Two days ago, I announced the start of a new farmpunk fiction contest. The theme: Pumpkin harvest. I thought it appropriate for this time of season. Today, I'm going to share five ways writing farmpunk fiction is like writing cyberpunk fiction (and one way it isn't).

Image from Unsplash.

1. It's got to be punk - Whether we're talking about punk rock or punk lit, it's all about the attitude and less about the style. So put some punk into your farmpunk.
2. High technology - Cyberpunk wouldn't be cyberpunk without the high technology aspect of the narrative. In the same manner, one thing that sets farmpunk apart from other fiction genres is its focus on high technology--of the here and now or the future.
3. The characters do unbelievable things - In a certain sense, all fiction involves characters that do amazing things. That's why we read fiction. But with farmpunk, as with cyberpunk, the juxtaposition of high technology with low culture will mean that characters can, and will, do things that are extraordinary--even for fiction.
4. It defies tradition - Punk literature is way more about the attitude than the style, tone, or voice of the auther. That said, all punk lit must defy tradition, and what better way to do that than to create something brand new. Cyberpunk was cutting edge in the 1980s when William Gibson wrote Neuromancer. Likewise, farmpunk is on the edge of the fringes of today's literature.
5. It paves a path to the future - Today's cutting edge is tomorrow's mainstream. Audiences have embraced cyberpunk, which is why movies like RoboCop do so well at the box office. Let's make farmpunk mainstream by carving that path today.

Despite some clear ways #writing farmpunk fiction is like writing #cyberpunk, there is one very clear way it is quite different. Where cyberpunk was mostly set in urban centers that allowed for a sharp contrast between high technology and low-life subculture, farmpunk more often will take place in rural settings. Farmpunk takes the elements of cyberpunk--high technology and low culture-and puts them on the farm.

Join the Farmpunk Revolution

I'm looking forward to seeing some great stories by some of Steemit's great storytellers in the current farmpunk fiction contest. Details can be found here.

As a recap, here are the rules:

• Upvote and resteem the original contest announcement post.
• Write a farmpunk story between 750 and 3,000 words.
• Post your story on your own Steemit blog.
• Give your story the farmpunk tag. It doesn't have to be the primary tag.
• Link to your story in the comments on the original contest announcement post.
• Deadline: Monday, October 15, 2018 at midnight EST.

The following writers have expressed an interest in farmpunk. I hope they'll enter this contest:

@bashadow, @mujasteem, @samuraihedgehog, @steveblucher, @calluna, @blueteddy, @iamjadeline, @stever82, @cicisaja, @talkingwiseshit, @jaichai, @seesladen, @ediblecthulhu, @effofex, @lapb, @dedicatedguy, @mudcat36, @wales, @reonlouw, @agmoore, @kaerpediem, @riverflows, @illusions16, @riverflows, and @joelai

If you want to be removed from this list, let me know in the comments.

Join us in the Speculative Fiction Writers of Steemit Discord group.

Get your weird lit on:

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Review Me, Please

While you're here, check out the backside 5 (my five latest posts):

• Farmpunk Fiction Contest #4: Pumpkin Harvest
• Farmpunk Winner & Exquisite Corpse Relay
• Farmpunk Fiction Contest Deadline Approaching
• Coming Soon ... to The Man Cave
• Poetry Sunday: On The Road Home