Survival

"Do you think you could brave the Alaskan wild? What would you need to bring in order to be successful? What would be your biggest fear while out there? If you don't think you can brave the wild, why not? What if you were with a group of trained specialists? Don't relate too much to the book and Chris McCandless - use your own opinions on this. Make it about how you feel."

During my time as an amateur writer of both science-fiction and fantasy, I have to say that the two most inspirational settings are the desert dunes and the snow-capped mountains. Something about the still, undisturbed beauty of the surface is alluring and feminine, contrasting with the harsh and rugged masculinity of its fauna. The tundra is a land of extremes, where the harsh blizzard winds and the scarce food sculpt a man into the pinnacle of what he was meant to be. The very enviroment is against the survivalist, no trees that willingly yield their fruits like a jungle, just icy earth that seems to shift and strike at the traveler's feet, as though the mountain itself is tossing the human aside.

I believe now is the part where I say my odds are screwed. I have the rare advantage of a military upbringing - my mother always eager to teach me survival and evasion when camping. However, years of sedentary lifestyle have worked against me, and left me quite out of shape to be struggling for my life. While I would undoubtedly last longer than our friend McCandless due to common sense and slight foreknowledge, I would possibly be stretching the truth if I were to thrive. In a group of trained professionals, I would be cheating. I don't want to be a tourist of nature if I'm going to live in it for a while! All or nothing!

In short: the frozen north is a beautiful place to set a novella. However, I don't think that I am terribly suited to brave it.