Gabriella Draney Zielke author

Beyond Dystopia II: Is It Time for a Seventh Base of Social Power?

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 08:08:50 -0700

Beyond Dystopia: Is It Time for a Seventh Base of Social Power?

When I wrote Beyond Dystopia: Crafting Characters with Diverse Social Power to Inspire Positive Change, I explored how John French and Bertram Raven's six bases of social power could help writers build richer ensemble casts. Looking at climate fiction through that lens revealed something fascinating: hopeful stories rarely rely on a single heroic protagonist, or purely evil antagonist. They rely on people with different kinds of influence learning to work together.

The framework itself has already evolved once.

When French and Raven first introduced their theory in 1959, they identified five bases of social power: coercive, reward, legitimate, expert, and referent. Years later, informational power was added as a sixth category because the ability to influence through access to knowledge was distinct enough to deserve its own place in the model. We could argue that in the wake of AI, that may no longer be the case. But, that's a question for another time.

That history raises an interesting question.

As our societies become increasingly interconnected, are we beginning to see another distinct form of social power emerge that is is significant enough to be included?

While developing the screenplay for The Exchange, which I'm entering into the XPRIZE Future Vision competition next month, I kept encountering characters who didn't fit comfortably into any of the existing six categories. They weren't primarily influencing through authority, expertise, information, rewards, punishment, or even charisma. Yet they consistently changed the trajectory of everyone around them.

Eventually, I realized what they...Read More

“Beyond Dystopia: Crafting Characters with Diverse Social Power to Inspire Positive Change”

Mon, 15 Apr 2024 13:28:16 -0700

This craft essay was originally planned as "How to Worldbuild for a Brighter Future". It was my master's thesis pre-work for the creative project that I submitted this month. And yay! I graduate next month. It's a little academic and a lot long, but it really made me think so much deeper about character and story, so I decided to share it.

As I read the three books that I compare and contrast here, it quickly became apparent that it isn't the world that can make someone feel hopeful. Only people can do that. It was the characters that mattered. As they say "character is story".

Not only did the characters inspire hope and change, it was the different types of social power they weilded, from all levels of the social strata, that made change seem possible. That one was a lot tougher to tease out.

Hope you enjoy. Let me know if it sparked anything for you! I thought about it a lot as we crafted the first characters for The Lunar Light: Discovery.

Sorry about the formatting. This blog editor isn't very flexible.

“Beyond Dystopia: Crafting Characters with Diverse Social Power to Inspire Positive Change”

A new sub-genre of speculative fiction blasted onto the scene over the past decade in response to the current times. Climate fiction, or cli-fi, uses our environment and the threat of climate change as a major plot point. The term, first coined by author Dan Bloom,...Read More

Deadlines and Time: An Origin Story

Thu, 11 Jan 2024 05:12:19 -0800

I find journaling in the morning the best way to start my day. That’s a thread all its own. Today, I found myself musing on time.

We’re up against multiple looming deadlines with The Lunar Light launch next month. There are permits, parties, and purchasing dates that require all kinds of lists and communication.

This morning, I wanted time to slow down as I thought through the massive to do lists. I also want to read, finish my master’s thesis, take a long walk, take a bath, have a leisurely breakfast.

Alas, I have to choose. Why?

Deadlines.

Did you know we didn’t use this word to mean a time perimeter until 1920? It was a term first used during the Civil War to indicate a line at a prison that, if crossed, a guard would kill the person. It fell out of use shortly thereafter.

Then, the publishing industry brought it back to indicatethe area on a page that the printing press didn’t work beyond. No words made it past the deadline.

Finally, a few years after the first mention of a physical deadline in publishing, the publishers began using it metaphorically. Nothing would make it into the paper if it wasn’t submitted by a certain time, yet another “deadline”.

This line of curiosity might just keep me from hitting a deadline or two, but there’s little chance of it ending the way it used to for Civil War prisoners.

Can you imagine a world without clocks? Without timed activities? When we think about all the technological advances that exist today, would any of them exist without Newton’s and other scientists’ fascination with time? Throughout most of the 18th century, if you wanted to count seconds, chances are you'd have to find a special scinetific clock to help you. Newton used pendulums, a technology pioneered by Galileo.

