BOOM

Man in colorful jester costume balancing barefoot on a plank between buildings over a busy street

Authors use chaos casually. Need a plot detour? Throw in an earthquake for your protagonist to cope with. It's not a detour down the primrose path, a convenient alley or laneway. It's a major detour on the highway to hell. Real life is different. Real people have to deal with events for which they are, …