How to Destroy the World: An Author's Guide to Writing Dystopia and Post-Apocalypse

by A. Trevena

Want to write dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction, but don't know where to start?

Need guidance worldbuilding the future? Not sure if you're evil enough?

How to Destroy the World breaks the genres down into easy-to-follow steps. By completing a series of creative prompts, this book will guide you from your initial idea, to your bleak, brutal future.

This workbook will help you to:
* Create a believable and immersive vision of the future
* Hit the genre markers your readers will be looking for
* Use worldbuilding to increase tension and conflict in your story
* Create exciting character arcs to get your readers hooked

Work your way through prompts designed to build your knowledge and confidence of these growing genres. Learn how to tear your world apart, and how to write characters capable of rebuilding it.

Get How to Destroy the World today, and start rewriting the future.

Genres: Writing

94 pages, Paperback

Published March 16, 2020

About the author

Angeline Trevena was born and bred in a rural corner of Devon, but now lives among the breweries and canals of central England with her husband, their two sons, and a rather neurotic cat. She is a dystopian urban fantasy and post-apocalyptic author, a podcaster, and events manager.

In 2003 she graduated from Edge Hill University, Lancashire, with a BA Hons Degree in Drama and Writing. During this time she decided that her future lay in writing words rather than performing them.

Some years ago she worked at an antique auction house and religiously checked every wardrobe that came in to see if Narnia was in the back of it. She's still not given up looking for it.

Reviews

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Beneficial Read for Dystopian Writers!

Great book that helps dystopian and post apocalyptic writers expand their thought processes in creating a more realistic world. A. Trevena covers a lot of ground to help get the writer to dig down into the dirt of what their torn up world might look like. She brings up so many ideas and points to consider from governments, to technologies, to disasters, war, human nature. She does not, and can not, supply a specific structure or archetype for a myriad of futuristic worlds, because the direction any writer can take and build from are as endless as the imagination. She gives a ton of examples and possible scenarios of what could be happening in your dystopian world, and how certain conditions can affect many other aspects of various types of futuristic worlds.

This book helped expand the thinking process for my current WIP and reminding of the interconnectivity of small changes to big, old world to new, and even old-world thinking in comparison to those who never knew or do not remember the old, etc. Many subtle intricacies to consider. How to Destroy the World is one of my most highlighted writer's craft books and I highly recommend it!

[Alyssa Kuron · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this guide. It covered a lot of ground and helped me brainstorm and flesh out so many ideas. The 30 days of World Building workbook by the same author is an excellent companion as well.

My main criticism (and the reason for only four stars) is I truly wish there were more examples within. There are a couple peppered throughout but I found so many instances where I was jotting down my own examples to keep some of the concepts straight and thought it could have been beneficial to have some listed. Maybe there is some licensing reason why they can’t be, but thinking back over decades of dystopian, post-apocalyptic and disaster books, movies and television shows, it just could’ve drilled the messages in a bit further. Only a minor criticism because of course most of us reading this book probably know the genres fairly well! Just my two cents :) honestly this was a fantastic book and one I will come back to many many times!

[Juan Camilo Velandia Quijano · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting something very different…

When I read this was “a guide”, I was expecting like a step-by-step description of how to write a dystopian / post-apocalyptic story. Instead, what I found was a description of the different combinations you can find and some tips about it, some are very repetitive and some are tropes, on genre markers, like a milestone along a route, as the author described the,. They’re two or three lines long each, not really “a guide” to follow. Still, it was nice to refresh some of the concepts I already knew and see a different perspective through the eyes of the author. But it wasn’t enough for me.

[James Geary · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent guide to planning out your dystopian or post-apocalyptic story from multiple angles, considering everything from causes and immediate consequences of a disaster to the social effects of the world you've created, all from the perspective of weaving them into a story that readers will want to follow to its conclusion. Definitely a handy workbook to have for referencing and brainstorming that I'll be using in future.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a decent book full of ideas on how to create your own dystopia. It's full of suggestions to help you with building your world. It takes a broad point of view to act as a guide rather than provide detailed examples.

[Family account · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

Loved this world building book on dystopians! Great tips and techniques! Author gives great ideas to make dystopian worlds more believable and real.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This work gives some logical and interesting paths to creating the End Times of a campaign or story, post End Times, or just some collapsing civilization scenarios. Good stuff, check it out.

[Steven Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a thin quick read. There are a few good ideas in this book and might be a good source for ideas later. If you write post-apocalyptic stories you might take a look at this book.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Covers basic topics of the genres.

[Nigel Perels · Rating 5 out of 5]

A competent manual on world-building and, in this case, destroying fictional worlds. A useful text book for not only the author, but also the curious reader, written by an expert in the field. As I have come to expect, an excellent reference work.