Hello all, I'm new to the place though I used to frequent other writing forums some years ago. I've written three novels now and looking into writing a fourth. Unlike many I don't tend to be very good at coming up with ideas. It seems to be the other way round for me -- I can put it all together and finish it without giving up but I really struggle to actually find ideas. However, I have one which I thought sounded okay on paper. It's inspired by One Piece, funnily enough. If you're familiar with the anime it's the part where Robin's past is shown and there's a 100 year gap in history that has been buried secret and they are trying to find out what happened. Well, my novel isn't like that as such, but it's to do with the idea of two tribes or kingdoms that have a very bloody history but in the name of peace they finally agreed to not only cease fire but also make sure that the new generations were ignorant to the truth. My story is set hundreds of years later and by now the two tribes are interconnected and depend upon one another to survive, sharing the same jobs and communities and even education systems. The twist is that an agreement was made that only the Elders, the few select advisors of that time, would remember the past to guide future Kings and senior members without telling them the truth. The idea is that they pass down this knowledge to their descendants chosen to advise and that they spend time in prayer or counselling others. They exist in this 'library' where all knowledge is held, but it is secretly forbidden and no one has access to the documents or know what's inside. You could say it is a little like 'The Giver' if you'd read that where one person is chosen to hold onto all the memories, but it's also different. I just wanted to ask what you all think to this plot idea? I would really appreciate your feedback. I'd like to spend the first part of the novel showing peacetime and then how this is threatened because there is someone within the council who seeks to cause division and start another war. Focusing on how much this would affect them as they are so tied to one another would be interesting. Just to add my main character would be a little like a 'Lazarus' type of character, humble and meek and kind. It turns out that he is actually sent from another world of sorts to end the emerging conflict and also force them to acknowledge and accept their past. The reason why I say another world is because I liked the idea that he carries the love of his whole race within him and that is why the novel would be called 'Sent from Above.' In the past I have wrote without much planning at all but this time I'd like to try gluing the pieces together a little before starting. Knowing your thoughts and opinions would really help. PS: I hope this is the right thread.
It's also a bit like The Village. A fair bit of the message in that story had to do with the question of which is worse, creating a society ignorant of the dynamics that caused its creation in the hopes that those "bad things" would never arise again, or learning from an open dialogue with the past in order to be sure never to repeat. It's a good question, in my opinion, upon which to scaffold a story. I think it has promise.
What you have is a premise, not a plot. The plot would be a series of events that actually happen within that premise of forgotten history. Don't spend the first part of your novel showing peacetime - I assume you mean a peaceful time between the two kingdoms - few people are that interested in fictional history that they would want to read it at much length. Start your book where your story starts - when peacetime is being threatened. Anyway, the premise itself sounds fine. You already know there's a successful book out there, the Giver, with essentially the same premise. So, you're good to go I think.
Thanks for your comments so far. The Village is something I hadn't thought of but I think that's a good example. I would like to show the consequences of trying to cover up the past but also create a fairly sympathetic accounting of this because sometimes ignorance is bliss and no doubt future feuds would have been started because of its history. However, forcing them to confront the truth is something I'd like to include so that they aren't manipulated into starting a war again. The villain of my story will play a very big part in sowing seeds of dissent and making people feel paranoid (likely setting it up so someone leads a rebellion.) You're right about it being more of a premise or an outline for a story. It's very early days so I just wanted to see people's initial feedback. I understand what you mean about showing the conflict pretty much from the offset but I wanted to focus on the main character's gradually inclusion into their world and the way he sees everything before everything comes to ahead. I like to build the tension and also show how much the two tribes are entwined before then showing how it all begins to crumble. 'Peacetime' may sound boring but I think stories often do well when the pace is right and there is time to develop the characters and build the narrative before you see it all threatened and under attack -- that way, you've had time to emotionally invest and you can see just how big the consequences are. There are many ways to go about this, though. I hadn't said in my first post that my main character is either an orphan or exile taken in by the King who takes in a lot of boys from broken families or no families at all. He struggles to fit in but is taken under his wing and showing his relationships with both tribes would be interesting. I think it's a different premise to the Giver somewhat as it's not so much a dystopian novel and there is no sinister edge as such -- you can almost understand why they chose to forget the past. But there are definitely similarities. Appreciate the comments.
I don't read fantasy nor get any of the references made, so perhaps my comment will be a non-issue in the genre. For me, your title screams "Christian fiction". I don't know how (or if) you plan on marketing the book but this may be something to think about.
