Photo courtesy of Google images
Hey.
Most of the fans of the zombie genre know that location plays a key to a character’s survivability- just as if there were other emergent crises that were to appear at any given time in real life. There’s an interesting site that I came across that uses some awkward but useful data to determine zombie survivability by state.
My argument goes either way when it comes to the location you’re writing for in the zombie apocalypse (ZA). As I wrote Affliction I had to think about this quite often as the plot of my story moved along. It takes real world data and an active imagination to write what’s best in a fiction story. ZA locations tend to urban, suburban, small town, and rural (which I consider to be extremely ‘small town’). For Affliction I had to analyze situations in 3 of the 4, so far.
Believe me, in the coming days and weeks I’ll be disclosing more of what will become on-going promotion for Affliction and why if you’re a fan of the ZA how this novel will fit in perfectly with your collection! 🙂
If the ZA occurred in a large city that you happen to live in- depending on where that is, a lot of sites/theories suggest that you’d be in trouble. Frequent and close contact with a large population is no good when it comes to a contagious disease (any contagious disease). I happen to think though if you are prepared to begin with there are more resources in that geographical location to be able to maintain your safety for a longer time overall. Again though, you’d have to be prepared and have thought out this kind of scenario to begin with.
Suburban areas would likely have similar resources in my opinion as they tend to be overbuilt with mini-malls. Keep in mind the battles for goods that would likely take place in the first few days and weeks. Most ZA literature acknowledges the frenzy that ensues following an outbreak. Again, being prepared in the first place gets any family ahead of the game. While I don’t believe having a 2-year food supply is necessary. Certain survival skillsets are important for any scenario.
Small town areas in my opinion are a good option locate to but again, preparation is key. You have to know your landscape well and the resources within it in order to do the best for yourself and your family. This includes the elements- as rural Texas may have advantage over rural Montana in January. In the beginning of the ZA the rural community likely has food and supplies on hand to last a longer time than the aforementioned areas because they’re used to being farther away from goods and services. During the time of the onset ZA, they’re definitely not going to need to ‘drive into town’ for anything. The downside of that is likely going to be that the rural stores never carried much stock in the first place so one should expect those stores to become barren within a short time frame. My opinion is that without those skillsets, in the event of a ZA rural areas could end up becoming about as survivable as a desert.
Forget NY, in the ZA if you can make it here- then you can make it anywhere! Photo courtesy of Google images
Again, my thoughts here are not focused on an actual ZA event in our lifetime- but rather the lives of my characters in a fictional sense. What do you think? Would a ZA character be able to survive in your location?
Photo courtesy of Google images
The Write Perspective 
Reblogged this on Author Dottie Daniels.
I am already preparing for the Zombie Apocalypse!
Yes! You all will be survivors then! (As I practice with two sticks to create a fire…)
It seems like the map puts too much importance on guns and gun owners when baseball/softball/javelin players would be better survivors. Being they are more athletic with finely trained motor skills. And, what happens when the ammo runs out? Zombie apocalypse would cause a finite supply of ammo. You either are or are not an athlete but you can learn how to use weapon at any time.
Yes! I agree wholeheartedly! ZA resources have always emphasized physical fitness over an ability to shoot a weapon for the same reasons you mentioned! Any other skillsets are a bonus but at the very basic- one needs to be able to ‘compete’ in the first place. Seeing how America is one of the unhealthiest places on the planet- most of these top states, technically shouldn’t remain in the standings. Thanks for the confirmed input!