Whilst embarking upon the third draft of my novel, "How I Spent My Zombie Apocalypse", I thought to myself, "How would it be if I were to begin at a different point in the history of my tale?"
As it stands, my first chapter starts with our main character, Kat, on roof watch of their post-ZA safehold, six months after the outbreak. She spies a station wagon approaching, and the newcomers are brought into the fold, so to speak, even if just for a while. One of the arrivals is injured, and there is some debate about the situation. But, Kat, being a nurse, leads the rally to save the stranger.
This is a somewhat slower opening to the book, but the reader should get a strong sense of who the characters are, especially Kat.
My Alternate Opening #1, "Hospital", begins as Kat arrives to work at the ER, amidst a chaotic kerfuffle of impending quarantine. This is a serious look at the progression of events in a classic medical context.
Alternate Opening #2, "Costco", is a much funnier first chapter, filled with ultra violence and absurdities. It is set with the first few days of the outbreak, and while there is a definite sense of each character, their stories and personal inventories are not so clear.
I've had a dozen or so readers of all three versions, and it's pretty even as far as votes go for 1, 2, or 3.
So, my dilemma now is to choose which introduction I want to use, rewrite and polish, and add it to the work-in-progress that I am HOPING to have done by next Monday.
Got my work cut out for me.