Can you...Read More

Form and Function As One Creates Magic

Thu, 07 Dec 2023 06:58:19 -0800

Creating immersive experiences is a masterclass in weaving together form and function. The Back to Space experiences use set design, VR, special effects, characters, storyline, and have the added fun of being completely self-contained.

Someone told me early on that everything about what we’re doing is hard. The market, the tech, operations, creative, etc. He still joined as an advisor. Because when you get it all aligned, magic happens. And isn’t it fun to be part of something magical?

Tickets are about to go on sale for our first pop-up experience that runs in Dallas February 29 – May 28. It promises to be one giant leap year at Back to Space. OK, no more space puns.

When I took on the CEO role in February, we didn’t originally set out to build an experience using shipping containers. Yes, you read that right, episode #1 of The Lunar Light is being delivered within shipping containers! Why??

I’m SO happy you asked! You see, we first designed a 10,000 square foot pop-up that we plan to tour around Tier 1 cities like Los Angeles, NYC, London, etc. However, after many great and random conversations, we realized that there was an actual need for a different format of experience. I come from the B2B world where you solve for customer needs, not consumer wants. My interest was piqued! Marry that with an abysmal early stage funding market, and we decided to do a little pirouette (it's like a pivot, except we'll spin back to the original plan in Phase II).

While we finalized the design for the large pop-up, and while investors took their summer holiday, I figured why not take that time to design an experience that could be set up anywhere, at least in any parking lot. I happened to be filling a shipping container to move to the island at the time, and I’ve seen some really creative installations using them, so why not try creating an experience in...Read More

The Relationship Between Freedom and Safety

Tue, 08 Aug 2023 07:15:10 -0700

I walk my darling little Great Dane every morning that I’m on St. Croix. He waits patiently (most of the time) by my bedroom door until I am ready to go, then does the craziest happy dance as we make our way down the driveway.

He always wants to take a right out of our gate because the house to the left has a big pit chained to a tree and, during the day, the two small inside dogs are leashed by the front door. Guard dogs are commonplace here, as are dogs chained to trees. It’s something my parents did in the 80’s in our poor, rural neighborhood, so I get the mentality, though much of the world has moved to treating their dogs like children.

Last week, we took our usual right out of...Read More

The Daily Gab: If Women Want to Help Build the Future, They Should Read Science Fiction

Thu, 10 Mar 2022 11:05:31 -0800

This is from my daily blog, The Daily Gab. I like to brain dump over my morning coffee. Join me!

http://www.thedailygab.com

If you had asked me in my 20’s if I would write scifi novels, I would have laughed at you. Scifi was for boys who wanted to feel smart. And with four 20-something boys now, I can confirm that they exist in a constant battle of wits and knowing. It's not all the time, and it's not every book written by a male author, but it's enough for some people to not finish a book (or conversation).

Luckily, Ray Bradbury changed my mind with his book Zen in the Art of Writing (free pdf), specifically the essay On the Shoulders of Giants. He credits children with spurring our rapid innovation over the past 60 years. Why? Because they championed science fiction in schools and libraries around the world. What Bradbury posits is that teachers, librarians, and parents learned these books are full of IDEAS, not just escapist daydreaming. Hmmm, I never thought about why A Wrinkle in Time was my favorite book growing up. Maybe Bradbury was on to something.

Now, let’s consider Read More

What if we do live in a simulation – and it was created by an Apprentice?

Tue, 18 Jan 2022 03:44:00 -0800

It’s been a minute since my last post, but is time the same anymore? Am I the only one who feels like the past two years have progressed both faster and slower than every year before?

My first novel is about to launch. I’ve got mixed feelings about it. Will readers understand it? Do I even understand it? Let me back up and give you the origin story so you know why...

It all started one morning when I was in the shower, thinking about the next chapter in a different book I was writing, when it happened.

I heard this voice. A bit smug, definitely mischievous. It said, “What if we do live in a simulation?”

Yawn. We’ve all heard Elon Musk going on about it, among others. Who cares, I thought. I’m focused on finishing my current draft. (oh look, a quick google search says Scientific American confirmed it...ha!)

Then the voice followedup with a zinger. “And it was created by an apprentice.”

