An idea I've had for years..

[Nevers]

Hi guys/gals

First of all I'm not sure if I've ever actually posted on these forums before. I've been visiting this website for years - its how my best friend and I find new zombie flicks to watch, and how I like to kill a few hours at work by reading short stories!

I've been meaning to try and contribute something for a while now. I still remember the first time I discovered this website at school, I was inspired by three short stories that non members could read before joining up to the main fiction section - One that stuck with me was a story about an elderly woman in hospital who wakes up to find her leg being chomped by a person / zombie laying next to her. I don't know if anyone remembers it! Anyway it was awesome.

SO - my idea.

I posted years back (probably under a different account that has since been deleted) about the idea of talking zombies - not so much about them having a conversation, but more about them repeating a sentence or phrase they might have heard before / after dying. The idea totally creeped me out and opened up a shed load of ideas... But then I watched Pontypool a few years later and screamed at the TV for stealing my idea.

I haven't let that deter me! I decided to just stop thinking about it and put pen to paper. My story takes place in the early 90s, it occurs during an outbreak after a strange storm engulfs a small English town and follows a few groups of characters (probably a bit ambitious for me). The survivors are going to meet and be trapped in a primary school classroom, with no mobile phones and a handful of children who's lives they cant risk by attempting an escape. The zombies are slow.. but a little different from Romero's as they don't eat their victims. I'm also planning on making them a lot harder to kill - oh and no one knows how the virus is spread, only that when you die you come back.

I'm also writing in present tense, I don't know why other than I love the way it sounds when i narrate it in my head!

For those of you who would like to have a read of a work in progress, I'll leave the Google doc link. Please feel free to leave any feedback or ideas - my writing isn't the greatest so any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm always editing this version so if there's bits that seem broken or don't make sense.. I'm working on it!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SUojKvzGhkIfMs5IJ5MisZTMVQ8k6DDLWpAErKxm3uo/edit?usp=sharing

[Nevers]

Been putting more time into this - I'm still unsure about the beginning of the story but I feel its really picked up momentum fast. I'm going back when I can and proofing so some parts might seem more polished than others.. If there's a specific technique that writers here like to use to proof their own work then I'd love to hear it! As always feel free to chime in.. Opinions welcome!

[Neil]

Been putting more time into this - I'm still unsure about the beginning of the story but I feel its really picked up momentum fast. I'm going back when I can and proofing so some parts might seem more polished than others.. If there's a specific technique that writers here like to use to proof their own work then I'd love to hear it! As always feel free to chime in.. Opinions welcome!

Re-read, re-read and re-read.... :) Ideally, leaving a reasonable space of time each time - It's amazing what reads well one day, but appears a mess the next :)

[Nevers]

Re-read, re-read and re-read.... :) Ideally, leaving a reasonable space of time each time - It's amazing what reads well one day, but appears a mess the next :)

Had exactly this today! Decided to read through the full length of what I'd written and was amazed at the amount of repetition and bits that didn't make sense. I think I'm going to push on and read back over it again in a week. I'm also trying hard to give my characters logic and think about how people might act in these awful situations.

Thanks for the advice!

[Nevers]

I've been going through my writing thoroughly which has meant that progress on the latest chapter has been pretty slow - I've just finished the latest one.

Oh man I can understand why writers might opt for the post apocalyptic route! It's bloody difficult empathising with characters and trying to gauge how they might react to zombies for the first time. I really don't want my characters to appear dumb or illogical.. My thought is that the lucky few that survive their first encounters with a zombie might be in some kind of shock so might act a little strangely anyway.

Ive set the beginning of the story at the very early hours of the morning - so very few people would be out of bed as the zombies start appearing around town. I'm unsure how realistic feels so once again opinions welcome! I guess I just wanted to break away from the cliches and not have any battle hardened survivors running around on page 1.