The Difference Between Apocalyptic and Post-Apocalyptic Fiction

What’s the difference between apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction?

This is a question I’ve stumbled upon many times over the years, while participating in online discussion groups. As someone who writes in both genres, I’ve come to develop my own distinction for these terms.

The way I see it, “apocalyptic” fiction is a general label that can be used to describe any book dealing with the apocalypse — regardless of where the story starts relative to the catastrophe.

The post-apocalyp...