A way with worlds: 48 - Apocalypse How

The key is that the Big Event, no matter how big, is really only one event in your world. You need to not only know your world after, but before.

BUILDING IT ONLY TO DESTROY IT:
Let's put it simply - yes, you've got a vast and decimated setting that's been twisted off of its moorings and thrown to the winds of fate. But, whatever tore it apart is only one event in its history. And you need to know what it was like before that Apocalyptic Event.

It may seem a waste to do so, but consider it this way - no matter what, your worlds continuity starts before the End of the World. Some things will change radically, but it's not meaningful if you don't know how they changed or why.

So, simply, if you're going to end your world, design it first, then wreck it.

It's not a waste of time. Knowing your world before it's devastated will let you understand why it was devastated. It will let you know the impact (and "it was really messed up" isn't knowing the impact). It will let you know the fine details that make a story. Injuring a major character isn't a waste of time in a story – neither should be injuring your setting.

Think of it as building a sand castle then dropping a rock on it. You just can't fake realism like that. It takes effort, but then again, the apocalypse isn't something you rush.

SUMMARY:
If you're going to write about the end of the world, have a world to end. It's worth the extra effort.

A Way with Worlds is hosted at:

• fanfiction.net

• lit.org

• sffworld.com

The complete works are archived at the Way With Worlds archive.
A German translation is in the works at Christian Spliess's Page