Breaking-Down the Post-Apocalyptic Journey in 7 Easy Steps

One of the best ways to prepare yourself to present an idea, especially a fairly major thematic idea like, say, the world-as-we-know-it having ended, is to explore that concept in the various forms it takes. What parts are universal, or at least extremely common? When you have a handle on those elements, you can better adjust them to your own story needs.

So today we are exploring the recipe of a fictional Apocalypse, what kinds of considerations you might want to take into account.

I’ve broken down Apocalyptic Stories into 7 Phases. Many stories may use all or some of these elements, or begin at any point in the timeline.

Phase 1: The Signs

In this phase, the world is presented as we currently know it. Every day life. The beginning of the story is “Every day, this happens…” It establishes patterns, characters, locations, and elements which may reverberate or be shown to us in a warped way later on.

Very importantly, it may also lay down some subtle clues as to the events about to occur. You’ll see the signs of the imminent catastrophe; the kinds of things we brush off and ignore, and probably we’ll see the characters doing just that. Might be coming from the news, or rumors, might be hidden in the background or laid out in the form of foreshadowing.

It might be that there are signs that everyone ignores because they can’t imagine a drastic change in the world. It might be they are all watching something big and important but no one is expecting everything to go wrong. It might be the signs are totally normal and the end is entirely unpredictable.

Considerations: What really leads to the apocalypse? Is anyone at fault? Could it have been prevented? Was there anyone who predicted the calamity? What preparations exist for the characters to use, and how did those preparations get into place? What circumstances will be present that allow them to survive part 2?

Phase 2: The Collapse

This is it. The big moment. “But then one day…” This is when those every day normal activities are interrupted by a sudden dramatic, usually violent change that throws the entire established world into upheaval.

One of my favorites of these moments is from the tv show, Van Helsing, where the news reports in the background are talking about the yellowstone volcano having a rising activity level but scientists don’t think… oh we’re hearing now they are moving the news crews farther back and… then the tv goes to static. There is a distant rumble and a black cloud rises in the distant sky. The windows start getting pelted with rocks all over the city and the dark cloud of ash suddenly looms, reaching over everything. It was an amazing moment to watch.

So, the Collapse may strike instantly, or settle in. It changes the world so drastically and so suddenly, usually with an extremely small survival rate, that only extreme preparedness, extreme luck, or a combination of the two will allow the protagonists to survive.

It is also not just a breaking of the world, but a severing of social ties. Families may be lost or split up, friends will lose each other. Some may die or sacrifice themselves to help the protag survive. The collapse leaves the protagonists cut off, shatters the every day life and the world they knew.

Considerations: Was it luck or preparedness that helped them survive? Was there a safe shelter, and how did they find it? What did they lose along the way, and what did they cling to? What would they want to go back for? Did they have to do anything they’d regret to survive? Did it actually have to be done and they just feel bad, or was it something actually cruel or ruthless and they SHOULD feel bad? How will these experiences of the calamity shape them?

Phase 3: The Sheltering

In this phase, they have made it to shelter, and they have to learn to live on their own, or with limited resources, or with only a few people. Their life is very different, but still bears remnants of their old way of living. They still have the kinds of foods maybe, clean air and water provided, electricity, shelter and safety. It is a life people are not used to, but can easily adapt to.

This phase may take weeks, months, even generations. The characters within remain fairly static and pretty limited. New beliefs may develop. However it is less about the characters within, and more about the world without. The key point of the Sheltering is to allow the world above to reorganize itself around the changes made in the collapse. The rules have to be rewritten. The world becomes an unfamiliar place as the chaos of the collapse settles into a new kind of order.

If you’re Kevin Costner, the Sheltering may also simply be a period of isolationist wandering or living as an anti-social hermit.

Considerations: How long can the protagonists stay locked away? Are there elements of the collapse that fade or die off during this period, to be replaced by new ones? How much memory will they have of the old world, and how much of the shelter? Have their been any signs or communications from the outside? What do the protagonists THINK is happening outside? What do they imagine the new world to look like? What resources are extremely limited in the shelter and what resources are abundant? How do they cope with loneliness and isolation? What do they dream about? What is their hope for the future?

Phase 4: The Venturing

Eventually, there must come a time when the protag leaves the shelter, and come back to the world. It could be because they have run out of a vital resource and have no choice. It could be to fulfil a personal mission, like finding a loved one left behind in The Collapse, or it could be that the outside world has, in some way, breached the shelter and made it no longer safe.

Whatever pushes them out into the world, this becomes a nightmarish trial period with a survival rate nearly as low as The Collapse. Life in the shelter had rules that were different but familiar. The rules in the outside world have now become completely foreign, even alien. We may no longer be on top of the food chain. We no longer understand the threats or what to watch out for, or know any of the tricks for survival.

The Venturing is a brutal deep-end dive into a world where dying is very easy. It is all about, as stated in the recently released movie “Love and Monsters”, making mistakes and being lucky enough to survive them. A trial by fire. It may also be a period in which more world-wise allies appear to befriend and help the protag stumble through.

This is also when the writer really gets to show the color of the new world they’ve created. The danger, the weirdness, the thrills. It often feels hopeless, like the world is ruined forever. It is the chance to deeply immerse the audience in the strangeness and the terror.

