I have had a vague idea for a fantasy novel floating around in my head for a few years... I'd like to have some opinions on whether or not it will work. Basically, it will be a dystopia, with recurring legends of how things used to be, a utopia akin to Eden. In the beginning (utopia), everyone knew their purpose in life at birth. There is a hierarchy, though not in any descending order, just with storytellers at the top. Storytellers are gifted with long life, so that they were alive for many of the stories they tell. Their main purpose (not just in plot development but in the actual world itself) is to remind people of how things used to be, and the importance of following their destiny. Perhaps it will not be openly stated that storytellers are at the top, but be a recurring theme throughout the novel/series, that it is important to have people who remember the past, or something like that. The utopia existed because everyone knew their purpose, and followed through with it. Things ran smoothly. The utopia dissolved because one person (or perhaps an army of them) thought their purpose was lowly (toying with the idea of it being something to do with death, a Sender perhaps, like the summoners in Final Fantasy X) and sought something more for themselves. The main character will, by some series of circumstances that are hopefully more original than in Final Fantasy I, be responsible for taking down the head guy who caused the dystopia. Main character will, perhaps, have doubts about his own predestined purpose, but through the course of the novel, will learn through experience and storytellers the importance of following his/her path. Eventually he/she will succeed in restoring the utopia. The end. The first thing I want to know is, do you think it could work? That is, will it be engaging, as well as possible? I think that if I can pull it off, it can be a work that many people can relate to, with the theme of destiny, and even the religious undertones (although I will not include those purposely, I think it's kind of inevitable what with the Eden thing). The second thing is, does it remind you of any other works? Have you read something similar? Was the book good? Good enough for me to know the plot and themes work? Not so good that it will completely overshadow my work? Is this, in your opinion, any kind of cliche? At least, I think most books have to include cliche... people have written about just about everything there is... but is my idea sufficiently original?
It sounds interesting, and pretty original, but I don't really know where you're coming from with Final Fantasy since I've never played that game. It doesn't sound like there'll be enough action, so you might need to work on that. It'd also be helpful if you could provide us with a little information concerning the MC - characters are what gives a story much of its intrigue and much of its worth, after all.
1st Point- Anything can work in the hands of a skilled author. If you make sure you don't have many cliches and make an engaging story, it'll work pretty well. 2nd Point- I can't really think of anything at the moment, though it sounds vaguely familiar. But here's an idea. Maybe you could have the MC be part of the people who rebelled against the system, but wants to stop them? Just an idea...
Oh yeah, well that's just all I've thought of so far. I'm not really sure what I'll do with the main character's past and personality (though I'm leaning towards a Harry Potter-ish personality... but not so much that it's obvious). As for Final Fantasy, I guess I should clarify. In FFX, there are people called summoners, and along with other responsibilities, it is their job to "send" people that have died, so that their spirits don't linger and haunt people and stuff. I was kind of thinking of making a class like that. And the first Final Fantasy, there was some god or book or something (I don't remember) just said that four heroes are going to save the world, and one day they wake up knowing that it's them. Obviously, I want the responsibility to come by my MC in a more complicated situation. I want him to sort of find himself in the middle of it (again sort of like Harry Potter). That's a good idea... Although to make it fit with the idea of people knowing their purposes from a young age... hmm. Perhaps he will come from a FAMILY that rebelled... so that when he's born he's not at all sure what his purpose should be, and he does decide to go against his history... On the other hand, I could go against that theme and make him someone that changed his purpose mid-life... I think I've seen more heroes emerge from a young age in books, rather than in the middle of their lives, so that might make for something interesting... Thanks for the idea!
If I were you, I'd try not to aim for anything similar to HP, or any other books/characters. Even if you try to make it sound unoriginal, 99% of the time the character/situation still comes across as distinctly like the said book/char. I did that a lot when I was 8 or 9, but since then I've discovered that creating original characters and using various traits and quirks from real people, or making them (and situations/scenes) up completely is much more rewarding, because it gives them more room to develop. Try to exercise your originality as much as you can manage.
