So I had an idea for a new book to write.
It came to me as I was falling asleep (as most good ideas do), but then, in the cold light of day, I started to notice the problems with the idea…some of which wouldn’t have been problems a few years ago.
I wanted to write a classic zombie novel, but written from the perspective of normal people. More what I’d do if I suddenly found myself in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. No ex-marines, no ‘loose-cannon’ cop or weapons expert. Just people like me, my family and friends. No grizzled veteran shouting “I’m not going to let this happen again!” Before mowing down a parking lot full of zombies.
Then we come to the problems:
How the hell do you end a story like that? Either everyone dies, or the army arrive at the last possible minute and get you out by helicopter. There really seems to be no non-cliché way to end a zombie novel. It’s either the whole world is over-run by zombies which leads to an open ending (which I don’t like)…or it turns out that if the protagonists had just jumped in a car and drove for an hour, they’d be fine…which kinda makes the story a huge let down.
The worst problem, however, is that the main mechanics of the story are controversial as hell. Most of the fun in writing this book would be the McGuyver-esque contraptions the protagonists would use. The question is, how to you believably describe someone turning a hobby-rocket and a few other miscellaneous items into a rocket-launcher?
Parents go nuts because Harry Potter ‘teaches kids witchcraft’…imagine the backlash when I describe someone strapping a flask of nitro-glycerin to the top of an RC car, then driving it into a mass of oncoming zombies!
Screw it, I’m writing it anyway.
4 comments:
Hmn... I guess you'd have to learn to live with zombies, in the end. Find a small island to live on.
It comes down to what type of zombies they are. Angry? Speedy? Slow and dumb? Can they operate a doorknob?
The scary part would be when even insects could transmit the zombie germs.
Also, what flavor of zombie are they? The scariest kind would be the supernatural kind, because they can be imbued with an agenda beyond devouring you.
And supernatural zombies can be scariest because the demi-god could start to get all these human followers, who would start converting people to follow, and then you wouldn't know who to trust, which is far more creepy than a shuffling ragdoll droning "Braaains..."
The best zombie tales would have a variety of zombie types with different abilities, so just when you think you know what they can do, Yow!
Well, I thought I'd flip it a little bit.
Instead of zombies being the biggest threat, the main threat is the army or whoever wanting to napalm the whole area.
Let's you change it up a little bit. The first 'act' is about claustrophobia, and the psychological battles of being holed up in a dangerous situation with people who might snap...second act is trying to escape, facing a physically dangerous situation.
Maybe the main character falls in love with a zombie and they make sweet, leprotic love.
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