The Walking Dead

Has anyone else been watching The Walking Dead, starring Andrew Lincoln who played Egg in Thats Life as the cop who's in a coma when the Zombie virus strikes? 

Although I've been enjoying it, I have two complaints - 1. not enough Zombie action
2- I don't think Zombies would attack and eat a horse.  For once thing, its human flesh Zombies want and specifically human brains.

At least that's my opinion.

What does anyone else think?  If you haven't seen it, here's a link to the trailer on YouTube -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1v0uFms68U 

One thing the programme has done is inspire me to try my hand at my own Zombie novel.  Hope I can do this brilliant genre justice.  In the meantime, I'm having vivid Zombie dreams.

S'now fair

No buses or trains.  People abandoning their cars in freezing weather and trudging down the motorway like refugees, turning the M8 into one giant car park.  ‘It was like The Day After Tomorrow’ my brother told me. 

He spent four hours running around Glasgow trying to find a way home.  Went to the Bus Station.  No buses.  Went to Information,’ What do I know?’ shrugged the man in the booth.  Some information perhaps?

Same story at the train station.  ‘Oh, but there is a train ten miles away from where you really want to go and it leaves in five hours.’  Bloody fantastic info, especially when they tell you AFTER you bought your ticket.

Eventually he got home seven hours after his brother went into get him in a Land Rover.  Something about their gears makes them good in the snow apparently.

Anyway, I’m listening to this and whilst I’m thinking how terrible it is, I’m also thinking wouldn’t it be great to write a zombie novel set in the snow?  Imagine it, survivors walking by and they see a snowman and think,’ how lovely it is that kids are still doing normal things like building snowmen.  Then the thing moves and it’s a blooming zombie!  I can just see folk jumping in their cinema seats when I sell the movie rights to Night of the Killer Snow Zombies!.  

Editing needs to be done on paper

This past few days I have been editing a novel I've been working on.  I thought writing on a computer screen and using a spell and grammar check, that my work would be error free.  Then I decided to take the advice of others writers more successful than me and print it out and edit it with a red pen.

My, that red pen has been busy.  And you know what, as well as getting rid of all the mistakes I have made, I have improved the manuscript and re-written parts of it.

Editing on paper may seem laborious and old fashioned, but boy is it needed.  As writers we are so close to our work, we don't always see the mistakes.