Writing as Resistance: How Fiction Fights Back
Fiction might not stop a war, but it can start a revolution.
In a world where political noise drowns out We the People’s voices, where disinformation is weaponized and cruelty is often disguised as “traditional values,” fiction is still one of the most influential types of communication we have. Not because it tells us what to think, but because it makes us feel—and when people feel, they begin to question, to imagine, and sometimes, to fight back.
Resistance writing isn’t new. It’s as old as storytelling itself. But in 2025, with censorship on the rise, education under attack, and books banned in school7 districts across America, the need to open more hearts and minds is greater than ever.
Resistance isn’t Always Easy to Spot
When we picture resistance, we might imagine protests, court battles, or grassroots political campaigns. We rarely think of fiction, but we should! After all, fiction is dangerous to authoritarian regimes because it humanizes what those in power want to dehumanize. It complicates the simplistic narratives that authoritarianism thrives on. It inspires a sense of empathy, and empathy is where transformation begins.
For those of you who might not know, resistance fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction, in which characters actively oppose oppressive systems, regimes, or societal structures, often in dystopian or authoritarian settings. It focuses on themes of rebellion, defiance, and the struggle for freedom, highlighting individual or collective efforts to challenge power, injustice, or control.
A single character, created with purpose and care, can do more to unravel a stereotype than all the op-eds and social media posts combined. These books don’t tell readers how to think or vote, but they do whisper, “What if this were you or someone you love?”
Real Examples of Fiction That Fought Back
Here are a few examples of resistance fiction created by other authors:
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee challenged the deeply entrenched racism of the American South. It didn’t fix the justice system, but it opened the door to that world enough for generations of white readers to begin questioning the fairness of U.S. legal institutions.
1984 by George Orwell gave us some of the words we use today to resist totalitarianism: Big Brother, Newspeak, thoughtcrime, and people use phrases like “Orwellian” to describe state surveillance and authoritarian overreach.
Frida Liu, a Chinese-American mother, is sent to a state-run parenting reeducation facility after a brief lapse in judgment. Chan’s novel explores maternal surveillance, institutionalized racism, and the policing of womanhood.
“They say I’m not trying hard enough. I say, My daughter is my heart.”
Beloved by Toni Morrison forced people to look at the legacy of slavery in a way that no textbook ever could and made them question the whitewashed version of American history some politicians would lead us to believe. Maybe that’s why it made the list of oks those same elected officials want to ban.bo
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is a young adult novel that is a powerful representation of today’s youth’s frustration with and disconnect from society. Katniss represents the younger generation’s disdain over class struggle and government corruption, especially during the Occupy movement and in commentary about wealth inequality.
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid (2019)
After a Black babysitter is wrongly accused of kidnapping the white child in her care, the story unravels layers of modern racism, class tension, and white saviorism—without preaching.
“Amira knew that white people who wanted to hire Black people to play their Black people were usually the worst kinds of white people.”
The Sentence by Louise Erdrich (2021)
Set in a Minneapolis bookstore haunted by a ghost during the pandemic and George Floyd’s murder, this novel blends grief, protest, and the power of community and story.
We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia (2019)
At an elite school training girls for arranged marriages in a patriarchal regime, one student joins a resistance movement. Queer, Latina-led, and quietly ferocious.
“You were born a weapon. They tried to make you a tool.”
The Deep by Rivers Solomon (2019)
Based on a song by clipping., this novella imagines the descendants of African slave women thrown overboard now living underwater—carrying communal memory and ancestral trauma.
“To remember was to hurt, but to forget was to die.”
An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon (2017)
On a generational spaceship governed by racial hierarchy, a neurodivergent, queer protagonist uncovers buried truths. This is Afrofuturism as resistance—strange, lyrical, and revolutionary.
“The truth was a weight, and it was breaking her back.”
Why Some Authors Choose to Write Resistance Fiction
Everyone has a reason for why they write the type of stories they want to tell, as well as the kind of reactions they hope to inspire in their readers. Here are a handful of quotes from “resistance authors” that take a stab at explaining what motivates them to write.
Why Fiction Works When Facts Fail
In polarized times, facts are often twisted or ignored. People don’t change their minds because you hit them with a a list of data or a study. They change when they feel something—shame, empathy, recognition, fear, hope.
Authors who write resistance can use fiction to create a world populated by characters who elicit those emotions.
For example, political debates and Supreme Court rulings probably didn’t do much to change the opinions of many Americans on the topic of LGBTQ+ rights. However, one novel, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, which features a lesbian protagonist, went a long way toward bridging the divide. In the story, Evelyn Hugo’s complex romantic life and identity unfold through a captivating narrative. The book gained widespread popularity among diverse audiences, including straight readers, because of the author’s engaging storytelling ability, the rich character development, and the way Ms. Jenkins Reid explored universal themes like love, ambition, and identity. The book’s commercial success and frequent recommendations across platforms, including posts on X praising its heartfelt lesbian love story, are proof this resistance fiction hit its mark.
Writing Resistance in 2025: Here’s What’s Involved
If you’re a writer, especially of fiction, here are a few ways you can craft a resistance fiction story:
Create underrepresented characters and place them center stage. Make the queer character the hero. Make the immigrant the nerdy guy with the high IQ who saves the beautiful heroine from her abusive white boyfriend and wins her heart. Make the Black girl save the world.
Refuse to write “neutral.” Let your story challenge the current narrative. Let it ask tough questions and don’t oversimplify the answers.
Imagining new worlds. Afrofuturism, feminist sci-fi, and speculative fiction don’t just give readers an opportunity to escape their reality for a few hours—these imaginative tales offer roadmaps that show how we can aim for something better.
Preserving memory. When humankind has had to deal with regimes that tried to erase history, storytelling has stepped in to fulfill the duties of record keeping. Every novel that remembers what they want us to forget is an act of defiance.
“But I Write Cozy Mysteries… This Won’t Work for Me.”
You don’t need to write dystopian epics to resist. Even a cozy mystery can push back if it subverts a trope, spotlights a marginalized voice, or refuses to flatter a corrupt system. Authors don’t need to shout, chant, or issue threats in a loud voice to get their point across. In fact, sometimes, refusing to stay silent or look away is all that’s needed to delivery a message that comes through loud and clear.
Even joy can be rebellion. Take the case of transgender folks. Today, some people are fighting to make transgender individuals disappear. So, if an author write’s a piece of resistance fiction depicting a transgender person who is living, thriving, and falling in love, this story would be an act of defiance. Even better, this type of story might encourage those targeted men and women and remind them they’re not alone and to have hope.
Resources for Writers Who Want to Resist
A Final Word: Fiction Is Political, Whether You Admit it or Not
Every story you tell says something about the world—who matters, who gets justice, who gets to speak. Pretending otherwise doesn’t make you a neutral party, exempt from all responsibility. You may not be a political activist, but I believe many of us are passionate about injustice of one kind or another or hold strong beliefs about a topic that affects us all.
So, write your stories. Make them beautiful. Make them wild. Make them dangerous.
Because fiction might not save the world.
But it can play a bit part in starting a renaissance…or even a starring role!
Want to Write Fiction That Fights Back?
Fiction as Activism: A Guided Workbook for Writers Who Want to Fight Back
Inside, you’ll find:
Reflection prompts to clarify your message
Exercises to build character-driven resistance
Genre-specific tactics for subverting the status quo
Space to write your personal manifesto
Grab the free workbook here and start writing stories that matter.
