SAMPLE VIRUS MANIACS
Matango (1963, aka Attack of the Mushroom People)
I Drink Your Blood (1970)
The Crazies (1973 and 2010 remake)
Who Can Kill a Child? (1976)
Blue Sunshine (1977)
Rabid (1977)
Cannibal Apocalypse (1980)
The Children (1980)
Nightmare City (1980)
Night of the Comet (1984)
Warning Sign (1985)
Primal Rage (1988)
Grindhouse/Planet Terror (1997)
28 Days Later (2002)
Cabin Fever (2002)
The Happening (2008)
The Signal (2008)
Pontypool (2009)
State of Emergency (2011)
Come Out and Play (2012)
Cooties (2014)
Hidden (2015)
The Girl With All the Gifts (2016)
Viral (2016)
The Cured (2017)
Mayhem (2017)
Mom and Dad (2017)
10
CUSTOM ZOMBIE BUILDER
WE THINK OF ZOMBIES as having a specific set of strengths and weaknesses which vary by type (viral, voodoo, etc.). For example, Voodoo zombies may be blocked by salt, while viral zombies are only destroyed by traumatic brain injuries.
For your convenience when creating new zombies, here is a list of possible zombie strengths and weaknesses:
POSSIBLE ZOMBIE STRENGTHS
Bloody Projectile Vomit (five-foot range)
Can Create New Zombies of Any Type (either as slaves under its control or free-willed)
Can Create New Zombies of Its Same Type (either as slaves under its control or free-willed)
Enhanced Physical Perfection (erasing any scars, tattoos, brands, blemishes)
Enhanced Senses (such as seeing in pitch darkness, hear conversations across a crowded room, etc.)
Gains victims' memories from eating their brains
Immortality (may show signs of decay but won’t fall apart)
Immunity to Psychic Abilities (either all or specific)
Natural Defenses (claws, fangs, poison, etc.)
Resistance to Pain (either all or specific kinds)
Resistance to Psychic Talents (either all or specific)
Spread Disease through Bodily Fluids or Wounds
Super-strength
Super-reflexes
Super-speed
POSSIBLE ZOMBIE WEAKNESSES
Cannot Consume Normal Food/Drink (becomes ill)
Cannot Enter Holy Ground
Cannot Climb or Swim
Comatose During the Day
Killed by Traumatic Brain Injury
Hurt or Killed by Decapitation
Hurt or Killed by Dismemberment
Hurt or Killed by Fire
Hurt or Killed by Holy Objects
Hurt or Killed by Salt
Hurt or Killed by Sunlight
Must Feed on Brains (can be animal or human)
Must Feed on Flesh (can be Animal or other non-human)
Must Feed on Flesh (must be Human)
Repelled by Fire
Repelled by Holy Objects
Repelled by Salt
Repelled by Water
Remember, anything a zombie is drawn to can be used against it. Clever (or desperate) characters could use the zombie's favorite food as bait or poison.
11
DISASTER PLOT TEMPLATES
THE RACE AGAINST TIME AND THE HOLE-UP AND HOLD OUT
WHETHER NATURAL OR MANMADE, disasters have always fascinated us because they aren’t science fiction—they’re science fact. Climate change, asteroids, volcanic eruptions… all can create apocalyptic scenarios, and in mere moments, paint a post-apocalyptic landscape.
There are basically two types of plots for disaster stories: The Race Against Time and The Hole-up and Hold Out (similar to the Siege). The first type of plot involves scientists, the military, law enforcement, or other emergency preparedness personnel in a position able to avert, divert, or mitigate the impending disaster. The second type of plot is the exact opposite, and deals with regular people caught up in and attempting to survive impossible situations… perhaps in an unusual location, such as a ski resort, high rise, bomb shelter, on board a speeding train, on the last flight out, etc.
Eventually, both plots end or morph into post-apocalyptic plots: either The Road, The Siege, or both (these are discussed in the next chapter).
You can replace zombies with looters or crazed survivors, nukes with tornadoes, volcanos, hurricanes, a nuclear power plant meltdown—whatever disaster you like! The disaster can be all on its own or as a side effect of nuclear war, zombies, aliens, crazed robots, etc.
The two disaster plots can be combined with each other and/or with the post-apocalyptic plot. This is typically done by having a married couple split between two locations: one relatively “safe” and other very much in danger. One spouse is the professional racing against time, the other has no clue what to do and is just trapped somewhere, relying on others for survival. As long as the two can communicate, you have a bridge between the plots, but at some point, that communication must be cut off. This typically as soon as the danger hits, shortly before, or shortly after.
When you combine disaster plots with post-apocalyptic ones, you create new and interesting variations on the end of the world. For example, Flight of the Living Dead (2007) takes the classic airport disaster movie and combines it with zombies for a fresh spin on the apocalypse. Can they land the plane safely? Should they? Or will the Air Force shoot them out of the sky to contain the infection?
