This is the question we may all face soon, or not.
So many characters in Apocalyptic shows seem to fall into a type:
Gruff, experienced, military/law enforcement type who seems angry at the world but is really hiding a heart of gold behind the tough exterior.
Hard hitting survivor who sacrifices their all to make it through to the end.
Hapless victim caught between warring factions
Zombie Bait
Bad guy who takes the opportunity to let his/her psychosis run rampant in an urge to control the world.
Young teenager learning to survive in this hard-hitting world. Despite their innocence they seem to face every moral dilemma with the excitement and the fearlessness of youth.
You know the type. Everyone looks gritty and rough, yet they always seem to find time to get their beautiful long hair styled. Or they have perfect teeth. And when it comes time for romantic time, they just happen to be wearing cute, clean underwear.
Well, is this the way it’s really going to be when the big one hits?
What happens when the apocalypse hits the ordinary people? When does an average person become the hero in their own story?
I wonder what really happens to a person’s mental state during the apocalypse. Do they keep going, doing what is necessary to survive or do they become leaders of men (and women)? Who gets to control the destiny of the world?
My current work in progress explores this idea.
I have been experimenting with talk to text and have been dictating the story. It’s interesting to see how technology has developed to allow writers to move from an old, clanky typewriter with corrective ribbon as a writing tool, to a device that allows me to speak the images in my head to a white screen and see the words populate the paper.
I have a few more scenes to “write” and then I will need to hit it hard with major edits. I will need to organize the scenes into some semblance of a story, tie the story together with transitions, clean up the filler words I use in every day speech, add punctuation and perhaps rebuild my character.
Just like the hero in my apocalyptic story, I am rebuilding myself from the ground up.