I think most "drama" or even "action" related writers consider writing "what if?" stories at some point. Actually, probably all writers consider it at some point... Anyway, I was wondering how wide an appeal alternate history stories have for the DD authors and if you could do a what if in the future (oooh, pun!), what would you change to make an interesting story? Would you go large scale (what if the South won the U.S. Civil War? What if China never became communist?) or pick one seemingly small event that rippled out to eventually change the world (what if the assassination of Franz Ferdinand was prevented? Or what if the Summer of Love didn't happen until the 1980s?)?

I already know the what ifs I'd try, so don't think I'm fishing for ideas. lol!

Also, are you of the train of thought that changing one event leads to more changes -- domino theory, etc? Or do you hold another perspective?

Thanks!

Well.
I actually have considered it.

Like, what if the Japanese didn't bomb Pearl Harbor?
What if Germany never was a world power?

It's always fun to consider these things.
And yes, I believe in the domino theory.

Like say for instance, if World War 2 were to never have happened.
Say America could've negotiated with Japan and Germany, a whole war could've been prevented, and we probably would've gotten to a better spot in World peace faster.

But that's just my idea.

I don't rewrite history persay, I more as write history that is possible, but wouldn't effect mainstream history.

Not particulary. XD There's so many things you have to consider...

I would love to do alternative history - in fact, I've got a couple of novel-ideas on the backburner that are alternative history - but unfortunately, I never have the time to deal with them, because something like that demands a whole lot of research (for example; if Franz Ferdinand hadn't been assassinated, what would have prompted the first world war? Would there have been a first world war, or would it have been a smaller war? How would the world of politics look if he was still alive? What would happen to Gavrilo Princip if he was arrested and convicted for attempt to murder rather than outright murder? Would Yugoslavian Nationalism be as strong if Franz Ferdinand hadn't died, and Princip had succeeded in committing suicide? Etc., etc.)

Instead, I tend to resort to steampunk - I like the steampunk visuals and ideas in general, and that means I can pick a period of history and closely mimic it, without copying straight from the source.

Ryuthehedgewolf
Say America could've negotiated with Japan and Germany, a whole war could've been prevented ...

Not quite! The Second World War had already been raging across Europe, North Africa and Asia for a couple of years before the US finally decided to enter the fray. If they had negotiated a peace with the Axis powers, therefore, the outcome would almost certainly have been changed but the war wouldn't have been prevented. Still ... an interesting scenario for an "alternative history", nevertheless.

dueeast
Anyway, I was wondering how wide an appeal alternate history stories have for the DD authors ...

I think we're all always playing with "what ifs", whatever genre we're writing in. The alternate history angle is fascinating but would require far too much research for me to be able to do it properly on the grand scale. Writing a historical "what if" story for an individual character has some appeal but, if I'm going to play with "big picture" stuff, I'd rather create my own world with my own rules and have the events only loosely mirror those of the real world.

dueeast
what if the assassination of Franz Ferdinand was prevented?

World War 1 would have still happened. Franz Ferdinand was just the straw that broke the camel's back, you could say. Hell, even the prevention might have made the war start.

My question is one people have been asking for a while. See, Hitler's mother was originally going to have an abortion until the doctor talker her out of it. If I went back in time and gave him a cold before he could do so, what would the world be like today?

It depends on what you want out of a story...

With the scale that I tell Pinky TA I have to do an alternate history world. There's no other place a story like that would fit. It's either that or do future or an alien world and neither of those appeal because they mean I can't use any pre-existing structures as easily (counties, styles of architecture, weapons military uniforms. I like making stuff up, but i also like using ready made things from the real world :)

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if Hitler's mum had an abortion, then she wouldn't even be notable enough for you to think about her. History would probably be so entirely different that even mentioning something as irrelevant as the Hitler family would be a meaningless distraction ;)

I re-write all things in my stories. History is one of the biggies. I think I am entertaining myself, more than anybody. Hades is a civil war type of supernatural western, and, although I will draw from important real civil war battles and events, it is totally alien in everything else. Maybe someday, I will get the time, and be blessed enough to do an accurate, historical piece.

I more interested in characters. If placing them in an alternate history makes the character interactions more interesting, then it's a good story. There really is no particular genre to which I'm drawn. Sci-Fi, Alt-Hist, Drama, they're all fun playgrounds to play in.

