One of the most popular questions asked of writers seems to be \u201cWhere did you get your idea?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Sometimes it\u2019s a hard question to answer, but for this particular story, we have a record of how, exactly, the idea came about.<\/p>\n
This is how we got the idea for Song for the Undead<\/em>:\u00a0\u00a0the two of us were chatting one night with our friend Dee, and we had gotten quiet.\u00a0\u00a0Somehow, a joke turned into a joke idea, which turned into this story.\u00a0\u00a0We saved the chat transcript as a record of our insanity, which you can read below!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n July 18, 2008<\/i> Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0Is everyone dead?<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0yes<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0Oh noes! Julie is a ghost!<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0I prefer zombie<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0But dead people scare me.<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0sorry… I can be a friendly zombie?<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0That won’t haunt me or eat my brains?<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0sure….<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0Okay, then I guess we can still be friends.<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0We could even sell our friendship to NBC and make bank. Me and my zombie…<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0*sings*<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0LMAO! My zombie… my zombie… my zombie and me!<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0In the show, can you go on the zombie equivalent of the Atkins diet where you no longer eat brains? lol<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0can I eat liver instead? It grows back…<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0Well, yes, once you go on the Atkins diet. lol<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0yay!<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0I also like heart; it’s nice and meaty<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0Mmmm…. *slurrrp* lol<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0Do these have to be people hearts, or can you handle sheep hearts?<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0hey Rose… Backstreet Boys, zombies, collab? *hopes to summon Rose back*<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0people hearts, preferably people I don’t like<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0I like my hearts a little black<\/p>\n [\u2026]<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0So are you dead also, then, Rose?<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0No lol<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0I just speak with the dead<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0Perfect.<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0Like Julie?<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0and we can’t sell Me and My Zombie lol<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0cause we wanna sell 00Carter to NBC first<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0Why can’t we sell them both? lol<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0cause I want 00Carter as a show first lol<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0yeah, I agree, 00Carter first<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0but after that, we could totally make a zombie show<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0LOL<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0Are the Backstreet Boys zombies or do they kill the zombies?<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0Because I would write that. lol<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0maybe instead of zombies can it be undead mummies?<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0I want them to kill the zombies. lol<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0The could be like top secret branch of the government. lol<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0but mummies means\u00a0Egypt<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0and I like\u00a0Egypt\u00a0lol<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0Me too.<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0They could do both. lol<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0I like\u00a0Egypt, but I like zombies because maybe then one of them could get bitten and become a zombie himself! Oh noes!!! We could capitalize on the whole Twilight\/vampire craze by doing zombies! They’re almost the same, just less attractive<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0and they can’t turn into bats<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0poor zombies<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0But they could enjoy livers.<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0I know. They should be able to turn into rats or something to compensate<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0maybe these are a new breed of zombies that turn into roaches<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0true. And livers are totally more satisfying than blood<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0I was thinking roaches! After I said rats. Roaches are cool, and being a roach would be an added benefit because they can live without heads<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0so if someone’s out to decapitate the zombie, he can just turn into a roach! Yay!<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0and can survive a nuclear holocaust<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0ooh, zombies + nuclear holocaust would be a fun show<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0it’d be like\u00a0Jericho\u00a0meets\u00a0Salem’s\u00a0Lot\u00a0meets Dawn of the Dead<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0Maybe this is after a world nuclear holocaust and the Backstreet Boys are among the sole survivors? lol<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0LMAO of course, cause they’re awesome<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0LMAO<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0And we could design them kickass military uniforms. lmao<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0we could make ourselves survivors as well, and we have to work together to repopulate the earth, amid the threat of zombies<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0that AJ would customize<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0I call Nick!<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0I call Brian!<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0sorta like Resident Evil only cooler<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0hey no callies!<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0you can have AJ<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0call him before we get more collaborators<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0but I don’t want AJ lol<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0Howie?