Following on from my last post about pinning down the location of my story (in October), the notion to do a little more research took hold of me this morning. And the reason it grabbed hold of me is that my story is based sometime in the future, yet I keep putting paper and pens on desks (in my story), which led me to wonder if we would ever, truly, have a world in which paper, pens, and books would cease to exist. To answer this question, I decided to have a closer look at my chosen location.

I found an article online that said if all the glaciers were to melt, that the oceans would rise by 70 meters (230 feet). I cross-referenced this information with a map I found on BBC Bitesize showing the geography of Britain if all the glaciers melted. I also did some reading on whether there would, in fact, be severe weather patterns if the glaciers melted – as per The Day After Tomorrow (2004). The answer was yes, according to Scientific American. All of this information, when combined, fits in perfectly with my idea for the story location, scenario, living conditions, and most importantly, the plot.

drowned Earth

(If you haven’t guessed already, I’m creating a wet, water-logged world, with extreme bursts of weather)

But back to the cause of this research – the existence of paper and/or books in the future.

I did a little research on the location of pulp and paper mills in the areas of Scotland that I intend to survive the ‘great flood’. I’m pleased to say, that these businesses exist, and as long as they continue to have access to timber or recycled paper, that paper will be made available to those who can afford it.

** This may seem like unnecessary research, but I have received feedback along the lines of ‘your story is based in the future but your characters are still using paper’, and at least now I have an idea of how much paper my characters should (or shouldn’t) use, and where I can limit its existence to make the future setting seem more realistic.

 

Sources:

https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-would-sea-level-change-if-all-glaciers-melted?https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/melting-ice-sheets-could-worsen-extreme-weather/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zsg639q/revision/3

https://pixabay.com/illustrations/globe-earth-water-wave-setting-140051/ (Image credit)