Writing the narrative #10

WHAT I STARTED WITH

-The world is now completely controlled and monitored by technology. The people will have been living in an omnipresent, totalitarian state for a while now. So, they're aware of the strict regime and rules that cannot be broken. Therefore, more room for rebellion and introducing someone (a main character for the story) that isn't afraid to break these rules to keep connections and keep their sanity. If they've been living like this for a while now then they must be beginning to get restless and frustrated with the lack of freedom and individual thought. They also know their way around the system by now. They don't know how to get out of the watchful gaze of the government but, having been obedient and quiet for so long, they've learnt where some of the gaps are within this society. They've learnt where there are windows of opportunity to do things they probably shouldn't; send things they probably shouldn't and make contact with people they probably shouldn't. 

- Some form of technology, like 5G, has stripped the world of all individuality and privacy. Which is where the letters come in. They're the only thing left that hold individual and secret thought. It's risky business sending letters however. Those caught are killed; no mercy is shown and the letters are read then burned. All information they held is passed onto the government. But, if you know your way around the system, you may be able to send letters un-detected. This way of life is otherwise a death sentence. Will my narrative have one supreme leader like Big Brother in 1984 or will it just be a collective force? There will be a group of rebels (need to come up with a name for them) that send letters to one another. They are all stationed around different parts of the state and act as a postal service almost. Each letter needs to be background checked however, in case a spy has sent one to suss them out. They send and receive letters for many things, one being families that need medical help but can't get the help of the Government. The government don't really care for those that are sick. It's very much a survival of the fittest. If you get sick, it's because your soul is sick and you're not loyal to the state. The rebels still care for people in this situation however, as some of them come from families that were affected by this lack of assistance from the government that resulted in deaths of family members. This is their way of giving back. They send all letters as they know that anyone writing them must be desperate otherwise they wouldn't risk having their name sent to the government if the letter was found. A lot of people that send letters however have developed some kind of code so their loved one's know it's them. This way, they can sign the letter anonymously and the government won't be able to track it back to them. They won't hesitate to interrogate however. 

-The protagonist of this story will be a girl who doesn't agree with the way the world has developed. She was born into this regime so she hasn't experienced a different way of life, however, her parents knew the world before technology swallowed it whole. They kept a scrapbook from when they were younger and showed her pictures of this green and free world as she grew up, to show her that there is more to life than this corrupt state. 

Her home was raided one day, as the girl had reportedly been telling the other children at school all these stories about this magical, free world. The scrapbook was found and her parents were taken away. The little girl had luckily been told to hide by her father, so she wasn't found. One guard threw the scrapbook into the fireplace in their home. As soon as they left, the little girl ran out and pulled it from the flames. It was a little crispy around the edges but salvageable. She assumes her parents were killed but there's still a drop of hope within her that they're alive somewhere. She never understood why individual thought and creativity was so illegal. But she vowed never to outwardly speak her mind to anyone she didn't trust ever again. She didn't want anyone else she knew getting hurt. She keeps the scrapbook with her at all times however, to remind her that there is more to life and give her hope that someday she can find a more fruitful existence. Because of all this, she is the one in charge of the rebels. They send letters that not only hold plots and schemes against the state, but that hold words of love and reassurance as well. Loved ones that want to write to their family on the other side of the state but can't reach them because of restrictions. You need to have a reason to go anywhere. What reason would someone have to travel to the other side of the state, unless for work? This is where the rebels come in. They take this risk and go the less conventional routes; along rooftops and down small alleyways. Connection is the only thing that keeps these people sane in a heartless, brainless state. 

WHAT I NEED TO FOCUS ON:

-Character development

-Conflict

-Where exactly i'm going to locate my story- will it be purely a fictional world or will it be loosely based around an actual place?

-I need to pull it apart to make it stronger

-Pick a central theme. Will it be letters? Or something else revolving around the digital world? 

