The Premise
This is a fanfiction story based on a zombie role playing game that took place in face-to-face sessions. As the authors describe it, the game was based on a standard premise:
The dead have returned after a series of disease outbreaks and botched attempts to deal with the situation. Atlanta is under siege. The police are no where in sight. The military are in route. But a small group of survivors find themselves running for their lives and in the middle of something much more sinister than they ever expected.
The author of this free zombie fiction is clear about his intent when he took the game and made it into a zombie story:
This is a character-driven fiction. I always believed Zombie fiction was never truly about the zombies...but the survivors.
About Developing Character-Driven Fiction
The lead author goes on to make some very useful statements about writing. He bases his own fiction on the actions taken by players during a role-playing session.
We play these games as a release and an exercise of our own imaginations and wits... What I intend is for the characters to live and breathe... They have a life of their own and, after a few sessions, both the GM and the player know how the character thinks and what makes them tick. There will be room for the character to grow and change,but it has to make sense in the framework of the character’s own story.
As the leader, he is often in a position to guide the development of character through actively taking charge of the game. This, he says, is very similar to creating good character-driven fiction.
IN FACT, that’s the fun. Discovering who they really are. Actually, that’s the dynamics of any good zombie story. It’s not about the undead and all of the details of the grossness although there is a place for that obviously. A good zombie story is about what we find out about the players. What they actually become. Are they who they claim to be? The hero? The Villain? The coward? The team player? The self centered? The possibilities are endless.
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