<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0Kevin?<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0bleh to you both lol<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0You know this story would be popular too. lol<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0you know we’d end up centering on Nick<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0it’s okay, Nick would want to make as many babies as possible to help the human race survive, so everyone could have him!<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0Well, yeah. lol<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0lol okay then, we share Nick and I’m peachy lol<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0yeah, there used to be a lot of vampire Bsb fics, but not so many zombie ones. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a zombie one. Vampires… ghosts, yes… zombies, no.<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. lol<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0LOL Are we seriously talking about a new story<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0See? So once again we would be ahead of the curve.<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0lol<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0seriously? No. But I do like zombies.<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0don’t get me excited<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0I’d write it. lol<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0LMAO I knew you’d come back if I said collab<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0you two know better lol<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0You know, Rose…<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0lol actually it was the zombies<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0This is how 00Carter went. lol<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0well, if the Indy fic doesn’t pan out after 00Carter, this is always a possibility<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0yes it is<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0You got excited about it, then I agreed to do it, then Julie signed on. lol<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0ya know, I think this would mesh better<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0we’d have a lot more random opportunities<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0than the Indy fic?<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0like how 00Carter is, the Indy one is limiting<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0More research involved.<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0yeah, we could make more up with the zombies<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0And it being set in the future. lol<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0cause who knows what a post-nuclear holocaust world would be like<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0Plus think of Nick with a bad ass weapon, shredded army garb on<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0mmmm<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0^That’s what I was saying! lmao<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0you know you want to lol<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0or even Brian<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0Brian for sure!! Those arms…<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0hehe see, and…hmm what about a good title<\/p>\n Dee<\/b>:<\/b>\u00a0And Kev’s arms with badass army gear.<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0ooh mm<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0Nick, Kevin and Brian would definitely look the best<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0AJ too<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0title… Brains for Breakfast?<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0Ya know if we did this, I think the three of us should just do it probably. Look how well we work together lol<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0It wouldn’t be as involved as 00Carter<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0Apocalypse Central? lol<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0don’t run away when I get collaby! lol<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0lonely…I’m mr. lonely…<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0LOL<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0Yay! undead life! lol<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0yeah, I agree, if it ever panned out into a story, it would probably be best with just us<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0or maybe us and Kelly<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0where\u2019s\u00a0Dee\u00a0lol<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0I dunno. You disappeared for awhile too. She’ll come back<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0I was thinking Kelly but she has a lotta projects so I was iffy on if she’d say yes lol<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0true… and I dunno if she’d like the whole zombie thing? It’s not exactly fluffy LOL<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0I was surfing and didn’t see it light up lol<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0neither is Fan Friction, or Supernatural lol<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0true<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0I think she’d dig the concept, I think it’d be motivation<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0that would be stopping her<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0and you say if it ever pans out like it won’t<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Zombies_in_popular_culture<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0LMAO<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0yes I wikid lol<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Zombie_Survival_Guide<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0You know we could just name it Survival<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0too vague<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0lol Brains for Breakfast is too cheesy<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0I want a dark twisted title lol<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0it’s a play on Oreos LOL<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0I know lol besides it should be Liver for Lunch lol<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0Song for the Undead<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0that could be the sequel!