#post apocalyptic

writing-questions-answered:

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Anonymous asked: Hiya! I’m currently planning a post-apocalyptic novel, and I was wondering what to avoid, cliches-wise? Thanks so much. :)

1. Scorched Earth Wasteland - nuclear war was a common fear during the Cold War, so “scorched earth” wastelands were common in post-apocalyptic novels. The trouble is, now you see them in novels where there has been war, but not nuclear war. Even if there were nuclear bombs, it wouldn’t level an entire country. Whatever the landscape in your story, just make sure it’s a sensible result to whatever led to your apocalypse.

2. Cozy Catastrophe - cozy catastrophes occur when your characters have not only survived the apocalypse, but are leading a comfortable existence without any of the hardship that would come along with the end of civilization as we know it. Day-to-day survival should be your characters’ main concern, and everything they do should contribute to their daily survival in some way. They shouldn’t be overly concerned about trivial things that have no meaning anymore. For example, looting a store is one thing, but your characters shouldn’t be trying on cute clothing or obsessed with finding a pair of their favorite shoes. There can be stolen moments of joy, but the group isn’t going to get-up one morning and go ice skating or throw a surprise birthday party for one of the group.

3. Lions, and Zombies, and Mutants, Oh My! - clearly the post-apocalyptic landscape won’t be filled solely with friendly people and adorable animals, but maybe avoid escaped zoo animals, packs of feral dogs, and people who’ve turned into either mutants or zombies unless you can put a really fresh spin on them.

4. The Great Valley - a lot of post-apocalyptic novels feature a fabled Eden of sorts, which is a pocket of paradise in an otherwise bleak landscape, and typically the characters are trying to get to it.

5. Anything in Mad Max - if you saw it in a Mad Max movie, just skip it. Leather, hobbled together weapons or vehicles, tribes of ungoverned children, war lords, lone hero, Thunderdome.

6. Ice Cream, Guns, and Supplies Outta Nowhere - this could be called Cozy Catastrophe, Part II. Try to avoid giving your characters access to things they wouldn’t have. Ice cream, for example, would be pretty difficult to make without milk, sugar, and electricity, or ice at the very least. Avoid making all your characters experts at using weapons unless they’ve had extensive training, and make sure all supplies are obtained from a reasonable source at a reasonable price.

7. Paramilitary, Militias, and Pointlessly Evil Bad Guy - these are pretty common in post-apocalyptic stories, so avoid them if you can. Especially the evil leader who is horrifically cruel to everyone for absolutely no reason. If you need to have this group (or that guy), at least make them believe they’re doing the right thing.

8. Shallow Romance - some people think romance doesn’t belong in post-apocalyptic stories, but I call shenanigans on that notion, because few things bond two people together like dire or challenging circumstances. Just make sure that your romance is believable and well developed if you include one. Really think hard about how a romantic relationship would be different in a post-apocalyptic setting.

9. The Search for Lost Loved Ones - this is a pretty common post-apocalyptic quest, and not an unbelievable one. Just an overdone one. If you absolutely have to do it, try to make sure you do something really different than what’s been done before.

10. Characters to Avoid - The Chosen One: the main character who is destined to save the world, The Unwilling Rebel Leader: the main character who inadvertently incites and then has to lead a rebellion against some oppressive force, The Convenient Survivalist - the uncle or family friend who just happens to be a prepper and has all the knowledge and supplies necessary to survive, and willingly offers them to your protagonist’s group, The Not-So-Good-Guy: the good guy who is cleverly hiding the fact that he’s a bad guy; Stock Characters: the smart guy/professor type, the jock, the nerd, the ditz, the old crone, the gentle giant, the sage old man, etc. Also, avoid emotionless, faceless, cardboard characters. Just because the world as they know it has ended doesn’t mean your characters shouldn’t be three-dimensional, well-rounded people.

I hope thathelps

star-anise:

a-ton-of-unearned-confidence:

star-anise:

Let’s face it, if the world ends, so many of us will flee somewhere else for safety that we’ll end right back up in communities again. There’s going to be more to it than growing your own food and knitting handspun socks.

I’m linking to resources, but a many of these skills, being interpersonal, are best taught in live trainings by professional instructors, where you can see and feel all the interpersonal dynamics going on in the room, and by experience, trying them out on real people in an educational setting.

When the world ends, it will be helpful to be able to::

• Run a meeting
• Peacefully negotiate
• De-escalate a potentially violent situation
  
• Organize a community
• Cope when you’re having a panic attack
• Co-regulate to help a child keep calm
• Identify community resources
• Protest safely and peacefully

Even small local pieces of activism today, like organizing a protest march or lobbying your municipal government to make public spaces more accessible, have a double reward: There’s the work you’re doing, and the skills you learn when you do it.

the assumption that people with violent killing skills should be given priority/power in a post-apocalyptic society is the reason it stays post-apocalyptic and doesn’t actually rebuild society

the assumption that people with violent killing skills should be given priority/power in a post-apocalyptic society is the reason it stays post-apocalyptic and doesn’t actually rebuild society