A little while ago I saw a call for submissions for a new anthology, with a theme of "Biopunk." Rather than worry with irrelevant, nitpicky details like what such a word actually means, I started writing. After all, I'm reasonably intelligent, and culturally aware. I've lived through punk rock, the splatterpunk movement of horror writing, the cyberpunk movenment and the steampunk movement of SF (the latter one has since morphed from writing to filmmaking to an almost neo-Victorian fashion statement). I know what I'm about, here.
Punk is an attitude, more than anything--it's transgressive, rejectionist, and all about the unexpected. Which fits perfectly with those writerly goals. There's not much new under the sun in terms of plot, but the way a story is told is incredibly important. If you want your story to stand out, it's got to be a little punk.
I'm almost done with the story I was moved to write, and it's turning out better than I'd imagined. Does it fit into the category of Biopunk? No idea. It's a speculative fiction story, but it's still a story about people, and their motives coming into conflict, and the emotional overdrive that is such a rich product of conflict.
And, it's punk.
--Dev
Punk is an attitude, more than anything--it's transgressive, rejectionist, and all about the unexpected. Which fits perfectly with those writerly goals. There's not much new under the sun in terms of plot, but the way a story is told is incredibly important. If you want your story to stand out, it's got to be a little punk.
I'm almost done with the story I was moved to write, and it's turning out better than I'd imagined. Does it fit into the category of Biopunk? No idea. It's a speculative fiction story, but it's still a story about people, and their motives coming into conflict, and the emotional overdrive that is such a rich product of conflict.
And, it's punk.
--Dev