Train to Busan (2016) is zombies on a train, which The Cassandra Crossing (1976) did as a straight virus movie forty years earlier.
What classic disaster movie plots can you combine with the end of the world? The possibilities are endless…
In particular, I want to point out one low-budget apocalyptic gem, This is Not a Test (1962). It’s a tense one location drama, like Night of the Living Dead, but without zombies. It deals with a group of people stuck on a lonely desert highway on the night World War 3 begins. The would-be survivors are caught between a brutal deputy sheriff with orders not to let anyone pass his roadblock, and an escaped serial killer posing as a hitchhiker. You can guess how things turn out…
SAMPLE DISASTERS
Deluge (1933)
In Old Chicago (1937)
The High and the Mighty (1954)
A Night to Remember (1958)
The Last Days of Pompeii (1959)
The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961)
This Is Not a Test (1962)
Crack in the World (1965)
Airport (1970)
The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
Earthquake (1974)
Heatwave! (TV, 1974)
The Towering Inferno (1974)
The Hindenburg (1975)
The Cassandra Crossing (1976)
Two-Minute Warning (1976)
Avalanche (1978)
Blackout (1978)
Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979)
The China Syndrome (1979)
City on Fire (1979)
Meteor (1979)
Plague (1979)
Goliath Awaits (1981)
The Day After (TV movie, 1983)
Starflight: The Plane That Couldn’t Land (TV, 1983)
Runaway Train (1985)
Daylight (1996)
Night of the Twisters (1996)
The Trigger Effect (1996)
Twister (1996)
Dante’s Peak (1997)
Titanic (1997)
Volcano (1997)
Hard Rain (1998)
Armageddon (1999)
Deep Impact (1999)
The Perfect Storm (2000)
The Core (2003)
The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
Poseidon (2006)
Blackout (2008)
2012 (2009)
Knowing (
2009)
Aftershock (2012)
The Impossible (2012)
It’s a Disaster (2012)
Pompeii (2014)
San Andreas (2015)
The Wave (2015)
Cordon (TV, 2016)
Deepwater Horizon (2016)
Geostorm (2017)
Only the Brave (2017)
Now that we’ve got a grasp for the scope and kind of disasters we can write about, let’s explore how to put them in practice with my convenient disaster plot templates. These work for any pre-apocalypse, early stage apocalypse, or contained (limited scope) apocalypse.
“THE RACE AGAINST TIME” PLOT TEMPLATE
We briefly meet the main character(s) in their Ordinary World before they have any news of an apocalypse. We see their hopes, their reality, their flaws. They go about their normal day, which gives us a chance to meet most of the supporting cast along with any minor characters.
Suddenly, they get the news the apocalypse is coming. This news typically comes down the chain of command from their superior, or a close, highly-placed contact if the main character is at or near the top of their particular food chain (mayor, chief of police, etc.). The news may be vague or specific at this point, but even if it is presented as the complete picture, it will not be.
A hurried meeting is held and amidst much tension, ideas, theories, and strategies are presented, rejected, and accepted. This is an opportunity to see the main character shine, as well as any rivals or villains on the team to reveal themselves.
The main character is assigned an important task to complete in relation to the disaster, but not given enough time, people, or resources. This creates more tension, more desperate hope that somehow, some way, it will be enough. It has to be.
News of the disaster (or its side effects, such as looting) reach the main character. This incentivizes him to hurry in his task.
A breakthrough is discovered, and implemented, but the calculations are off, data faulty, etc. What was supposed to be a triumph turns into a disaster. Violence and other loss ensues.
Back to the drawing board. More ideas, more theories, more strategies are discussed, but now they have even less time, people, and resources. Things look bleaker than ever.
The main character snaps out of his depression… something he heard earlier, some vital piece of information that seemed unimportant at the time, suddenly comes back to him in a “Eureka!” moment.
The discovery is met with resistance, if not outright rejection, by the main character’s superiors or colleagues (especially any rivals or villains). Time is running out. Another plan is put forward by a rival or villain and accepted.
The main character goes behind the back of his superiors and implements his own plan by whatever means necessary. Violence may ensue.
As the rival plan fails, the main character comes forward with his plan, which is either ready to go, or already in effect, and after more tension, his plan is fast-tracked, receiving additional people and resources. The rival or villain, seeing no other choice, may reluctantly join forces with the main character at this point, or else bow out of the project. Then again, they may try to stop the main character, leading to violence and other loss. Perhaps a supporting character, an ally of the main character, is killed or injured in the conflict.
