How to Write a Walking Dead: Fighting Zombies Scene

Part 1

A. Will there be people at the safe area, will there be resources?

I. What will be in the safe area? Will there be supplies or are they going to the safe area for a long time, maybe even live there?

II. Who else knows about this area, and who else will be joining them? Are these everyday people or are they high official rank people? Who’s allowed to come? Are they even allowed to go to this area? Should they even know about it or did they find out through a secret source?
    

III. How long until the resources run out? Are these resources such as medicine and cures? Is it available for everybody or only a limited amount of people? Does someone need a permission slip or a badge in order to get these resources? What is the characters’ plan when they arrived at the safe place? That will be their plan B.
    

B. Is this safe area legit or is it just a theory? How many people are able to fit and/or survive there?

I. What proof is there that there is a safe place amongst the world? Where do they get this information from? Is it the slightest chance that the place has been destroyed? Is it the slightest chance that this place is fiction and not even real?

II. What was this place originally built for? Was it built during or before the zombie war? This is relevant because it shows what the builder or designer’s mindset was like when they created this safe-haven.

C. Is this safe area the first of many or do they have to continue a longer journey after they get to it?

I. Why are they going to the specific safe place? Are there others built? Can they replicate it or duplicate it in the area that they are in? If not, why not?

II. Let’s say this is one safe area but it’s not completely secure, so their ultimate goal is to go to one further than that. Well, if this is the case, then how long do they plan on staying at the original safe place? What if there is no more room for them; what will they do then?

III. Lastly, who owns the safe place and what must they do to be able to get in? What job must a take on? Such as, when they get there, maybe they have to help defeat the zombies or be a soldier at the Safe Haven.
    

Part 2

A. Does anyone have any former training and can they train anyone quickly?

I. Did they make these tools themselves? Where did these resources come from? Did they have to steal resources off of dead people to get enough supply for the journey?

II. If they plan on using their hands and feet, how do they plan on doing that? Do they have anything tied around their hands and feet to protect it from a zombie bite?

III. Who can train the group on how to fight a zombie on what to do and what not to do? Does anyone have direction at all, or are they all hopeless?

B. Do they have high-tech technology or just everyday items to protect themselves?

I. Please explain how they got this technology; it cannot come out of nowhere. Maybe someone or more than a few people from the group are scientists and engineers. Do they know how to use these technologies or do they just have them for the heck of it?

II. Everyday items to protect themselves isn’t so bad. They really can make some neat weapons with whatever is just lying around the house or whatever is just lying around on the street.

III. Or they can use a combination. One group can have technology, and the other half has their own hands, and the other half has household items. We can only guess who wins against the zombies the most. But you can also have someone not know how to use the technology or the technology stops working, and instead, they use the technology like everyday items. For example, they have a high-tech gun that ran out of bullets so they have to now use it as a bat instead. Hey, whatever gets the job done.

C. Do they have zombies as pets or Zombies to fight back zombies? In other words, do they have bait?

I. The zombies can be used as pets or as a way to make their journey much easier.

II. Can these zombies fight other zombies and win? They can be used as the forefront… as if they were part of the human Army. If this is the case, explain to the reader how it’s possible to convince a zombie to attack each other rather than to try eating a human brain.
    

Part 3

A. What does the demographics of the group consist of? What must the weaker people do in order to survive and not be a burden?

I. Who has the muscles, who has the looks, is there any stereotypes?

II. The weaker people can cook, clean, build shelter, or even be lookouts.

III. Don’t forget that the people can learn skills and tricks along the way if they learn from me teacher. They may not be the best zombie hunter and killer right now but they can become the greatest at the end of the scene.

B. Does anyone have a map to the promise land, does anyone know the biology of the zombies, does anyone know the consequences of being bitten or any medicine to reverse the wound if it happened?

I. Where did they get it from? How reliable is it, how reliable are they, what happens if it gets lost? Do they know the directions in their head? Does this contain where the zombies are hiding out; is it shown on the map?

II. Give a quick lesson from someone who knows about zombies, someone who is probably a scientist or engineer and they’re describing how to use the technology or how to beat the living hell out of these zombies.

