Learning From Zombies

What makes zombies so attractive? It's certainly not their good looks. There's no denying, however, that many are fascinated by the living dead, especially at this time of year. I'm not a zombie fan-o-maniac--celebrating death and evil isn't my idea of a good time--but let's not throw those little flesh eating babies out with the bathwater.

5 Writerly Takeaways From Zombies

1. Give your characters dogged purpose.
Zombies know what they want and they go after it. And after it. And after it. Oh, there's a house with 5 humans locked in a cellar that's barricaded by steel bars and booby-trapped with a half-ton of C4? No problem for a zombie. He won't be stopped no matter what insurmountable odds are thrown against him. And that, my friends, is exactly how you should craft your characters.

2. Provide an opportunity for real change.
Much has been said about the zombie craze being connected with societal dissatisfaction, namely in governmental matters (here's an example). Unrest always comes before an upheaval, which results in changing the status quo. Do that in your plot and your characters. By the end of your story, there should be some kind of cataclysmic change in your protagonist and his world.

3. Kill your darlings.
Zombies are ruthless. So is the publishing biz. To survive, you must whip your manuscript into shape before you submit it anywhere. Every writer gets a little too flowery with their descriptions or metaphors or over-reaching literary prose. Edit those things out. Search and destroy. Then give your manuscript to a critique buddy and ask them to go after your darling little cutesy bits and delete those as well.

4. The underdog must be the champion.
Want to write a memorable novel, the kind a reader keeps on the shelf? You've got to have an underdog who beats the odds. Everyone loves the nerd boy to finally win (as long as he's been transformed into not being quite such a nerd...refer back to point 2). Zombies only look like they're the big winners until an unlikely band of scraggly humans join together to stomp on 'em. It's those humans we ultimately cheer for. Mimic that in your story and you'll have a winner.

5. They might be dead, but they're still pretty much human.
Even though zombies have parts of their faces falling off or are maybe missing a hand or a limb, they still retain their human form, albeit raggedy. That's exactly how you should craft your villain. No matter how cruel your antagonist is, give him some human qualities.

Whether you're on board with the current zombie craze or not, these tips just might endear the current crop of undead lovers to your story.