Basically, writing a comedic novel in the vein of Hitchhiker's Guide about Lou, an ordinary man that is apparently The Chosen One. He's a disorganized mess that doesn't really have any friends, and generally hates where he's at in life. But he's not willing to put himself out there and change his circumstances. When he's abducted by aliens, and brought on many adventures in a quest to fulfill his destiny (which all turns out to be a bunch of bologna anyways), he slowly starts to realize that what he's really been seeking in adventure. He has a serious case of wanderlust. As he continues to see the stars, galaxies, and beautiful planets, he then quickly gets bored of that, too. Eventually, he has another revelation, and just realizes that the thing that has gone wrong this entire time in his life was just a case of adult ADHD. He's put on some medication, and he's suddenly fine. I want my character's arc to be anti-climactic, but is this too, I dunno . . . tacky? It is a comedic piece, but perhaps I could just leave out the whole getting board of new adventures thing, and just roll with the wanderlust part. What do you guys think? Want to give this character more depth, and I may be able to do that with the whole adult ADHD thing (I understand it, since I have it). If I go this route, it could have a sort of underlying meaning about learning to love your daily life (even if it's through meds). You don't need to go on all these wild adventures and have crazy experiences to be happy. On the other hand, the whole wanderlust thing could go the opposite direction, where it implies that people should put themselves out there, and take risks. There's a whole universe of possibilities out there waiting for you. Similar to something like Yes Man. Only thing with this approach is that Lou wouldn't have the inherent character traits that would make Lou seem more unique and real.
Eh, I'm not fond of the 'miracle cure fix-it pills' approach. It's enough of a personal bias for me I don't think I can give an objective thought on it either. I'm not opposed to the idea of him getting helped through meds, but if it's just a 'cure' and then he goes back to normal life except he's happy now-- that sounds like it'd annoy me. I am amused at the idea of his 'Chosen One'-ness being a bunch of bologna. I think there's several different ways you could take this, and I do see potential in all of them. So I'd say go with the angle you want to do most.
I guess I was just looking to flip expectations on their heads. You expect there to be some huge character arc, and have a big finale, but it's just a quick-fix that solves everything. I think, again, it'd add depth to have my character have ADHD, and there's lots of stuff I could do with it (especially since I know all about it), but I'm trying to think of how to "solve" it, if that makes sense. Perhaps he never realizes he has it, and I don't even have to necessarily mention it. The character simply is what he is, and it's up to the readers to recognize it (or not). But then, my character would truly never be happy, and there would be no character arc, which is where I was thinking I could put a comedic twist on it and just have a cure-all. I dunno. Plot and character-building are tough . . .
I'm not opposed to the idea of an anti-climactic end to an arc. Flipping expectations is fun! It might be harder to pull off, but I think it'd be neat to see you try! The ADHD thing isn't even a problem for me either. I too am diagnosed, which may feed into my dislike of this pills thing. I have not and probably will never take any medicine for my ADHD. It's fairly mild, so I've been able to manage pretty good without it. I think that might actually be part of what feeds into my dislike? (I don't need a 'cure' I'm just fine as I am sort of thing.) I hear you when you say you're not trying to 'solve' it but-- I don't get it if that makes sense? Your guy goes on this grand adventure, tries to learn how to be happy and-- oh well just needs some medicine? Okay then. Maybe it'd work better for me in writing but describing that plot to me just doesn't go well in my brain. Then again I'm just being a very vocal audience of one. Maybe I just wouldn't be your target audience. Take my opinions with all the salt, lol.
no, I'm not going to take it. All criticism is definitely something to look into. Hell, I wouldn't have made this thread if I didn't have my own doubts. I'm just trying to find a good mix of character dynamics in my main character's group. Right now, I have the snobbish, but good hearted intellectual, a creature that is dumb as a rock (because he is one), and Lou, an average guy that had a mild case of ADHD. I want Lou to have some kind of arc, just not sure if there's enough places I could truly show his condition off.
