DIGGING ZOMBIES PART 3: GOOGLE EARTH AS A WRITING TOOL
Posted on April 10, 2014
So my zombie series takes place in North Carolina, my current state of residence.
At the end of book one, I had Nathan and his crew fleeing Raleigh to the country, near Lake Gaston. I knew I needed to get them to some mountains to the west. My first thought was Asheville. I searched for a mountain that might have some character to it and came across Grandfather Mountain. That was it. But I didn't abandon Asheville. Something significant happens there that will take the zombies to new heights.
Anyway, my characters were near Lake Gaston, and I needed to move them toward the mountains. Enter Google Earth. I used it to look at the terrain and obstacles they would face. I mapped out a loose plan, knowing that I could find even niftier locales the more I zoomed in on Google Earth.
In fact, I did that for the scene in chapter 3. They come across a small airfield near Oxford. From Google Earth, I could get a quick lay of the land and plan my actions appropriately. I could see the structures and landscape around the airfield.
This is an exciting way to work. I am eager to get them to Grandfather Mountain for book three as there is a unique feature to that mountain that plays in beautifully to what the zombies can do in book three. I can't say anything more.
As I write more chapters, I'll share how Google Earth helps shape the story. Already, it's created much more authenticity than I had originally thought to employ. And that's always a good thing.
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