Life in the slums - Writers Forum

Magnatolia · 07-21-2007, 07:38 AM

Hi All,

I'm looking for some general factual information about life in the slums. My scene isn't quite as bad as normal slums as it was a fairly well-to-do town that has been devastated by earthquakes caused from thermal energy consumption in the inner city.

My main character is a street urchin basically. He steals food and him and some friends are planning to blow up some of the machinery used to harvest thermal energy. The earthquakes destroyed his home and him and his sister were taken in by some friends.

So at the moment I'm attempting to flesh out my character and I need to know what his hobbies are. And would love some advice on what living in the slums is like.

wmd · 07-21-2007, 10:09 AM

Since it was a decent town before the earthquake (can thermal energy cause an earthquake by the way) than it may not be so bad after the earthquake. People may band together to help each other out.

Now in every disaster there tends to be some rioting and escalated crime. What if the earthquake cut off lines of help and police forces. Perhaps there was an initial riot right after the earthquake that caused massive amounts of crime and poverty...

But like I said, the type of city it was before the disaster will be the type of city it will be after the disaster. What kind of people live there and would they really allow their town to become a slum?

Magnatolia · 07-21-2007, 07:05 PM

They've been drilling large bores through the crust of the earth and over the years this has cause the earthquakes. The city's scientists have estimated that in approximately 15 years a super volcano will erupt that will effectively destroy all life. So they managed to harness the thermal energy to lift the city up. Unfortunately only those who had money were able to live in the upper city.

One part I'm stuck on is that I really want the original town underneath to be the slums but I'm not sure on how the thermal energy will affect them. Possibly I could have a large building in the centre which houses the thermal silos. It would be walled off in order to make it hard for my main character to disable the thermal energy plant.

There are no lines of help as the Mayor keeps the upper city in the dark about what is happening below. He doesn't care what happens to the poor as in his mind their deaths have no impact on anything.

The people will obviously band together, but the reason it becomes the slums is a number of things. Obviously the upper city needs somewhere to dispose of their rubbish and the lower city is it.

lin · 07-21-2007, 07:19 PM

Since this is a futuristic slum that doesn't actually exist, you can make life there however you want.

I'd say a great read for you would be William Gibson's "Virtual Light" The people living on the Bay Bridge have a unique slum of their own creation, a fascinating life. He couldn't go somewhere and study it..he made it all up. That's why he's a great, famous writer...he created an interesting, gripping world unlike what people have seen elsewhere.

mammamaia · 07-22-2007, 06:35 PM

if it's any he-p, i -ived and worked in she-ters with the home-ess and a-so -ived in the bronx ghetto in a 4th f-oor wa-k-up and have seen many s-ums in my trave-s around the g-obe, so if you want any firsthand info, drop me a -ine

[sorry for the confusion but that -etter and my period suddeny stopped working!]

-ove and hugs, maia
maia3maia@hotmai-com

wmd · 07-22-2007, 10:13 PM

So if you know so much about your city just sit down and brainstorm the little stuff. As you write things will make it into your story and other things won't. Sicne it is such a hardcore scifi you can pretty much do it however you want.

mamma... your "l" button seriously stopped working? and why do people always have to email you for help rather than you just posting it? I would be interested in hearing about the slums you have seen in your travels, and that is the topic of this thread.

mammamaia · 07-23-2007, 08:11 PM

Quote:

mamma... your "l" button seriously stopped working?

...yup!... and on a brand new keyboard, too... but it's off and on, so i can't figure out what's causing it... same with the period key... both of which happen to be working right now, thank goodness...

Quote:

and why do people always have to email you for help rather than you just posting it?

...they don't!... haven't you noticed i also give lots of help in posts?... been doing that here for years now, or i wouldn't have piled up more posts than anyone else, it seems... i just offer private help with things that can't be done easily in a post...

...like here, where the poster would have to ask me specific questions and we can go back and forth in emails much quicker and easier than waiting for posts, since i only come here once a day, in the morning.... and many come to me for one-on-one help/mentoring that simply shouldn't and couldn't be done here, for various reasons...

...besides which, i have a huge collection of sites/docs/tips and such from the pros that i have to forward in an email and can't easily [or at all] put in a post... so, that's another reason i'll say they can email me... do you really see anything wrong with that? ... i sure hope not...

love and hugs, m

mammamaia · 07-23-2007, 08:13 PM

as for the slums, i haven't really got time to go into detail on that here/now, as i have 3 more sites to deal with as my daily chores, but if you have specific questions, i'll be happy to answer them when i come back tomorrow...