Cerulean (Robert) flees/fights a zombie

Mike GristLife 1 Comment

I just wrote a chase/fight scene for Zombie Ocean 3, between Cerulean AKA Robert and a zombie.

Question- Has there ever been a character in a wheelchair in popular zombie lore? It makes for an interesting flip of perspective. Trying to imagine myself into the head and body of a paraplegic person is a challenge. Absent a wheelchair, it’s basically all crawling- dragging these motionless legs behind you like a penance. Hard to escape.

It was the same kind of challenge to write from Anna’s perspective, a 5-year old girl, in Book 2 The Lost. She just couldn’t do much. That she’d been bed-bound for a year only made it worse- she was weak, she had no coordination and little knowledge of the outside world or such basics as what to eat, where to sleep, or even where she lived.

Finding a balance I was happy with took experimentation. To break down every little thought she had, because it would be novel to her, was the first track I took. But then even little things like finding a box to stand on so she could reach the kitchen counter and get bananas became tortuously explained.

My second approach was to just assume a certain level of ability. Just say she got bananas and let it be assumed that she got a box. I’m doing the same with Cerulean. He has hard limits, being paraplegic, but he acts fast and gets it done somehow. Everything is new for him when he gets out of his yearlong stint in bed, but he knows what he wants and pursues it.

The first two parts are done. I’m up to 26,000 words, about a quarter through. Things from hereon will get a little crazy.

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