Dystopia Land discussion

As a writer of Speculative Fiction, I would be interested to learn what story elements engage and excite the reader.
To stimulate ideas, here are a few from my YA dystopian apocalyptic mystery trilogy.

• A secret location, that does not appear on maps
• A mysterious sect, planning world domination
• A conspiracy, with the suspicion that one or both of the parents of the protagonists may be involved
• A prophecy based on real, documented, ancient myths and legends
• A book of arcane knowledge (of which one key volume is missing)
• The quest for hidden knowledge and treasure
• An apocalyptic event
• Hints of the supernatural.

What examples of events would you find exciting and make you want to read a book?

A prophecy based on mythe

Owen
I looked at your proposed list. I don't see how a secret location is necessary. I think that the reason the story might need a sect bent on world domination is there to add focus, or to provide an antagonist, but environmental disaster may not necessarily require an antagonist but leads to a situation where various small groups can be the problem (e.g. men with guns and a greedy disposition).
For me, prophecies put me right off, same as some kind of supernatural themes. I don't mind supernatural themes, liked quite a bit of Stephen King once, but not as the basis of dystopian fiction. It was this part that messed up The Stand, for me. Too random. The good thing about A Handmaid's Tale was that it was crazy, but well grounded. Highly unlikely but plausible. That is what drags the reader in, I think. The book, The Brotherhood of Necessity, by Huxley, is a bit like that.
I can't see what a quest for hidden knowledge or treasure would have to do with anything dystopian (though I love treasure type books such as Wilbur Smith's Seventh Scroll).

I have not suggested that any of the items I have suggested are essential. The question I asked was 'what story elements engage and excite the reader?', and to stimulate ideas I listed a few topics that I incorporated into my YA dystopian apocalyptic mystery trilogy.
The purpose of introducing these was to create an environment conducive to a dystopian setting.
The items I listed were things out of the ordinary and everyday and were not represented to be exhaustive. Readers of the post were invited to suggest their own. By starting from an unusual circumstance, object or setting, the thought process to develop a dystopian world can begin. One thought leads to another: 'what if...?', 'just supposing...'
These are speculative processes by which to develop dystopian ideas.

Personally,

I think any or none of the elements you suggest can work. All dystopia means is a society that went wrong somehow as compared to what we understand.

The classic is of course 1984. Big government control. Fahrenheit 451 is about voluntarily turning oneself ignorant to reading to the point government burns books. Brave New World is another classic example of society stratification through genetic manipulation. Perhaps, the most subtle example is Never Let Me Go. A seemingly normal society until you really understand what is going on.

All these examples show how the world went wrong, but not all are government out of control. Most dystopias actually show a thriving society, but not one you want to live in.

My suggestion is write a compelling story, make it close to reality as now as possible and then twist it so it is still recognizable, but through a fun house mirror.

"...make it close to reality as now as possible"
I think this is key. In the same way, Hannibal Lecter was always scarier than Godzilla, the best dystopias are the ones we could end up experiencing.
Maybe we already are?

The Rise of Speculative Fiction?
What do you think?

https://www.troubador.co.uk/blog/#!ri...

#cern #speculativefiction #TheHandMaidensTale