How To Write The Future

“What about the future are you trying to determine? Is it a specific kind of technology? A cultural behavioral pattern? A system of running companies? A way of feeding people? Language evolution? Where in society today are people asking the hard questions or making some new discoveries?”

In high school, I would spend every week reading Omni magazine in the school library. Today I often read Science Daily. Both of these sources of information play huge inspirations into the questions I ask about the future. 

In this episode I talk about Amy Webb’s book (that shares the same name as the title of this episode) and delve into her six-step methodology, offering my viewpoint for each step. I use my own Janey McCallister sci-fi mystery novels as an example and some of the decision making process for that series. 

In this episode, you will learn the following:

1) Where do you look for inspiration in writing the future?

2) What are you trying to determine about the future?

3) How can Amy Webb’s six step methodology help your writing?

ABOUT THE HOW TO WRITE THE FUTURE PODCAST

The How To Write The Future podcast is for science fiction and fantasy writers who want to write positive futures and successfully bring those stories out into the marketplace. Hosted by Beth Barany, science fiction novelist and creativity coach for writers.

Tips for fiction writers!

This podcast is for you if you have questions like:

• How do I create a believable world for my science fiction story?
• How do I figure out what's not working if my story feels flat?
• How do I make my story more interesting and alive?

This podcast is for readers too if you’re at all curious about the future of humanity.

RESOURCES
Amy Webb, The Signals Are Talking: https://books2read.com/thesignalsaretalkingwebb  ; and her organization: Future Today Institute: https://futuretodayinstitute.com/

SCIENCE DAILY:  https://www.sciencedaily.com/news/

TALK TO A WRITING COACH
https://writersfunzone.com/blog/talk-to-a-writing-coach/ 

SHOW PRODUCTION BY Beth Barany
SHOW NOTES SUPPORT from Kerry-Ann McDade

Questions? Comments? Send us a text!

Support the show

---

♦︎ JOIN THE MEMBERSHIP: For fiction writers! You've finished your first draft! Congrats! Now what?

Join the Edit the Future: Sci‑Fi/Fantasy Revision Lab. Get premium weekly lessons and a monthly Q&A on Zoom. Subscribe: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2012061/subscribe

♥︎ FREE: Sign up here for the Edit Your Novel Checklist

Helps writers revise faster with less overwhelm by focusing first on diagnosis, not fixing. 

Get yours at http://edityournovelchecklist.com.

♡ SHOP: Sci‑Fi & Fantasy 24 Writing Prompts: https://ko-fi.com/s/4ac9160a74

❤️ Want to be interviewed on the podcast? => Email us!

CONNECT WITH BETH

• via email
• via LinkedIn

CREDITS

EDITED WITH DESCRIPT (Affiliate link)
MUSIC: Uppbeat.io
DISTRIBUTED BY BUZZSPROUT: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1994465

In this episode you will learn: 

1. How Beth Barany builds her science fiction world in her Janey McCallister mystery series.

2. What inspirations Beth draws from when creating her stories.

3. The process she uses to filter her decisions about the worlds she creates and how you can use that process too.

Do you want to learn how to build an immersive and believable world for your science fiction novel series?

"The point of sharing my story with you is to help you make decisions and clarify what is your world that you're building for your story."

I love listening to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy on the radio. I also loved listening to Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe. These are some of my early influences. In this episode, I'm going to share a little bit about how I build my science fiction world in my Janey McCallister mystery series. The series is set 100 years plus in the future. I share a little bit about my process and method because you may find yourself at the beginning of a project or maybe in the editing phase.

In this episode, you will learn the following:

1. How Beth Barany builds her science fiction world in her Janey McAllister mystery series

2. What inspirations Barany draws from when creating her stories

3. The process Barany uses to filter her decisions about the world she is creating

Resources

Elizabeth Moon: http://www.elizabethmoon.com

Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy (original radio play): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hitchhiker%27s_Guide_to_the_Galaxy_(radio_series)

Ruby, the Galactic Gumshoe original radio play: https://www.zbs.org/index_new.php/store/ruby

Janey McCallister mystery series: https://author.bethbarany.com/e-books/

Talk to a Writing coach: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/talk-to-a-writing-coach/

ABOUT THE HOW TO WRITE THE FUTURE PODCAST

The How To Write The Future podcast is for science fiction and fantasy writers who want to write positive futures and successfully bring those stories out into the marketplace. Hosted by Beth Barany, science fiction novelist and creativity coach for writers.

Fiction writing tips!

This podcast is for you if you have questions like:

• How do I create a believable world for my science fiction story?
• How do I figure out what's not working if my story feels flat?
• How do I make my story more interesting and alive?