The main character’s plan achieves success, though not without cost—more cost than if his superiors had listened to him in the first place. The extent of that success is limited to provide the author’s desired outcome. Likely only a portion of humanity is spared the disaster, but a larger share than would have been spared otherwise. The story usually ends on a bittersweet but hopeful note, though of course, you’re free to end it however you like.
“THE HOLE-UP AND HOLD-OUT” PLOT TEMPLATE
We briefly meet the main character(s) in their Ordinary World before they have any news of an apocalypse. We see their hopes, their reality, their flaws. They go about their normal day, which gives us a chance to meet most of the supporting cast along with any minor characters.
Suddenly, they get the news the apocalypse is coming. This news typically comes from the media or an unreliable third party. As such, the news is vague, misinformed, or outright propaganda at this point, but even if it is presented as the complete picture, it will not be. The news may be scoffed at and dismissed or taken seriously. This is when a “ticking clock” countdown to disaster kicks in, whether the main character knows it or not.
Regardless of whether the news is believed, something happens to make the main character aware that something strange is going on, so it’s better to be safe than sorry.
The main character gets in contact with friends and family to try to a) corroborate the story, b) check on their welfare, and c) to see if they should coordinate on some kind of shared survival plan. They will put together some sort of vague, badly thought-out plan on the fly.
The main character travels to gather supplies and encounters tension, violence, and other unsuspected frightening events that foreshadow the impending disaster and the worst of human nature.
The main character is threatened at this point and one or more strangers comes forward to intervene, driving off the threat and displaying their fighting competence and/or empathy. This impresses the main character so much that the stranger(s) are invited to join in the survival plan. The stranger(s) agree. The stranger(s) should be chosen to provide skills the main character lacks and to fulfill whatever role you need: lover, warrior, strategist, rival, enemy, etc.
The characters collect—or attempt to collect—the other people and/or supplies in the plan. This should lead to more tension, and possibly violence. Possibly new characters are added to the group at this point, and these are the ones most likely to end up as rivals or villains.
With as many people and supplies as they can manage, the characters beat a hasty retreat to their hold out location. Something goes wrong. Maybe a flat tire, a road block, looters or other criminals, or somebody forgot something important and decides to go back and get it, promising to see them at the hold out later… which may or may happen.
The characters hole up in their hold out, erecting what defenses and other safety precautions they can. Windows will be boarded up, etc. Something will be found (or found out) that appears inconsequential now but will take on great importance later.
The countdown to the disaster approaches the end. If they were not aware of the countdown before, they are now, either from obvious signs outside or through the media or online. Tension mounts. This is a good time to insert a sex scene, a fight, or both.
The disaster hits, preferably at the climax of the sex, fight, or whatever tense moment you’ve selected. The story can end here if you don’t want any survivors. Otherwise, everyone goes into shock or panic. Some bounce back faster than others, some may never bounce back and this can be a problem later as these characters will be either useless or dangerous to the group.
The survivors decide on a new plan based on the disaster. The plan sounds logical—and it may be—but because the characters are lacking certain vital information, it ends up getting one or more of them killed.
The survivors regroup and come up with more ideas and theories and strategies, leading to more tension and possibly violence. At this point, whatever item or news you planted earlier that was ignored is now seized upon by the main character and presented to the group; this act quickly diffuses the tension and/or end the violence. The group has hope again.
The characters decide to act on the new plan and achieve success, though not without cost. If you are running a hybrid plot with the Race Against Time template, this is where the couple are reunited. The story can end here on a bittersweet but hopeful note, or as a tragedy, or it can morph into one of the post-apocalyptic plots: either The Road or The Siege. Which one depends on whether the group has kept or lost its shelter.
12
POST-APOCALYPTIC PLOT TEMPLATES
THE ROAD AND THE SIEGE
NOW THAT YOU KNOW how to start your story, what about the plot? Well, good news! There are only two main plots in post-apocalyptic fiction: “The Road” and “The Siege.” Some stories find a way to combine the two, such as The Road Warrior (1981) or The Walking Dead (TV, 2010-present), while others may use only a little of one and a lot of the other.
For example, your story could start with the characters on the road seeking permanent shelter―a journey that takes up most of the story―only to find it but be besieged and lose it all. The survivors end up on the road again…
Or, your story could begin with your characters holed up in what they think is a permanent shelter, fending off siege after siege until they are forced to go on the road.
Both plots prove nowhere is safe in the end. And that's the point of writing post-apocalyptic fiction: What you think will save you will kill you if you hold on too tightly.
If you are writing a story with monsters other than zombies, you can still use these templates. Simply swap in whatever type of creature you want: aliens, animals, mutants, road warriors, robots, vampires, etc. They all work.
“THE ROAD” PLOT TEMPLATE
The apocalypse strikes suddenly or is already underway (this choice determines how knowledgable your characters are about the threat).
Writing Apocalypse and Survival Page 8
