What Motivates A Zombie?
Welcome to Fiction Friday. For the past few Fridays I’ve shared with y’all a glimpse into the mind of Zach the Zombie and some of his friends.
Today isn’t *strictly* fiction, but it’s an essential exercise in understanding our hero. Humor me.
This week, I joined the launch team for Jeff Goins‘ new book “Wrecked: When a Broken World Slams Into Your Comfortable Life,” which will be released by Moody Publishing on 1 August. This has me thinking a lot about making a difference and what makes us need that, which is of course bleeding over into what is driving Zach, too. Zach needs to be a Wrecked Zombie.
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I yearn to leave a mark on the world. You do too. We all do.
That yearning is from God.
Each one of us, deep inside, wants. We just want.
When that’s channeled for good, we want good things. We want world peace, and and end to hunger and no more pain and no more war.
When we get overwhelmed by the enormity of that all, we turn to what’s simpler. We want *stuff*. We want a new car, a bigger house. A high score on the latest video game. A closet full of Manolo Blahniks.
But in the end, all this is because we want to leave a mark. We want to be noticed. We want to matter.
We yearn. We strive. We fight. We struggle.
How does this apply to Zach? (because this is Fiction Friday, after all)
Motivation.
Every character needs motivation. Every hero needs something that makes him tick. That drives him forward.
In the beginning, the zombies just kind of hang out. They don’t really know why they’re there. They don’t really care…They just go to Feast every year. Then they go home. Then they kind of hang out until it’s time to go to Feast again next year.
But for Zach, something is missing. He’s got that hole. That yearning. There’s something else he’s supposed to do. To be.
To make a difference for his community. His world.
To find the cause of the Rot.
To find redemption.
Zach wants to matter.
Don’t we all?
Do you ever say “there’s got to be more than just this”? Leave a comment…
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About Christine
I am a writer, a project manager, and a corporate refugee with a heart for orphans around the world. My two daughters were adopted from Ukraine at ages 12 and 14. I post about writing, chasing dreams, and making a difference in the world, and sometimes I share fun snippets of fiction in-progress.
Whenever I find myself saying “There’s got to be more than this.”, it leads me closer to God. Ultimately, it all comes back around to that. Reminds me of Louis CK’s, bit “Why?”, the endless cycle of questions from his young children that lead him back to the universe.
Eventually, even what makes you happy (on any scale) may help you reach contentment, but not purpose. Purpose never ends.
As far as Zach is concerned, without purpose, he’s nothing more than the “new guy in the red shirt” on Star Trek that gets killed at the beginning of the show.
I eventually get back to God, but too often I try to take my own road first. Makes the journey a lot longer. And remind me never to have Zach wear red.