Thursday, November 3, 2022

Why I Write Post-Apocalyptic Fiction

 I’m a reader. I’ve read it all—from cereal boxes to mammoth, generational, historical sagas (think Michener). I love them all.

As a child, books swept me away from a world I could not control.

As a teen, books invited me to discover truths no one was talking about.

As a young mom, books filled the gaps and kept me entertained when snotty noses ruled my days . . . and nights.

But of all the books, of all the stories, post-apocalyptic fiction fired my imagination like none other. 

“Lucifer’s Hammer” and “Alas, Babylon” had it all: built in drama, sensational conflict, and unlimited possibilities.

Now, I write post-apocalyptic fiction because the genre makes everything important again—food, water, air, family, children, security, relationships, sex, life, and death. 

A good story requires conflict. All good writers understand this. The old writing adage says write characters you love, run them up a tree, and then . . . throw rocks at them (Nabokov.)

Post-apocalyptic fiction? Done. It’s all there. The story spins out like a tapestry of trouble and triumph. Our characters can’t help but find themselves “up a tree” and the rocks come automatically.

It’s a genre that owns action, adventure, and survival. 

I used to think that mysteries must be hard to write. I never know who “done it.” But then I realized that mysteries, like post-apocalyptic fiction, have built-in drama—someone’s dead, someone is going to be dead, someone is making sure someone is dead. Bam! Drama!

And drama is the air our characters breathe.

Don’t get me wrong. I still read it all. But I’ll always find my way back to post-apocalyptic fiction where anyone can imagine themselves up that tree and the rocks just keep on coming.

  




  



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