Well I thought of this story of a zombie apocalypse, a police inspector who lives in a fictional city in England, the first part of the story is that he is looking for his wife and kids. (Making his way through the city.) The thing is, I can't come up with a beginning where he is away from home so he can make his way back there, any help please? Thank you. PS: Need any more info to be able to help me? PM me.
Very similar to The Walking Dead (a cop who is looking for his wife and kid). Just something I noticed.
I don't know a lot about zombie stuff, but wouldn't a business trip be a simple solution? I'm assuming this is happening in a contemporary, although fictitious, part of England. Or, more interestingly, maybe he walked out on his family for some unbeknownst reason and now that the zombie apocalypse is upon them, he realizes what a dick move he made and fights his way to get his family back. Just brainstorming here.
Missris, thanks for posting, I have just written a scenario, a coincidence? He went to another city for police training and has to make his way back from there to his home, what do you think?
If he's an inspector, perhaps he was across town investigating an incident of some sort, possibly transporting or retreiving a prisoner. That could introduce a potential plot twist.
Joe - I think it sounds like a good place to start! Beginnings suck, I am trying to rework my own beginning and therefore, procrastinating by posting on threads here.
Now let me get this straight. You have a rampant zombie infestation in England, and the part of the story you find unbelievable is a "guy on a business trip"? Hey, if a reader will readily accept the walking dead as a plot point, why not put some spunk into the story and have the guy out of town at a police motorcycle rodeo. Zombies have trouble making tight turns...
Yeah, I'd go with a different route for your MC, it sounds like TWD, set in England. Besides, UK cops wouldn't have many skills applicable to a zombie apocalypse (zombies don't have an aversion to Tasers, truncheons... maybe).
He could have had an appointment he didn't dare miss, like at a doctors or the office of some government agency across town.
Well, that's not very flattering, I mean, this whole Britannia Rules the Waves thing. I saw the Brits go head to head with numerous alien attacks on 'Dr. Who.' And remember not only do they have to react with alacrity, but they have to drive there on the wrong side of the road. I think you under-estimate these guys. In a pinch I'll bet the Brits can behead a zoombie with a deft thrust of a bumbershoot and be home for tea before you can say "Bob's your uncle."
Even in our own zombie movies, we have to call the Americans for backup when the SHTF (see 28 Weeks Later). Although, that said, we did manage with disused service rifles and unloved 12" vinyl records in Shaun of the Dead. Besides, guns are only useful in a ZA for the initial stages. For the long-term, you're going to need to think crossbow or sharp objects.
Well, well, it looks like your common, garden variety Yankee knife sharpener is going to become the hero of your next zombie romp! I'm going to need a cool car, one with the steering wheel on the proper side and no, zip, zero, nada Lucas Electrics! This is not my first touch with fame. It took me over six weeks to sharpen the spears in '300.' And bronze does not take a good edge.
I think you'd need a car with a very decent MPG, so coolness is out of the picture. As nice as the vision is of riding around in a Hummer, you'd be out of fuel pronto.
Merciful heavens! I'm American, not French. I don't care if the engine sucks the entire Devonian oil-bearing layer out from under the queen's bloomers, it's got to bellow or I'm not mellow. My big Harley is over 700 pounds. Granted, that's not as big as the girl I took to prom, but it's a big bike. My F-150 has a stick shift, and stirring the straight cut gears is like wrenching a buck out of my dad's hand with a crowbar. Do those descriptions paint a picture for you? Yikes, I use the engine out of a Prius to run my toothbrush. MPG? That's stands for Make the Pig Go as far as I'm concerned.
Depends on the type of Zombie... but, access to a ... thing that I cannot remember the name of and some practice and it didn't seem too hard to make bullets.
Depends on the type of Zombie... but, access to a ... thing that I cannot remember the name of and some practice and it didn't seem too hard to make bullets.
To be fair in the TV show it only lasted a couple of episodes before they were reunited. In the comics it was in like the second issue. Just make sure it's not because he is in a coma at the start of your story.
