822. Understanding the Apocalyptic

Been wanting to write about writing for a while now. I’m deep into the publishing schedule of a weekly fiction story and this experience is different from any other writing I have done in the past. I’ve published in books and online, but never in a serial fashion. The work is sci-fi but not apocalyptic. I watch a great deal of sci-fi and read even more. I recently finished Wool, an independently published sci-fi series. I am also watching Falling Skies, which brings me to today’s topic: The formula for apocalyptic writing.

The formula changes based on when in the apocalypse the story happens. During the initial stages of the uprising/invasion/rebellion/plague your story will likely swirl around three key groups. There are the invaders (Alien, Zombie, Machine, Vampire, etc.), the people (generally humans like us), and the changed. This third group is the most powerful and pivotal in the story. The changed have been altered by the invaders in some way. They may be immune, may have awakened new abilities, lost their ability to fear, joined with the invaders in some physical way (cybernetics, daywalking vamps, alien hybrids, etc). It is these changed people that walk the theme and tell the true story of this manner of writing. The idea behind this genre is change. It says that change is inevitable and nobody survives change intact. In fact, those who are most altered are those best equipped to deal  with the coming change.

When writing sci-fi stories in this mini-genre be sure to graft this basic formula to whatever story you are telling. Of course, this applies to fantasy as well. Though the two are far  apart in terms of tech level, they are closer in terms of story than you may think.

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