Aussie_kid
My question is one people have been asking for a while. See, Hitler's mother was originally going to have an abortion until the doctor talker her out of it. If I went back in time and gave him a cold before he could do so, what would the world be like today?

We-ell.. World War II would have probably have happened either way - Hitler was merely the tip of the iceberg that was the Nationalist Party, and it was Heinrich Himmler who orchestrated the Final Solution of the Jewish Question, as they called it, but it might have taken longer, and it might not have been quite as severe. History rarely hinges on a single person.

But if we ask another question - what if WWII had never happened? The lives of millions of people and the reorganisation of countries aside - there wouldn't have been the same immediate "need" for the atomic bomb, which means that the discoveries made during the Manhattan project wouldn't have been made - or, at least, they would have been delayed - which means that we would be behind in our technological evolution.

I'm not an alternate reality fan. I don't really like to play with historical things or sci-fi stuff either. (I've tried but my heart wasn't in it.) If I was to play with an idea of "alternate history" it would be on a small, personal scale -- a "what if" change of the history of a particular character (fictional, not real/historical). Like what if two characters met before they did, what if someone had chosen a different career path, etc. -- Sometimes I think about that stuff in shows/movies/books I like or in stories I'm writing. I like the idea of "parallel canon."

I have a hard time with things like alternative history or alternate universes. My mind tends to pick out the illogicalities and inconsistencies in them and wave them in my face to the point that I'm more distracted by that stuff than watching or reading the actual story. I drive people nuts when I watch and read the stuff because of it. I can't imagine trying to write such a story myself. If I did it would never be finished because I'd spend forever making it perfectly logical and consistent.

I suppose the questions I'd most like to consider would be the stories of how those events got changed or became different. Or even better yet, something like the storyline of the game Assassins Creed.

I love history, alternate history, and weird history. I don't mind doing research. The key to researching something like that is to keep in mind that you're already changing history somehow, hyper-accuracy isn't a necessity.

I'm currently working on a weird history set during the Napoleonic Wars and originally drove myself nuts trying to nail down every last detail of everything. Eventually I decided that evoking the feel of the period was more important than making sure that the battlefields were all accurate down to a single blade of grass.

The thing is, when you get down to it, every non-comedic story (and even some comedies) set in the real world is an alternate history, unless it purports to be a true story. :)

It's like once this woman said "I just can't read fantasy, I find it too hard to suspend disbelief." - that's inherently moronic since you "suspend disbelief" for almost all the stories you read. That she would have a harder time in some genres speaks seriously about her own deficiencies and not the concept of the material itself. (Unless the only fantasy she ever read was really badly written. In that case it was just a really dumb thing for her to say).

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The thing we're talking about here isn't the fact of whether you do it or not really, it's more about the scale of the changes you make, or have to make. :)

That's a great point, Ozone! I hadn't thought of that. :)

ozoneocean
The thing is, when you get down to it, every non-comedic story (and even some comedies) set in the real world is an alternate history, unless it purports to be a true story. :)

It's like once this woman said "I just can't read fantasy, I find it too hard to suspend disbelief." - that's inherently moronic since you "suspend disbelief" for almost all the stories you read. That she would have a harder time in some genres speaks seriously about her own deficiencies and not the concept of the material itself. (Unless the only fantasy she ever read was really badly written. In that case it was just a really dumb thing for her to say).

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The thing we're talking about here isn't the fact of whether you do it or not really, it's more about the scale of the changes you make, or have to make. :)

I prefer looking to the future.

But history? I wouldnt mind setting the story in a historical time period. The only rule is that nothing happens that totally alters the course of history.

I don't rewrite history myself, but I do like it when others do it.

A great example is the Boondocks Martin Luther King episode. What would happen if he never died and just went into a 30 year coma. Awesome.

That's just my personal preference, though.

kyupol
I prefer looking to the future.

But history? I wouldnt mind setting the story in a historical time period. The only rule is that nothing happens that totally alters the course of history.

When you're working in a historical period, try approaching it as if it's the present, not the past. It makes trying to avoid problems like paradoxes or massive historical alterations much less of a problem. Especially when you're already working with an alternate history, it doesn't matter if history turns out the same as long the story is interesting.

Even future stories are alternate histories because all future becomes past eventually. Look at 2001 or Nineteen Eight Four.