the zombie stories: influences/inspirations
Originally posted at nora at inkstain.
In case you are wondering, here are some of the things that have been inspiring me for the zombie things and the things that have been influencing the writing style.
There are probably more, but I can’t think of them at the moment. If you like the zombie stories, you might like those things too!
In case you are wondering, here are some of the things that have been inspiring me for the zombie things and the things that have been influencing the writing style.
- Laura Podolnick’s “Dissertation On the Concept of Forever Starting Tonight, Explained in the Second Person, To an Ex-Lover, a Best Friend, and The Man in the Astor Place Subway Station Who Asked Me For a Nickel”. This short story is what got me started writing in the second person.
- The Mountain Goats. The lyrics from this band get me started on a lot of my stories. They’re another reason I write in the second person. While I pick up things stylistically from Podolnick, I think I pick up a lot of tone from Darnielle’s lyrics. These songs tell stories, but a lot of them are quite normal, and a lot of them mix the mundane with the life-shattering. Here are some examples of songs by them:
- Moon Over Goldsboro:
And a guy with any kind of courage
Would maybe stop and think the matter through
Maybe hold you still and raise the question
Instead of blindly holding onto you
But we crank up the heat
And you giggle and moan
Spend all night in the company of ghosts
Always wake up alone
- Oceanographer’s Choice:
Well, guy in a skeleton costume
Comes up to the guy in the Superman suit
Runs through him with a broadsword
I flip the television off
Bring all the bright lights up
Turn the radio up loud
I don’t know why I’m so persuaded
That if I think things through
Long enough and hard enough
I’ll somehow get to you
Then you came in
And we locked eyes
You kicked the ashtray over as we came to warn each other
Look at that
Would you look at that?
We’re throwing off sparks
What will I do when I don’t have you to hold onto in the dark?
- Moon Over Goldsboro:
- A Softer World. It is no secret that I wish I was Joey Comeu. A Softer World is the brainchild of him and Emily Horne; she takes photographs and he adds text to them. They are brief and often absolutely beautiful and insightful. Here are a few of my favorites:
- #9: She was so fluffy
- #18: Go, emily, go!
- #37: true dreams
- #40: Meet me in the street. This one is about zombies.
- #56: but no one says no to me This is the best assassin origin story ever.
- #59: But I never told him about your best selling romance novels. This is also about zombies.
- #77: when there’s no more room in pidgeon hell… Also about zombies.
- #102: plz don’t leave me!
- #133: Oh man. What could happen next?
- #233: there were like thirty scooters in that ice cream truck
- #238: that’s how we keep going. we make the best of things.
- #342: the tasty side zombies zombies zombies
- #357: Is that guy even a student here?
- And then there’s #284, which really does sum up a lot of the stories, and #234, which sums up the philosophy behind a lot of them.
There are probably more, but I can’t think of them at the moment. If you like the zombie stories, you might like those things too!