Basically, I have three ideas – all of which I like, but I can’t for the life of me decide which one to start writing... I would like to write it in first person, but I think I would have a bit of a problem doing that with idea three. Please read each of the ideas below & comment on which appeals to you more. Also, give reason why. Any advice is much appreciated... Idea one: Basically, this would be the story of a beautiful Honey Trap who is hired by the wife of a very wealthy man. She suspects he is cheating on her, so she asks our Honey Trap to go under cover, only our Honey Trap falls for her target which makes things complicated. She starts to hold back information from the wife, who in turn, starts to suspect that something is going on. She would then become the villain of my story... (We need a villain after all lol) Idea two: Very similar to idea one, only this time our main character is an undercover cop who is sent in to investigate yet again, a wealthy man, only she starts to fall for his charm – coming clean about who she really is & chancing losing both him & her job. Obviously the villain in this would be an officer? Maybe a close friend or partner turned bad? (Any ideas on this would be great – thanks) Idea three: This would be about two gorgeous young women who con rich people out of their money. Anyway, our main character & her partner in crime, both having their own method of catching their ‘pray’, take on a new target, one who would set them both up for a very long time. Our main character takes on a more professional approach & goes undercover as his PA, where as her friend/partner tries to get in the romantic way, using her gorgeous ‘blonde bombshell’ looks to snag him, only he falls for the natural beauty – his PA. This clearly pisses the blonde off, & thus, we have our villain. Not to mention, our main character falls for their target & then decides not to go through with their plan – which pisses to blonde off even more . She’s just lost a target to someone she’s in competition with, & she is going to lose out on a lot of money. (Any ideas on this would also be amazing, but this one I would have a hard time writing in first person, even though it is my favourite out of the three...) Let me know what you think about all the above ideas, but please vote for the one you like the most & the one you think has the most potential, Thanks, Kelly x
I like idea two it has a lot of potential and if you need anymore help with it i would be more than happy to help you.
All your ideas are ok, but a very, very long way away from being a novel. But you have to start somewhere and one bone in a skeleton is as good a start as any. Now you need to complete the skeleton and then flesh it out, add a thematic subplot or two, so many characters, relationships, character arcs, plot points, dialogue that works etc. Then turn it all into an exciting narrative of at least 80 000 words. This is why asking us for opinions on the ideas is kinda pointless. It's what you do with your idea that will determine if it was good or not. In any case, good luck
I just wanted to know which idea would be more appealing to someone. I also want to write it in first person & although the 3rd idea is my favourite as I feel I can do a lot more with it, I think it would be the hardest to write in first person...
An idea is nothing. They've all been done. It's what you do with the idea that counts. My advice is to go with the idea that appeals to you the most and which you think you can do the most with. Don't get locked into "it has to be in 1st person" or any other limiting mindset. Write in whatever person the story seems to need, and don't be afraid to try different approaches. Your most important task will be to write a compelling story with compelling characters who readers will care about. At this stage, the idea only need appeal to you. Since this appears to be your first go at a novel, my only other advice would be to plan it out at least to some degree. Know where your characters start and where you expect them to finish (in terms of growth) and what your basic plot should be, but keep it loose, because as you write you will discover things about your characters that hadn't originally occurred to you. Use that. I like to say that subplots are what my characters do while I'm trying to get them to do what I want them to do. If/when you get to the point where you have a finished work and you feel comfortable enough to begin querying agents about it, it won't be the "idea" that grabs their attention and makes them ask for chapters (or, better yet, a full ms). It will be what you say about the story and the characters, and the potential they see in them. So, go write. Amaze us all.
It doesn't matter which idea appeals to me or to anyone else -- all that matters is which one most resonates with you. Try writing some scenes from each of the three and see where they take you. One of them is bound to grip you and make you want to continue with it. Put the others aside for later.
Ya' know, Ed, from now on please enter your opinion before I do--it's saves me a world of typing! I almost wrote the same thing...LOL.
Thank you guys - I am more of a script writer myself, but have always wanted to write a novel. To be fair, I would be able to turn all three of my ideas into a Movie without any problems - but you have to add SO much more to a novel. I have attempted to write a script a number of times now & I have given up, but this time I really would like to stick to it as I believe which ever idea I choose, I can make a good read...
Only you can make those decisions. For me, first person is the easiest, what I wrote mostly in for a long time. It's actually really fun, like acting. But if it's challenging you in this story than that's great, because we usually write better when we have to work for it (at least I think so). Third person is a lot more versatile and amenable to "showing" rather than "telling", which makes it a preferred choice for most novelists.
Yes. I totally understand where you are coming from Jazzabel - I much prefer to read & write in first person. I like to put myself into the shoes of the character. I feel more connected to the story that way, like I have become someojne completely different...
I have variation about story idea number two i would like to share with you what is undercover cop is hired by the wealthy man to investigate the murder of the Wealthy man's wife.
The only problem I ran into with first person pov is that I couldn't deliver a complex story without showing a pov of a few other characters. But I am writing one subplot in first person, to show private thoughts of one of the characters. I've seen a mix like that work really well.
Idea 1 - if the honey trap falls in love with the mark (the wealthy cheating guy) wouldn't it benefit her to tell the wife everything so when she dumps him he's free to carry on with her? Problem with that is, it's too easy, wife hires honey trap to catch husband cheating. Honey trap and husband fall in love, wife and husband divorce, honey trap and husband live happily ever after... Idea 2 - I think the mark needs to have done something really bad, like operate a paedo ring or being a serial rapist and the closer she gets to him the more evidence she disproves because she's falling for him against her own good judgement - she ends up losing her job and more or less defends him in the trial and it's only when he gets off she discovers that it was him all along. Maybe that's been done to death but like someone said somewhere - it's fine to reinvent the wheel as long as its better than the last guy's wheel. Idea 3 - I don't think the conflict would be with Blondie losing out on the possible windfall, I think the conflict is the PA coming clean whilst trying to keep her man who now doesn't trust her. PA can compensate the bombshell - it seems they've made a living out of conning people so they have enough money not to fall out over a few bob. I think this could be more comedic than dramatic; chick flick rom com kinda thing Anyway, each idea is just an idea, we have them all day long - go with the one you think you can write, the one you get more milage out of or the one you'll have more fun writing. Personally I don't read romance or crime so none would appeal to me unless your main character was really strong and very human as in, is that what I would do? Have a stab at all three and see which is your favourite regardless of what anyone else thinks.
Thank you Erebh, you just made Idea two my favourite haha & that was my least favourtie. I will have a think about each of them, thanks
