Multi-Author Fiction - "We have a problem"- Discussion [Archive]

brer

01-Jun-2011, 01:57 PM

Can we get a roll call of all people intending to contribute and start doing a round robin to see what we want?

I wrote the initial section of the story to be as generic as possible for another short story. Basically a dead body in a funeral home resurrects. Since the body has been embalmed, it does not resurrect into an ass biting zombie, but rather one that barely shows signs of activity. Considering how embalming chemicals work, the body will likely cease all movement over several hours to a day or two.

No, I am not a death junkie, I actually looked up most of the stuff I used in the first chapter off of the net in an attempt to get a good hook for the readers.

We have two votes for Romero rules. One for fast zombies, one for slow, and a proposed compromise of initially fast, rigour sets in and they become slow after.

I do not want to seem pushy, and this sounds like fun. I will go with whatever the majority decides.

AngryNeighbour

01-Jun-2011, 07:54 PM

I will obviously participate.

And I'm going to read the first part (if its posted in the main thread) in just a few minutes.

I also like the idea of initially fast, and then they turn slower.

---------- Post added at 03:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:45 PM ----------

btw that first chapter was very well done, I think it was a great start. Your research was impressive. I think we should maybe just start with a bunch of perspectives from the beginning of the outbreak, from a various number of people. I think that's what the plan was for this anyways or what would have happened.

Neil

01-Jun-2011, 08:05 PM

I think we should maybe just start with a bunch of perspectives from the beginning of the outbreak, from a various number of people.
Reminds me a bit how I started the entire fiction section 14 or so years ago - http://fiction.homepageofthedead.com/forum.pl?readfiction=1032H

AngryNeighbour

01-Jun-2011, 08:14 PM

14 years ago holy. And yeah that's a very interesting way to go about it, and also handy because it could give us a bunch of other directions to branch off into.

Neil do you want to take the next chapter of the story?

I have had an idea for a post apocalyptic zombie story for a little while now, and I think I'm going to take one of the characters that I had come up with for itand use him in this story as somewhat of a prologue...like a back history that I can refer to in my actual story since my actual story will be years after the original outbreak and in the novel he won't be the main character, rather more of a mysterious one that the main character meets.

brer

01-Jun-2011, 10:51 PM

AngryNeighbour

01-Jun-2011, 11:56 PM

I am not sure about Neil. Adding characters and sub plots as the story develops will likely pose no problem if we stay on our toes. If you are more comfortable working post apocalypse then so be it. Almost all things can be worked around if we work together. At worst, your story starts a bit later than the others.

We can also add it to the round robin and see who wants to see civilization fall. If enough people are uncomfortable enough with it, we can do a quick down and dirty chapter two that puts us in the Zombie Post Apocalypse World(ZPAW).

I wasn't saying I was going to do Post Apocalyptic...I was saying my own seperate idea was going to be like that, but I would use one of my characters from that in this thing we're doing to show where he was at the outbreak and how he got to where he was in MY thing. Get it? :P well who wrote the first part, you or Neil?

brer

02-Jun-2011, 01:14 AM

I wrote the first chapter. It is basically proposed and can be removed by a consesus.

As I said before, this was to be basically a generic first chapter to get us started and as a hook for the readers. The origin was a very creepy thought at a funeral parlor when I actually had to go in the back rooms. If you want something different, talk about it so we can start working on plot lines or submit one.

The reason we are having a round robin is to try to get a consensus from the writers about what they want. I am willing to be as flexible as possible to work with the other writers and help them work with each other. This whole thing about writing in a group is that it is going to be a group effort.

I am not trying to assume a leadership role in this. Truth be told, I make a far better cheerleader.

What are you wanting? Trust me, I can get from my chapter one to where your story is set pretty quick if needed.

I am pretty much envisioning different story threads by different authors to give us each as much creative power as possible starting out. We link the stories by interaction and maybe assimilation of plot lines. For a first group story, I think this will be best while we learn to work with each other and it will provide a lot of flexibility.

As a group, we need to talk to see what we want.

Mr. Clean

02-Jun-2011, 07:14 AM

I'm in.

I'd like to know some rules/guidelines for this though.

-- -------- Post added at 01:14 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:57 AM ----------

Where does the story it takes place (Fictional/Real city)? Personally, I think we should go fictional. If it's fictional, we could create a map and people could pick different parts to have their characters start and work with others where to meet up. Also, funeral home needs a name.

