Prepper Lingo For Writers

Ever stumbled across terms like SHTF, EDC, or the KISS method and wondered how to weave them into your characters’ dialogue without sounding like a survivalist manual? In this episode, we decode the colorful jargon of preppers—those who plan for disasters and end-of-the-world scenarios. From the essentials of a bug out bag to the tongue-in-cheek wording of tacticool, you’ll learn how these phrases carry weight, humor, and realism.

For fiction writers, mastering prepper lingo isn’t just about accuracy—it’s about world-building. These terms can instantly signal mindset, culture, and tension in your story. Whether you’re crafting a gritty dystopia, post-apocalyptic romance, a rural thriller, or a dark comedy, this episode gives you the vocabulary to make your characters sound authentic, and your settings feel lived-in.

By the end, you’ll not only understand the language of preppers but also know how to use it as a storytelling tool—adding depth, credibility, and even a dash of irony to your story.

Transcript

Think your characters are ready for the end of the world? Not without mastering the lingo. In this episode, we crack open the prepper glossary—such as SHTF scenarios, bug-out bag, the KISS method and what EDC stands for. Whether you’re writing gritty survival fiction or just want your protagonists to sound like they know their gear, we’ll arm you with the acronyms and jargon that real preppers actually use. Tune in to level up your realism.

Welcome to Writing Rural with Alley, the fiction writer’s inspiration station for rural life and lifestyles, from historical to post-apocalyptic, helping you bring your rural stories to life! I’m Alley, and this is episode #113, Prepper Lingo For Writers. Stick around to the end to find out all the ways things could possibly go wrong in your story. Now, let’s get into this.

A brief heads-up, this episode will contain some curse words, because you can’t cover this topic without them. Nothing you wouldn’t hear in a PG-13 movie, but for those with little ears, you might want to pop in the earbuds. This is your only warning. 

Before we jump into the lingo, we have to define what a prepper is. Now there are several categories of this, with many subcategories, but I’m just going to cover the main ones because we don’t want to spend the next year dividing the categories out.

The most well known of these are the doomsday preppers. Likely because they had their own TV series for a bit. They believe that the end of the world as we know it is coming. Not could it happen, but it will happen. The only question is when will it happen? Some of the things they believe could happen include invasion, nuclear war, multiple super volcanoes erupting all over the globe at the same time, and giant asteroids hitting Earth to wipe out most people; the unprepared people. 

The next one is SHTF preppers. That stands for shit hit the fan. The main concern they worry about is social unrest. Some believe this could lead to war; others believe it could affect the flow of goods, or even the value of the dollar. The most common people in this category are former soldiers, police officers, anyone in the first responder category, people who come from communist countries, or people who have lived in war zones or communist countries. I have even met more than one person who was forced to be a child soldier in their birth country, and who wants to make sure that never happens to their children. These people have seen with their own eyes what could happen and never want to be caught off guard if one of these scenarios happens. Let me be clear, not everyone who is a veteran, police officer, or first responder is a prepper in this sense, and it’s okay to write characters who are not. 

Next up is the prepper. No special wording for this. These are people who like to plan for all possible outcomes, but focus more on the basics. Think, the things from the Great Depression. What I mean by this is that during the Great Depression (according to my grandmother, who was alive for it), if you didn’t build it, grow it, or hunt it, you didn’t have it. While stocking up is something they do, learning skills is the biggest part. Sewing, cooking on an open fire, gardening, animal husbandry and things of this nature. Many people within the homesteading community fall into this category. That said, homesteading does not mean they are prepping for anything. Many do not, and just enjoy living a simpler life. 

Since we already started with SHTF, let’s elaborate there. As I mentioned, SHTF means Shit Hit The Fan. This is essential boiled down to a situation escalating crazy fast, and is more likely than not, to be dangerous. Let me give you some examples. Soldiers talking about a routine patrol that was ambushed, would refer to the ambush as shit hit the fan. If a police officer was writing up a ticket to a college girl, and her drunk football player boyfriend and his friends decided to teach the cop a lesson by attacking him, he would call that shit hit the fan. If a homesteader was dealing with a drought, and there was a lightning storm that caused a wildfire, and they had to flee, they would call it, shit hit the fan. But we are writers, so the homesteader is about to run through fire, lightning and right into a tornado. Why? Because I can! And technically he is not real. 

