Recent events have made me consider
anew disaster preparedness. The west is ablaze, the east is awash. There are
also ecological disasters and local disasters like a home break-in. Each kind
of disaster requires its own preparedness, but what all have in common is a
mindset to consider the impossible/unlikely happening and to have a plan, even
if sketchy.
Being an author, I can see scenes
of characters fleeing a forest fire or climbing into the attic to escape flood
waters or rushing to the homes safe room in a home invasion or crowding into a
closet during a tornado or isolating the family during an infection.
In your thriller novel, you can amp
up the tension by creating a disaster, natural or man-made. When lives are at risk
you have set up the greatest possible stakes. People can be at their finest and
their worst when disasters strike. Fear and impending death bring out different
aspects in your characters.
In order to describe the scenarios
of the prepared and the unprepared, read articles on preparing for different
types of disasters. FEMA’s general guidelines are: get informed, make a plan, assemble
your kit, and maintain your kit and plan (meaning revise as necessary).
As an example, for real we have a
list of must-grab-and-take essentials
(maps, sleeping bags, non-perishable food, medications, soap, bleach,
flashlight, extra clothes) and treasures
(computer, important documents, paintings, etc.) at our cabin (forest fire
fear). We also have an assembled emergency kit in the closet. We have bottled
water and energy bars boxed and ready to grab. We know that if the two roads
out of our mountain community are closed, we can take the SUV cross-country
until we hit a highway. That’s our sketchy plan. Yeah, you’re right. We need to
get even more specific.
How about, in your novel, if forest
fire is threatening a family’s cabin? What if the only way out is blocked by
fire? Does the cell phone work in this remote area? What is the terrain like in
the opposite direction of the fire? What are the challenges/supports in the
terrain? Is there an underground cellar to ride out the fire? How would the
cellar get oxygen? Keep cool? Is there a river or lake nearby that could be
used to shelter in? What if the fire were started by someone who wants the
family to die so that person hunts them even as they try to escape the flames?
Can you describe how the family
tries different escape scenarios? Maybe, but the more you know about the
threats of a particular disaster and how to prepare for it, the better able you
are to write the dramatic scenes of the forest fire and the escape attempts.
The exact same thing holds true for
tornados, hurricanes, flooding, and other disasters. What scenarios require a substantial
food and water supply? What if those aren’t adequate? Which scenarios require
alternate travel options?
Research disasters and surviving
them, then plan for your characters’ survival. The more you know the more you
can write credible scenes. While not meaning to make light of others travails or
exploit them, your accurate descriptions of disaster preparedness could help
someone facing similar difficulties. Watch YouTube videos for disasters filmed
by others and take notes so you can write accurately about your disaster.
Please share this post with others.
Thank you!
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Writing disaster survival scenarios requires research and planning on your part
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