Short story / Literary fiction
Not the End
A suburban dad sleeps through the rumble of a nuclear blast half a world away, and keeps tuning it out until the collapse reaches his street.
- Status
- Outlined. Writing it here, scene by scene.
- Length
- Nothing drafted yet
- This draft
- First draft, October 2026
A rumble wakes Henry Walker in the middle of the night. He dismisses it and goes back to sleep. It was a nuclear blast that wiped out a city half a world away.
Henry is in his late thirties, an office guy in the suburbs with a wife, Sarah, and a baby, and he keeps his routine while the news moves on to celebrity gossip. Then the protests turn into riots, and the distance stops protecting anyone.
- Five chapters, from a man who can't be bothered to a man who'll do anything to protect his family.
- The thread running through it is his phone: full of news at the start, then trivia, then nothing at all.
- Set in an ordinary suburb, told close to Henry.
Nothing drafted yet. This is where they'll show up as I write them, so check back.
Revision notes7 open
- bibleWhere the blast happens is undecided
Every planning doc and the bible name the blast site with a pairing that doesn't hold together geographically, and the bible itself flags it. The public post only says a city half a world away. Decide whether the city is fictional or a real, correctly placed one. A real city also brings in the notes' line that other countries blame the United States, which is geopolitically loaded; a fictional city avoids both problems.
- bibleThe Walker surname is shared with Lost and Found
Henry Walker here and John Walker in Lost and Found share a surname, and both are family men who start out detached. The public post points it out. Decide whether to rename one of them.
- structureShort story or novel
The project is filed and published as a short story, but the bible lists the form as a novel: a prologue and five chapters in four acts. Settle the target length.
- bibleWhat happens to the office building
The plot outline has a bomb go off in a nearby building and Henry's office nearly brought down. The character notes say the bomb goes off near his office. The chapter outline and the public post say a truck bomb brings the building down while he's inside. Pick one version.
- bibleThe baby has no name
Henry and Sarah's infant is central to Henry's motivation, but the plans never give a name or say whether the baby is a boy or a girl.
- structureDoes Henry ever meet the protester leader
The protester leader is listed as a main character whose bomb hits Henry's office, but no chapter beat puts him on the page or brings him and Henry together. Decide whether he appears in person or stays offstage.
- structureThe last two chapters have no event
Chapters 4 and 5 are described as states (media silence, no power, Henry's resolve) rather than things that happen. The ending needs a concrete scene that shows Henry doing whatever it takes, and a decision on how far the story follows the family after that.
Version history1 draft
Current · October 2026
First draft
The first draft, written in the open. Scenes appear here as they're finished.