1. Corgz

    Corgz New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 16, 2012
    Messages:
    117
    Likes Received:
    1

    Is there anything wrong with destroying history?

    Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by Corgz, Oct 4, 2012.

    So um. I dont know how to explain this... I want to write about a time traveller who ends up in Melbourne and I was wondering would it be I dunno... wrong? For him to end up destroying Flinders street station?

    Would it be like... messing with history to much?

    This is really hard to explain... Would it be like.. over the top? Would it be wrong?
     
  2. DefinitelyMaybe

    DefinitelyMaybe Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Aug 31, 2012
    Messages:
    856
    Likes Received:
    238
    Location:
    Leicester, UK
    Douglas Adams blew up the entire world. I think you can get away with destroying a railway station.

    In terms of time-travelling history breaking, then it's up to you to write around it. It's annoying if in one place a writer says that tiny changes will destroy the future, but elsewhere in the story a major change is ignored or explained away with a self-correcting timeline. I.e. please be consistent.
     
  3. artsia

    artsia New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 4, 2012
    Messages:
    6
    Likes Received:
    2
    It's perfectly plausible that a time-travelling character would change history - just ensure that the changes have consequences in the future (i.e. keep the story internally consistent)!
     
  4. Corgz

    Corgz New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 16, 2012
    Messages:
    117
    Likes Received:
    1
    Thanks guys, anyone else?

    Also, this is not just a railway station,... its flinders street railway station :/
     
  5. mammamaia

    mammamaia nit-picker-in-chief Contributor

    Joined:
    Nov 21, 2006
    Messages:
    19,150
    Likes Received:
    1,034
    Location:
    Coquille, Oregon
    it's done all the time in fiction... just about any major landmark on earth has been blown up or destroyed by nature one way or another, by now... why should a train station no one but locals know about be spared?
     
  6. Pheonix

    Pheonix A Singer of Space Operas and The Fourth Mod of RP Contributor

    Joined:
    Jul 24, 2012
    Messages:
    5,712
    Likes Received:
    406
    Location:
    The Windy City
    Statue of Liberty at the end of Planet of the Apes. "They blew it up!"

    Anything you want to blow up, go for it! :D
     
  7. Cogito

    Cogito Former Mod, Retired Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    May 19, 2007
    Messages:
    36,161
    Likes Received:
    2,827
    Location:
    Massachusetts, USA
    Never mess with history, or you will probably erase yourself from existence.
     
  8. Thromnambular

    Thromnambular New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 1, 2012
    Messages:
    75
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    Florida
    Could you imagine that? You sit down to write and the stuff you put down on the paper/screen just happens?
    I think I'd make it so that pizza grows on trees and uh...cows produce ice cold soda. I have a pizza problem...and a caffeine problem.

    Ahem, but more on topic...
    I don't think it would be preposterous that an event like that could happen when time travel is involved. Just make sure that the consequences make sense. Showing that it altered the course of history is great, but the outcome should be reasonable.

    The good thing is that this can open up plenty of possibilities, depending on how far you're willing to go. For example, your character could blow up the station and people thought it was an accident; it goes down as a tragedy, they build a memorial, end of story. Those are relatively (all things considered) small consequences.

    However, it could get bigger than that. Maybe it looks like an act of terrorism to the people of that time and it starts a war, having a major impact on history.
     
  9. Link the Writer

    Link the Writer Flipping Out For A Good Story. Contributor

    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2009
    Messages:
    15,021
    Likes Received:
    9,676
    Location:
    Alabama, USA
    I don't think so. I mean, are you talking about like he goes back in time and accidentally destroys this train station?

    The Doctor from Doctor Who often goes back in time and causes a few important things to blow up, or really, really bad things to happen otherwise. Hell, in one of Ten's episodes, Great Britain gets invaded by aliens a few years before WWI. In another episode, Charles Dickens gets hunted down by the Cybermen. Its fictional. We know Great Britain didn't get invaded by aliens before WWI in real life, or that Dickens commenced battle with the Cybermen. And every so often, he'd go visit London during the Blitz to find some alien race (Dalek or otherwise) descending upon London.