This podcast is for readers too if you’re at all curious about the future of humanity.

SHOW PRODUCTION BY Beth Barany

SHOW NOTES BY Kerry-Ann McDade

Questions? Comments? Send us a text!

Support the show

---

♦︎ JOIN THE MEMBERSHIP: For fiction writers! You've finished your first draft! Congrats! Now what?

Join the Edit the Future: Sci‑Fi/Fantasy Revision Lab. Get premium weekly lessons and a monthly Q&A on Zoom. Subscribe: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2012061/subscribe

♥︎ FREE: Sign up here for the Edit Your Novel Checklist

Helps writers revise faster with less overwhelm by focusing first on diagnosis, not fixing. 

Get yours at http://edityournovelchecklist.com.

♡ SHOP: Sci‑Fi & Fantasy 24 Writing Prompts: https://ko-fi.com/s/4ac9160a74

❤️ Want to be interviewed on the podcast? => Email us!

CONNECT WITH BETH

• via email
• via LinkedIn

CREDITS

EDITED WITH DESCRIPT (Affiliate link)
MUSIC: Uppbeat.io
DISTRIBUTED BY BUZZSPROUT: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1994465

"What if we value the art of conversation and truly listening to other people and valuing what they had to say as one of our primary values? Well, now to me, that would be a positive future. No one would be a loser, and everyone would have their needs met."

I'm an eternal optimist who sees the world through rose-colored glasses. I've always been this way, and I've learned that there are many benefits to seeing the positive in life. This is what drew me into work on how to write the future. I'm here today to talk about what I mean by positive futures. 

A positive future for everyone is what I'm envisioning - where all voices have a place, and everybody has equal access to education, housing, food, and water. I believe that this is possible, and I want to harness our ability to tell stories into visioning what is possible in a positive light.

In this episode, you will learn the following:

1. What are the benefits of seeing the positive in life?

2. What does it mean to have a "win-win" model?

3. How can we bring positive futures into being?

Summary

Beth Barany is an eternal optimist. She's creating a podcast for science fiction writers and creative writers who want to write positive futures and bring those visions into the marketplace. 

In this podcast, Beth Barany shares what she means by positive futures and about values and different models that we live in. 

By a positive future, she means that everyone has equal access to education, housing, food, water and medicine, and has a voice in the politics of their location. In the past 500 years, we've been living under a capitalist model that is designed to have winners and losers.


ABOUT THE HOW TO WRITE THE FUTURE PODCAST

The How To Write The Future podcast is for science fiction and fantasy writers who want to write positive futures and successfully bring those stories out into the marketplace. Hosted by Beth Barany, science fiction novelist and creativity coach for writers.

Tips for fiction writers!

This podcast is for you if you have questions like:

• How do I create a believable world for my science fiction story?
• How do I figure out what's not working if my story feels flat?
• How do I make my story more interesting and alive?

This podcast is for readers too if you’re at all curious about the future of humanity.

Other episodes you'll enjoy:

Start with Episode 01: Introduction

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2012061/10918821-how-to-write-the-future-episode-01-introduction  

Episode 02: Stepping into Another's Shoes

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2012061/10969869-02-stepping-into-another-s-shoes

Questions? Comments? Send us a text!

Support the show

---

♦︎ JOIN THE MEMBERSHIP: For fiction writers! You've finished your first draft! Congrats! Now what?

Join the Edit the Future: Sci‑Fi/Fantasy Revision Lab. Get premium weekly lessons and a monthly Q&A on Zoom. Subscribe: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2012061/subscribe

♥︎ FREE: Sign up here for the Edit Your Novel Checklist

Helps writers revise faster with less overwhelm by focusing first on diagnosis, not fixing. 

Get yours at http://edityournovelchecklist.com.

♡ SHOP: Sci‑Fi & Fantasy 24 Writing Prompts: https://ko-fi.com/s/4ac9160a74

❤️ Want to be interviewed on the podcast? => Email us!

CONNECT WITH BETH

• via email
• via LinkedIn

CREDITS

EDITED WITH DESCRIPT (Affiliate link)
MUSIC: Uppbeat.io
DISTRIBUTED BY BUZZSPROUT: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1994465

I have always been able to see things from other people's perspectives, which helps me be a very good writer and teacher, but when I start taking on their beliefs and habits, it can become a problem. So, I had to learn some tools to help me and that can help you too.

In this episode, you will learn:

1. How does Beth Barany's ability to slip into other people's perspectives help her be a good writer and teacher?
2. What is systems thinking and how can it be applied to storytelling?
3. What are some of the different mental models of looking at the world?
 

