So, I'm writing a realistic fiction piece/novel/novella/thing/whatever you want to call it, and my two main characters (male & female) have a falling-out when there around 11 years old, but are then driven back together later on. But I need to create a backstory for them when they're 11-ish so they can be driven apart so then, later on, they can be re-united and everything will be happy. Here's what I've got so far (The male character is from a first-person perspective): The way I see it, everyone will do something absolutely amazing in their lifetime, whether it being the first human to walk on Mars, or working your way up to being the supervisor of a division of cable guys. Everyone wants to be somebody. But not her. Not Kara Norzennik. She prefers to tread the Earth lightly, not disrupting anything in her path, leaving only mystery in her wake. I’ve lived next to Kara Norzennik for the last seven years, and through those seven years, I’ve come to find out that she is the most fantastic human being to walk the planet. Ever since the fourth grade, I’ve been hopelessly in love with her. Kara is one of the “popular kids.” She’s always hanging around with her boyfriend, Austin Smith, giggling away at whatever the popular kids are talking about that day. Kara and I used to be really great friends. But then there was an Incident. It happened on July 24, 2010. We were riding our little 11-year-old bikes to the playground to play whatever game it was that day. Tag, Man on Ground, Hop-Scotch, Four-Square, it didn’t end up mattering after the Incident.
Hi there! Welcome to the forum. I see you 've just joined today. This is a great place to be, because we're all interesting in writing, and are at various stages of doing it. I'm not sure what you're needing from us regarding this thread, though. I'd be cautious about falling into the habit of asking other people to help you create story elements. Things like backstory. You are writing a story about two young people who fall out with each other when they are young, and get back together again later. That's a great story idea. However, writers should generate their own stories, not ask for other people to interfere—at least in my opinion. Once you've written your story, including the backstory, then is when you ask people for feedback. This way you'll know if you've succeeded in conveying what you wanted to convey. But asking people to brainstorm story ideas with you early on? That's a bit of a crutch, isn't it? I know some people like to do it, but I personally think it's a mistake. The fun of being a writer is you can make up any story you want! So why would you want to tell somebody else's? Maybe I've picked you up wrongly here, and if I have, please forgive me. I have certainly been known to miss a point or two. In any case, welcome to the forum, and thanks for sharing that good story idea. Sounds promising.
When you're 11, the smallest slight can feel like the end of the world. I think you can go anywhere you like with this.
Thanks, Jannert for the feedback. It seems that 2:30 am me didn't think this through very much. But, I'm still working it out and I hope that I'll be able to figure something out for it. Will post when I get to that point.
I have finished it! Yass! Here it is: The way I see it, everyone will end up doing something absolutely amazing in their lifetime. I could become the first man to walk on Mars. It can’t happen to everyone, but everyone will do something that makes them who they are. Everybody wants to be someone. But not her. Not Kara Norzennik. She prefers treading the Earth lightly, not disrupting anything in her path, leaving only mystery in her wake. I’ve lived next to Kara Norzennik for seven years, ever since I moved to the town of Relescent, Florida. Through those seven years, I’ve come to find out that she is the most fantastic human being to walk the planet. Ever since the fourth grade, I’ve been hopelessly in love with her. Kara has always been one of the “popular kids.” She’s always hanging around with her boyfriend, Austin Smith, giggling away at whatever the popular kids are talking about that day. Kara and I used to be really great friends. But then there was what I now know as The Incident. It was July 24, 2010. We were riding our little 11-year-old bikes to the playground, prepared for anything that the world had to throw at us that day. Almost anything, anyways. We pulled into the old elementary school’s parking lot, not yet knowing of what was to come. We dropped our bikes and ran past a giant pile of wood chips (the school was trying to replace all of the dirt in the flower beds with wood chips) and over to the swing set. It was a normal day, to say the least. But then we found The Note. We were throwing a ball back and forth, back and forth, when suddenly, a piece of paper blew by in the wind. “Hey,” Kara said, and chased the paper until she stepped on it then grabbed it from under her shoe. “What does it say?” I asked, walking over to her so I could get a glimpse of the small shred of paper. Kara read through the note, then turned her head to the left. There was an old, beat up car. As soon as we looked, the car sped away. Kara looked at me. “We have to find him.” “I don’t think we can do that, Kara,” I replied. “I think we need to go and tell somebody.” I walked over to grab my bike so we could go home. But Kara just stood there, staring at the spot where the car had previously been. “Kara. We need to go.” She just stared at me. “What did the note say, Kara?” She handed me the note. It read: The day has come I need to get lost if I ever want to find myself. “We have to find him,” Kara repeated. She went and grabbed her bike. “We can find him later,” I said. “Just not now. Right now we need to go home. To tell somebody about what just happened.” I got on my bike, and we began riding home. We got back to our identical-on-the-outside houses and parted ways. I may never know what Kara Norzennik did when she arrived at home, but I can almost guarantee that she did the exact same thing that I did. I walked into my house and walked up the stairs. I didn’t say a word to my parents, and I just pretended as if nothing had happened. A few hours later, there was a knock at the door. “Luke,” Dad called. “Kara’s at the door for you!” “Coming!” I yelled back down the stairs. I ran down the stairs, jumped over the couch and ran over to the door. “Luke!” Mom said. “There is absolutely no need to climb over furniture! That isn’t what we put it there for. Next time, just go around it. “Okay, Mom,” I responded, then opened the door. “Hey, Kara. Do you want to come in?” “No thanks,” she replied. “Actually, can I speak to you out here for a minute?” “Sure.” I stepped outside and closed the door behind me. “What’s up, Kara?” “It’s that man.” “What about him?” “We need to find him. I don’t know why and I don’t know how, but we just need to.” “Kara. This is crazy talk. We’re not going after some madman who for some messed up reason left us of all people a note that says ‘come find me.’ It’s just not something that any sane eleven-year-old can do.” Kara started pacing up and down on the porch. “Then what do we do?” she asked. “We can’t just leave him! What if he runs out of gas or gets a flat tire or he runs into a pack of coyotes or gets eaten by aliens or something even worse than that?” “That isn’t up to us,” I replied. “Why can’t you just enjoy being a kid for once? I love hanging out with you and all, but you always have to go and act older than you are.” “Well, then maybe we shouldn’t hang out anymore, Luke,” Kara said with a hint of annoyance in her tone, then turned and walked away. And I just stood there and watched. Unsure of what to do, whether I should follow or stay. I chose the latter, and went back inside. We didn’t really talk much after that. We were never really close again, but we sort of remained friends. Said “Hi” in the hallway, but nothing much more than that. And I had always thought that it was the end of my first real friendship. Until this one day.
