Dr. BDO's Problem Page

Dear Dr. BDO,

I’m trying to write optimistic Science Fiction and I keep getting bogged down in pessimistic apocalyptic visions. What can I do?

Please help me, you’re my only hope.

Sincerely,

Pessimistic in Peterborough

I’ve been away for a while, on transit to Jupiter, but taking this scheduled stop-over at Mars to answer a few questions.

Pessimistic, do not despair. Keep writing, keep imagining. Take every obstacle and imagine how it can be overcome. Sometimes it’s a small and obvious leap, a technological advance that inches us forward, or a mindset shift that allows the previously unimaginable. Small things can add up. Take a problem, solve it. Move on. Then tell us about it, write us a story, make us feel happy and joyous and looking forward to the future. If you hit a problem to intractable then swerve around it, perhaps other foundations might need to shift until that one can be cracked.

And never give up.

You can help us imagine our future.