Solarpunk: Writing Prompt
This prompt accompanies my blog post ‘The Rise of the Solarpunk,’ which you can find here:
#194 Solarpunk. Over on the blog, I’ve posted a ‘long read’ article about the aesthetic movement called Solarpunk, what it is, how I became aware of it, why it gives me hope, and how you can use it as a prompt for your writing. Pop through the link in my bio to find it in the ‘prompts and inspiration’ section of the blog.
Once you’ve read it, have a go at using it in your creative practice yourself. The beauty of Solarpunk is that it envisions the collaboration that’s possible between humans and nature; it is the spark that ignites a fire under everything we think we know about society - architecture, gender, health, family and community, leadership and governance, gardens and green spaces, food, work, money, spirituality, climate breakdown, relationships - burning it all down and inviting each of us to envision a world that could be built from the ashes. Paradoxically, in many cases, it’s a returning rather than a moving forward, creating a space in which the ‘old ways’ of indigenous communities can play and work with the ‘new ways’ of technological advancement.
The folk at Solarpunk magazine define Solarpunk as ‘a prefigurative, utopian artistic movement that envisions what the future might look like if humanity solved major modern challenges like climate change, and created more sustainable and balanced societies.’ Follow any Solarpunk account, to be inspired by the art and creativity that is coming out of this movement!
As a prompt there are endless directions you could take this. A few ideas are:
Imagine how your local area would look (and feel!) if humans ‘got it right’
Find a Solarpunk-inspired image and write a piece based on it e.g. a poem, song (oooo, what would the music sound like?!), free writing etc.
Take it further and start to consider how you want society to look and how you can play an active part in creating that society (if you’re not already) e.g. if you want to see better use of the green spaces in your area, write to your local councillor and get a conversation started.
As always, have fun with this and please do leave a comment and let me know how you got on if you use this one.
Happy writing!
Helen x
