Organizing the Storytellers
I've been kicking this idea around in my head for quite a while. I even started a discussion about it in the general message boards a while back, but didn't get much of a response. Some time ago, Lost had mentioned the idea of creating a companion book to go with the documentary, filled with the written stories told by users.
Now, I kind of pictured this as an ode to Jack Kerouac...sort of an "On the Road...with Zombies"
Somehow we would end up tying the tales of many travelers in together to form a central underlying plot. It would be a huge collaborative effort from all of the writers on the site. We have SO many really talented people here and I think it would be amazing. However, I have no idea how to jump start something like this.
I considered an outbreak, but don't know if that's really the right format to start such a discussion. Any ideas?
Now, I kind of pictured this as an ode to Jack Kerouac...sort of an "On the Road...with Zombies"
Somehow we would end up tying the tales of many travelers in together to form a central underlying plot. It would be a huge collaborative effort from all of the writers on the site. We have SO many really talented people here and I think it would be amazing. However, I have no idea how to jump start something like this.
I considered an outbreak, but don't know if that's really the right format to start such a discussion. Any ideas?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by eliZa on -
send someone to ohio and i have a character for them to bounce into - i don't want to do a long sequence, your serial-turning-into-a-book amazes me but my hand and jaw will lock up from fear at any sort of long endeavor. i'm a sprinter when it comes to writing, is what i'm trying to say. and i will do a short run if you would like some action in ohio.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on -
I am writing as we speak. Maryland, West Virginia, then Ohio. Shouldn't take me long...Going real dark for the next one and I don't like being there so it won't take long at all.
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Permalink Reply by eliZa on
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yeah that got a little dirty-sounding near the end but you know what i mean. just tell me where they'll meet up and when, i've always been excellent at test-taking and book reports, i'm fairly certain i can give you something of some quality even with a few necessary guidelines so it fits with the flow of the character activity/outbreak :)
p.s. i love On the Road. amazing people- like dean (neil-whatever, you know, at least until the 60's and the bus driving but ON AND ON THIS COULD GO!)
i feel the ramble that may have erupted and spread into infinity within this comment is a perfect example of why i have to sprint for now- i have to keep my train of thought on a tight leash when it comes to prose - however much i truly like it spontaneous.
go for it, beth. you start throwing out some orders and we'll start tossing some stories at you. be a fascist (but a NICE fascist) - take the reins!!
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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Nice fascist? You're my favorite kind of fruitcake have I told you that recently?
LOL!!
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Permalink Reply by Todd Merrick Harkin on -
personally i think your on the right track. ok so what you'll have to do in the case of a longer book is have one underlying plot. The outbreak, you need to have dates, origins, things that link and correspond within some stories. Like similar newspaper titles or outbreak dates. and thats all easy to change and interchange in any piece of work. then you can do like Max Brooks does and has the interviews as the book but with the talent on the site you can put something better together. well better in a more literal sense of the word, as in adding art work, stories of those affected and those of spectators. it could be the Survivors Network Record or Archive. where the original author submits his work, one or more people edit it more for spelling and grammar unless previously stated.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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The idea that is shaping up so far will have character interactions along a traveling network of survivors. What I'd really like to do is get all of the writers interested in being involved to meet up in a chat room either here or on Yahoo, or form an email correspondence group to discuss direction and ideas.
Personally, I would really like to stay away from Max Brooks territory and do something different. Which is why the idea of following a formula such as Jack Kerouac's "On The Road" is so appealing. It not only has the beauty of never having been tried, it would hopefully bring something new to the genre.
The way that a few of us have been discussing it so far, this would be a character driven piece. The zombie apocalypse would be the underlying plot and of course we would work on it, but it would be the characters' survival and interaction stories that would be driving the bus, so to speak. These are just raw ideas of course.
I really like the newspaper article and corresponding real life events idea. That would make the story much more believable if we could take actual events and add in zombies as the underlying cause for them.
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Permalink Reply by Quiggz on -
I can shoot stuff in both the Buffalo and Philadelphia areas, so that could be a big plus. Characters can carry over into two locations.
What I think we need to decide on is how the whole documentary is going to go. Are we going to fabricate an entire outbreak and do the whole thing like that, or do we want to just throw together bits and pieces that make it seem like zombies are out there, but the outbreak has yet to occur? The impression I got at first was the latter, but I am open to whatever you guys want to do.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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This isn't a filmmaking thread. The idea we're looking at here is a companion book for the documentary or stand alone zombie novel. If you write we'd love to have your ideas!
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Permalink Reply by eliZa on
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so sort of along the lines of The Stand/On the Road/Four Rooms? The Stand has all the different character threads, On the Road has the recording of experience wanderer aspect, and Four Rooms has a different director for each segment. put them all together, add zombies and Six Degrees of Marybeth? am i close to what you're going for?
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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The six degrees of separation angle is a good one. I like it. But, it doesn't neccessarily have to be one of my characters, though the fact that I've already got something like that going with the serial could help us with a starting point if that works for everyone else involved. If not we can come up with something else and begin fresh with new stories and add perspectives as they come. I sort of had the idea of buying a map of the continental US and putting post it notes with names on them over contributor locations just to keep things straight and on track. This will help with character continuity and direction.
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Permalink Reply by Todd Merrick Harkin on
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amazing idea Beth!!!
so kind of like the movie Crash? But in a pen and paper sense. Different stories that have brief or extended interaction with the characters...so mine meets yours in New York in a pass by or something. And all with the underlying theme of the outbreak.
am i kind of hitting the nail on the head?
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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Well I have never seen Crash, but yeah you've got the right idea. Characters meet, new characters are created, they travel on, meet other characters by other writers and spread out across as much of the country as possible. All of the stories would be interweaving. Different perspectives will bring different ideas on the cause, but true to Romero the actual cause is never more clear than a peripheral snapshot or two. I really don't want to tread on anything that has been done by someone else, so I'd like to avoid virus scenarios, meteors, voodoo, wrath of god explanations as a way to wrap it up in a bow if at all possible. The meat of the story will be the survivors themselves.
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