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

Nope. You don't have to give the backstory at all. Sometimes it's just not important to the story. Do make sure the reader understands the setting, but then just tell your tale. That being said...

posted 6y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-20T00:40:36Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/41627
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T10:42:25Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/41627
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T10:42:25Z (almost 5 years ago)
Nope. You don't have to give the backstory at all. Sometimes it's just not important to the story. Do make sure the reader understands the setting, but then just tell your tale.

That being said, _you_ need to know the backstory. There will be some subtle (or maybe not so subtle) differences in how the characters act, what they do, what the world looks like, etc, all based on what actually happened in the past.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2019-01-26T05:58:56Z (almost 6 years ago)
Original score: 7