Lately my life has been all about the zombies. Unlike vampires, zombies are still lingering in the fringes of publishing, though they have really started to take off. How long the trend will last remains to be seen, though Natalie Portman starring in Pride and Prejudice and the Zombies may be a contributing factor.
Like all things I get stuck on, I stumbled on the zombie thing accidentally. I've always kept a plot book-- crammed with ideas that may be brilliant or crap, depending on both perspective and mood. I was reacting negatively to a discussion of the zombie trend when the idea for my current WIP hit me. This happens to me a lot. I start to mentally prepare a criticism of something and realize I would like it, IF... and IF takes over.
One of the things I have done, as I enter the zombie zone, is research the serious side of zombies. No, really. I interviewed an actual Santeria priestess to get the facts from her perspective. I also talked to a funeral director at a family owned funeral parlor. I have about ten pages of notes.
Because once I know the rules, I can break them. Responsibly, I hope, but breaking them is the fun part. I like to anticipate every objection and answer it before it gets loose. So when zombie fans read my work and say to themselves "no, he wouldn't be decomposing yet," they are forced to put on the breaks the second one of my characters explains, patiently and clearly, the reason this preconceived notion is incorrect... at least in my newly created world.
So how do you create rules in a fictional world? And where do you stand on zombies? Frankly, I avoid standing on the ripe ones. They tend to go annoyinglyh smushy. :)
