Researching for a Book

[Tinaw]

I'm researching a thriller. Quick look at the plot: The Ex-Pat will be running from a gov agent who has to get him back into the Hosp to keep him from remembering what happened to his team. As he remembers he become more of a problem for a General and a politician on the move toward the Whitehouse.
He and a woman he's found to help him, are on the run. The clues to his team members are they are preppers. Maybe in Oregon, Id or Colorado.
I need some help with questions I have. In Col they find the man who initially sent him a letter about his memory has been killed. The preppers/neighbors he lives near got his warning of "incoming militants" but couldn't save him. When Ray and Gwen show up they are "captured" and the preppers question them as to why they want to talk to The Hermit.
They must make their way West with their new clues to his team members.
Can anyone help me? I don't want to write a book and have preppers or others read it and laugh that it's incorrect.

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[GOG]

If you can be specific some folks might help. But just fyi, most folks who prep don't talk about it much, if at all.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

What questions do you have...?
While I do not consider myself to be a "Prepper"...
I do have some combat experience while having served in the Army...
I also enjoy hunting and spending time outdoors...
If there are questions about early firearms , I know a bit about them as well...

I would be happy to answer what I can...

In any event I wish you success with your novel.
Andy

 

[Tinaw]

I have to get to a meeting and Ill post my questions for a look tomorrow. Thanks for responding.

 

[CountryGent]

I would glad to help with the questions. I have written in the preparedness genre, but it was all nonfiction and tended to be focused on science and technology.

 

[zenbreath]

It sounds like the team you are describing is functioning like a resistance movement.

I would look at the structure and tasks of the WW2 underground groups of France and Poland.

 

[tac]

It sounds like the team you are describing is functioning like a resistance movement.

I would look at the structure and tasks of the WW2 underground groups of France and Poland.

And Norway.

 

[Tinaw]

No it isn't a resistance story.(2019) Its about a man who has been targeted by a gov agencey (Think the movie Shooter) The MC(main character) knows something this agency has kept him from remembering for 5 years. His memory is returning. He got a letter from one of his team and kept it secret. They've (Gov agent) figured his memory is returning since he hasn't visited the clinic. They want him in their control.
My issue is he wants his team's or others, help him to stay hidden until he can remember what it is they don't want him to remember. He has flashbacks, the woman has to help him when he has bouts with PTSD.

My idea is he is helped along the way by preppers who give him aid and things to get him from Colorado to PNW somewhere. ID, OR wherever I put him. What kind of people will he meet? You all are "normal" yet you have a set of skills that most of us don't have. You live and raise your children with a culture, I'm not familiar with but have read a book I thought was fascinating. Which is why I came up with idea. I learned there is a network of people. Maybe some more into the doomsday theory and others that just want to be left alone by the gov.

What would he/they (his has a woman who helped him get out of MN and then had to stay with him as they will take her too. ) run into as far as groups? I'd like to show there are different types of groups out there. There are wonderful families who's kids are as apt at survival as an indigenous people. That they aren't crazy (well, most aren't) that how they live and help each other is what we all should do.
What types of transportation would they provide to get them away from the allseeing eye of the Gov?
I saw a show a few years ago where couples were give a huge sum of money if they could outsmart the Gov/law to arrive at a place and retrieve the money. Only one couple did it. I see the preppers as having ways to stay out of the "eye" of media and leaving any footprint. How would I show this can be done by giving up what we all have come to rely on every day. Phone, ccards, cars with navigation in them.
Maybe I'm way off base trying to write this. Am I stepping on toes that wouldn't want others to know a secret about this kind of life? Let me know what you think.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

PTSD and "Flashbacks" can mean two different things...to many different people.

It took a long while for me not look at terrain and think of where to place my ambush or where a ambush might be...
PTSD or just a hold over of the hyper awareness that one needs to survive combat...?

Thinking back on those times in combat , even remembering sights , sounds , smells etc ...all in detail....Flashback or memory..?

How do these things affect your character...?

