Making a Plan

In week 2 of lockdown, I found myself shuffling around mid-morning, still in my trackies and slippers, and not actually doing much. Picking up, putting down, not achieving anything. Then I realised that if I just go and get dressed and make a plan for the day, I can do a lot more. Now I have things I do each day - walk the dog, have a swim, write. They are the most important. Anything else is incidental. Then, on Facebook, a challenge to put up a favourite book cover each day reminded me of some of the post-apocalyptic novels I had read, and how they had influenced my thinking.

I’m not into horror, per se, or alien stories, but I do enjoy reading about overcoming adversity with love and compassion. The first recognised post-apocalyptic book was written by Mary Shelley (she also wrote ‘Frankenstein’) in 1826, about a plague which destroys the population. Since then post-apocalyptic has become a sub-genre in the science fiction fold.

Here is a list of some of the books from that genre that I have read over the last however many years. All good yarns, all well written, and all completely different.

‘On the Beach’ by Nevil Shute

‘The Crysalids’ by John Wyndham

‘A Year of Wonders’ by Geraldine Brooks

‘The Road’ by Cormac McCarthy

‘Wool’ (the Silo trilogy) by Hugh Howey

‘Station Eleven’ by Emily St John Mandel

‘The Dog Runner’ by Bren McDibble

The one that had the most profound effect on me was ‘The Road’.  Spare, tightly written, and harrowing, but a story of love of a father for his son. It’s not a virus or plague that has caused the misery; the land is covered with dust and nothing grows. They have a plan - they are moving south.

In each of the books, a plan develops that gives a structure to the days, weeks, months for the protagonists. A plan that gets them to the end of the adversity that besets them and leads them to a better place.  A plan keeps you moving.