BillTheButcher

02-Jun-2011, 10:09 AM

[/COLOR]The problem I have with the idea of a multi-author story is that one's basically stuck with what earlier contributors have created. Say there's a character, Mr X, whom everyone has pushed in one direction, as the Tough Survivalist With A Heart Of Gold. Now, suppose I see Mr X as a Selfish Conniving Bastard. How do I work the change? Will it be acceptable to anyone else? Stories by committee have never worked for me for this reason.

brer

02-Jun-2011, 11:42 AM

The problem I have with the idea of a multi-author story is that one's basically stuck with what earlier contributors have created. Say there's a character, Mr X, whom everyone has pushed in one direction, as the Tough Survivalist With A Heart Of Gold. Now, suppose I see Mr X as a Selfish Conniving Bastard. How do I work the change? Will it be acceptable to anyone else? Stories by committee have never worked for me for this reason.]

The main reason I am wanting to go multithreaded in the plot is exactly for this reason. As I see it, your characters should be your own to do with. A multithreaded story also allows us as a group ways out of a bad plotline without killing the whole story.

As an example:
Ch1 is in the funeral home with two characters that are likely never heard from again.
Ch2 is John Smith, principal of local high school, permanent character that is revisited time to time. Bill the butcher's character
Ch 3 is Dr. Linda Scott, head of the emergency room at the local regional hospital. Mr. Clean's character
Ch 4 is Farmer Joe. Farmer extraordinare. Brer's character.
Ch 5 is Studs Mczedkiller, amateur hero. Angry Neighbor's character.
Ch6 is back to John Smith and is Bill's part to write

The idea is that we each create our own plotlines subject to a consensus. Effectively we are each writing our own short story, but are also linking our characters to the other stories.

Characters are created and killed on the fly. Some characters are constantly revisited. If a character and his story is not working well or he is abandoned by a lazy god/author, feed him to the undead majority. No killing or otherwise using another writer's primary or secondary characters without permission of that writer.

That being said, Bennie and his niece are up for grabs if anyone wants to use them. If not, they will likely not appear again.

Where does the story it takes place (Fictional/Real city)? Personally, I think we should go fictional. If it's fictional, we could create a map and people could pick different parts to have their characters start and work with others where to meet up. Also, funeral home needs a name.

We have the whole world as our oyster if we want. For the purposes of a first group effort, I agree that having it all happen in one city will simplify things. I also agree with a fictional city. This pretty much allows us to make stuff up as we go along rather than have to do any research. Everyone else: Agree or disagree?

The funeral home is not likely to appear again unless someone wants to continue that storyline or uses it with one of their characters. If you want it, you can name it. I was figuring that since the owner, Bennie Petros, ran it as a family business, it would likely be named "Petros Funeral Home" or something like it. As a minor addition, Petros is a name given to some of the darker forces involved in Voodoo, not that I am an expert.

BillTheButcher

02-Jun-2011, 01:20 PM

I could almost get onboard with this thing in this case, Brer, though I've never hidden my own anti-zombie genre feelings. In this case, it might actually be interesting. Let me think about it. Do you have any other contributors lined up?

AngryNeighbour

02-Jun-2011, 01:51 PM

Yeah exactly as Brer said. Everyone has their own characters and subplots they work with...at the most we will tie them in, but I don't think anyone should be able to write for another person's character, unless they ask that author for his permission on what they are doing.

I also agree with having one fictional city and the map idea sounds great.

Also Brer, I really liked your first part as said before, so let's keep it. Just think of a name for the Funeral Parlor and we'll be gold.

I think maybe though, we should just let everyone write a part, and see what setting they create for their characters and plotline, and then create the map around that.

brer

02-Jun-2011, 02:07 PM

Only the ones that have volunteered so far.

Mr. Clean
Angry Neighbor
Brer (me)
Possibly you
Anyone else that wants to jump in, the more the merrier.

I'm figuring a week or so to allow writers to hop onboard and time to figure out what the majority wants before we even start writing.

I think we should maybe just start with a bunch of perspectives from the beginning of the outbreak, from a various number of people. I think that's what the plan was for this anyways or what would have happened.

This is what I am wanting also, subject to the majority. The best movies and stories IMHO include the initial outbreak and spread. It will require a bit of flexibility on the part of the writers, but if we are writing as a group, no one has to carry the full load of everything that happens.

