User blog comment:Tyberzannisultra/I need your opinion!/@comment-5239282-20140413000401/@comment-5239282-20140413234211

BTW, finally finished writing down a few key ideas. Hope you like, but here it goes:

Now, if it were up to me, the end-of-the-world would be wrought by some divine entity. Dealing with supernatural entities that aren't confined to earth adds a whole new layer of existential horror. And unlike zombies and all that, the destruction would be unpreventable, irreversible, and inescapable. We've been shown countless times before God's (theoretical) power -- look at Sodom and Gomorrah's destruction by fire and brimstone. We should have no doubts that if God exists as It does in the Bible, It should be capable of delivering destruction equal to that on a world-wide scale. Again, this hits home for readers who do have faith.

That said, since we want to have at least two principle characters, let’s scale down the area of effect. Let's say it only ruins everything but Canada (or whatever country you want to use). It would make a lot more sense to include one country. Travel between continents is as unlikely as it would be messy, and even a journey cross-country is next to impossible without reliable support that simply isn't there, given the circumstances. At least, if you want to make it a “true” wasteland without modern transportation like airplanes and cars and all that. Building a small, man-made boat would be feasible to, say, cross a body of water, but if we’re traversing the Pacific Ocean… well, you get the idea.

But you also have to consider what the geography will be like. “Wasteland” can have many possible definitions. Think of a dystopian concrete jungle; a desolate “winter wonderland” constantly being scoured by freezing wind; or a barren desert environment littered with ruins of Wal-marts and skyscrapers. The possibilities are endless, limited only by what you want earth to be destroyed by. Chances are, if fire and brimstone are involved, it’ll be a hot trek for our dear protagonist. Personally, I’d prefer God’s lightning. Which is actually likely, considering you want fragments of the internet to still exist. The lightning in question could very well have fried the majority of electronics available, meaning precious data would be lost. A fortunate few (including the protagonist and his friend) still have access to dawn-of-the-age internet, obviously.

Finally, you said the protagonist was to be loveable and relatable, yeah? Consider this.

Loss of faith is a common theme in both literature and real life. As I’ve said before, much of your audience will come from some sort of religious upbringing. Use this; say the protagonist is a practicing Christian with a deep fear of God before earth’s destruction. He is trapped in the pit of denial, and absolutely refuses to believe that the apocalypse was caused by God. He is the reality check – it’s how you and I would feel in this scenario. And like you and I, he’d get a grip and come to terms with himself, resolving that God abandoned him a long time ago. You’ll speak to a lot of people who have lost their faith this manner (well, not as extreme, but you get the idea). A scene in “La Chiesa” (horror movie I doubt you’ve seen) depicts a clergy’s collar falling into water, symbolizing a loss of faith. Similar imagery can be used to depict a similar message at the end.

If you use that, consider even making his friend a “born again” Christian with a troubled past. Prostitution and drug abuse are totally up to you. Bear in mind, however, rape is a bit too touchy. Maybe it’s abusive parents. Gathering from our own conversations, let’s say she was terrified by the doctrine of hellfire. Either way, our protagonist “found” her, took her in, and transformed her in unimaginable ways. He doesn’t want to lose that ‘’precious’’ connection. For once, he wants to meet her in the flesh; not behind some avatar. That’s his greatest driving force, and ultimately, love proves to be his trump card. And he’ll succeed in meeting her. And hopefully, he knows how to speak with ‘’the dead.’’ Again, her fate is entirely up to you, but that’d be a great goddamn ending. Just imagine:

“Hey… Um, anybody got an Ouija board? .-.”

Moving on, if the apocalypse was directed by God, chances are there would be a great toll on surviving humans. Taking in what I’ve said about a “mental illness” subplot, an exertion of God’s destructive power could’ve had a drastic effect on the human mind. Perhaps the protagonist (and everybody else for that matter) suffers from illusions, or maybe they can’t process thoughts or comprehend concepts as good anymore. Hell, if we witnessed something as powerful as God’s thunder, would we not be blinded from such a brilliant flash? A mixture of physical and mental shortcomings can intensify the protagonist’s desperation and suffering, establishing a line of sympathy between him and the reader. Add deep, incessant sorrow through the eyes of the protagonist and you have an atmosphere so drearily depressing, it’ll make the richest man in the world jump off a mountain of gold.

... Keep in mind this is copy/pasted entirely from a document, so if it doesn't make sense in the context of a blog post, my apologies. ;p