Writing Belle: Aberrant: Young Adult Dystopian Novel (Guest Post by Author & Giveaway)

Author: Ruth Silver

Synopsis

In the future dystopian society of Cabal, the government instills equality for all and offers its citizens the perfect system. There is food, shelter and jobs for everyone. The one requirement is to follow the rules without question, including the government's match in marriage and "The Day of the Chosen", a lottery that randomly selects families to conceive children as natural means hasn't existed in generations. Following her eighteenth birthday, Olivia Parker accepts her requirement to marry her childhood best friend, Joshua Warren, and is eager to start her work assignment and new life when it all comes abruptly to an end as she's arrested and thrown in prison. The only crime committed, her existence. Olivia is unlike the rest of the world born not from "The Day of the Chosen." The truth haunts the government and puts her life in grave danger as one simple fact would destroy the perfect system.

With Joshua's help, Olivia breaks free of prison and is forced on the run. Together they set out to find the promised rebel town in search of a new home and new life together. Their situation seems less than promising as they reach the town of Haven. New rules and customs must be adhered to in order to stay. Leaving would mean most certain death in the large expanse of the Gravelands. Time is running out as the government mounts an attack to destroy Olivia and bury her secret with her. Thrown into a world unlike their own, they must quickly adapt to survive.

Writing Dystopian Literature

By Ruth Silver

Writing Dystopian literature involves a lot of 'what if' scenarios. It means imagining a completely different world, often because of one event - or a series of events - that changes the world around us. I've always been intrigued by stories with depth, real characters and put in situations that aren't necessarily happening in our current world - but could potentially become that world. It was with my fascination with other literature, including The Hunger Games that led me towards writing Aberrant.

There are many classic Dystopian novels, one of my favorite stories that helped draw inspiration for Aberrant, is The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. While in college, as part of a sociology course, it was required reading. It happened to be one of the best books a teacher had ever required me to read. Why did I find it so inspiring? It was a book that showed me a world I had never imagined. It was a story that captivated me from the first page, and made me wonder what would happen to the beloved characters I was reading about and would they survive.

Dystopian stories are often bleak, offering little to no hope for our main characters. Well-written fiction will offer the slightest glimpse of hope, somewhere within the story. Often the characters will endure emotional or physical torture in some form, making them as the story progresses, stronger. The book Children of Men is incredibly dark, and filled with despair. Although it isn't a YA novel, it is definitely Dystopian. The story does ask the question of how the human race would survive if the world was infertile.

In order to write Aberrant, I did some research on physicist, Gerald Feinberg. He hypothesized an undiscovered elementary particle, which he named 'mindons'. I won't further elaborate because I would hate to spoil the book, but the name and idea, is based in part on a scientific theory.

Science often plays a key role in Dystopian literature, whether it's the inability to populate the world, an incurable disease that has plagued the planet or the lack of electricity that has brought about chaos and in turn the spark of a 'Revolution'. Writing Dystopian fiction often means basing something you're writing in fact and research plays an important part in storytelling.

Ruth Silver attended Northern Illinois University and graduated with a Bachelor's in Communication in the spring of 2005. While in college, she spent much of her free time writing with friends she met online and penning her first novel, Deuces are Wild, which she self-published in 2004. Her favorite class was Creative Writing senior year where she often handed in assignments longer than the professor required because she loved to write and always wanted to finish her stories. Her love of writing led her on an adventure in 2007 to Melbourne, Australia. Silver enjoys reading, photography, traveling and most of all writing. She loves dystopian and fantasy young adult stories. Ruth has been actively writing since she was a teenager. She currently resides in Plainfield, Illinois. You can find Ruth by following her on Twitter @writeawaybliss, or on Facebook: writeawaybliss

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