Angry Neighbor
Thanks for your appreciation. One of the main reasons I am setting the Bennie and Alice aside is due to the amount of research needed to make them sound competant. Looking up typical funeral home furniture, preparation of bodies, and typical layouts and names of rooms in a funeral home is a PITA.

AngryNeighbour

02-Jun-2011, 02:17 PM

Well is Neil not onboard for writing it, I thought maybe since he created the two threads he was? ahahah

Well I think for now Brer, you should leave the funeral parlor characters alone, but maybe far down the road I think it would be cool if like the niece reappeared and we found out her story and what happened on that fateful day at the parlor, cause I do find them to be interesting characters, considering they're apart of a very crucial point of the story, the beginning.

brer

02-Jun-2011, 02:42 PM

Well I think for now Brer, you should leave the funeral parlor characters alone, but maybe far down the road I think it would be cool if like the niece reappeared and we found out her story and what happened on that fateful day at the parlor, cause I do find them to be interesting characters, considering they're apart of a very crucial point of the story, the beginning

I was figuring on leaving them aside for the moment. The characters are up for grabs if you want to use one or both of them later.

I was personally just going to have another character recognize one or both of them in a group of the undead later in the story. Somehow, I feel that people that work with the dead may have some serious mortality issues during the initial outbreak, especially with initially fast zombies.

If you want them, say so and they are yours.

If I was going to use them again in a significant part of the story, this is only a suggestion mind you, the dead in the back rooms start waking up while Alice is working there. Uncle Bennie joins the great majority while trying to hold the combination door shut while his niece escapes.

glazedoverdead

02-Jun-2011, 03:33 PM

Hmmm... This is tickling at my writer's bone... What kind of time frame are we looking at for each author to have his story completed and submitted?

brer

02-Jun-2011, 04:14 PM

Then hop on in.

As far as time frames go, I see little need to push for short ones. I would much rather have a well written final story than a kludge. I think the other writers will feel the same way. One of the advantages of writing a multithreaded story is that once we have established what we want as a group, our time becomes much more flexible.

If the story is multithreaded, you can write independently until you see a point that you and another writer's characters should interact. Contact him/her when this happens and work to accomodate each other.

The whole point of this is that it is a group effort.

Neil

02-Jun-2011, 08:01 PM

Neil do you want to take the next chapter of the story?
Very kind offer, but I've got loads of stuff on my plate - including redundency :annoyed:

Mr. Clean

02-Jun-2011, 08:05 PM

If the story is multithreaded, you can write independently until you see a point that you and another writer's characters should interact. Contact him/her when this happens and work to accomodate each other.

The whole point of this is that it is a group effort.

+1 (and 3 more characters)

glazedoverdead

02-Jun-2011, 08:17 PM

+1 (and 3 more characters)

Neil, I hope you're not referring to the story I submitted, which I think I submitted more than once because i forgot to add my summary. If that is what you're referring to about redundancy I am truly sorry for that

Neil

02-Jun-2011, 09:22 PM

Neil, I hope you're not referring to the story I submitted, which I think I submitted more than once because i forgot to add my summary. If that is what you're referring to about redundancy I am truly sorry for that

LOL! No! Redundency as in out of a job in real life!

glazedoverdead

02-Jun-2011, 09:33 PM

Oh! Sorry to hear that Neil... I'm glad i'm off the hook though :)

BillTheButcher

03-Jun-2011, 05:25 AM

OK, I'm in. However, I'd like to know a couple of points.

First, is there a minimum number of words in each contribution? If so, how many?

Then, do we post our contributions in separate threads, or in rotation in one single thread?

I should point out that I've never visited or lived in a Western nation; and that my entire exposure to Western culture comes through movies, books and the 'net. Accordingly, I'll be using characters from my Bisaria series of stories (which are set in a fictional African nation) though they'll be transplanted to the nameless fictional city of our joint effort. I'd probably be more comfortable working with them than with Americans or Canadians as characters.

brer

03-Jun-2011, 01:55 PM

As I see it, we are all contributing to one story. The story will have subplots that interact. ie A story that constantly shifts to different characters.

I should point out that I've never visited or lived in a Western nation; and that my entire exposure to Western culture comes through movies, books and the 'net. Accordingly, I'll be using characters from my Bisaria series of stories (which are set in a fictional African nation) though they'll be transplanted to the nameless fictional city of our joint effort. I'd probably be more comfortable working with them than with Americans or Canadians as characters.

