L.S. Engler

Zombie Attack!

L.S. Engler

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1–2 minutes

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There are just too many great things to write about there; I really need to keep writing if only to cover all my bases! Riding on the coattails of my musings about westerns, I had a conversation with a friend of mine yesterday about zombies and how zombies are totally hot right now. Not just in books, but in an awful lot of media as well, right down to a television show on AMC. I won’t even touch the series of classic books now featuring zombies, which I will one day read, but probably not any day soon. Naturally, I have plenty of ideas for zombie books. It’s incredibly difficult not to, as a huge fan of zombie films. And now it’s been determined that I really need to settle down and get to writing one.

I have several, but among my favourites is actually what I like to refer to as a sort of Alice in Wonderland apocalypse with zombies…and other strange creatures in the bill as well. And, if that doesn’t work, I’ve also got your standard trapped in an old state mental hospital with zombies collecting outside on the grounds. My zombies tend to be medical; something having to do with bad medications or screwed up procedures. It’s always interesting to see what sort of societal ills are reflected in the zombie of the moment, from radiation to metaphors on communism to medical concerns. Either way, now I’m considering trying to get something with zombies finished lately. It does seem that the possibilities for stories ever really end.

Ahhh, this post isn’t one of my bests; it’s been a long, but good, weekend, so my insight is a little off.

2 responses to “Zombie Attack!”

  1. Jon Vagg Avatar
    Jon Vagg

    Hmm. Oddly enough I’m writing a sort-of zombie story alongside other stuff, but I also have the feeling that since zombies are so big right now, and TV and publishers need a year’s lead time to get stuff out, we’d all be better off using our time to think up the Next Big Thing. Staying ahead of the curve, you know? What that might be is anyone’s guess – I know people who are writing about naiads and rooting through a lot of mythology, but then I went to a literary event yesterday where the hottest new writing was much more reality based – some of it trying to cross religious divides and some about the psychological impacts of health, disability and ageing. Possibly these are odd topics for what can loosely be called fantasy writing, but they did it extremely well.

    Reply
    1. L.S. Engler Avatar
      L.S. Engler

      That’s a really good point, actually! I think the nice thing about Next Big Things, though, is that if it does go out of fashion, just hold onto it until it comes back around, since those things are always cyclical. Generally, though, I think trying to find the Next Big Thing is no way to go about finding it; it’s best when it just happens, and usually, that’s exactly how it does.

      And I love fantasy that touches on more “real life” topics rather than just the fantastical. They’re so interesting! I’d love it if that’s something that becomes more of a trend, because I love infusing my own fantasy with more ordinary topics sometimes.

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