    People in fiction go back in time to muck things up...all the time. xD It's considered the norm. Sometimes, it coincides with their adventure with long-dead famous historical people.
     
  10. Sam M

    Sam M Member

    Joined:
    Jan 14, 2012
    Messages:
    34
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    Australia
    It's a genre - Alternate History - assuming the destruction of the train station has consequences, etc. If he just destroys it and then that's it; the future is unchanged... well, you better provide a reason why. ;)
     
  11. EdFromNY

    EdFromNY Hope to improve with age Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2010
    Messages:
    5,101
    Likes Received:
    3,203
    Location:
    Queens, NY
    What purpose does this phrase serve in your post? It's something that occurs in speech when one is either uncomfortable speaking or is unsure of what to say. Presumably one has the presence of mind while sitting at the keyboard to work through either of those before going ahead and posting, so it strikes me here as nothing more than an affectation.
     
  12. Mikewritesfic

    Mikewritesfic Active Member

    Joined:
    Apr 1, 2010
    Messages:
    102
    Likes Received:
    6
    Location:
    Princeton, NJ
    The whole premise of a time travel story is for history to be changed somehow. Destroy the train station and enjoy writing about it :)
     
  13. Thromnambular

    Thromnambular New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 1, 2012
    Messages:
    75
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    Florida
    It can help set the tone of his post. Perhaps it conveys just how confused or unsure he is regarding the matter he wants to discuss. If it lets us know that he is uncomfortable, then it's letting us know he might need some encouragement, which I'd be glad to provide. At any rate, things like that can make communication a bit more organic; they can help you understand someone a bit better. Keep in mind that you can't see body language through a forum post, so communication has to be supplemented in other ways.

    By the way, we are both a bit off topic. So, I apologize for this.
     
  14. wardwolf

    wardwolf New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2012
    Messages:
    24
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Canada
    I would like to live in that world.
     
  15. DefinitelyMaybe

    DefinitelyMaybe Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Aug 31, 2012
    Messages:
    856
    Likes Received:
    238
    Location:
    Leicester, UK
    If genetic engineering keeps on developing, you may get your wish.
     
  16. wardwolf

    wardwolf New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2012
    Messages:
    24
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Canada
    Holy cow...editing each others writing with a proper critical eye is one thing, but critiquing informal conversation-style forum posts?

    Then again, even in saying this I'm doing the same - I suppose my point is, ease up a bit. Perhaps the OP's use of "so um" was during a stream-of-consciousness feeling as he/she typed.

    It's to the point nowadays that on instant messaging I unconsciously type "lol" while laughing at a friend's comment. Would I ever use that in my fiction? Doubtful. But context is important, and grammar/language use, etc in these conversational posts should probably be given a free pass, no?
     
  17. psychotick

    psychotick Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Feb 10, 2011
    Messages:
    1,526
    Likes Received:
    477
    Location:
    Rotorua, New Zealand
    Hi,

    Time travel and changing history is one thing. The only thing I would say is be carefuly not to upset peoples sacred cows. (Even the soda milk ones!)

    There are things that people, all of us, hold sort of sacrosanct. That we get upset about if others change. For me the last one that hit me was U451 or whatever, where the Americans apparently captured a German U boat, and got the ansebel device. This annoyed me because the Americans weren't in the war at that stage and the British did it. It was pure rewriting of history.

    Time travel plots allow you to do all of these sorts of things legitimately, but you still have to consider your reader's sensibilities.

    Cheers, Greg.
     
  18. Rose Hunt

    Rose Hunt Member

    Joined:
    Oct 9, 2012
    Messages:
    46
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    Ohio
    Blowing it up would be cool to the reader. Everyone always have these 'what if' questions, that is why they love fiction. But I totally agree with a former post. Make it believable and remember the reader's sensibilities. Alternative history is better than rewriting history.
    Rose
     
  19. robertpri007

    robertpri007 New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 10, 2012
    Messages:
    77
    Likes Received:
    3
    If you are writing about time travel, I don't think any reader would expect historical fact.
     

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice