So my newest idea for a novel takes place in futuristic America, where creatures of famous mythologies are real and live alongside humans. The main character is a human female, with a futuristic golem character as her friend. In some classic myths that I've read, golems are created from a substance (clay, mud, metal, etc) by a Mage or something. They are basically hollow and dumb, only able to do what the creator wants them to. The golems are attached to their creators because the golems feed off the life force of their creator. Being separated from them for too long then can result in the death of the golem. But golems can be infused with an element (earth, air, fire, water) which not only makes them more intelligent, but it gives them something else to feed off of. The only downfall to this is that their energy burns out more quickly, so they have to consume more of this certain element to keep them alive until they reunite with their creator. Follow me so far? lol So here's my plan. I'm going to have one universal creator, a golem made of clay so old that he can no longer move or speak. He communicates telepathically with three acolytes that are special humans that have been turned into golems. They aren't elected or chosen. It is something in their blood that mixes with the blood of a golem during the change that awakens and creates these acolytes. They don't know who they are until they reach the creator and feel the awakening. Anyway. Clay is taken from the base of the creator to create the bodies of typical golems, and the acolytes infuse their bodies with the element metal upon their birth. I know that metal isn't a classic element. But I figured, it's a futuristic world, the golems would need to evolve,to survive. And if they need to infuse with anything that they can eat to stay alive, metal would be the easiest to find. Still follow me? So here's my dilemma. Almost all golems are made from the clay of the creator. But I need golems to be able to change humans into golems, without needing any help from acolytes, in a way that makes sense. I read about a type of golem made from dead bodies, called flesh golems. They are weaker and more vicious than other forms, but they are smarter. So would it make sense to have to kill a human in order to make them a flesh golem? But it isn't a common practice because sometimes the change doesn't take? And it DEFINITELY isn't common practice for a non-acolyte to perform the spell because something could go wrong? Does this make any sense at all? Is it too complex or hard to follow? I really like the story and the idea for the characters, but my biggest fear is that someone will read something I wrote and say "That doesn't make a lick of sense." So I really try to cover all my bases. And I'm in the very early stages of this novel, so I'm still wrestling with some ideas in my head before I commit to anything. So what do you think? Good or bad? If it needs work, do you have any suggestions for me? Thanks! Lea
Story ideas are only useful to the author. Whether they are good or not depends entirely on how well they are executed in writing. Finish developing and writing your story, and only then ask us what we think of the final product. You don't need our permission. You don't need our approval. Go ahead with it, boldly.
I wasn't really asking for permission or approval. Initially, I was looking for suggestions on how a golem might change a human. But the idea of flesh golems came to me as I was writing. I'm not the kind of person to just write without thinking about my story beforehand. I don't want to get all the way through it, then realize what I've come up with doesn't mKe any sense. I was really just looking to see if it's believable and coherent before I start writing it and realize I made a mistake later. Thanks for your input, though.
I immediately got an infection/zombie/vampire/werewolf vibe from your description--that is, a creature that changes humans into the same creature, so that it changes humans... I suspect that that vibe may be inevitable, so you may need to work out how to avoid it, or (this would be my choice) embrace it.
I began writing after I developed a comprehensive story but didn't worry about every plot hole. If the Golem changing humans matters to the story, and it were me, I'd still begin writing leaving that fuzzy. As the story developed often the answers make themselves apparent.
It all depends on how you want your golems to be. Golems as I recall were generally slow and moving puppets that obey whatever orders they were given. There were always stories of them following those orders literally and doing something their master didn't expect because of that. So I guess the first question is why do golems need to change people? What reason do they have for converting people into golems rather than making golems from earth or clay? Is there a soul transfer involved? As in to create a golem you need to take the soul of a living person and infuse it into a new body.
Can the clay be a special mix that cocoons the human. If the human is weak and dies whilst inside a flesh golum is born (breaks out). And the reason just be for numbers. A t y pe of procreation
