Phenomena in Fiction: A Tool for Writing Earth Shattering Events

We see the big blockbuster movies often going for the major phenomenon. The asteroid are going to hit the earth. The volcanoes are going to sweep over a major city. The hurricananes are killing dozens of innocents. It is the classic man vs nature conflict; a conflict which has been told for thousands of years. This article will highlight how you too can write stories with major, earth shattering events in them.

Consider studying the history of the planet. Obviously that would take a lifetime, but we can use the major events to spearhead our story. Consider reading stories in the Bible for ideas on how things can happen. God turned a city into stone. God sent the flood. God tore down the Tower of Babel, and made language. Or we could remember when God parted the Red Sea for Moses. These are all major phenomena, and not just because God was involved. They impacted humanity. Some of the stories may have some truth to them if you watch The History Channel enough. Another good resource for the basic man vs nature conflict is the Sci-Fi Channel. Here constant battles with Mother Nature can be found. They can be the basic "X-Files" type of theme, with aliens causing Mother Nature to change.

What we should do is understand the basic man vs nature conflict. Man will win in most of the stories because happy endings sell better. The writer should keep that in mind, but any rule can be broken if done the right way. Consider a character sacrificing themselves to save others. Or a human altering Mother Nature or the galaxy. The fact is, many top selling novels have to do with the famous Atlantis story. Was there ever an Atlantis? If there was, what happened to it?

Civilizations throughout time have been battling Mother Nature. A historical fiction piece could focus on such an event; a disease running rampant through Europe (the plague), or one ending civilizations in the New World (like the Incas and Aztecs).

Characters will still be the focus, whether the story is in the New World or Atlantis. The writer has to find a way for the character to either win or lose, and do so with merit. A short story could help flesh out the general idea; we will see the problems our phenomena will have on the story as well as the characters.

When you are short on ideas, read the newspapers. Tsunamis happen constantly in Asia. Earthquakes are common in California. All these could be topics to discuss.

So the next time you write of Mother Nature and man in their old duel, consider studying history books, the Bible, and even a common newspaper. Man has the problem of finding himself in many odd places, and that is what even fiction is all about.