Yeah I get what you're saying there. Are you more of a plotter then? I have discovered I write way better when I give up on the plotting and own my pantser-ness. With that to say: If I had that much and a feel that it was 'time' to write that story, I'd just do it. I've discovered character-arcs partway through the first draft, or even after it was done. I'm sure you'll find plenty of ways to play up the ADHD thing, I feel like it works itself in naturally with a lot of my characters. Even when I don't really intend for them to be ADHD, lol. I do think that going from 'cranky guy with no joy' to 'happy adventurer' sounds like a fun character arc though for Lou. In my book his arc doesn't have to be centered on his brain wiring, it can just be a factor in his personality.
If you want it to be anti climactic, maybe consider something more along the lines of his clear cynicism, in life. Maybe it gets the best if him, by the end and he just slumps back to his old life, despite the fantastic adventures?
The way you've explained it, with the whole subverting the "chosen one" trope, it sounds like the kind of story that shouldn't have a character arc. I saw someone describe it as existentialist in another thread and that sounds right to me––the chosen one thing is religious in nature and if you subvert it you're essentially going with Nietzsche's "God is dead" proclamation. If there's no such thing as a God in your story universe how can there be a chosen one? And I know, there is a God, but he seems weak and ridiculous, more like a frustrated middle management type than an actual God, so maybe his Chosen One is frustrated as well. As for your wanderlust angle, it makes me think of the theme of the Wizard of Oz, where Dorothy went on her whole dream adventure only to discover that the truth and all necessary adventure can be found right at home. There are people who seek what they (think they) lack in externals (through travel and adventure) and people who can find it inside themselves right where they are, maybe through some kind of inner adventure. I suspect the difference is whether they're an introvert or extravert. Just linking your ideas to other ones I've seen––frequently looking at how similar things have been handled in literature or philosophy etc can spark the ideas.
I dunno man. ADHD isn't really amenable to good character development, either in fiction or reality. The problem is that if you explicitly give him ADHD, and have the narrative address that by name, that's not really depth. ADHD isn't deep enough to work with like that. It's not something he can overcome by character development. If he's afraid of pills then it's that he conquers, not the condition. If you don't explicitly say it then it won't read like he has a problem. He might be a bit odd, and he might become less so at the end, but it'll be mild and much more noticeable to him than anyone else. You would have to make him so extreme as to be disabled if you want it to read like he has a problem. If you want to write a restless and unfocused character, just do that. That's cool to work with. But the ADHD tag will prevent you from getting satisfying development, as it won't really be him that deals with it, and write you into a corner a bit. I felt that way too, for a long time. I'm just fine, I don't need to change, I'm just me and I like me. And now I look back and wonder why I stubbornly stuck to being miserable for so long. The pills aren't just a fix, but they do work, enough to genuinely change your life.
I think that's what I'm going to do. Not explicitly state it, but kinda make it know by showing a few of the more mild symptoms. Especially with things like disorganization. Hell, in the current iteration of my intro, I'm writing about how my character stubs his big toe on the same box every morning as he walks to the bathroom. This has absolutely happened to me numerous times, with the last thing being a rollerblade. I remember, there was a time period where I quite literally stubbed my big toe on the same exact thing every morning for about two weeks straight. Can't recall what it was I stubbed my toe on, though.
Preach it, my dude. That feeling of "GODDAMN IT THIS BULLSHIT WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN!" followed immediately by totally forgetting about it, just long enough to do it again is just... Ugh. For me it's always losing something I just had two seconds ago. Being medicated helps somewhat, but only because I actually tidy so things I put down don't just disappear. From a storytelling perspective, little things are more noticable than big ones. And that's the same in my life too, to be honest. It's much easier to rationalise about big stuff - I didn't really want to do that anyway, that crappy job wasn't even worth the time applying for. The small stuff occasionally reminds me that my brain sort of works differently to other people. As my ladylove could tell you, a far too common phrase when asked why some random object (like a hammer or a hairbrush) has been placed delicately on top of a drinking glass - "I need to put it somewhere I can see it or I will never find it again".
