Hey all, Usually I write short stories, but I'm trying my hand at a novella. I usually develop my plots from images, and right now I have a couple of questions concerning plot and I was wondering if I could receive some constructive feedback: 1) I love the development of anti-heros, but I am at a loss to find any good examples of adolescent anti-heros. My protagonist is in his mid-teens and I plan on having him deal with larger issues in relation to older secondary characters and the setting (war, slavery, etc.). I am not really looking to reproduce a Harry Potter or Percy Jackson-type, but someone a little more dark and pessimistic about the world. I have been trying to find good examples, but I am at a loss. Any suggestions? 2) My favorite genre would have to be mystery (Arturo Perez Reverte, Henning Mankel, etc.) and for my next project I would like to try my hand at it. However, I am having trouble developing a plausible plot and keeping my readers in the dark about certain plot points. Any suggestions on how to structure a mystery? Should I plot out the whole story, or might it be better to work in the dark? I have never written a mystery story before so any advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Anti-heroes. (<-- heroes, not heros) I don't really have much to say about them other than that. Sorry. Depending on how you work best, I recommend you write out a character map. Write the main characters name at the middle, and join him to other spaces where you put other character's names and write their relation. If a character kills another, write that. I find it a great way to really get a plot brewing in your head if you do that. I did this a long time ago with a different plot. A character created a robot-thingy character and it killed someone else. The character found out before the death that the someone else was actually their cousin. When they found out their cousin was dead, it was revealed to the reader that it was their cousin. HOORAY! Then the robot was put in prison. FUN. I personally don't really set out towards any particular genre at the start of anything, though, so I can't help too much. Good luck.
If you wanna write in some genre then you'd better read a lot of it and carefully study it. As for the plot it all depends on your creativity. Right now it seems you're trying really hard to write a genre, not a story. Hope you know what I mean. It's useless to write just because you wanna write. If you have no story to tell then it means you're not ready.
In terms of mystery stories - did the writers of Lost plan that ending or did they make it up as they went along? See thing is if they planned it, where ever they went in the middle didn't quite make sense with the ending. If they didn't plan it - well maybe that's why it wasn't very good. So basically do a bit of both - and if you suddenly have a good idea while writing, zoom back early on in the manuscript and foreshadow it. I think you should plan well, but as we all know, when you write, things tend to change.