III. Does anyone have any medicine or any home remedies of their own to at least pause the activity of someone getting turned into a zombie if bitten? How much of that stuff do they have to go around?

C. Along the way do they take a few zombies as experiments for science? Do they use zombies as entertainment?

I. This could get interesting. What are they using the zombie for? Are they trying to find a better cure? Are they just doing experiments for fun? Are they testing their latest high-tech weapon on the zombie? Are they trying to send out a message to the safe place through the zombie? If so, is that even possible?

II. Can they make the zombies dance, sing in their mumbled voices, or even play follow the leader or a tag? What happens if one gets out of line or becomes wild, do they shoot them dead?

III. Does anyone have a conscience? Does anyone try to prevent this mayhem from happening? Does anyone get injured as a result of their wild play?
    

Part 4

A. Not everything will be peachy and clean. Who dies, who is on the verge of dying, and who loves them? What are the last moments like?

I. Has anyone died yet? The reader is probably wanting someone to at least get injured by now.

II. Does anyone truly care that that person’s injured or is dying? Do they get left behind on a stoop or on a rock in order to rot away? Does anyone get thrown to the zombies because that’s the quickest way to get over their misery of pain?

III. Does anyone try to injure someone else out of insanity? Does anyone secretly desire to become a zombie and then eat someone else’s head off?

B. Does someone get turned into a zombie, if so what happens next? What does the team have to do in order to get rid of this new zombie?

I. That person can start eating someone’s head off. If it’s not too late before the high-tech technology wipes them out.

II. So if people really cared about the person who turned into a zombie, they may not just blast them away yet. They probably will try anything they can to reverse the zombification.

III. Have them say their goodbyes. Maybe even have someone slowly but surely progress. Lastly, say that person has progressed very slowly into a zombie, which is the sign of immunity, perhaps?
    

C. More than a limb can be lost. Items, sanity and even trust can be lost along the journey. Friendships, family members, and even time can be lost.

I. How many items or resources have they lost? Was it anything important or just something memorable? Did they find anything along the way to replace their lost loved one or lost item?

II. How is the team/group holding up? I can’t with each other or is everyone so dandy and fine? Did they could lose their leader and have to replace them who’s leading them now? How skilled or strong are they?

III. Remember the time. How much time do they have left? Will they be able to make it? Are they too far behind or ahead of the game?

Part 5

A. Show them actually making it to their destination… if you like. Or at least seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

I. How many people have made it? Is there anything unusual that they see or that has happened along the journey? Was it worth the pain and agony?

II. Are there any last surprises? A zombie comes out and bites someone in the nick of time before they make it to the safe-haven? Or perhaps the safe-haven is full of zombies or has been destroyed.

III. How do they look? Are they clean or dirty? Is there a tear running down their eyes, are they too weak to even cry? Do they faint? Do they fall to their knees and holler? Do they hug a stranger?
    

B. Have a mini conversation or quote said, that makes the reader understand that there is hope left. If not a conversation or quote then use a gesture or even a sign such as a dove flying overhead or lights being shown in the sky. Maybe even rain stopping if it had been raining throughout the whole journey.

I. What is exchanged between the characters? Are there any last words? Are they all okay with each other? Will they all split ways or be together and the safe-haven?

II. How powerful is that sign of peace for them? Is that a false sense of peace? Is there something coming soon? Are the characters aware of this or do they think everything bad is in the past?

III. Or if you don’t want to give hope to them then you can use a bad omen. Such as crows, rain, or hail, etcetera.
    

C. Write about the losses, not only from the characters on the journey but what they had to do in order to survive. Use this as a quick recap of the many Zombies they killed or the many lives that have been lost, or how they don’t even feel human or normal anymore because of all the bad things they had to do.

I. Does this character need psychological help? How will they be brought back to this earth? Remember they are human, they are not robots so they will be affected by this.

II. How is the rest of the group hanging in there? If they have to go through this again will they crack? What is keeping them sane? What have they personally lost that can never be replaced?

III. This doesn’t end here. It never ends. There are so many zombies that they’ll come to them eventually; it’s not even funny. Let the character prepare. Let the games begin.