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Q&A How important is the apocalypse in a post-apocalyptic story?

I am writing a story set after an apocalyptic event that has left only 0.1% of the world population intact. I originally wrote a zombie-like apocalypse but simplified it to a plague-like disease, a...

3 answers  ·  posted 6y ago by Edgar Gordon‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T10:42:23Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/41616
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar Edgar Gordon‭ · 2019-12-08T10:42:23Z (almost 5 years ago)
I am writing a story set after an apocalyptic event that has left only 0.1% of the world population intact. I originally wrote a zombie-like apocalypse but simplified it to a plague-like disease, as I felt the images of crazed zombies were pointless in a story that is about the rebuilding of civilisation.

In writing the first chapter and getting the setup done, I wonder how much detail is really required. I want to have my character emptying his town of the dead. I want new characters to be introduced over time as the group grows and have a voice in the narrative. Should I be explaining everyone's backstory even though they are talking about events 30 or 40 years after it all happened?

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2019-01-25T22:16:59Z (almost 6 years ago)
Original score: 6