Considerations: What pushed them out into the world? Did they want to go or are they in terror and denial? Is there something they need or want to accomplish or are they simply running for their lives? What thread of direction or purpose are they clinging to? How do they know where to go? What have they found vs what they expected to find? What are they giving up when they leave? What are they able to take with them? Did the leaving make them any enemies? Will it be there for them to go back to? How has life in the shelter or life in the world before prepared them for survival or set them up for terrible mistakes? What unexpected and less obvious dangers are out there?

Phase 5: Adaptation

After nearly being killed a bunch of times, having missteps, there is a point where things begin to turn slightly in the protagonists’ favor. It may be a small victory, or remembering how something that nearly killed them before can now be avoided. It might begin with a large unlikely victory, after which the previous dangers seem smaller and more manageable. It might be that a mentor appears,, or their allies help them learn to survive. Either way: The protag now begins to learn the rules by which the new world operates.

And that is really what this part is about. It is about identifying and learning the tricks for survival. It is a fairly common trope for seemingly innocuous lessons learned here to foreshadow and teach points that will become vital later on.

Here the protag gains competence and confidence. They train to fight what must be fought, learn to anticipate dangers and identify solutions. This leaves the audience with the feeling that enough skill might allow someone to survive the new world. It is very much about the relationship between the protag and the new world.

Considerations: How is each danger handled? What does the protag learn from an encounter? What tools do they need in order to survive? How do they get the resources they need? How do the lessons make their travels easier? Into what kind of a mental framework are they placing these lessons? What are the exceptions toe very rule? How much time does it take them to acclimate?

Phase 6: The Flawed Approach

Now that the protags have established some kind of relationship with the new world, somewhere in their acclimation process they will encounter others. These others may be other survivors, others in shelter, or, most likely, others who have adapted in different ways to the environment.

However, there is usually a problem. Those being witnessed by the protag may have adapted in the wrong way. They may not be what they appear. The might have turned to predatory behaviors, raiding, stealing, enslaving, cannibalizing, etc. Or they may have developed the wrong lessons, lessons that will lead to disaster and conflict which they cannot foresee. They haven’t learnt some of the rules the Protag has learnt.

It may simply be that the relationship they have established with the new world is flawed in comparison to the protag’s adaptations. Perhaps they are destructive, or abusing the new fauna. It may be mimicking the flaws and crimes of the old world like animal abuse and deforestation. They may be wanting to reestablish the old world, mimicking the extinct society. Either way, The protag may soon realize that their own path is better. Enemies may be established, who want to prey upon the protag’s old home, or maybe abusing or destroying the new world that the protag has come to respect in some way, and it forces the protag to make a choice.

Considerations: How did this group survive the collapse? how have they survived in the mean time? What are they willing to do for their benefit? What are they fighting for and what do they want? Is it just survival or are they now hoping to fulfil greed or conquest-based desires? What about their situation caused them or allowed them to develop these unhealthy adaptations? How will they view the protagonist when they meet? Have their goals adapted, and what were their initial goals? What did they do and who were they before the collapse?

Phase 7: Achieving Mastery

Finally we have the achievement of mastery over the environment. This may come from a revelation about the Others, or a revelation about the protag’s self. They may have to accept something they have been resisting the entire story. It may even involve the realization of a rule exception, where it turns out this is the one time NOT to follow a key rule established in the Adaptation phase. It may be that they abandon the old goals, things to fight for and work towards, and decide on new ones.

The others may ask the protag to join them, perhaps recognizing their skill and knowledge of the new world, but the protag usually denies the temptation of the comfortable return and denounces the flawed way of living, leading to the final conflict.

The conflict is more than just a battle… it is where the protag leaves behind merely surviving, and becomes a master of the environment. Especially in battling the Others, but really when fighting any opponent, they know enough to avoid the dangers they have encountered before and now weaponize those dangers to achieve their victory. They may establish rapport with something that tried to kill them before. In any case the world has become their ally against more ignorant foes.

The protag rallies the forces and allies they have met, and even been threatened by, to face the new REAL threat posed by the others.

By the end, the protagonist has not only conquered their enemies, altered their own perceptions, and rewritten their story, but has also suggested to the audience that the terrifying new world isn’t actually all that bad once you learn the rules.

Considerations: What truth is the protagonist forced to accept? What signs leading to the point of decision-making did they not see? How does that moment change their goals? How will they use the environment now to their advantage? How will the enemies respond to those dangers? What lesson had to be ignored for the revelation to occur? What lessons became vital to their victory? What is the protagonist now fighting for? What does their victory mean for the new world? What new future are they going to be able to work towards?

Conclusion

It is true that not all apocalyptic stories will follow this exact pattern, but then, that is why we learn what the patterns are, so we can reshape and contort them to suit our needs, and into something the audience hasn’t necessarily seen before, while still invoking the same feelings of adventure, nostalgia, hope, freedom, terror, loneliness, and whatever else moves is and our audiences.

If you have any thoughts on the subject, or want me to analyze any particular story using this structure, please post a comment below or send me a message!

See you next world!

—Charles