WE WERE IN IT: SHORT STORIES ABOUT ENERGY TRANSITION is a 180-page book of creative fiction written by the Speculative Energy Futures team during a series of writing workshops hosted by award-winning Canadian novelist and SEF team member Lisa Moore. We wanted what we wrote to touch people, to lasso the cables of connectivity; and so we asked: what makes a character? Some said a character is forged under the pressure of societal chaos, all the small hurts and inconveniences, the lost bus pass that might mean arriving to work late and losing a job. We thought about the plot, and found that it was easier to see cause and effect the closer our characters edged toward precarity.
How do we remember energy when, until we had to transition, it was invisible to us?
After these initial conversations, we developed a series of writing prompts that supported non-fiction writers in finding new voices to explore anxieties, hopes, and fears surrounding energy transition. In the end, 14 members of the team came together to write 43 speculative stories about energy and energy transition, which were then illustrated by artist Kamei Lim.
Everyone had something they wanted to say. We read stories to each other. We learned to believe each other, even though we were writing fiction. We suspended disbelief.
We were in it. We were taking notes about the present and the past because we recognized it as a portal to something better. We wanted to do better. And we acknowledged the ghosts. Our carbon sinks were full of them.
We kept going, and we are writing still. The book ends with four prompts to inspire readers to share their stories. So we ask: are you writing? Join us. You are in it too.