I could start the story with an extract from a fictional letter, e.g- "Dear 'insert name', as you've heard, the rules are getting harsher by the hour. We've taken up hiding in the barn left of the lake. It's the only place i hope they will not breech. How are you? Stupid question. Are you, even? Alive? We haven't heard from you since this all began. Well, anyway, i don't imagine this letter will reach you, as i don't know where you are and it's too risky sending a letter out into the open. Sometimes it just helps to write it all down, feel as though the words will spill past the page and reach you in some other form. This world has gone rotten. May your mind and soul remain clean." 

This way, it opens with the theme of letters and gives some kind of implication of danger/immediate tension is created. It also suggests that the sending of letters is too risky. 

Or, i could establish the world and the story by starting with an illustration of the map of the world; like those found in 'An Atlas of Imagined Islands'. This way, the audience get a sense of the entire universe they're about to enter before they enter it. It also helps me to get a sense of the world i'm creating. The first illustration i drew of the woman with strips of the world all over her was in response to one of the maps i found in that book. I could focus on her and develop the story from that. She does give quite a strong start as you get a sense of each element of the world and it sets a colour palette.

-Russia and China. Technology taken over. Digital censorship. 

-Maybe move away from a set narrative and have it as more of a visual journey through a city that has become overrun by technology? Let the soundscape bring out the narrative and compliment the images.

-I could have little poems between each image? 

I am quite stuck on the narrative. My initial goal was to create a very in-depth narrative and then create illustrations from that. However, i've found, through already starting to experiment with illustrating each day, that it's easier to create interesting drawings without the pressure of a set narrative. There are no restrictions; i and purely working off the knowledge that this world is dystopian, dark, corrupt and has been completely taken over by Technology. At this point though, i feel like that's all i need. I was trying to hard to come up with protagonists and set my narrative around something specific like the sending of letters in a digital world. Sometimes simplicity is key and seeing as my illustrations are looking more abstract, i think it's time to take a more abstract approach towards the narrative too, as that has been what i've been struggling with the most at the moment. My plan is to take a break from thinking about the narrative and just do several drawings a day that evoke this dystopian world i have in mind. Because, i do have strong images in my head about how i want the world to look and feel. I just don't think the narrative i was so keen to build (about letters) fits with what is in my head at this moment in time. So, i will draw what i feel and watch a story emerge from those drawings. I have a much better feeling about this mode of working so hopefully it works in my favour. 

EXPERIMENT

To try and further develop the narrative and gain inspiration for it, I asked my four housemates the question:"In your opinion, what are the three most damaging things about the digital world?" As i'm painting Technology in a rather negative light, i was interested to see how other people viewed it's negative aspects as well. I'm not denying that Technology has benefit, because it has thousands. However, for the benefit of this narrative, i am focusing on how it damages, because it really does. It's definitely a double edged sword. These were the answers I got:

- Technology is constantly updating. What happens to the old technology? Does it just enter some kind of digital wasteland? Why the need to continue updating? 

-Security. Who accesses our information? Who runs leading sites such as Google, Facebook and Twitter and how much of our personal information is out there floating in the digital network?

-People become extremely reliant on technology. They forget the real world actually exists

-Prevents you from living in the moment. The temptations of social media.

-Social media creates impossible ideals. Everyone tries to show their best lives, leaving out the uglier parts and more negatives aspects of life.

-Comparing yourself to others on social media.

-You forget to live in the real world.

-You have easy access to damaging things. Anyone with some form of technology has access and whatever they find is untraceable. 

-Mobile phones especially are addictive. Social media.

-Technology allows free speech in a negative way. It can open up bullying and trolling.

-Damaging to mental health. You think watching videos on Facebook etc will make you feel better but it just distracts from reality.

-Advertisement is dangerous. Phone's listen to you and advertise accordingly. 

I found all of the answers really insightful. What stuck out the most to me is how people have become completely reliant on Technology that they forget to live in the real world; it makes us somewhat brainless in a way because we are guided by Technology and not our own mind. I think it would definitely be interesting to try and evoke this through my illustrations. Or, at least, keep these thoughts in minds while i'm illustrating.