Let us begin by defining what we mean by "Possible Worlds" as this term can be very misleading in its most general interpretation. Certainly, any world that can, potentially, exist in reality or in one's imagination, is a Possible World. But, that is not very helpful as it would be difficult to conceive of an Impossible World. In fact, it one were to conceive of an Impossible World it would have to exist, at least, in their imagination. According to this general definition that would make it a Possible World. Hence, this path circles back into itself and we need to put some boundaries on it.
A story exploring a Possible World will focus on possibilities brought on by social policy, emerging technology or even current trends with possible consequences. The story is a vehicle for examining and evaluating outcomes. The protagonist is of secondary importance as the protagonist, if there is one, is there for his or her epistemological value in examining the possible outcomes. And the theme has to do with the ethical question being examined. Other major elements of the story such as the characters, plot or setting are chosen for their epistemological value as well. We could even say they are chosen for their probative value, although we are not trying to establish facts, merely possibilities.
In some ways, stories written to explore Possible Worlds are no different than stories written for any other purpose. Yet, in other ways, they may be very different. First, any technique, approach, or genre used to write a traditional story can be used to write a story exploring a Possible World. So, if you are already comfortable writing a particular kind of story, you can use that approach for a Possible World as well. But, the overlap does not end there. In Wired for Story, Lisa Cron points out "Story is what enabled us to imagine what might happen in the future." So, every story is about the future. In an earlier post I quoted Aristotle who said “it is not the function of the poet to relate what has happened, but what may happen, -- what is possible according to the law of probability or necessity.” (I provided it here so you wouldn't have to flip back.) So, a story, in general, is not only about the future but it is about a future that may never even come about. What is the difference?
The phenomenon under exploration is the impact of a social policy, technology or current trend. There may be other motivations for a story to explore a Possible World, so I will offer those as examples. What happens to the protagonist and those close to him or her is far less important that what happens to large groups of people whom we do not know personally. Hence, changes in the character arc of the protagonist are far less important than resulting arc of social and political changes. While a writer may extrapolate the impact on a protagonist based on his or her own experience, the impact on a possible world may not be (in fact probably won't be) anything the writer has experienced. Hence, it requires more imagination.
Writing stories to explore possible worlds presents a unique writing challenge. Writers may not be familiar with possibilities inherent in changes brought about by social policy or technology, while planners or engineers who might be able to envision possibilities may not have the writing skills to express them effectively. A catch phrase you often see in books on how to write is "write what you know". This is a problem because nobody knows the future. So, it must all be done in your imagination. But isn't every story a product of the writer's imagination? Yes, but it is informed imagination. And Possible Worlds are based on informed imagination as well. If you know what has happened in the past, and you know what is happening in the present, then extrapolating possibilities that might occur in the future is a reasonable next step.
Writing a story to explore a possible world might sound like a daunting task. After all, just writing a story is a major challenge. Writing a story that somebody might read is yet a bigger challenge. And when you add the requirement that your story focus on a Possible World that may or may not lay in the future, it sounds like and impossible task. But, it turns out that writing a story to explore a Possible World can be much easier.
If you pick up a recent book on writing (or read one of the many series on writing) you will, almost certainly, encounter a concept called character arc. Character arc is the inner transformation of a character over the course of a story usually as the result of facing a conflict or crisis of some kind. Readers enjoy stories with a character arc because they identify with the protagonist and vicariously experience the forces that led to the change along with the accompanying emotions. They often wonder what they would have done in similar circumstances and may get some insight into their own character as a result. But, while character arc is an important element of many popular stories it is not a necessary element of every story.
For example, in mystery stories, the most important element is the mystery and most hard-boiled detectives do not change a great deal over the course of the story. Sherlock Holmes didn't change much. Neither did Sam Spade, Philip Marlowe, Lew Archer or Spencer. Still there are many wonderful stories involving these characters and readers like their consistency. Similarly, in series using the same detective, or the same central character, the protagonist may change slightly over the course of the series. But, readers don't read individual volumes to see how the protagonist changes. They read the individual volumes to see what the protagonist is doing this time.
Similarly, in expository novels such as Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, the point of the novel is to reveal circumstances of which the reader may not be aware rather than to reveal inner struggles and the resulting changes in the protagonist. This is much closer to a story exploring a Possible World which is also expository although it is exposing a possibility rather than a reality.
If you feel you need a character arc, you can try a simple one such as the loss of innocence character arc where the protagonist goes from a state of naivete to state of mature realization. Here the protagonist starts out unsophisticated about the technology or emerging social pattern, but realizes its potential (good or bad) by the end. The protagonist is converted. They may even be converted to a different assessment of the phenomenon being explored. That is, they started out with a negative assessment and were converted to a positive one or vice versa. If you have written stories before, and are comfortable with more sophisticated character arcs, you are certainly welcome to make the arc as sophisticated as you choose. However, the goal of a story which explores a Possible World is to shed light on the impact and/or outcome of the Possible World, not on the psychological growth of the protagonist.
The recent work on the science of storytelling, some of which was discussed in earlier posts in this blog, points to the fact that readers like stories that resonate emotionally. And, certainly, a good way to invoke the readers emotions is by having them identify with the protagonist. But, it is not the only way. In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, it would be difficult for readers to not feel an emotional connection with the protagonist. However, it would also be difficult for the reader not to have an emotional reaction to the processes in the meat packing houses of the day where anything from rats to rat poison might end up in the sausage. In fact, it was the repulsion that readers felt in response to the meat packing processes that led to Federal Food Safety laws rather than sympathy for the protagonist.
Another way in which stories written to explore Possible Worlds may differ from more traditional stories is that several stories may be written to explore a Possible World from different perspectives. This is largely unprecedented in current fiction. Imagine if the view of the future presented in George Orwell's 1984 was challenged by Bob's Version of 1984 where everybody finds happiness in the new age of technology or Aaron's Version of 1984 where the new age of technology, even with its drawbacks, allows humanity to thwart a threat of some kind which would not have been possible without the technology. Maybe Sarah's Version of 1984 might see the technology being used to group or pair people with similar outlooks to reduce social conflict. Ah, but sadly, we never saw Bob's, Aaron's or Sarah's version because once 1984 was written, it because the only perspective we are exposed to.
So, to get to the point here, there are four main ways in with stories written to explore possible worlds are different: 1) they don't require character arcs; 2) multiple stories can be written offering alternative views of possible futures; 3) writing a story to explore a Possible world requires more in depth understanding of current circumstances and their implications; and 4) writing a story to explore a Possible World requires more imagination than writing a more traditional story that explores the human condition with which most of us are already familiar.
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