7 Books To Study Before Writing A Dystopian Novel
The influences of NORMIE, a dystopian novel by C.S.M.
To write well, you must study great writing.
This includes books on the craft of writing (which I’ve written summaries of for your convenience) and works of fiction.
The idea for NORMIE, my new dystopian novel, came to me in Fall 2023. I was sitting at my office computer in Washington D.C. and began scribbling notes so I wouldn’t forget any details.
Despite having lots of ideas, I knew there were some works of fiction that I needed to study before properly sitting down to write my novel. Each had a significant influence on my approach to the story.
You’ll be the ultimate judge, but I think the process helped me craft a much better novel in the end.
Here are 7 works of fiction that I studied to write NORMIE:
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1. 1984 by George Orwell
Everyone knows this classic.
It’s my favorite of the “big three” dystopian novels that most of us have to read in high school (#1-3 on this list). For some reason I was never assigned the “big three” in school, so they were all new to me. 1984 is definitely my favorite of the group.
George Orwell does a masterful job of creating a dystopian world where you fully understand how high the stakes are for the characters.
It also has one of the best opening sentences of all time:
“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”
2. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
I’ll be honest, this one was hard to get through.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s definitely a classic, but after reaching the halfway point I had to force myself to finish.
Huxley brilliantly creates a disturbing dystopian society, no issues there. My main problem was with the characters. I couldn’t get behind any of them. It seems like lots of other writers agree, as shown by conversations on X.
Feel free to disagree with me in the comments:
3. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
I had already outlined NORMIE before reading this classic, so I was shocked to find a huge similarity between Bradbury’s story and my own.
Both take place within an extremely short time frame, differing from the previous titles on this list. The events of NORMIE happen in one day, while Fahrenheit 451 takes place over a couple days.
My big takeaway was how Ray Bradbury was able to weave in exposition while keeping the plot moving. Unlike 1984 and Brave New World, there are never any huge slowdowns in the action to explain things to the reader. In 1984, the main character stops to read pages from an illegal book. In Brave New World, most of the book feels like exposition. I tried my best to apply Ray Bradbury’s style of delivering exposition to my own writing.
Read my full deep-dive analysis of Fahrenheit 451 here:
4. V For Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd
Unlike most titles on this list, V for Vendetta is a graphic novel.
I read Alan Moore’s Watchmen in early high school and loved it, but never got around to reading his other work.
One of the motivating factors for finally reading V was to make sure NORMIE’s story wasn’t too similar. Both feature rebellious figures wearing masks, but luckily that’s the main similarity. I didn’t have to go back to the drawing board.
5. Dream Story by Arthur Schnitzler
You probably haven’t heard of this book.
I hadn’t until watching Stanley Kubrick’s final film, Eyes Wide Shut.
Kubrick’s masterpiece was based on this 1926 novella by Austrian writer Arthur Schnitzler. The story is basically the same: the main character crashes a secret party thrown by societal elites.
I can’t really explain the story’s influence on NORMIE without going into spoilers.
I’ll switch to its influence on my writing style instead:
I read Dream Story in two sittings. To me, that’s a good thing. There was no filler, no useless pages. In my humble opinion, most books are too long. I’d rather get to the action and excitement, so that’s what I try to do with my own writing.
6. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
You don’t have to look far to find the Alice in Wonderland influences in NORMIE.
Both start with the main character encountering a white rabbit.
“Going down a rabbit hole” is a common phrase in today’s world. NORMIE plays with that idea, so I wanted to study the title that popularized it.
7. Batman: The Court Of Owls Saga by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo
This is a collection of Batman (2011) issues #1-11 (from The New 52 era).
The story features Batman fighting against a secret society running Gotham City from the shadows.
The motivating factors for reading were the same as for V For Vendetta:
I had heard about the title for years
I wanted to make sure NORMIE’s story wasn’t too similar
Luckily, my story still stood on its own.
But The Court of Owls did have a huge impact on the art of NORMIE.
And alongside V, it inspired me to develop my own comic:
Final Thoughts:
Every book I read helps me as a writer. Especially the bad ones.
According to Stephen King, “Reading is the creative center of a writer’s life.”
Every book you pick up has its own lessons.
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Comment below
Are there any books YOU’D recommend studying before writing a dystopian novel?
A lot of my list was directly related to the story ideas I already had for NORMIE.
Have you read any of the titles on this list?
What were your thoughts?
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