What I have in mind is a tragedy taking place during the biotech revolution of the near-future centered around an idealistic student, turned capable scientist, turned brutal tyrant. For those of you who are familiar with Lord of the Rings... this is about the making of Sauron. By the end - with those he loved either dead or adversarial - all he has left is power. What advice can you give me?
Um... LOTR is literally based on Norse/Anglo-Saxon mythology (not to mention Catholicism). So it's pretty pointless to try and spin that into a modern/futuristic setting. Sauron already has an origin story, anyway.
Sauron in the 80's Gonna have to agree with Mouthwash. You are not reverse engineering an idea, but instead are trying to explain an alt version of a famous trilogy and characters. Is it a Fan-fic, or are you trying to write it as your own concept with someone elses characters? I can see this working as an up-engineered alt Fan Fiction though. Granted I do not know much about the depth of LOTR history in the books. So that is all I can offer as far as that is concerned. On the other hand, why not spin it as your own work and drop the 'making of Sauron', part all together. It sounds like you have a tyrant that is interesting already, and an interesting rise to power story. So run with that. Just an idea. You do what want.
It is my intention to run it as my own work about the making of an evil overlord. Though not specifically Sauron, I figured it would make for a good way of explaining the story in the same way that Breaking bad was "Mr. Chips becomes Scarface".
I'm not setting it in Middle Earth. It's my own high fantasy setting centered around an initially sympathetic character who aspires toward being an evil overlord. Calling him Sauron was just my way of explaining the concept.
He's motivated by a lust for power, but has a few people who he cares about and can perform heroically by saving them when necessary. What he fears - as his efforts begin to pay off - is losing their support.
Thanks for the reminder. What advice can you give on the story idea? It's a fantasy setting where sorcerous overlord and wandering hero are career options with defined expectations. This is something I could play for comedy, tragedy, or both.