Do they make him more aware of his surroundings and the people in them...?
Loss of sleep...
Maybe a lack of patience with mistakes , both his and those of others...
"Survivor guilt"...
Protective...
Quiet and observing around others...
Avoidance of loud nosy places / crowds
Fully trusting only those who have also experienced combat...

These are all classic and stereotypical issues with PTSD...which may or may not be present in all who suffer from PTSD...

Looking at oneself and using what you have experienced to your advantage or betterment , instead of your detriment , is my key to dealing with these issues.

I would ask that you please try and not make your main character a stereotype of the "Dangerous Veteran" with PTSD...
PTSD and Veterans already has enough of a stigma ....another one is not needed.

Please note that I am not saying that you are indeed doing this with your main character ....but that type of character has become common in media since Vietnam....and for many folks while their war isn't "over"...they are coping with what happened , without becoming a cliche or a danger to anyone.
Andy

 

[Tinaw]

Andy
Thank you for your response. This is exactly what I'm looking for. I want to be real but not too detailed. I hear you. Since they have kept his memory from him, My "guess" he'd not experience PTSD symptoms as he has no memory of his time in battle/misson. I maybe wrong so correct me if so. I'm Thinking he's having flash backs of incidents he's experienced. They may not be horrible at first, but as they progress, the enormity of what happened is coming back to him in bits and pieces.
I think sometimes on this trip he is going to wake with these memories sweating and thrashing. At other times, they might come at inopportune times when they have to be quiet and he gets one of these and she has to have a way to calm him until its over and eventually find a way to calm him and keep him quiet if they are is a serious situation.

A guy I know has dealt with PTSD but when I asked if I could talk to him about it, he wasn't all that receptive. I think, He thinks I'm not a real writer. I am serious about it. I don't know if this is going to interest anyone but me. I'm no Tom Clancy or Vince Flynn.

The people he meets along their way will give him advice for his memories as well as survival items they will need while crossing from Co into ID. I don't know how long it would take and if it can be done on the QT so they stay a step or two in front of the Agent and her men. They will have to be "caught" but before they can be taken out of the area, the Preppers who have been following their movements from friends along the way, rescue them and get them away from her and on their way again. I'll need lots of conflicts to keep this interesting. Man against nature, man against animal, man against the Agent.

Of course they reach their destination. There will have to be a big conflict and the preppers they have befriended, as well as his team members, still alive, put up a fight. Part physical and then one steps up to confront the Agent with a threat to her to relay to her boss. Leave them alone. They have had this info for 5 years (off and on) and not let it out to the media/public. Their secret is safe as long as THEY (Gov) toe the line and stay out of their business. One more attack on the team and there is a clear order for the one with the info to contact the President and any media with the whole sordid story.

Okay have I intrigued you or am I barking up a sapling with a bear at the top?

 

[pharmseller]

Is the MC's name Jason?




P

 

[Camelfilter]

So, "the Bourne Legacy" movie, but with secret squirrel preppers helping out your protagonist?

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Well speaking from experience

Lack of sleep will affect judgement , attitude and actions...

Being on the "run" and a constant breaking of contact or evading ...will bring on stress , lack of sleep , lack of hot chow and proper hygiene , to say the least...

Firefights are nosy , brutal , confusing and not as easy to clean up afterwards as is shown in movies..

Picking up and "expertly" being able to use every weapon that comes across his way is Hollywood BS...

Survival is more a matter of mindset , then use of items or gadgets....

Mostly animals will flee from man....Hugh Glass , being an exception...LOL

Fire can keep you warm...but also give you away ...

its a good idea after resting and eating , to move on out to a different position , to sleep...and to check your back trail before moving out afterwards...

Andy

 

[Tinaw]

Is the MC's name Jason?




P

I wasn't thinking Jason. I was thinking more of Bob Lee Swagger

 

[pharmseller]

I wasn't thinking Jason. I was thinking more of Bob Lee Swagger

But it's just an alias. He can't remember his real name, which is David Webb.




P

 

[Tinaw]

Well speaking from experience

Lack of sleep will affect judgement , attitude and actions...

Being on the "run" and a constant breaking of contact or evading ...will bring on stress , lack of sleep , lack of hot chow and proper hygiene , to say the least...

