LTUE 32 - Disease and Epidemics Class - Thursday, February 13th, 9:00am

Welcome to the Peppermint House!

Today I will be posting the notes from my Disease and Epidemics class that I took at the Life, The Universe, and Everything writers conference.

The class panel included Authors:
Daniel Coleman: https://twitter.com/dnlcoleman
Chersti Nieveen: https://twitter.com/chersti
Diann T. Read: https://twitter.com/DiannTRead
Johnny Worthen: https://twitter.com/JohnnyWorthen

Check them out, it was quite an entertaining, and intelligent panel.

The notes I took are a series of questions that they answered to help further the knowledge of those who attended. Enjoy!

LTUE 32 – Day 1 – 9:00am

Disease and Epidemics

*Why? Why are we, as humans, so enthralled with diseases that would wipe out an entire race of creatures?, 

First, we need to understand that most of these diseases, and epidemics, began small. Spreading from one person to another. Either through the touching of the same object, touching each other, or spreading it through coughing and sneezing, some ways new diseases may be recognized.

When writing a military novel, your main concerns are for your troops. If you're writing a historic military novel, you need to remember that the deaths aren't just about physical wounds, but also about death by illness, or inability to fight because they're sick. Before WWII, more troops died because of illnesses such as: Typhoid Fever, or Hepatitis, or biological warfare using Anthrax. They weren't dying as often from physical wounds, as they were from diseases.

A disease or epidemic IS NOT the apocalypse, or else you wouldn't have a story, but it is closely related. It's a dread or doom. They're insidious devices in our culture. Sometimes we know it's coming, and we get ready for the consequences, but most of the time we don't know. It acts like the hand of God, or hand of Fate. Picking off anyone and everyone, no one knows why some people die, and why others don't.

Even though now, in this day and age, we're in pretty good shape, we're still scared of these unseen, unpredictable, and unreasonable forces. Everyone, knowingly or not, is waiting for the next big illness.

Villains, on the other hand, are realistic, or insidious. But with a disease, you have something you can't see, something that you can't physically fight, something you can't punch in the face.

*What real diseases and epidemics make good fiction? How can you mix reality?

Read stories of survivors from the Black Plague. You'll see that it was a leveling device. It didn't matter if you were rich or poor, healthy or lame, it found everyone. It was around that time that the middle class was established, when kings were brought down because the peasants realized that they were human. The Black Plague brought everyone to a common level.

Make any disease you have created contagious, because that can be a rich form of characterization that you wouldn't otherwise be able use for something like a disease.

Historic Military – Dysentery killed more troops than combat did up until WWII and the Korean War. It wasn't a deliberate enemy attack, it was the situation they were living in, the primitive environment, the conditions, the water.

You also want to always consider the grievousphere when creating a disease. Those who will be affected, whether directly or indirectly. The family, the friends, your neighbors.

*How would you suggest approaching this genre in your own writing?

-Create a new twist, make it your own.

-Compare what your disease is similar to, do your research.

-Approach the topic in a new way.

*Natural disaster vs. disease as a weapon.

Disease is so personal. Many writers don't handle it right unless they've done their research. Where as natural disasters aren't as personal, it's all about numbers. How many people died, what was affected? If it's a disease you generally know someone involved, someone who's been infected. It's an unknown killer.

A disease versus natural disaster can be compared in the way it impacts the culture, and fear levels of those involved. Where natural disasters can be quick and sudden, and a society can be made ready for it to happen, an epidemic can happen slowly with no notice, and possibly not be stopped.

*What is the different between fiction and real life, and what is our responsibility as writers?

In real life, natural disasters can spawn illnesses that may have been kept dormant, and move illnesses from one area to another. Things like water contamination that is moved can trigger a wide spread disease.

An authors responsibility in handling a created disease or epidemic is to treat it with respect. If you've done your research, and you know that it's possible, you need to realize that it is literally a crime against humanity.

Diseases can be dropped into water supplies with warheads, creating massive areas of affect.

Much research can be seen in games, like Civilization. And history shows us that, before the whites landed and invaded the America's there were an estimated 100,000,000 natives living here. After a fairly short amount of time, 90% of the Native Americans had been killed because of diseases that the whites had brought with them.

Back around the 16^th century there was something called the “Little Ice Age”. When the plagues hit America, and killed millions of the native Americans that lived here, leaving land that used to be regularly tended, and taken care of, to sit and die. When that happened, among other areas freezing quickly because of their own “ice ages”, plants and trees were moved from the north, Canada, to America. When people die fast in an area, and it's not being taken care of, the environment will change.

Referenced Here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Ice_Age

*How do we as writers go about writing something like this?

Get your science right, read a lot about it! The signs and symptoms, can there be a cure? Are there people who could be naturally immune, find real stories.

Not every disease kills everyone. And figure out if it's the Antagonist, or if it's just the complication. When you make it up it turns into a character.

Remember, diseases and illnesses do not cross species very often. Do your research, find out if it can cross species. Making it a complication isn't a bad idea.

*Final words:

-Have fun! Torment your characters.

-Remember: BBC: The “golden age of antibiotics” is set to end here soon. Antibiotic diseases are becoming resistant to their medications. Work with respect knowing that what you're writing can be true. Knowing that it's possible.

-Remember: Fear, and uncertainty affect cultures. There will be survivors, how people feel, how they think about it. See how it changed the society.
-Most importantly, draw from real life.

- Remember to research about stable DNA pools. You can build a new world with 2 people, but having stable genes is different.

Suggested reading list for research:  Go to the "Recommended Reading List" tab above.                                        
(All pictures belong to their respective owners. I do not personally own any of them)