I’ve chosen to write their story, not write a story for them.
I never thought I would get onto a fourth version of Killing Days, I thought I would write it and be done with it. As I have done with the 8 or 9 books which I have written (and never shared) But the book holds a special place in my heart. The characters are important to me and my own life, so I want to make sure their story is perfect.
The story has four phases, each one requires a different setting. I’ll be calling these “Normal Life” “Start” “Middle” and “End” I want to ensure that these settings in their basic forms represent seasons, how far into the Apocalypse the main characters are, how people are reacting to events, and how the characters have grown.
“Normal Life” is going to be the start and End of the story. Encompassing two or three chapters at the most. Normal life is also told in Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey, represent the start and end of the story. As my blog grows, I’ll be posting more theory on the different steps of The Hero’s Journey.
Getting back on topic, “Normal Life” is going to follow the primary protagonist Danielle “Dani” Alder. This predominately is her story. While Ruby Alder is also a protagonist with her own story arc, there is going to be more of a focus on Dani. During these chapters, I want to establish who Dani is as a person. A bench mark of how she is at the start of her story and again at the end of her story. I want to show how much Dani has changed due to what she has experienced over the course of the book. I want readers to have a good grasp on who she is during her normal life, then expose her to the trials of her life.
“Start” is going to represent the end of summer and autumn in the book. the first weeks to months of the story. For this, the world need to be more chaotic. People are scared. The first week or so, people think this new Apocalypse is a bad dream. once we get past that, they’re hoping that a hero is going to swoop in and save them. As we get to the tail end of this section. those “heroes” are going to emerge.
“Middle” is going to make up the main chunk of the story. working from the middle of Autumn into Winter. In this section, the population of the apocalypse have come to accept the reality of their situation. The people are settling down to their life in safe zones, accepting that one day they might be killed. Meanwhile, the “Heroes” of the apocalypse are keeping people safe. In this section of the book, the apocalypse isn’t new anymore, and now people are much less focused on surviving, they’re focusing on thriving. Due to how long it’s been, Safe zones are sending out raiding parties to search for food and supplies. Independent factions are becoming bolder, raiding other people for supplies.
“End” is going to take place in spring. Only the strongest have survived this long. Safe zones who have gotten this far are starting to branch out from just one building. any independent factions would have suffered great losses and started to merge together. Due to production in this apocalypse coming to a halt, most supplies are non existent anymore. People have turned more to hunting and gathering, raiding has mostly been wiped out.
To further emphasise the “End” section. Within another year, The larger safe zones would have become new towns, smaller safe zones would have integrated into the larger towns. Independent factions would have made their their own smaller towns or dispersed back into other safe zones. tradespeople will become crucial to developing new towns, and society would be rebuilt.
Dani and Ruby are going to follow the more “Hero” role in the books, while they aren’t going to be the only ones in the story. They are going to make an impact. When I read, watch, or play stories. I always wonder why does it seem like the main character always does something great? That’s not because the Author writes a random character to do these things, but instead chooses the most important character. in this selection of events. Dani and Ruby aren’t heroes chosen by a deity. In this world I’m creating, they’ve made a lot of change. I’ve chosen to write their story, and not write a story for them.
As always, Thank you for support, Please leave a comment with your thoughts and feedback, I always appreciate it! If you want to get in contact, send a message to me through my “Contact” page. or tweet me @RinCrowe.
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