Another term is off-the-grid. Okay, this can be about living without electricity; however, in prepper context, it’s not. Off the grid means falling off the societal map. Basically, your character has tossed the phone, and broken normal contact with the outside world. Most stories today write this out as the bad guy getting away. But doomsday prepper plans for this in an apocalypse where tech is not usable, or when tech is used against them. They likely have weird codes that only they and the people in their group would know. They heard about an invasion coming early, and so they flipped a rock on their front porch upside down to let their family or friend group know the meeting location, because things are going to happen. Or the men in grey suits that are about to take over are spotted, so they glue a Lego to the third post on the fence row by the road to warn the others. Even children within these groups know the signs they make up and made up they normally are. 

Signs inform other characters who know them if there is danger, safety/safe place, where to meet, where food or weapons have been stored, directions, and more. These can also be used creativity, for letting someone know if there is a spy, a bad guy, someone is on their side or anything else you want them to. These are made up by the people using them, similar to safe words we teach our kids to know if someone picking them up was really sent by the parent. So get creative, but remember overuse of signs without repetition inside the story will lose your readers. They can’t remember one sign if you listed it in the middle of 72 other signs. At least I can’t 

One thing that is common to signal is where a cache is located. A cache is a storage of food, weapons, medication, or other supplies. Throughout history and today, these are commonly located in caves or buried. Super similar to pirates burying gold. In history, things might be stored in crates, glass jars, clay pots, or things like this. In modern times, people aim for waterproof containers. I have even seen people use PVC to store things. Which makes sense. If it can keep water in, it can keep water out. 

But don’t think that their things are only found hidden in the wilds; no, preppers have bags that are packed, ready, and waiting. Doomsday prepper, and some SHTF preppers, call them bug-out bags or sometimes ready bags. Most regular preppers call them ready bags and sometimes even to-go bags. 

That said, I’ve known many people from all of these communities who use these interchangeably. The most common definitions (and I am using that word very loosely) are that bug-out bags are for people ready to fight. (Think, Red Dawn the movie.) While ready bags and to-go bags are more for families or natural disasters. That’s just the most common. 

One thing about the terms is that anyone in any of these communities will know what the terms mean even if it’s not the one they use. When talking about them, they will not put others down for having different things, but they will talk about what they both have and why. Sure, there are the normal things you would expect, but sometimes you get surprised. I’ve known people who carried a deck of cards in case they got board. Parents often carry things for kids. And females need to think about the dreaded period. Although many don’t think of it until someone brings it up. I have a whole episode on the menstrual cycle that covers what can be used in modern times and in history, if you want to learn more. 

Now, what they carry inside their bags is called gear. No big explanation needed there, but in the doomsday community, and even the gun community, there are commonly two groups of gear, tactical and tacticool. Tactical is defined as well thought out and placed in their stuff for a purpose. These are designed for function. Tacticool is defined as things designed to look cool. Simply put, they don’t care if it functions, only that they look like Billy Badass. These will be the first people who will be killed off if things go south in your story, but hey, they’ll look cool dying. 

Now there is one that falls under gear, but isn’t in their bags. It’s called their everyday carry. Sometimes abbreviated down to EDC. Although I admit to hearing this hundreds of times, and still forget what the abbreviation means. These are normally things they have on them well every day. The three most common items that fall into this category are guns, knives, and multi-tools. They are often carried every day because of the jobs they have, or for personal protection. 

Many farmers carry guns in case of wild animals, so that would be there every day carry. My dad was an industrial maintenance man, and he carried a multi-tool. That would be his everyday carry. I carry a pocket knife with me most days because it is needed for many tasks around our farm, including opening feed sacks, cutting bailing twine, snipping garden plants and yes, the rogue box has gotten it. I think you get the picture. Normally, only doomsday prepper and SHTF preppers worry about everyday carries, but everyone knows what it means. Even if I give people blank stares when they start rambling letters off to me.

Since we touched on guns, let’s cover open carry and conceal and carry. This is pretty simple. Open carry means the gun is out and in plain sight for everyone to see. Conceal and carry (also called a CCW-concealed carry weapon) means your character is hiding a gun somewhere on them. 

An important note if you are writing about modern USA: concealing a weapon in any way is legally considered concealing it. So if your character has a jacket on, even if the gun can still plainly be seen, it’s legally considered concealed. Plus, each state has a list of knives that can be considered concealed weapons. The most common being the switchblade. Each state is different, and crossing state lines, even on accident, can land your characters in hot water. Make sure to research not only gun laws, but weapons, conceal and carry, and who is legally allowed to do so. 

Now, for those of you asking, “Alley, do people really walk around with guns?” the answer is yes. A huge yes! I personally see at least a dozen people with them every time I go to the store, and it’s guaranteed there are more. Yes, some people are scared of that. The vast majority of us are not. If they were acting shady, okay, that would be a red flag, but I haven’t seen one do so yet. 

