I am having doubts on a book I wrote. I am not sure the plot is strong enough to keep the readers interest, or if the ending goal is strong enough. Elementary Psi Young man has had a normal elven childhood, kidnapped by an evil mentalist that senses the boys psi ability. (his goal to enslave the boys mind, and increase his power) Tortured and abused mentally, his ability explodes in his life. When he is freed, his "gift" is tied to the abuse that brought it out. So everything in his life is effected. Part of the ability is a humming or ringing he hears when people are around, deafening when in a crowd. He avoids all friends and has panic attacks when stressed. He is eating poorly, staying close to his dog and practices with his staff to the point of exhaustion. His parents travel with him to a large city, to see the academy for Psi ability. Where he finds many people that have abilites similar to his. He has encounters during his travels(to the city and in the city) that cause him to draw on the new ability. Plot type: small part; boy versus man (evil mentalist) main plot: boy versus himself(over coming PTSD type problems) another: Boy versus himself in education(learning to use his abilities and not think of them as a curse.) sub plot: boy versus girl (romantic interest) is it love or Florence Nightengale syndrome. sub plot; boy vs girl; student with similar back ground isolating herself from everyone. sub plot; boy versus community(small town boy in bustling active city) My concern, I have no direct villian except for the opening chapters. the ending is when he finds that he is atypical but "normal" and begins to thrive using his abilities, to help himself, family and friends. Uniting with friends to become stronger. What do you think?
There are some very interesting and engaging books with quite simple plots, once you break them down. To me, it isn't an issue of whether your ideas are solid (as Cogito routinely posts, ideas in and of themselves aren't really worth much). No, the entire answer to your question rests in how well you've written the book. If you wrote an interesting, engaging work that will grab the reader's attention because of HOW you've written it and how you've developed your characters, etc., then the plot points above are plenty to sustain a novel. On the other hand, if you haven't written it well it isn't going to matter how much you add or modify in terms of plot, resolution, etc., it still isn't going to be worth reading.
I feel stupid asking that, when I wrote 1250 words on a young dragon going out to play. But a SS is different from a full length novel.(edited, another story had 5000 words) Does the ending sound like a good ending? I have set it aside for several months and I know many places I can do better in describing the action or adding to the encounters.
The PSDT problem, his problems to socialize, the issues that come when he cosiders his ability a curse... These things substitute the villan, IMO. I don't think a novel has to have a villan personified by a character to be good.
Will watch this thread for ideas, but I think I am ready to do the final edit/rewrite on this one. (it is my second complete novel. First has lots of problems. I've learned alot joining the forums.)
As Steerpike said, is the way you write it that will make it good. I know this is not helpful, since you won't be able to tell if it's good unless you show the novel to someone, but... For what I read, it seems good. It's even a bit obvious, that he'll figure out some way to come to terms with his abilities, but how does he do that that's important.
Your questions The plot sounds very busy (which can be a good thing). I do think you're right about the need of a central villain throughout... or perhaps just bookend the villain with subtle hints throughout the body of the story? Side note: A school for the "gifted" could be misconstrued as a "Hogwart's" or "Xavier" reference. Tread lightly and good luck. Cheers, SI
What is your beleif system behind writing this story? Does the story have a message or theme? By definding the theme or message behind this story, you might find it a bit easier to indicate rather you need a villian and an ending to the story. That theme can be your guiding principle in helping you come up with an ending and a villian to your story. Sorry if this does not help.
