Free lesson 2 of 3
Look to the Skies
Clockwork, coal and a luxurious airship. Build a steampunk world and send a clever misfit adventuring through it.
Steampunk is a style of fiction set in a fantasy world powered by steam and clockwork. Some steampunk stories happen in Victorian Britain, others in the Wild West, but you can set yours anywhere you like.
The rule about technology
Technology matters in steampunk, but it can't be modern. No phones, no TV screens, no computers. Not unless they run on clockwork and steam.
Marvellous inventions
There's always some kind of marvellous invention, and often a mad inventor to go with it. Here are a few from books you might know.
A luxurious airship or hot air balloon
For travelling the world, like the airships in The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman, or the balloon in Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne.
Self-cleaning gloves
From The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson, where gloves are made of tiny fabricules that know how to eject dirt.
"You could thrust your gloved hand into mud, and it would be white a few seconds later." Neal Stephenson, The Diamond Age
Cities in the sky
Like the floating castle in Hayao Miyazaki's animated film Laputa: Castle in the Sky.
An automaton
Like the wind-up machine that draws beautiful pictures in The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick.
Giant moving cities
Cities that hunt and consume each other in a battle for resources, as in Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines, set far in Earth's future.
Who is the hero of your story?
The main character is usually a misfit, rejected by society. They're capable and clever, and often good at inventing things.
What does your hero look like? What are they wearing? Give them an interesting name. Something Victorian, like Phileas Fogg of London, or something adventurous, like Tom Natsworthy from Mortal Engines.
Send your hero on a quest
Steampunk stories usually take the shape of an adventure quest. The main character has to fight their way back into society, or change it for the better.
The most important thing is to have fun. Throw your hero into all kinds of weird and wonderful situations. Write fast, with non-stop action and craziness. There are no rules. Let loose and see what happens.
Try this
- Design your airshipSteampunk is very visual, so use lots of colourful describing words. Your airship is steam-powered, with bronze knobs and big shiny buttons, gears and cogs everywhere, hissing and puffing white steam. What else? What's it like inside? Is it luxurious, with fancy curtains and a velvet lounge? Describe it, and give it a name.
- Who is your main character?Who's riding in your marvellous airship? Steampunk heroes are usually very smart. Maybe a mad inventor building a new kind of robot. Maybe an outcast from the grimy city, stowing away. Give them a stylish cane, a hat, gloves, and the crowning touch of any steampunk outfit, goggles. What's their name, where are they from, and why are they on board?
- A mechanical octopusWhat does your hero want? Will they battle a giant mechanical octopus and save the day? What problem must they face, and how will they solve it? Describe it in detail.
- Time travelTime machines are a strong steampunk theme. How could you use time travel in your story? Maybe the airship is a time machine, and your hero must fly into the past to stop the mad inventor building that octopus. Where would you go if you could travel anywhere in time?
- A dastardly villainWhat happens at the end? What's standing in your hero's way, a villain or their own fear? If there's a villain, introduce them early and make them more diabolical as the story goes on. At the climax, make the situation seem impossible. Oh no, the villain has won and our hero is doomed ... or is she?
Your story challenge
In my story, our clever heroine Lady Victoria Hamilton-Smythe has stolen aboard The Silver Eagle, an airship owned by the Royal Geographical Society. The Professor is flying to the North Pole to find Cryptogoldium, a newly discovered mineral that will change the world. Alas, he plans to keep it all for himself. Only Lady Victoria can stop him, but the Professor has locked her in the cargo hold and thrown away the key ...
What will happen in your story? Who is your main character, and who is the villain? What do they want? What dangers must they face? Write your story this week.
I can't wait to read it.
Karen xx
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