Climate Fiction Adventures
22/03/24 10:11 Filed in: Environmental Fiction
(Claire and granddaughter Sonia at the Paperworks Local Exhibit)
As a writer and reader, what inspires you? What drives your curiosity? What questions are you seeking answers for? What are your passions? What do you hope readers will remember as they close the last pages of your book?
While working on Book 3 of The Four Elements Cli-Fi Trilogy, I visited the exhibit at Paperworks Local: Extinction and Resilience, which “delves into the astonishing adaptability of Nature amidst the relentless shifts in our environment, driven by both natural forces and human actions. It casts a spotlight on the myriad life forms at the brink of extinction and also celebrates the unyielding resilience of nature and humanity alike.” The artists who created this exhibit were captivated by the natural world. This parallels exactly the underlying theme of my climate fiction!
What inspires me, no drives me, to write cli-fi—a genre you may not have heard of? That’s right, not sci-fi but cli-fi, which investigates the consequences of climate change, and imagines a hopeful future. It is a daunting topic.
My burning question—pun intended—as an environmental writer has morphed into: How can I, as a fiction writer, inspire the next generation of young people to understand what is happening to our planet, and motivate them become wise stewards of planet Earth? After all, they will soon be voters.
In Book 3 of the trilogy, I plan to explore the ways in which animals and plants are already adapting to climate change, and the way in which humans are adapting, too. To prepare for the book I’ve been reading: Hurricanes Lizards and Plastic Squids, by Thor Hanson, and Braiding Sweet Grass by Robin Wall Kimmerer.
I would love to hear about what inspires you to write your own stories? Contact me at: cldatnow@me.com