Writing and the Walking Dead
SPOILER ALERT! If you’re some strange alien that hasn’t heard about The Walking Dead but plan to watch it, or are a fan who has been living under a rock for the past two days hasn’t been able to watch the most gruesome, gut-wrenching season premiere of any show in the history of television, STOP READING. Consider this your bloody sign leading to Terminus. You have been warned.
It’s been a little over 36 hours since the Season 7 Premiere of AMC’s The Walking Dead (TWD7) and, after careful reflection, I think I’m okay. I’m gonna make it. Though, I can’t say the same for the remaining members of Rick’s merry band of travelers who now have to live in Negan’s world.
For those of you who didn’t happen to peruse through social media following Negan’s crimson imitation of Babe Ruth to the skulls of two of our favorite characters, there seemed to be a split (no pun intended) in opinions. While one side cried out the gratuitous violence was just too much and many said they were done with the show altogether, the other side said it’s a show about zombies you morons, what do you expect and don’t let the door hit you in the ass on your way out.
Initially, as I sat in my basement with my head swimming and stomach churning, I thought it was too much, maybe they had crossed a line. But, as a writer, after sitting back and thinking about TWD series and that bloody season premiere that had me squirming in my seat, I must now vehemently cry out to Robert Kirkman and crew – BRAVO! While some of you may disagree and have decided to walk away, let me tell you why I give TWD writers a standing ovation and how you might use this in your writing. True, this is a television show with great sets and outstanding actors, but they have to have something to act out, right? Enter the writers.
The chief complaint of TWD7 is the incredibly violent demise of Abraham and Glenn by Lucille, the barbed wire wrapped bat wielded by the new, deliciously badass Negan. Whack after whack after whack, blood flying, bloodied gray matter, stifled sobs of those in witness, it was absolutely horrifying. Just when you thought Negan would stop, he took another lick. And then another. But why? Wouldn’t one or two cracks be enough to get the point across that he killed our beloved Glenn and king of the one-liners Abraham?
The job of a writer is to tell a story, to engage the reader and immerse them in the world you’ve created. Author E.L. Doctorow said “Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader – not the fact that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon”. Through the first six seasons of TWD, Sheriff Rick Grimes has shown he’s not a man to be trifled with, that he will defend his loyal subjects to the end and that if you messed with the bull, you were getting the horns. We got that when Rick, just after watching Abraham beaten to death, tells Negan “I’m going to kill you”. That’s the Rick we expect. But not the Rick that Negan wants. He wants Rick broken. In order for us to buy the tough to swallow fact that Rick was broken, we had to experience the brutality. A cut away shot of Negan bashing Glenn’s skull wouldn’t cut it – that would be the equivalent of being told the fact that it’s raining. No, to experience the feeling of being rained upon…whack…whack…bulging eye…whack…whack…whack.
That scene with Negan’s dripping red Lucille, the blood splatters across the faces of the gut-wrenched survivors, and the incredibly brilliant portrayal of charismatic Negan by Jeffrey Dean Morgan is something none of us will ever forget. You will remember where you were when you saw it. It’s not only an awesome job by all the actors involved and the direction and cinematography by Greg Nicotero, but it’s awesome writing. Without the writing, we never would have gotten the right delivery from the setup.
So, what’s the mean for you, dear writer? Are you telling your readers it’s raining or are you giving them the feeling that they are being rained upon? Is your manuscript littered with the tells, but no shows of “he saw”, “she realized” or “he felt”? With every scene you write, are you spewing weather conditions, what people wear and a literary landslide of inane motions to get your characters through the action to advance your plot? Or, are you throwing your readers in that world, immersing them with the richness of your story and characters, so that when they turn that last page and set the book down, they are left staring at those collection of pages thinking “Wow.” I know it’s what I strive for in my writing and I hope you are too. RIP Glenn and Abraham. We’ll leave a place open for you at the Sunday dinner table.
