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  1. Link the Writer

    Link the Writer Flipping Out For A Good Story. Contributor

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    Really cool idea for an action/adventure story but might be a rip-off...

    Discussion in 'Setting Development' started by Link the Writer, Oct 28, 2010.

    Lately I've been thinking about an action/adventure story.

    The story I thought of writing is titled Legend of the Tsar's Amber, which is about an old room said to have been covered with amber during the tsars' days but was torn down by the Nazis during their invasion of Russia in 1940-41.

    The story is set in modern times and the protagonist is Oscar Bayte (Bay-tee), a professor of history.

    You can kinda see where this is going. He finds someone who says he knows an old German soldier or sumsuch, he goes over to Russia where he meets some bad guys and...

    Basically, it's like Indiana Jones, except its in modern times.

    I like the concept, but the plot...I think I can work on that a lot.

    Tips?
     
  2. minstrel

    minstrel Leader of the Insquirrelgency Supporter Contributor

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    It's all in how you write it. (Cue Cogito's standard post to that effect in three ... two ... one ...)
     
  3. HorusEye

    HorusEye Contributor Contributor

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    Hm. Just avoid using Nazis as villains? That story-horse has been beaten through the core of the Earth.

    The Tzar legend thing sounds cool and original enough in my oppinion. Russia is very overlooked in the adventure genre.
     
  4. Mallory

    Mallory Contributor Contributor

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    Your plot is yours to work on. You are the writer. No one's going to come up with your story for you -- then it's not your sole creation anymore.

    Now, if you've got most of it worked out but you have a specific concern regarding a plot hole or something,then feel free to come back to us for help. But developing the basic plot? Nope. That's your job.
     
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  5. Link the Writer

    Link the Writer Flipping Out For A Good Story. Contributor

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    That might be the problem. I've got the Nazis (neo-Nazis?) as the bad guys. I need to come up with something original to menace my professor. =D

    Here's another plot detail: Would it be realistic enough for my professor character to leave her students for months on end on some adventure like that? Or maybe she finds a student from the university that happens to be on some "study abroad" thing in Russia and they join together to find the amber (or whatever).
     
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  6. HorusEye

    HorusEye Contributor Contributor

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    Russian history is full of groups and individuals who could become a source for villanous types. Anything from a sole surviving relative of the Tzar family seeking the glory of olden days restored, to former KGB conspiring to rebuild the USSR. I'll suggest wikipeding Russian history for starters :)
     
  7. Show

    Show Contributor Contributor

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    Cogito hasn't gotten around to the robot post yet? :eek:

    Tips? Let the story develop itself. It's YOUR story and you should write it if it stirs you. :D So what if it has similarities, it's still YOUR story and thus it will be original enough to merit writing. Just put your heart into it and write it well and the final product will be worth it. If you aren't comfortable with the plot, try out some things and see how they work. If you like it, keep it. If you don't, revise it.
     
  8. Cogito

    Cogito Former Mod, Retired Supporter Contributor

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    As minstrel predicted:
    (the short version this time, to emphasize the salient point)
     
  9. NoaMineo

    NoaMineo New Member

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    As far as conerns of being a ripoff, don't worry. Unless your protagonist wears a fedora and uses a bullwhip, you're fine. The "adventuring college professor" is a malleable enough archetype to fill entire aisles of libraries with.

    I honestly think nazis make great villains, even in modern times. They're still around, you know, and still being evil. Not only are they still around, but they're still a very plausable villain. Not a lot of people realize this, but the nazis actually get away with a lot in modern germany. The government there will not persecute nazis unless they have a very solid case against them for fear of being to much like the old gestopo. There are still nasis, they still have some power, and they are still hording items looted from europe during the last world war.

    Russia is also fantastic fodder for adventure. You've got a massive country, unmarked roads, hidden cities, practically no government--it's a wonder it doesn't get used constantly! Well, I imagine the Russians have quite a few adventure novels set in Russia...
     
  10. SilverWolf0101

    SilverWolf0101 Active Member

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    It really is all in the way you write it that determines if it's a true rip-off or not. So I wouldn't fret too much over it.

    As for the nazi villians, if you feel the need to use them, then by all means go ahead, we can't stay your hands from doing such a thing. But I would try to think up some other sort of villian too, for just in case purposes.
    Maybe your professor's rival is after the same thing he is, only he uses darker means to obtain it. Like thugs or spies, or something like that.
    Or maybe it's the government facing off against your professor because they don't want him to discover some kind of deep dark secret or something.

    Of course you don't honestly have to use these ideas, I'm just throwing them out there for the possibility of the story. And who knows, it may help you solve your plot delima a bit. Hard to say.

    Really though, the plot is your own thing, It's like a giant knot in a thing of yarn. You have to work it out and roll it into a neat little ball that you can later weave into something wonderful. (And yes before anyone ask I do this constantly for my mother, in fact I was watching her do it when I came up with that :D)

    As for the professor leaving the students things. Most prefessors are also scientist of some sort, always going out in the field to study something. If I remember right, Indiana Jones was that way. So it's really possible for them to do that. But really only if they can get cash grants from the government to proove their theory.
     
  11. Noya Desherbanté

    Noya Desherbanté New Member

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    Just a thought that came to me... what if there was a 'good' Nazi who is protecting the amber now, though he is in conflict with his higher-ups, who want to jackboot him out? (Couldn't resist a pun, sorry!) Perhaps the real villains are the Russians, who may want the amber back to sell off, melt down (I don't think you can make amber weapons, but this is fiction), or some other nefarious purpose your professor wouldn't agree with?
     
  12. Ashleigh

    Ashleigh Contributor Contributor

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    Link, every writer gets accused of 'ripping someone off' at some point; it's inevitable.

    How many vampire slayers are there? How many sexy vampire men are there? How many spooky psychic kids are there?

    Hundreds. What matters is why yours is different and oustanding. If you want to write it, go for it. Nobody can advise you because we haven't read it.

    What bothers me, really, is that if you're already worrying about everything you write before it's even been done, then are you ever going to accomplish anything? And if you think, in your heart, that this is nothing but a rip off - then are you going to be satisfied with it?
     
  13. Link the Writer

    Link the Writer Flipping Out For A Good Story. Contributor

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    Good point Ash. I should just write the darn thing without worrying.

    Your reasoning is perfect and could be used for so many. How many badass outlaws are out there? How many Colonial/1800s detectives are out there? How many sci-fi starship commanders are out there defending the Earth? Loads.

    You've also given me an idea. Maybe a sympathetic former Nazi joins him as well.

    I should start jotting down notes and think about the story.
     
  14. tcol4417

    tcol4417 Member

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    I don't see much in the way of plagiarism - stock standard treasure hunting, maybe.

    It looks solid enough, but you might want to add a bit more depth or you'll hit 10,000 words and run out of material.
     

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