On the other hand, I know a lot of people who do not open carry. Ever. For any reason. Why? Simply put, if a bad guy were to show up, the people who are the biggest threat will be the first target. So walking in with a holstered weapon makes them target number one. Seconds matter in those kinds of situations, and being the first target is not ideal. If your character is a police officer, military, ex-military, raised by any of these, or good friends with someone who is, they will likely conceal and carry. 

Yes, you are right; there are people who are scared of guns. It’s especially rare if they grew up with guns, but I know someone who was doing what they should not have as a teen and shot their parent’s bed. Don’t worry, only the bed got it. They didn’t have guns around for over a decade because they scared themselves so badly. 

A few important things here. One, people in the gun community take gun safety very seriously. I have seen people kicked out of gun stores for not keeping a clearly unloaded gun pointed in a safe direction. I’ve seen full-grown men get into fistfights over it. I don’t care what Hollywood says; it’s taken seriously, and no one associated with the ones who don’t. I know a very tragic case where brothers cut each other off because one was not being safe when they went hunting with their kids. Less than a year later, his son was killed in an accidental discharge. It could have been prevented if they had simply always treated the gun as if it were loaded and aimed it in a safe direction. 

Also, on a side note, if someone asks to see a gun, only an idiot will take it out of the holster. First, it can be seen as aggressive, and your cop characters might think they are a threat. Second, they don’t know this person. They could be a good guy, or a bad guy, but they are not handing over a weapon to someone they don’t know. Third, they will tell you all about it. What it is, where they got it, what bullets they use, how they like it, what they like better or worse. It’s a perfect way for one character to start a conversation with the other one. 

Now switching topics, there is a very common saying that all preppers use. It’s called the KISS method. KISS stands for keep it simple, stupid. This is said when people overcomplicate things. An example would be if a tree fell in the yard, and they didn’t have big enough chainsaws to cut the trunk, so they tried to figure out how to get it out of the main yard and close to the woods. They could rig up a winch, and if it was very far, they would need a lot of heavy rope that could hold the weight, and if the winch is a hand winch, they need leverage to move something so large. That’s when someone will pop up with, “The KISS method” and let them know they could use a chain on the back of the tractor and pull it out there. It’s likely to take less than five minutes. Most of the time we are face-palming and wondering why that never even crossed our minds. I say ours because I definitely use the KISS method. 

Another saying (that I believe came from the military) is improvise, adapt, and overcome. This is fairly self-explanatory. If your character encounters a situation that they are not equipped for, they improvise a solution, adapt it to their current needs, and overcome the obstacle. An example would be if they need a hole dug to place their cache in but the shovel broke. They could improvise and adapt by having their dog dig the hole by telling it there is a squirrel right there. Once the hole is big enough, give the dog a treat for helping overcome the obstacle. 

One quick reminder before we get to all the ways things could go wrong in your story. To help others find this content, pop on over to Apple Podcasts and leave me a review. Or if you are watching on YouTube, drop me a comment and say hello, or ask a question. This is the best way to help others find my content. 

Now, for everyone’s favorite part, what could possibly go wrong in your story? 

Likely to go wrong: Your character open-carried a large knife into the local store, and people avoided them out of fear. 

Likely to go wrong: Your character has tacticool equipment for the Apocalypse. When the apocalypse starts, it doesn’t take long for them to realize that 50 pounds of gear was a horrible idea, and it makes them slow and sore. 

Possible to go wrong: Your character opens carries a weapon into a store. When a bad guy comes in to rob the store, they soon find themselves having to choose whether to step in and take on the bad guy or run and hide. Either way, they will have to live with that choice. 

Possible to go wrong: Your doomsday prepper character planned for the Apocalypse. However, things don’t go as they planned, and they find themselves in the middle of a great depression and have to learn new skills the hard way. 

Unlikely to go wrong: Your character makes visual codes, but when they should see one, they completely miss it. 

Unlikely to go wrong: Your character has an everyday carry. However, on the day of the Apocalypse, they forgot it at home. 

Improbable but still technically in the realm of possibilities: Your character believed that society was going to collapse and was prepared for that. However, the apocalypse happens, and they are forced to adapt to a new crisis on the fly. 

Improbable but still technically in the realm of possibilities: Your character is a doomsday prepper who lives in an area with many other doomsday preppers. They used a potted plant on the porch tipped over as code for “danger, go to the rally spot.” One day, a storm comes and knocks the plant over. When the others see it, they all hurry to the rally spot, not knowing it is a false alarm. 

Thanks for listening! Until next time, happy wordsmithing.