Announcing “Project: Dyszombie”

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Announcing “Project: Dyszombie”

ATTN: ALL SERIOUS WRITERS AND SUPPORTERS OF THE INEVITABLE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE

RE: We need help building a new Zombie sub-milieu

I would like to cordially invite all members and followers of the Inevitable Zombie Apocalypse to participate in a new sort of project. It is called “Project: Dyszombie”. The project is open to all serious writers who want to contribute to the milieu. When enough quality content is generated, we will compile the work into a single, standalone volume. There is a catch: The dyszombie is NOT the same as your classic Zombie. Below is a quick FAQ:

1. What is a “Dyszombie”?

The dyszombie is a twist on the classic thinking of the zombie. Suppose everything we know about zombies was actually incorrect. Suppose there was a type of zombie that was very much alive. More alive, in fact that you and I. Suppose that zombie was not a cannibal, but possessed superhuman strength, and the inability to differentiate between friend and foe. Suppose the zombie was not the degenerate form of the human life, rotting and decaying, as a metaphor of the rot and decay in us all. In fact, suppose you and I were the degenerate form of this creature, and while we grow weaker everyday, the zombie grows stronger, is more healthy, and will eventually replace us all. And suppose this zombie attacks not the living human, but his baser tendencies. Suppose it is not our mere existence which causes the zombie attack, but the fact that we hurt one another, and steal from one another, and spend our time falling farther and farther from utopia.

This creature is called the dyszombie, or the anti-zombie.

2. What is Project: Dyszombie?

A. “Project: Dyszombie” is not attempting to create a new trope. Instead we are flipping the classic zombie on its metaphorical and metaphysical head. Project: Dyszombie is a community based writing initiative about this sort of creature. At some point in the not so distant future, a virus will be created with the aim of removing deviance from individuals. This virus will then find its way into the prison population, making literal “zombies” of hardened criminals, until one day, the virus mutates and gets free. Project: Dyszombie aims at chronicling the experiences of those who survive, those episodes being written almost exclusively by the audience who reads them.

3. Isnt this just another zombie story?

A. No. It is one where the people who read it contribute to it. The goal is to build a community-generated narrative of the last days of humanity as we know it. This means that you, the reader, are the ones who write it (I will write it too.) And the best stories, (judged by the criteria of sticking closely to the rules of the milieu, among other subjective criteria) will be published as part of the growing project. The worst, well, they will probably be rejected. A story that involves thinking of the zombie in classic terms: as a degenerate, cannibalistic, rotting animal, will almost be guaranteed rejection. It’s time to start thinking outside of the box, people.

4. Published where? Will there be money involved?

A. On the internet at first, and it is doubtful that there will be money involved. If there is ever an opportunity to make money, a serious discussion between all accepted contributors concerning terms and etc will need to be had, but we are not even in the same country that this particular bridge is in, so it is inappropriate to talk about that. But beyond money, there is the opportunity to have your name attached to this really neat idea, and accompanied with all the fame and glory that comes from internet publishing!

Other questions will follow. If you are interested, stay tuned. I will have foundational documents available and published online shortly, and we can begin discussing the milieu some more.