#and my alien/apocolypse ocs

[nova-they-exist-yup]

you know you’re hyperfixated when you know you have multiple groups of ocs to work on and develop but you’re still thinking about “what if the guys were in an au”

[jadedjo]

Trivia Tuesday

I was tagged by @jedimordsith to give a behind the scenes glimpse on one of my fics. With Halloween only a month away I’ll talk about The Void

This story was my first attempt at horror, my first attempt at flushing out a minor, almost unknown Star Wars Legends character, my first attempt at creating a rich, diverse set of OC supporting characters with female-centric leads, and my first attempt at actually completing something posted that wasn’t finished. (This last has been a major hurdle for me.) And was only the second time I’d reached out of my introvert shell to ask the lovely @jedimordsith for help in getting it done. To say this story was a challenge is an understatement.

I decided to go with the “unseen” monster that stalks the crew of the Starry Ice because I am always more afraid of what you can’t see then what you can. Everyone rags on the M. Night Shyamalan movie Signs, but the end was intense! Alien is another movie where you almost never see the monster and Event Horizon were it's more psychological than physical were both major influencers.

I also wanted to incorporate different ways the characters react to this danger. You have Force Sensitive Mara Jade who can’t seem to process what her senses are telling her. My OC Togruta Asori Holgor is getting different stimuli through her montrals causing an overload in her ability to reason. And Captain Shirlee Faughn who is just trying to stay calm and keep her crew from dying around her. This volatile mix then creates a secondary horror within.

I love this story a ridiculous amount, not only for the story itself but also as a gateway to my entrance to my fabulous SW Writers Group. And this is probably my second favorite story I’ve ever written. Stay tuned for October when my most favorite thing I’ve ever written gets published for the 2019 Halloween Challange: Apocolypse Yavin

If you like to share, I’ll tag @jadelotusflower ,@arielsojourner, and @teagrl if you're around.

[incandescent-creativity]

do you have any tips on writing post-apocolypse settings?

Ooh, post-apoc is fun! I don’t know what kind of apocalypse you’re writing, so I won’t have as many specific tips for you, but here’s what I came up with.

Tips on Writing a Post-Apocalypse Setting

The world cannot be completely over. In other words, you have to have worked out a way for your characters to survive whatever apocalypse you’ve concocted. 

Don’t just consider the humans. An apocalypse will affect plant life, animal life, and all the technology and buildings humans have created. You’ll have to figure out if animals are affected by the plague, too, or if the temperature has been raised enough to melt cars and evaporate all the water.

On a related note, how has the landscape changed? Are buildings degraded? Are there no more oceans or lakes? How does this present new obstacles for your characters?

What traits do your protagonists have that allow them to survive? More importantly, what traits would allow people to survive your apocalypse? Are they a good fighter because your apocalypse is a zombie one? Are they a good hunter/forager because your apocalypse caused all the farmland to be barren? Are they all dark skinned because the racist aliens kidnapped all the light skinned people? You get the idea.

Knowing the details and effects of your apocalypse is important, and knowing how your individual OCs are surviving is important, but knowing how society as a whole is recovering from the apocalypse is also important. What large scale forces are at work while your protagonist is struggling?

Lastly, don’t get caught up in the apocalypse. It’s obviously a large part of the setting, but stories are made from both setting and plot. Something has to be happening that will show off your concept!

I hope these helped you, and you know if you ever need anything else, my inbox is always open!