snowynight

While the concept of apocalypse has been nothing new since the biblical time, the World Wars II has cemented the true fear in people that humanity now has the capacity to destroy itself, and there seems to be nothing that can stop it. Popular culture has been obsessed with the death of civilization as we know it ever since then, and created a lot of good and not so good work, so this post may be useful when you write your story.

Common Tropes in apocalypse story
After the End is obviously the necessary trope as you write about well, the End of the World. Apocalypse stories are also generally bleak, and feature the Downer Ending. Death is often cheap and there's no guarantee the humanity can survive it.

Choices, Choices
First, you should decide how the world is going to end. Nuclear winter was big in 1950s, and with the current state of politics it may come back very soon. Destruction can come from the deeper space, as the meteor rain in Russia shows that humans 're far unable to predict this kind of cosmic incidents. Aliens have always been big too since H. G. Well coins the phrase "The war to end all wars". And of course zombies. Supernatural apocalypse is always here in the Western psyche. It can also comes from humanity itself, as their technology and hubris lead to the end. Or you may decide not to tell your readers and let them "discover" the nature of the disasters.

Then you can decide when your story is set. It can be apocalypse now, a distant time after the event or even millennium. each can provide different story narration chances, obviously.

Pitfalls
Research, research, research. Apocalypse stories are very, very common, If you want to write an apocalypse story, be aware that you have a lot of competition. You'll have to make yours unique and good.
Perhaps the largest challenge is to put effort into your world building that inaccuracies won't struck out and ruin immersion.

Writers' Lounge
Suggested Themes and Aesops
Apocalypse stories often have strong themes of social breakdown, to examine what people can and will do when they are stripped of the comfort provided by civilization. Our history shows that it can be the best and the worse time for humanity. It also can remark on the vulnerabilities and helplessness of humanity toward death.

Plot Suggestions
A lot of apocalypse stories have the main character to be an one man army walking the Earth. But what about a group of people trying to protect a place and rebuild their life? It can help the story to end with hope, or a case aka Lord of Flies. Humans after all can be their worse enemies. We don't have the Hollywood special effect, but we can go explore how apocalypses shape our characters. Deconstruct the action hero saving the day trope. Have more diversity in your survivors and examine how they face their unique challenges. Set your story in a historical, fantasy or far future setting, or even another planet.

How to maximize the hurt/comfort potential

Apocalypse reveals the human side. For those who enjoy more the hurt potential along the spectrum, it's a great chance to let your characters suffer. They will need to survive the unfriendly nature, the evil in humanity and whatever's causing apocalypse and as life is unfair, they won't even get a cookie for survival. It's a good chance to see what your characters're made of, what they really care, and break them. For people along the comfort spectrum, a small kindness can be very effective in this kind of stories, as a gesture of civilization inside our hearts.

Fic rec

Staring Down the Barrel by

zillah975   (The Losers, gen) Summary: In which there are unexpected reunions, a plot to end the world, a certain amount of gunfire, and a great many questions.

    Not every question has an answer.

    But then, not every question needs one.

Fireless by

lalaietha (Calvin & Hobbes, gen) Summary:Then [Su] turned back to the window and leaned out of it. "Calvin," she said, like an invocation of doom.

The Hard Prayer by

Rheanna (Stargate: Atlantis, Mckay/Sheppard) Summary: One year after the end of the world, John meets another survivor.

Opinions? Questions? Suggestions?

A is for Apocalypse
B is for Betrayal
C is for Combat
D is for Death
E is for Exhaustion
F is for Failure
G is for Grief
H is for Horror
I is for Information
J is for job
K is for Knifing
L is for Loss
M is for Murder
N is for Nature
O is for Outlaws
P is for Poison
Q is for Quirt
R is for Recovery
S is for Suffering
T is for Torture
U is for Undead
V is for Vendetta
W is for Warden
X is for X-Ray
Y is for Yearning
Z is for Zabernism