I laughed, suds running down my face. I won’t bore you with the rest of the conversation (or give anyone evidence to have me committed). Let’s just say I agreed that I would switch gears and make this my first book, based on that ridiculous statement. The ideas flowed from there and I scrambled to put them in some kind of order.

What you’ll read on 2-2-22, if you pick up the book, is what came out. Thought I'd give you a quick teaser on what to expect. First is an early review from a friend who’s written some interesting stories himself.

“I have never met someone in my life who does not like music. But what if music is used as a tool to make you tell the truth? What if music opens your eyes to the reality around you? Then you suddenly realise that what you believed to be true is not. How can you live life after such a revelation?

What if music becomes a weapon to control humanity, would you listen to it...Read More

A wee bit o' news

Mon, 07 Dec 2020 11:44:13 -0800

Have I got some news; big news for me anyway!! My first novel, The Sound of Creation, will be published next year!

A few months ago, I was able to pitch to a handful of agents and luckily got a few requests to read the full manuscript. If you know anything about publishing, getting a full request is both a great sign that your pitch is interesting, and an important next step in signing an agent, who will then start the submission process all over again with publishers.

There happened to be an editor from a publishing house listening to pitches who had a slot open up, so I decided to give it a try. Imagine my surprise when she asked for the full manuscript. Cool, but what were the chances this as yet unagented author would keep her attention?

Fast forward to a few weeks ago when the editor emailed back and said she loved my novel. I about died! It turns out editors can find books they like on their own. She needed some info to send to committee review and said we should know in a couple of weeks whether the publisher wanted to acquire the title.

A contract landed in my inbox last week and after some deliberation, I signed it last night. Then I got a grand total of three hours of sleep.

My anxiety disappeared this morning after I started the author onboarding process. I had asked around about the small press (any traditional publisher that is not an imprint of one of the Big 4 is considered small press, as far as I can tell). Their authors seem to love them, and now I can understand why. They immediately put me into three email groups, all very active. And I have homework to do in regards to cover and marketing copy input. That's in addition to the edits I'll be getting soon.

As for my editor, I’m excited to work with her because I feel like she connected with the story I wrote and will help me polish it for all of your discerning eyes.

To all of you who helped me with my craft, or beta read the novel in an...Read More

Stories by the Sea: Binti

Wed, 30 Sep 2020 15:39:24 -0700

You know those books that make you think? The ones that inspire you or help you understand something about yourself and the world around you? While I love a good beach read to entertain me and pass the time, I decided to start sharing the books in the former category...by the beach.

This week is the amazing novella trilogy, Binti. Hope you enjoy!

I've got a little facebook group called Stories for Seekers if you want more great suggestions. Join us!

When the Universe Bitch Slaps You

Sat, 22 Aug 2020 07:26:10 -0700

"You can't handle the truth," the general says, spittle flying in an age before we were as frightened by his words as we are by his errant bodily fluids. We love that scene because we all know what he’s talking about. We don’t want a light shed on certain truths. Things that allow us to live the lies we live.

This is the second time in my life that I’ve had to face the truth that what I believe about myself isn’t who I really am. I didn’t integrate much lasting change the first time I went through an extremely traumatic year. Thankfully, this time I know I have. I know because it is a continuing evolution. I uncover more all the time, and it’s leading me back to who I really am. So, I thought it might help a person or two who are maybe thinking what I said the first time in 2009.

I feel like the Universe has been bitch slapping me around and I’m ready to listen.

I imagine 2020 will be that year for many people. First of all, I’m sorry for what you’re going through. I know it’s rough. I know you feel alone, scared, angry, despondent, and fill in the blank. I can’t change any of this for you, but I can tell you a personal truth that might.

There’s a lot to unpack here and I’ve gone through so many cycles of thinking I was over certain things, only to have the scab ripped back off. The point is, I can’t give you a one size fits all answer. It’s a quest you must find your own path through. But I can share some of the wisdom that has carried me forward on mine.

I love writing science fiction. They say it’s the genre of philosophers. It’s a place where you can go deep into pressing issues without them being too triggering because they don’t seem like reality. I’m reading the third book in the Binti series at the moment, and the tensions between both tribes on Earth and aliens races sound and feel a lot like tensions between any group we may consider “other”. The truths are easier to digest in this format of strange and unusual...Read More