need help

**GiantMonkeyMan** · 02-23-2006, 18:08

i decided to write a story set in post-apocalyptic england starting with a group of survivors in London because i love apocalyptic fiction and books like 'The Stand' by Stephen King have really gripped me
i wanted to keep it simple without much need to explain what happened during the 'Fall' so i decided to start the main events at least several months after the near wiping out of humanity but i kept restarting and the only thing i kept was the prologue (which i will put on in a mo)
basically i came up with three situations:
1) a single guy 8 months after meets up with a few other survivors and this slowly builds into 2)
2) set about 15 months after and a group of survivors fight another group of survivors for the only strip of supermarkets left with enough food for their group, the losing group has to leave London and strives to survive in a wild england
and 3) several different survivors with different stories slowly have their paths interlinked until they finally meet and found a city or town or whatever

basically i didn't really know what to do

but i would be greatful if you guys could throw some ideas at me

till i can get this started

cheers
GMM

PS my next post will be the prologue

**GiantMonkeyMan** · 02-23-2006, 18:23

Prologue:

Dennis clasped his head in his wrinkled hands and sighed heavily. He playfully fiddled with his thinning, grey hair and took a deep breath to calm his despair. He rubbed his eyes with his knuckles and stared at the host of monitors, connected to cameras around the facility, and sighed again.
What the monitors showed was only similar in one way; they each had several people strewn across the floor and tables. Dead. Once they had been his collegues, each with their badges stuck on white lab-coats but their faces were obscured with blood and pus.
A knock echoed from his plain grey door. Ironically, he thought, like the knock of a body collector during the Black Death. He stayed fixed in his black leather chair until the knock echoed again, more urgently this time. And more human.
He hefted himself up and opened the door slowly. In front of him stood Dr Ian Laudrup and Captain Henderson. Both looked like they has seen ghosts, and suffered for that sight.
'Where Catherine?' he asked weakly.
'She shot herself in the night, Dr Stapleton.' replied the Captain coldly. Laudrup whimpered at the news and Dennis collapsed back into his chair. 'There is still time for you two to leave before they put the facility on lock-down.' the soldier continued.
'Leave? And go where? With a mortality rate of approximately 98% we can't escape it. What have we done?' said Laudrup timidly.
'You're right.' said Dennis, 'I think i will stay here and... attempt to create a cure.'
Ironically that is what they had been trying to do in the first place. A cure for modern disease funded by several governments and private enterprises. An accident had happened and only the dead sprawled on the host of monitors knew exactly what had happened and now they were dead.
Dennis thought of his family. He hoped they were among the 2% that would survive. He hoped.

**Lord Winter** · 02-24-2006, 02:47

I think you should combined them all.
So something like they meet up build to two then eventually find the city or whatever. The problem i see with three is that i cant see total strangers meeting and finding a city.

**AntiochusIII** · 02-24-2006, 08:07

I cannot offer what I think is best as, in the end, as the author your fingertips will drive the story on its own. In my humble opinion, though, the third choice is a composition technique used in novels that always fascinated me a little bit.

I can, however, offer an experience which might stimulate you to a decision, or perhaps another idea in the catalogue; my English Language and Composition AP class had, about a week ago, this most interesting exercise: We were given a list of ten people with their short descriptions (white, 51, mechanic, a white supremacist, etc.) but the bottom line is, only seven can survive and we must choose three to die. It was a fascinating exercise to execute three people out of necessity, and that we must choose them based on their paper characteristics. Murderers we are, as our decision ended up being to kill a baby child, his former prostitute mother, and a mentally handicapped child.

**Franconicus** · 02-24-2006, 08:39

O.K., here is my advice:
You have to talk about the reason of the desaster. This is very important because it gives you the motivation for your figures: shame, anger, the wish to avoid the errors of the past.
It would also give the story more debth. You can choose between different scenarios; you can blame militarism (biological weapon), technology (similar), capitalism (break down of econ and riots), moral, .... . You can even blame it on a world conspiracy (and blame Moslems, Nazis, Germans; Communists, Americans or Jews). Jews is not polotical correct butit will guarantee that you are mentioned in the papers and get more readers.

Maybe you should start with a common description of the misery and reveal the reasons later step by step.
As the others I would follow your agenda from 1 - 3. In the end there should be a happy end or at least an open end with a happy option. This end is very important. You should have made up your mind before you start your story. The cause for the misery is also important for the happy end.

Good luck!