Writing about the apocalypse

[blunder1983]

I'm thinking of writing a story, much in the vein of fallout but updated to present day (so less of the scorched earth and mutants, more deranged humans, nuclear winters and terrorists).

Trouble is I dont know much about nukes. I'm thinking of setting it in New Zealand (which is unlikely to be bombed) and after nasty raiders ruin the heroes time he heads to auz and finds the stereotypical abandoned labs, gunslinging wildwest type places and a potential salvation of mankind.

But the thorny problem of surviving nuclear fallout and nuclear winter keeps raising its ugly head? Any suggestions as to how to bypass it? Other disasters? Special scenarios?

Sorry about the threads location, i didnt know if it fell into general, fallout or fanfic threads.

 

[Tempistfury]

The easiest solution here is to do some research into what scientists think a Nuclear Winter will do to us all. Because after all, we haven't ruined eachother's shit yet... unless there was some memo I didn't get, in which case we should probably be looking for our power armor and not worrying about writing fiction.

Anyways, If you're going to set the story in a location thats not going to get nuked (or didn't get nuked) keep in mind that fallout can be spread via winds. Also think about what would happen if a modern day island wa suddenly cut off from the world. (Lack of global communications.) Just don't forget that its your fiction piece. If you're concerned about factual accuracy, then do some simple research into the subject, it usually doesn't take more than a half hour.