<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0hey I like that<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0lmao<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0Song For The Undead is a nice play off of Unloved lol<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0I know! LOL<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0and we can a lyric even “This is a prayer that tomorrow will help us leave the past behind” as the first line of the summary<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0I totally wanna write a couple of children’s books about zombies called Brains for Breakfast and Liver for Lunch now LMAO. They totally remind me of those Bailey School Kids books… like Leprechauns Don’t Play Basketball and all of those<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0ooh!<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0how perfect is the lyric! lmao<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0it’s good!<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0we would make this AU, right?<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0I dunno, we could go either way<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0I think it would be less cheesy as AU<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0agreed<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0cause what are the chances of the Backstreet Boys being among the last survivors? LMAO<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0plus Brian’s not married lol<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0it would probably be better if they didn’t even know each other at the start… they meet because they are the only survivors<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0then they can all have a different back story<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0yeah, no wives… or dead wives, whichever LOL<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0And then the summary can go into like “This is the tale we leave behind in hopes someone will reach tomorrow. The world was different once, filled with life with promise of tomorrow. Now there is none. Now there is darkness, horror and death as a guarantee. Read this, and learn. Perhaps we may survive to tell you the tale in person one day”<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0or something twisted like that lol<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0and they can be part of a small band of survivors<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0LOL I like<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0lol knew you would<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0Dee\u00a0needs to come back now that I’m slowly convincing you lol<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0I’m inviting Kelly in the room<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0LOL okay<\/p>\n Yahoo! Messenger with Voice: Kelly has joined the conference.<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0yes we lol<\/p>\n Kelly:<\/b>\u00a0I see. haha<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0Dee\u00a0needs to come back, but yay<\/p>\n Kelly:<\/b>\u00a0I didn’t when I typed that<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0So…lol how hard would it be for me to convince you into another project Kelly?<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0hey Kelly!<\/p>\n Kelly:<\/b>\u00a0lmao you whore! what kind of project???<\/p>\n Kelly:<\/b>\u00a0hi Julie!<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0hey you love me!<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0another project that was a joke until like 5 minutes ago LOL<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0Plus this was Julie’s idea!<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0it’s my fault this time<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0well that was how 00Carter started lol<\/p>\n Kelly:<\/b>\u00a0lol those always last long<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0sometimes joke ideas work<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0So basically what we have is a post nuclear holocaust world, where zombies are the dominant species<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0and we’re following the tale of a small group of survivors (featuring the boys obviously)<\/p>\n Kelly:<\/b>\u00a0ooh, this sounds fun<\/p>\n Kelly:<\/b>\u00a0zombies are cool<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0we’re thinking it’s just you, me, Julie, and Dee writing this<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0cause it won’t be as involved as 00Carter, promise lol<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0and this came from Rose disappearing and Dee going “Is everyone dead?” and I was like “Yes,” and she was like “Oh noes! Julie’s a ghost!” and I was like “I prefer zombie.”<\/p>\n Kelly:<\/b>\u00a0even better. I’m excited that I get to be part of your elite-ness<\/p>\n Kelly:<\/b>\u00a0LMAFO! That’s how you know it’s truly inspired<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0only the coolest can write the Backstreet Boys fighting zombies… LMAO<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0we’re calling it Song for the Undead<\/p>\n Kelly:<\/b>\u00a0LMAO<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0after my suggestion of Brains for Breakfast was shot down\u00a0\u00a0LMAO<\/p>\n Kelly:<\/b>\u00a0Perfect!!!!!<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0LOL I love how our best ideas come from one random line<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0LOL<\/p>\n Kelly:<\/b>\u00a0ok, I’m in.<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0I was telling Julie how the summary go start with “This is a prayer that tomorrow will help us leave the past behind” cause I loved the title<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0… and the joke turns into a project. Curse you, Rose LOL<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0lmao you started it<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0you said zombies and collab<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0your fault<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0I know, but I started it as a joke<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0so did 00Carter LOL<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0only to summon you back<\/p>\n Kelly:<\/b>\u00a0I know. Curse you! I still have half a part to write on your last random online chat turned huge project.<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0*sigh* I know…<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0you both love me<\/p>\n Rose:<\/b>\u00a0is it my fault that around me random jokes turn into new stories?<\/p>\n Julie:<\/b>\u00a0yes<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And that\u2019s how this project began! \u00a0This site was launched exactly one week later, July 25, 2008. \u00a0Sadly, Kelly ended up not writing with us because her computer got stolen a couple days after this conversation, and she didn\u2019t feel like starting a new story after that.\u00a0\u00a0Dee\u00a0did start writing with us, but decided not to continue with the story.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Origin One of the most popular questions asked of writers seems to be \u201cWhere did you get your idea?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Sometimes it\u2019s a hard question to answer, but for this particular story, we have a record of how, exactly, the idea came … Continue reading
\n12:00 a.m. CST<\/i><\/p>\n