A Newbie Dystopian Author's Reference Books

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Aug 05, 2022

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I have never huddled over a lonely stretch of highway as a nefarious group of criminals fired their semi-automatic weapons at me—and yet that’s exactly what I needed to write about today.

Thank goodness I sat in a comfy chair as I wrote this little adventure.

That scene had several situations or items I’m unfamiliar with. I needed to figure out approximately where this stretch of road was, who my nefarious people were going to be, and what weapons they would use.

The places in the series What Used to be Arkansas (the book I’m writing at the moment) are in that state. Since it is a real place, with some of my own modifications, I use Google Maps to look the area over. I especially like to use the walking view to get a feel for the area, if I haven’t been there.

The nefarious people came from my imagination. Their weapons are what they would have if an end of the world event happened right now.

I have handled a gun twice—with much instruction. I am a complete novice and know little to nothing about makes and models.For that I turn to a book, The Writer’s Guide to Weapons by Benjamin Sobieck. It gives me everything I need to know when I want to get specific about the way a weapon looks, acts, and even how to wear it.

Another book that has been helpful is The Self-sufficient Backyard by Ron and Johanna Melchiore. I actually ordered this homesteading book for me, but have found it useful for writing too.

I grew up in rural Ohio. We had chickens, cats, dogs, and even a rescued chipmunk. We also had a very large garden with all that entails. Friends had goats, pigs, horses, cows, and more so I’m somewhat familiar. I’ve walked fields and danced in a barn and done a hundred other things that declared me country.

But there are still those nagging questions when I write a story. Perhaps I want an answer about solar power, or how to set up a root cellar. This book has got it.

Every author, every genre, will have different reference books. If I wrote romance or fantasy or even hard sci-fi, I’d need a different set of books.

In order to write good stories, you need to read good books. Sometimes they will be genre books, sometimes craft books, and sometimes informational books.

What I’m reading now . . .

I just finished reading Until the End of the World by Sarah Lyons Fleming. I really liked it so I thought I’d recommend that to you. It is a zombie book but is also character driven. It has all the things you expect in a post-apocalyptic. It is a first in series.

If you are interested in reading it, you can find it on Amazon. It is $2.99, which is a great book 1 price. It is also in Kindle Unlimited, which is what I used, and it is in audiobook.

Yesterday, my grandson proudly showed me the biggest watermelon in his garden. It seems to be coming along very well as you can see in the picture above. :)