I really see no problem with this. This is a first effort and nothing is set in stone yet. I would prefer to have it set in one city just for simplicity, but I also recognize that we are going to have a crew of writers from different countries.

We all need to start talking about stuff like this before we start writing.

Let me get some coffee and do some thinking.

---------- Post added at 01:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:53 AM ----------

Lets get started with some proposed plot rules. These are only proposed, subject to the majority. Please make your objections known so we can decide to change/alter them as needed or desired.

1. Somewhat modified Romero Rules.
a. Only the bodies of the recently deceased resurrect. A person that dies a natural death will likely resurrect in the midst of rigour mortis and will not be a fast zombie.
b. The zombies start off fast for a period of time, then slow down. I am planning on blaming it on rigour mortis. Rigour mortis generally starts forming three hours after death, maxes out after twelve hours, and totally disapears after three days. This allows the initial parts of the outbreak to be devastating and later allows survivors more of a chance. I'm figuring they will be like Dawn2004 initially and then back to a classic slow zombie after twelve to eighteen hours with maybe a short period of inactivity thrown in there.
c. If bitten, the character will die in two to three days and resurrect regardless of medical care provided. Resurrection by direct infection should be much faster than those that die a natural death, occurring in minutes vice hours.
d. Head trauma or central nervous system trauma are the best ways to kill the undead.
e. Are the undead scared of fire? I am initially going to say yes just to throw it out there. As an alternative we could also say that some of them are.

2. Location, location, location. I have no real preferences other than we as a group make a decision on this. Some of the writers will be from other countries and we will need to accomodate them.
a. In the interests of keeping this first effort as simple as possible, I would like to have the whole story set in one city. If it is acceptable, I propose we make the city as generic as possible. No mentioning anything that fixes it to a fixed location or country.
b. Firearms. As I understand it, firearm laws are somewhat harsher in other countries. Should we restrict their use? Use only make or models that are legal in many countries?

3. NO ULTIMATE ZOMBIE KILLERS!!!

a. No finding an unlooted gunstore, military transport, survivalest cache. Your character does not wear a cape and is only afraid of kryptonite.

Please add anything I have overlooked, any objections etc.

Mr. Clean

03-Jun-2011, 06:51 PM

Time of year is something else to consider. Is it cold? is it hot?

No limit on word count. I don't want this to feel like a college term paper. I would think a good 5 to 7 min read per chapter would be pretty nice.

AngryNeighbour

03-Jun-2011, 08:03 PM

All of everybody's parts should be sent to a judge or three different judges and upon approval will be added to the main story thread.

I agree with all of those rules Brer, besides the no looting thing. It is highly possible to find guns and supplies and actually pretty resourceful thinking in that situation. I do agree though, on the no ultimate zombie killers (at least right away, maybe way down the road, after the character has had lots experience in killing zombies, but still nothing unrealistic) but if a group of people should be able to stumble across some guns and stuff like that, just don't make them heroic badass sharpshooters. I'm not even planning on this in my storyline, but just in case anyone else was.

I'm Canadian but I think it would cool if we created a fiction city that was kind of like Las Vegas...It would set up many interesting aspects to the story and allow some room for fun.

Like Brer has stated, these things are just proposed and nothing happens without the agreement of the majority.

brer

03-Jun-2011, 11:37 PM

1. Somewhat modified Romero Rules.
a. Only the bodies of the recently deceased resurrect. A person that dies a natural death will likely resurrect in the midst of rigour mortis and will not be a fast zombie.
b. The zombies start off fast for a period of time, then slow down. I am planning on blaming it on rigour mortis. Rigour mortis generally starts forming three hours after death, maxes out after twelve hours, and totally disapears after three days. This allows the initial parts of the outbreak to be devastating and later allows survivors more of a chance. I'm figuring they will be like Dawn2004 initially and then back to a classic slow zombie after twelve to eighteen hours with maybe a short period of inactivity thrown in there.
c. If bitten, the character will die in two to three days and resurrect regardless of medical care provided. Resurrection by direct infection should be much faster than those that die a natural death, occurring in minutes vice hours.
d. Head trauma or central nervous system trauma are the best ways to kill the undead.
e. Are the undead scared of fire? I am initially going to say yes just to throw it out there. As an alternative we could also say that some of them are.

