Regine Abel
asked
Eric Michael Craig:
Where do you draw inspiration as to how people would react following an incident of apocalyptic magnitude?
Eric Michael Craig
This answer contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)[This is an interesting question in reality because Stormhaven Rising and Prometheus and the Dragon (the first two books in the series) deal with how people would react facing the incident and not dealing with the after effects. Right now I am finishing up Shadows in the Flame (the third book in the series) and in this one I deal with their reactions (yeah, that is a bit of a spoiler for those that haven’t read the first two … sorry). So right now I am neck deep in reactions!
As to where I find my inspiration, I tend to draw from my 25 year marriage to my ex wife (she was a psychologist with specialization in PTSD) so I have a bit of an insight into people who are strained to the point of breaking psychologically. I also look at how people react to the aftermath of real world disasters like earthquakes and tsunami. Hurricane Katrina was a great example of what can really happen when the underpinnings of society buckle under the strain of catastrophe.
From those points of reference, it’s a fairly straight line to extrapolate human behavior in the face of a far more global and dire situation. I do try to spend my time seeing it through one set of eyes at a time, and then weaving those many perspectives into a broader tapestry that conveys the magnitude of the situation.
(hide spoiler)]
As to where I find my inspiration, I tend to draw from my 25 year marriage to my ex wife (she was a psychologist with specialization in PTSD) so I have a bit of an insight into people who are strained to the point of breaking psychologically. I also look at how people react to the aftermath of real world disasters like earthquakes and tsunami. Hurricane Katrina was a great example of what can really happen when the underpinnings of society buckle under the strain of catastrophe.
From those points of reference, it’s a fairly straight line to extrapolate human behavior in the face of a far more global and dire situation. I do try to spend my time seeing it through one set of eyes at a time, and then weaving those many perspectives into a broader tapestry that conveys the magnitude of the situation.
(hide spoiler)]
More Answered Questions
Jane Jago
asked
Eric Michael Craig:
How do you build your worlds? Seat of the pants? Careful planning? Copious notes?
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