Not even that he's away from home working on a case? Seconded to another jurisdiction? On a training course? Visiting friends? Gone fishing? I could go on... But really, just a word of warning - this might be fun and although I know that we are always saying that 'there are no new ideas and it's only how you write it' but the publishers will tell you which ones they WONT publish - atop the list are - Zombies, Werewolves, Vampires - mainly becauase they have been done to the quite literal undeath. Why not lose the zombies and go with absolutely anything else. Just my two cents.
Now, whoa, wait a sec! We're breaking some new ground here! This story is predicated on the theory that the entire British system of society might collapse if this guy takes a business trip. Additionally, these clever zombies have chosen the only place on earth where they actually stand a snowball's chance of not re-dying yet another undeath--that is on British soil minus the Americans. This story has it all! I mean, it has bloody, mindless puerile mass murder, no central super-every-man like Schwarzenegger or Stallone, or even a home grown Bear Grylls. Just a bloke that missed his train and somehow slept through the entire beginning of the Apocalypse. There is no hope the Yanks are coming this time. Our hero has only a bumbershoot, a British over-bite, apparently little fuel and a one-lung automobile, and the entire plot and at least two sequels resting on him getting home. Now, why the entire species of zombies would plan their entire font of world domination by wagering everything on wrecking this schlub's house and eating his wife's brain while he's out of town has got to be the greatest mystery tale ever told! Imagine the crescendo of drama when our lead calls the Pentagon, and he's told that it's 'casual Friday' and all of the really good spec-ops zombie experts have left their guns at home. I can almost hear the collective gasp in theaters as four hundred people all shriek, "Egad, no bombers, just the bumbershoot!" I'm kind of a toe-tappin' guy. I can't wait for the musical, "If I Only Had a Brain-stem."
And idea: Give his reason for being separated from his wife and kids some conflict and emotional gravity. Perhaps he and his wife are separated and argue over a complicated marriage that they believe is no longer working. They talk often about each other and the kids, but there is a Love/hate paradox in every conversation. - Deep down of course he loves his wife and family and they love him very much also. The moment the Zombie Apocalypse starts, his deep love for his wife and family comes into sharp focus. He realizes he's been a fool and how much he'll do anything to protect his family. So remorseful and frantic, yet determined and courageously, he starts his journey through a zombie infested city to save his family - Zombie stopping bazooka in hand! Good luck. John.
And that's another reason where this thin plot falls apart for me. I have known my wife for 40 years. Married people squabble. However, if society dissolved into total chaos and the undead were eating the bodies, I wouldn't rush home, find my wife and state, "All is forgiven for burning the toast this morning." You have bigger fish to fry. I live at the end of "tornado alley." Even a bad storm can separate family members. Cell phones don't work, vehicles are wrecked, damage and emergency personnel tie up what few roads are clear. Not to mention that law enforcement denies access to some areas. A full-on riot, government breakdown, the dead piling up, and one clueless weapon-free hero traversing across a continent isn't even going to happen for even an earthquake--an event many times more serious than a storm. Granted, this is a fantasy. The issue is the problem we all face with superior villains, despotic governments or societal collapse. You have to make the destruction believable, the risk clear-cut, but not so bad that your "every man" is stymied by the conditions you write. And the "Hi, honey, I'm home" scenario just doesn't work for me.
Depending on the audience... your detective could have a mistress. He's in a crumbling marriage, decides to have some sexy time with his girlfriend on the night of the zombie outbreak. It could generate some nice psychological distress as the plot unfolds.
Well, one thing first, I've lived in hurricane country. My family has a "We will meet here" plan in case of disasters/emergencies That's just my family though, not sure if it's normal. But I believe the OP stated that this would be more of the journey to find his wife/family. I agree that in the Walking Dead, Rick magically finding his family was pushing the limits of my suspending belief but done quickly, the reunion can be great.