2. Location, location, location. I have no real preferences other than we as a group make a decision on this. Some of the writers will be from other countries and we will need to accomodate them.
a. In the interests of keeping this first effort as simple as possible, I would like to have the whole story set in one city. If it is acceptable, I propose we make the city as generic as possible. No mentioning anything that fixes it to a fixed location or country.
b. Firearms. As I understand it, firearm laws are somewhat harsher in other countries. Should we restrict their use? Use only make or models that are legal in many countries?
c. Las Vegas type city.

3. NO ULTIMATE ZOMBIE KILLERS!!!
a. No finding an unlooted gunstore, military transport, survivalest cache. Your character does not wear a cape and is only afraid of kryptonite.
b. We can also allow that Weapon and ammo caches are available.

4. Time of year is something else to consider. Is it cold? is it hot?
a. I am going to throw out fall just to get us on the same page. I have no preferences in this and can work with any season with a little notice.

5. Submissions
a. No limit on word count. I don't want this to feel like a college term paper. I would think a good 5 to 7 min read per chapter would be pretty nice.
b. All of everybody's parts should be sent to a judge or three different judges and upon approval will be added to the main story thread.

3b The only problem that I have with easy access to basically unlimited firepower is that it tends to weaken a plot as the protagonist can just shoot his way out of any situation. If used reasonably, I have no issues.
5a If a chapter accomplishes what it needs to, I have no problem with short chapters or long chapters.
5b We may not have enough people to serve as judges so judging may have to be by the group.

Mr. Clean

07-Jun-2011, 07:26 AM

Oh man....lol starting is always the hardest part.

brer

07-Jun-2011, 06:07 PM

So far we have had about a week to accumalate writers. As best I can tell, we have four to five total. This has advantages and disadvantages.

As far as disadvantages go, we cannot write the story on a very grand scale.

As far as advantages go, we can be a small cohesive group if we try to work together.

I am currently generating a few characters and some minor plotlines. These are not to control the story, but as I hope, to aid us working together. If you need my protagonists to take a dive to tie your stuff into the the main plot, whatever we decide the main plot is, let me know.

What does everyone want out of this? What is our basic storyline gist going to be?

Based on the modified Romero rules that have not been voted down so far and my thoughts on the initial outbreak:

The outbreak starts in hospital morgues, funeral homes, old folks homes, and the homes of the elderly. Maybe toss in some indigent homeless for flavor. Basically anyplace that you expect to see people dying in a normal manner.

They resurrect as slow zombies. Truth be told, they are not even recognized as being deceased initially by most. They have a bad habit of biting.

This starts the second wave of fast zombies where it gets out of hand quickly. The newly risen dead expand their numbers rapidly. After about a half day to a day, they start winding down into slower zombies. By this time, the majority of the population has been converted.

I'm figuring that the initial chapters come in to introduce the characters during the early part of the outbreak, before it gets real dangerous.

I have some thoughts about afterwards, but I want to hear everyones thoughts about what they want in the story.

Mr. Clean

08-Jun-2011, 01:49 AM

My first submission won't have an actual zombie encounter. Just hints of the chaos and lots of character information. Second submission will throw in some encounters.

AngryNeighbour

08-Jun-2011, 02:54 PM

I think all the rules sound fine, as long as everyone else agrees with them, we should start with the submissions and get an order going.

I want to go third if that is alright.

brer

09-Jun-2011, 11:59 AM

I think all the rules sound fine, as long as everyone else agrees with them, we should start with the submissions and get an order going.

I want to go third if that is alright.

Sounds good to me. If it's OK with everyone, no fast zombies yet.

If it's OK with the group, my first chapter is going to be a cop that gets bit during the initial part of the outbreak after successfully arresting one of the undead. He's going to be a sacrificial character and subplot just to set tone for the second stage of faster zombies. Likely he will only show up one more time in a later chapter rampaging the hospital.

This brings up a topic that has likely been handled before. Can a zombie be knocked out? How effective is a taser on one of the undead?

AngryNeighbour

09-Jun-2011, 07:13 PM

Well if we're going by Max Brooks Zombie Survival Guide they can't be knocked out (I've never seen it happen in a Romero movie either) but tasers do effect them, by probably just stopping them in their tracks or knocking them down.

brer

09-Jun-2011, 07:42 PM

The way my chapter is going to play is that the zombie gets roughed up and tased just long enough to slip it into cuffs.

Edit.

I finished the chapter roughly as described. I really do not want to post it until I can see how everyone else wants to go with the story.

Mr. Clean

24-Jun-2011, 05:52 AM

AngryNeighbour

24-Jun-2011, 11:46 PM

I wouldn't be kicking yourself bro, I haven't started anything.

