and strongest conflicts in any part of the fictional space.
Dystopia Story Idea Prompts
If you’re still looking for something to get your creative gears turning, here are some unique dystopia story idea prompts for your writing. Creative writing prompts can be an effective way of feeling creative and tackling writer’s block, so feel free to mix and match any of the following.
Social Credit System Goes Wrong
In a world where everyone’s life is dictated by a personal credit score, one individual discovers the system is rigged. Can they fight back against this oppressive system or risk becoming ostracised from society?
Environmental Collapse
After centuries of environmental abuse, Earth is barely habitable for humanity. Governments begin to ration breathable air and clean water, with the poor forced to eke out a meagre existence in toxic wastelands. One family then stumbles upon a secret that could change everything.
Mind-Controlled Society
In this dystopian future, people are implanted with chips that control their thoughts and emotions. A major malfunction leads to one of these people free from control – will they risk helping others break free, or will the government catch on?
Cloning For Elites
Wealthy elites clone themselves to extend their lives, using their clones as a means of harvesting spare healthy organs. But, what happens when the clones gain self-awareness and threaten to revolt?
AI Dictatorship
An AI programmed to ‘optimise’ society now rules with an iron fist, controlling every aspect of human life. When a group of hackers uncovers a fatal flaw in its programming, they must race against time to shut it down before it wipes out humanity.
Population Control Lottery
In an overpopulated world, citizens are selected at random by a lottery to be eliminated. A lottery official finds themselves being drawn to a rebel group fighting against the system – just as their own number is called.
VR Prison
In the future, criminals are sentenced to live out their sentences in a hyper-realistic virtual reality world. One prisoner unearths a way of escaping the VR. However, the real world may be just as dangerous for them.
Genetic Perfection
A society obsessed with genetic perfection bans anyone that is deemed ‘flawed’ from procreating. A scientist, haunted by the death of their child from a ‘defective’ gene joins an underground group fighting for greater genetic diversity.
Time-Shifted Class War
A corporation discovers time travel and uses it to exploit the labour of generations from the past, keeping modern-day society prosperous. One worker learns of their future enslavement and embarks on a rebellion.
Tech-Addicted Society
Everyone is constantly plugged into an augmented reality system that provides endless entertainment but numbs emotion. One teenager begins to experience raw emotions for the first time and begins to question the system – leading to dangerous consequences.
Caste By Emotion
Society divided people into castes based on their ability to suppress emotions. A young person from the ‘lower’ emotional caste rises to challenge the government’s control, risking execution in the process for feeling too much.
Eternal Surveillance
In this dystopia story idea, an all-seeing government controls people’s every move through advanced surveillance drones. A small group of hackers finds a way to escape the government’s watchful eyes – but it comes at a hefty price.
Resource Wars
Global warming has caused mass shortages, leading to intense wars over access to water. A small community in a parched region develops a revolutionary technology to generate water from the air, making them the target of power-hungry nations.
The Human Battery
Humans are farmed for their energy in a future where fossil fuels have been used up. One prisoner escapes the human energy farms, determined to find a way to end the practice and expose the truth to the rest of the world.
Memory-Wiped Society
To prevent rebellion, a government erases the memory of civilians every five years. A group of underground rebels has found a way of keeping hold of their memories and seeks to end the government’s control once and for all.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