Firefights are nosy , brutal , confusing and not as easy to clean up afterwards as is shown in movies..

Picking up and "expertly" being able to use every weapon that comes across his way is Hollywood BS...

Survival is more a matter of mindset , then use of items or gadgets....

Mostly animals will flee from man....Hugh Glass , being an exception...LOL

Fire can keep you warm...but also give you away ...

its a good idea after resting and eating , to move on out to a different position , to sleep...and to check your back trail before moving out afterwards...

Andy

Excellent advice. I see that i'm going to have a very LONG character sheet on my guy. explain Firefights.
I don't know that Gov Agents are well versed in backwoods survival techniques. Would my MC have any skills that would help him in this situation?
If he doesn't, would he be able to find or connect with preppers to help them?
He meets a group at the beginning when he get from MN to CO and finds his contact is dead. (not sure why but its and expert hit) the man's stuff has been ransacked and the main cabin burned to the ground by very aggressive excellerants. The preppers near by watch as the "team" leaves. When MC and woman arrive the next day, they are leery but MC tells them what he knows and they "feel" each other out for information until they trust MC and show him the shelter the man built underground. There is where all the inform about the different missions they were on are. Pictures etc. MC takes the photo of the team and tries to remember their names before looking on the back. He doesn't recognize them. He's frustrated. ok I'll stop writing my story here.
Any hhelp you can give me on moving this story forward is appreciated.

 

[Joe13]

Preppers by nature aren't out to help anyone but their own.

You help one outsider and there goes more time that you can't sustain your lifestyle.

Since most look like normal folks, what's your MC going to do, knock door to door in the country?

That's a good way to get shot


Also, wilderness survival skills are much different across the country depending on your regional location. It would take a very very specialized set of skills to cross the country off grid.

Just my 2¢

 

[pharmseller]

You should create an antagonist who mirrors the MC's skills, but uses them for the Dark Side. Tell part of the story from his perspective, third person omniscient. If the bad guys have the skills to sneak up on and whack his contact, who leads them? He must have significant woodcraft skills. Develop this guy.



P

 

[Tinaw]

Preppers by nature aren't out to help anyone but their own.

You help one outsider and there goes more time that you can't sustain your lifestyle.

Since most look like normal folks, what's your MC going to do, knock door to door in the country?

That's a good way to get shot


Also, wilderness survival skills are much different across the country depending on your regional location. It would take a very very specialized set of skills to cross the country off grid.

Just my 2¢

I was hoping that his initial meeting at the one person (group of preppers) (seen post above) would connect him. Maybe they would have contacts- Relatives, friends in other areas they would travel. They are sympathetic to his plight, but don't want any attention on them. (after what happened to the man) I want to be realistic. but in fiction there are times when the line of reason is suspended. Like Shooter and Bourne Identity, the reader is taken on a journey that isn't real, but what if???? If one offers a connection to a relative, friend, in a different county, that's a start. They will have to find their way from there.

One conflict I thought about was he goes to a place to buy supplies, after awhile, not right at first, and the guy working there saw a flyer emailed to surplus stores to be on the look out for this man (photo) and he calls the number. It sets the Agent back on their trail.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

explain Firefights.

Ah firefights ...and explaining....combat is very personal and affects everyone differently....

Firefights...gunfights...where you shoot at them and they shoot at you...
Folks miss at times...no one is dead eye Dick all the time with every gun they shoot...
Guns run outta ammo...
Stuff breaks or jams...
To even fight or is is better to hide or run...
How to run away / break contact...
Loud...ugly ...messy
Hearing and sense of balance can be affected...
They do attract attention...
Being shot hurts...
Some folks have a high tolerance for pain and fear...others do not...and just because your character acted one way in one firefight is no guarantee the he or anyone else will act the same way twice....

If he is on the run I would suggest that if he wants to survive that he avoids at all costs being in a firefight...
Evading is best , breaking contact if in one as soon as he can....and if needed to hit back with enough firepower to keep from being in another one....

As for woodcraft...does he like to hunt , hike , camp or fish....?
Andy