The undead? I'm just curious, what would you guys think if you were reading a book where the main character becomes the undead (not in the vampire way. In the Zombie way) I thought it would be interesting to write about the last things before her body entirely shuts down into the stupified zombie state. But would it work?
Well, what direction are you taking it? If I were reading this and I knew from the start the character was going to turn undead...there would be no suspense, where is the conflict?...However, if I thought that he/she were going to make it in the end, yeah I would be reading it...That could be an enjoyable ride. Do you have any concrete ideas? This sounds interesting.
The suspense is in the fact that she wants to stop the person who killed her. Before her mind turns to undead mush. I'm not sure if that would be enough or not her turning wouldn't come until a little way through the story
To make it even darker, you could take the approach in D.O.A. - there is no stopping the process, but you wish to one responsible to meet justice before you lose all will of your own.
that's an interesting thought. Now I need to see how I can work that in. I thought it would make for more suspense if she was starting to see the signs of her death as the plot goes along. You know lack of feeling taste stiulation. Smell all the things people normally have
To make something like this work, you need to make sure that your readers are misguided, believing that your character is going to come out with a mere flesh wound, and then have them on the edge of their seats before delivering your blow. S
I think this cold be a great story..one I would be interested in reading. I like the idea of taking her through the transition...pretty good stuff!
This is an intriguing idea, I like it a lot. To be honest, I don't feel that you need to mis-guide your readers at all. There are numerous examples of wonderful (and popular) stories where the MC was doomed from the start, and can add such complex depth to the character and story - not to mention the poignancy that will be added to some of the themes that you could touch on. I suppose that it depends how deeply and/or darkly you want to take the direction of the story and character.
I think it could work well either way (misguiding or not) Have you read A Lesson Before Dying? It's about a black man in the segregated south who is wrongly convicted of murder. The story is told from the point of view of a teacher who wants to teach him to read before he is put to death. It shows how the character grows and matures as he faces his own death. It was an Oprah book, but don't let that stop you, it was really good. Anyway, it'd be an example of the reader knowing from the beginning that the main character is dying, and how he grows as a result of knowing his own fate. As to how to start the story, have you consider in media res? (that's latin for "in the middle") To do that, you'd basically start with her knowing she's dying and hunting the guy, and then perhaps do flashbacks or dream scenes to her finding out what's going on. I like it because it throws the reader into the action and then slowly answers their questions as the story moves, but doesn't confuse them as much. Sounds like a cool story, I can't wait to hear more!
If you don't mind watching a B-movie for background, you may take a few tips from I, Zombie, a movie about a man's slow progression from human to zombie. It's downright terrible and not for the squeamish, but it does explore the theme of becoming a zombie (and perhaps observing its problems could lend to avoiding the same pitfalls).
Personally, I would explore the slow loss of those attributes that makes the hero an individual and their reaction.