Resources
Donella Meadows, Thinking in Systems: A Primer

https://books2read.com/thinkinginsystems

Start here for Dana (Donella) Meadows Lecture: Sustainable Systems (Part 1 of 4)

https://youtu.be/HMmChiLZZHg

A Philosophical Look at System Dynamics by Donella Meadows (YouTube)

https://youtu.be/XL_lOoomRTA

What is Family Constellations?

https://www.hellingerinstitute.com/what-is-family-constellations/

ABOUT THE HOW TO WRITE THE FUTURE PODCAST

The How To Write The Future podcast is for science fiction and fantasy writers who want to write positive futures and successfully bring those stories out into the marketplace. Hosted by Beth Barany, science fiction novelist and creativity coach for writers.

Tips for fiction writers!

This podcast is for you if you have questions like:

• How do I create a believable world for my science fiction story?
• How do I figure out what's not working if my story feels flat?
• How do I make my story more interesting and alive?

This podcast is for readers too if you’re at all curious about the future of humanity.

Questions? Comments? Send us a text!

Support the show

---

♦︎ JOIN THE MEMBERSHIP: For fiction writers! You've finished your first draft! Congrats! Now what?

Join the Edit the Future: Sci‑Fi/Fantasy Revision Lab. Get premium weekly lessons and a monthly Q&A on Zoom. Subscribe: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2012061/subscribe

♥︎ FREE: Sign up here for the Edit Your Novel Checklist

Helps writers revise faster with less overwhelm by focusing first on diagnosis, not fixing. 

Get yours at http://edityournovelchecklist.com.

♡ SHOP: Sci‑Fi & Fantasy 24 Writing Prompts: https://ko-fi.com/s/4ac9160a74

❤️ Want to be interviewed on the podcast? => Email us!

CONNECT WITH BETH

• via email
• via LinkedIn

CREDITS

EDITED WITH DESCRIPT (Affiliate link)
MUSIC: Uppbeat.io
DISTRIBUTED BY BUZZSPROUT: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1994465

Do you find yourself wondering how to write optimistic stories about the future?

How to write optimistic stories about the future has been on my mind too, and that's why I created this podcast to share the solutions with you.

In this episode, I share the the what and the why of this podcast on how to write optimistic stories set in positive futures.

ABOUT THE PODCASTER: BETH BARANY
   
I have always loved science fiction and fantasy, the worlds, as much as the adventures. But I know how it can be a struggle to build those immersive worlds. So I was excited to create the "How to Write the Future" podcast for science fiction writers who want to write positive futures.

In this podcast, I'll share core principles of world building and interviews with experts to tease out practical questions that you can use today. These come from wide ranging domains to help you brainstorm the details of your story world and bring that world to life.

  In these episodes, you will learn the following:

    1. How to use systems theory to worldbuild in science fiction stories.
    2. How to use information from experts in various domains to build realistic worlds.
    3. How to use different mental models of reality to create new realities.

And much more!

ABOUT THE HOW TO WRITE THE FUTURE PODCAST

The How To Write The Future podcast is for science fiction and fantasy writers who want to write positive futures and successfully bring those stories out into the marketplace. Hosted by Beth Barany, science fiction novelist and creativity coach for writers.

Tips for fiction writers!

This podcast is for you if you have questions like:

• How do I create a believable world for my science fiction story?
• How do I figure out what's not working if my story feels flat?
• How do I make my story more interesting and alive?

This podcast is for readers too if you’re at all curious about the future of humanity.

Questions? Comments? Send us a text!

Support the show

---

♦︎ JOIN THE MEMBERSHIP: For fiction writers! You've finished your first draft! Congrats! Now what?

Join the Edit the Future: Sci‑Fi/Fantasy Revision Lab. Get premium weekly lessons and a monthly Q&A on Zoom. Subscribe: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2012061/subscribe

♥︎ FREE: Sign up here for the Edit Your Novel Checklist

Helps writers revise faster with less overwhelm by focusing first on diagnosis, not fixing. 

Get yours at http://edityournovelchecklist.com.

♡ SHOP: Sci‑Fi & Fantasy 24 Writing Prompts: https://ko-fi.com/s/4ac9160a74

❤️ Want to be interviewed on the podcast? => Email us!

CONNECT WITH BETH

• via email
• via LinkedIn

CREDITS

EDITED WITH DESCRIPT (Affiliate link)
MUSIC: Uppbeat.io
DISTRIBUTED BY BUZZSPROUT: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1994465