u/CliffyBooBoo

I'm working on a solarpunk fiction project and I'm looking for fan input on things like, but not limited to:

*Solarpunk "tech", whether real life or theoretical, that they would like to see more of in literature- as well as things they feel are overdone, antithetical to solarpunk, or just a worn out trope. Input like "I love to see green living walls and solar windows and vertical axis wind turbines, and I'm kinda getting tired of individual oxygen tanks, inaccessible building design, and (insert greenwashed dystopian trope here)"- are super helpful.

*What kinds of conflict have you not seen much of that you would like to see in fiction? I think a lot of amateur writers have struggled to create palpable, realistic, legitimate conflicts and antagonisms in their stories, possibly because they really crave a low-conflict happy place to find comfort in (aren't we all?..), but fiction, really all storytelling, needs a good fight to win. So far, I've collected some ideas to work from, including dystopian government overreach (like USians and some Europeans are currently witnessing IRL), theoretical backfiring of "green tech" that ravaged ecosystems and needs to be sequestered or mitigated to save the day, and good old fashioned "how to clean up the horrendous pollution of our water, air and soil", among other potential concepts.

*What other considerations in regards to things like age, class, gender, race, nationality, religion, ability, neurotype, etc. have you seen other writers fall short on (or consider done well!), or what would you like to see that you haven't seen addressed yet? Have you seen a lot of (hopefully) accidental ableism, misogyny, queer-erasure, classism, etc in literature? Have you wished that a certain demographic had been researched/understood better by the author before they had written authoritatively about them?

*What kinds of tech do you LOVE and HATE to see in solarpunk lit? (realistic or at least possible in theory, and also consider that "technology" needn't be digital or high tech- technology just means something humans do to make their lives more livable: soap is technology, fishing poles are technology- just as much as solar panels, satellites, and smart phones are technology)

*What else would you want to say to a writer before they started to help them avoid worn out tropes, common pitfalls, inadvertent harm, annoying clichés, or other things you love or hate about solarpunk lit that you've read?

I intend to *lightly* illustrate my first book, to give the readers a general idea of how things look and feel, but I intend to keep it something like a "watercolor and ink" impressionistic vibe so the story doesn't get too bogged down by visuals, and so the reader has more imaginative, interpretive freedom of how *they* would envision the story, and also to keep it from turning into an unnecessarily arduous project 😂.

*Lastly, I hope it goes without saying (but maybe not since y'all don't know me lol) that I am committed to using 0.0000% *NO* A.I. technology for any aspect of my creative process, as I consider it antithetical to solarpunk and our collective future of creatives and all species of life on this planet. You may personally feel different, but as for me and my house, we abhor and eschew it, and do not welcome any attempts to convince us that we should use it. Like dietary habits, I do me and you do you, and hopefully we can find common ground despite it all.

So throw out any ideas! I'm here for them!

(If anyone has any issue with me *personally*, with anything I've written or misspoken, please understand that it was inadvertent, as I'm neurodivergent and doing my best to put myself out there with strangers on the internet, so please have a touch of consideration in how you word/tone personal critiques of me as a person. It's hard enough for us already, and being bullied by other grown adults on the internet can mess up a person's entire week, if not cause them to become isolated even further, and can be pretty damaging. Yeah, it sounds like this doesn't even need to be said, but it does, because I've seen it, even on this sub, and quite recently. Please, remember that everyone on the internet, with the exception of bots, is a real person, who probably has some trauma you don't know about- and we can all add a little honey to our vinegar with our online interactions these days. Thank you for reading and considering what I've written 💚)

(Pic taken by me of a cool little staircase in my town, posted solely for visibility and cool factor. No solarpunk vibe or value implied or expressed)