"What the past would look like if the future had happened sooner." - Urban Dictionary
As my friends and family might know too well, I've been querying like a fiend for this last novel I co-wrote. While trying to pedal our paranormal romance, Entranced, I've come across a handful of agents looking for Steampunk. Now, I've heard that term plenty of times in reference to anime, fashion, design and writing, but I have to admit to a degree of ignorance regarding a decent definition of what exactly Steampunk is. This is a problem for me since I have decided the next novel I am going to work on (not to mention the interactive online novel that's on the boilerplate) will pull from this genre.
So this week on "The Kitchen Sink" I will share with you a very brief crash-course on the subject.
According to Wiki, Steampunk is a bit of a happy mashed potato of sci-fi, alternate history and speculation. Some refer to it as romanticized technology. The genre is typically defined as being stuck in the 19th century, before the Industrial revolution. These eras gone by furnish the flavor that make steampunk, well...steampunky. So, aesthetically, think lots of Victorian corsets and top hats. Think gothic, but with less eyeliner and scowling. And nothing is made of plastic. Metal, wood, leather and fabric. Lots of brass. Mechanically? Think steam (didn't see that coming, did you?).
Ideologically, steampunk borrows from the same eras that color fashion and design. A New York Times article I read spoke of how steampunk can "restore a sense of wonder to a technology-jaded world." People relate because our own tumultuous times harken back to when people had to deal with the changes wrought by the Industrial Revolution.
And steampunk looks neat. I am sure that helps with the genre's current surge in popularity.
In the end, the easiest way that I personally understand steampunk is to slip on a pair of Victorian-tinted glasses and embrace old-style romantic sensibilities. Re-imagine everything around you in such a way that someone of that time would not freak out and mistake you for a god or an alien. Then add a few gears and cogs. Make that...a lot of gears and cogs and then a few more for good measure.
To close out this brief whirlwind of an article, I've included a few links below if you'd like visual and audio examples. Until next time, keep the boilers steaming!
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Here is a general List of Steampunk work, from literature and film to role playing games and art
Literature
The Works of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells keep coming up as more classic examples of Steampunk before the phrase was even coined back in the mid-1980s
Steampunk Lit
Music
Abney Park
Thomas Truax
Vernian Process
Fashion
Too many to list: Here are some search results to get your creativity going
Some Icons from Pop Culture Steampunkified
Thing from the Addams Family
Darth Vader
R2-D2
Storm Trooper
Optimus Prime
Further Resources
http://steampunkguides.com/
An episode of Make - A really fun video if you have 10 minutes to watch.
Jay Leno on the Model T Ford
Steampunk Blog
An example of using some real cutting edge graphics tech to create some stunning Steampunk inspired work
What is Steampunk?
Steampunk for the DIYer