I don't think these pieces should take a large sum of time, it's just for fun, we're not going for new york times bestseller, and fuck, Danielle Steele has bestsellers. Look at the length of Brer's original piece, it's not a huge amount of time, some good research put into it though and obviously some thought, but you seem like a guy it comes easily too.

I'll be starting and probably finishing mine on Tuesday because that's the first day my exams are over. If I'm too busy partying ahahah, I'll have it Wednesday.

brer

25-Jun-2011, 04:41 PM

I haven't had time to work on my story. :|

I'll try to dump some time on it this weekend. Hopefully have a chapter done sometime soon.

-- -------- Post added 23-Jun-2011 at 11:52 PM ---------- Previous post was 17-Jun-2011 at 01:26 PM ----------

I may have to withdraw from the story. I don't really want to do this but I don't want to hold anyone back. I can't seem to find time to sit at the computer and write. I plan on trying to do some now but here lately the wife has been hogging it for college purposes. If ya'll need to go ahead and start without me, no hard feelings on my end but hopefully I can throw something together. How far has everyone else came along with there portions?

No one else has submitted anything yet, so don't worry. Inertia takes a while to kick in.

Edit to add: I have one chapter written. I did the first chapter also. I would rather submit the chapter I have written after some of the other submissions have come in so that I'm not actually driving the direction of the story more than anyone else. As said before, mine will have zed content. Basic plotline is that a pair of policemen find a reanimated hobo shambling in an upscale part of town. The zombie is a slow one, but still manages to bite an officer. The police do not realize that the hobo is one of the living dead and arrest him.

Do not let my plotline drive yours! I am more than willing to change mine to fit with the majority. I am just figuring that by the time my turn comes around, it may be time to have zombies in a zombie story. If not, I can do another chapter and use this one later.

End Edit

Unless a majority wants weekly submissions, I'm not going to sweat anything. A bit of our work is going to revolve around the previous submission, so we have to keep that in mind. Dropping a new piece on a person and only giving them a week to finish or rewrite a chapter may make the story rushed. As long as the story progresses at a steady rate and does not die of apathy, I'm more than happy.

Let's get some chapters or even plot lines submitted to see where we want to go with this.

AngryNeighbour

25-Jun-2011, 06:32 PM

Yeah there's no rush, it would be kind of cool if years down the road we look back at the start of this thing and we're like oh my god. I'll have a chapter submitted by Tuesday.

Neil

18-Jul-2011, 09:51 AM

Has this stalled, before it's even taken off? :(

AngryNeighbour

19-Jul-2011, 02:49 AM

Man I was really expecting to have my part submitted by Tuesday...but my part turned into a completely different story ahahaa. I'll try to get something done soon though!

brer

12-Aug-2011, 09:36 PM

C'mon guys and gals. Let's get something going on this.

AngryNeighbour

28-Aug-2011, 06:38 AM

I can't believe the last time I posted was near the beginning of summer! Boy does time fly.

I got sidetracked with a bunch of stuff, sorry.

Right now I'm writing TWO scripts for school plays.

Lehcar

05-Dec-2011, 03:35 AM

Is this thread dead? (No pun intended...)

I know I'm a total newb (or should I say "Fresh Meat") to the site but I *really* like the concept of a multi-author work and the first chapter was great.

I'm more than willing to submit my chapter to the "moderator" of the story before s/he makes a finally decision on whether to keep my character or not...

Some ideas I had was a wife who's cheating husband comes home with a "love bite" for the last time, murders him and when the police are called they automatically assume he was a zombie and it was self-defense. Is this a one-off murder? Was her motivation purely jealousy/rage and she will now go back to working within a community to restore order or attempt survival? Or has she tasted the taking of life and found the social constrictions of "live and let live" wanting?

Or maybe a husband/wife team who have been preparing for just such a disaster for years (a la "Tremors"). Is the disaster they have been preparing for the launching pad for the ultimate destiny they feel has always been theirs? Or do they fall prey to backbiting, diappointment and the sheer unrealized scope of man's new world? They could provide the initial resource stash for our unlikely band to begin their trek of survival/containment, perhaps provide continuity by having two or three children of varing ages (a set of twins to explore the mysterious psychological/physiological bond that twins seem to share?) which are enveloped into the group when the parents perish for one reason or another?

Lemme know if this thing still has the green light. :D