Dystopian literature is a form of speculative fiction that imagines a frightening vision of the future in cataclysmic decline. It presents an end-of-the-world, gloom-and-doom scenario. Dystopias are societies in cataclysmic decline, with oppressive societal control and the illusion of a perfect society maintained through corporate, bureaucratic, technological, moral, or totalitarian control. Dystopian fiction is the opposite of utopian fiction, which portrays a setting that agrees with the authors ethos.

Common characteristics of dystopian fiction include societies engaged in forever wars, characterized by extreme social and economic class divides, mass poverty, environmental devastation, anarchy, and loss of individuality. Propaganda is used to control the citizens of society. Most authors of dystopian fiction explore at least one reason why things are that way, often as an analogy for similar issues in the real world.

Dystopian literature has been around since at least the late 19th century. Some of the most famous dystopian novels include "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley and "1984" by George Orwell. Other examples of early dystopian literature include "Erewhon" by Samuel Butler and "The Iron Heel" by Jack London.

To write a dystopian novel, one can examine society as it currently exists and look at it from the perspective of how it might play out further down the road. Dystopian fiction envisions a devastating future with little hope for a good outcome. It is dark, frightening, and bleak. Some common themes in dystopian literature include:

• Oppressive societal control: One or more large corporations control society through products, advertising, and/or the media.
• Environmental devastation: Threats of environmental disasters such as fires, floods, earthquakes, or asteroids impacting the earth may threaten human life as we know it.
• Loss of individuality: Citizens of society are stripped of their most basic rights.

In summary, dystopian literature is a genre of speculative fiction that imagines a future place in cataclysmic decline, characterized by oppressive societal control, environmental devastation, and loss of individuality. It has been around since at least the late 19th century and has been used to explore issues in the real world.