Okay, so recently a (very vivid) daydream has turned into a story that just won't get out of my head. Basically, it's set in 1800s America and it's about a circus freak called "The Turtle Boy" that is rescued by a doctor's family. He later reveals himself to be a Russian named Alexi and soon begins to develop romantic feelings for the eldest daughter of the doctor. (They're both around the age of 16-17.) While this is happening, the eldest daughter's jilted boyfriend, a devoute Catholic discovers this "abomination" and wants to get rid of it so he can have her hand in marriage. To make matters worst, their estranged uncle comes back for more money and begins to wreck havoc on their lives. It's just stuck in my head, and although it does sound interesting, it's too depressing methinks. Plus, the bringing in of a Catholic kid just reeks of RELIGION WAR and that's the LAST thing that I want. It's just how he appeared in my daydream. Even if the story ended with a happy ending. (I'm planning on that, btw.) I think it's because I once read a book about The Elephant Man (Joseph Merrick), and I had a classmate that was deformed and in a wheelchair and it's had a big impression on me. When I think of "The Turtle Boy", I don't think he has to look really deformed, does he? I mean, maybe his hands are misshappened, but everything else looks okay. Well, I just had to get it off of my chest. Has things like this ever happen to you? You're daydreaming and suddenly a story pops in?
I see absolutely nothing wrong with using your dreams as a springboard to stories, even if those stories are very similar to the dream. Unless your dream somehow represents too much of something you know and could cause problems, why not write it? Inspiration is inspiration and one shouldn't look the gift horse in the mouth, as they say (I think)! I have used dreams-inspired ideas before. In one of my novels a character is fighting a vampire (this was years before the whole Twilight saga) and I decided that the interactions, dialogue and subsequent battle scene was too good to give up. In the end I changed it to a medusa because I already had a plan for a vampire later on in the story and didn't think it sensible to use too many. Incidently the people who read that scene seemed to like it, so I think that's a good that sign dream-inspired ideas can be useful
I think we all have those, but I just wanted to say that you have the makings for a really interesting book. I hope you write this story. The sense of it--or at least how you've explained it--reminded me of a book called Water for Elephants (Sara Gruen). You should check it out.
Yep, that's where all my stories come from. I love day dreaming. Even your dreams at night can provide you with some great starting points with story building.
Wow, good tips. I should probably start a dream journal and record my dreams. Actually, I like my idea a lot. Just don't know how to do the climax though, but I know how it's gonna end for dear Alexi.
Oh, I intend to give Alexi a happy ending. :3 I know this is probably a dumb question, but how deformed should Alexi be? I figured that maybe it's just his hands that are messed up, but the rest of him look fine. Would it be insulting if I had one of the younger siblings get the bright idea to have Alexi wear gloves?
That would all depend on the context. And as for the deformity, I'd suggest doing some research into medical conditions that cause the kinds of abnormalities you're interested in including.
Well, there is a medical condition I've been looking into lately called ectrodactyly. It's basically fingers fused together and stuff. Then again, it's also known as "Lobster Claw" due to the infamous Lobster Boy who had that, so maybe I should look elsewhere...
The story, according to your summary, isn't necessarily depressing. That depends on how you write it. It could even be a comedy.
That's what I'm aiming for. Drama with comedy. I don't want to write a depressing book. Of course, now I'm thinking of the possible ways I can make the villains (The uncle and the jilted lover) pay in the end. Of course, my initial reaction is to have them die from either stupidy or in a "Redemption=Death" way, but I guess I need to excercise restraint when deciding the fate of villains. I mean, they don't necessarily HAVE to die, regardless of what they do in the end. I just think about poetic justice and stuff like that. Plus, wouldn't it be ironic if the elephant the characters were talking about throughout the book ended up being a chekov's gun if you will and attacked the villains (It has his own reasons, of course, like protecting its baby, it just so happens to be saving the heros as well)? Crap, that sounds like a Deux Ex Machina, now that I think about it. Maybe I should think about what's best for my book, and not what's best for me personally.
