Alright. I've got a concept in my novel and when my husband read it the first time he didn't have quite a clear idea of what I meant, so I wanted to get some second opinions before I try finding ways to re-write and make things more clear. Half my novel takes place in the world of one of my MC's imaginations. He's giving up on his dreams of writing in order to focus on his corporate career, which he thinks will better support his wife and child (due to his fathers influence.) As a result of giving up, the sun in the world of his imagination is in a constant state of sunset. The sun rises in the west but never traverses the sky, instead hovers above the western horizon for about the length of an average day and goes back down again. The world is bathed in orange light during the day, due to the sun set, and there hasn't been an actual sunrise or noon-time in years, so some of the younger characters my MC has created have no notion of what a blue sky would look like. This is as succinct a description as I can give without cutting and pasting to let you see what the actual passages say. What I need to know is if the idea comes accross clearly. Thanks lots!!
I definitely think the idea of the imagination world is well described, but I'm not sure if the concept totally makes sense. Is it just that the sun goes from a state of rising to one of setting with no in between? That's the picture I get.
Yes, thats it exactly. There is no time when the sun is high in the sky. It rises in the east, hangs out, then sets back in the east without ever climbing in the sky.
Thanks It's intended for adults since it deals more with adult problems and relationships (some sensuality included) but I don't imagine it would be beyond the realm of YA's.
From your description I saw the story as having multiple possibilities. The imaginary world sort of represents the MC's inner self. As he gives up his own dream that inner world sort of dies or doesn't prosper as much as it did. Or if the MC were start off as a kid and grow into an adult, it sort of represents a coming of age story where he gives up childhood notions to become a boring adult. Anyway, good luck with whatever way you decide to go.
So my first question would be "Is the novel your MC was writing a place more than just in his imagination?" I ask because you are making your MCs mc characters seem alive. Thats all I have for that but the concept is very intriguing. I'd like to take the time to read your novel myself if I get the chance.
The concept, as described, makes complete sense. Perhaps how it was in the text isn't clear? Seems crystal to me.
Drayelya, yes, the novel takes place in the "real" world where my MC lives and simultaneously in the world of his imagination where his characters (my other MC's) are trying, in essence, to keep the MC writing so they dont end up forgotten. Thanks, MrNomas, I'm glad it came across clear, thats what I was hoping for!
Sounds like an interesting concept for a novel, not too difficult a concept for me. I love "dreamscape" type concepts though, ala Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Inception. What's neat about dreams is you can literally do whatever you want via the power of imagination, endless possibilities.
I like the concept and how the sun symbolizes the course of his life. I don't get what is difficult about it. Seems pretty straightforward.
how do you explain astronomically, that odd solar/planetary behavior? how can the sun possibly go up and then down, in the same location, since it's the rotation of the planetary body one is on that determines its visual course?
Its called a Midnight Sun. It happens on planets that have an axes that does not go straight up and down and at times of the year when the north pole points towards the sun it causes the sun to rise and fall really fast until it finally gets so high in the sky that it never sets. It happens here on Earth in areas close to the North Pole.
The easiest explanation is that the sunset is in the world of the MC's imagination and, as we all know, anything is possible if you can imagine it I was just worried that I wasn't making the phenomenon clear so the reader might be confused as to what I was talking about or not have a clear picture of what I meant. But from the responses I've gotten it seems like the sunset was pretty well understood, so that takes some of the weight off!
I like the concept but it kind of confuses me. When you mean imagination are you referring to her mind/dreams? Is the story going to take place in her mind?
I think he means that the story takes place in the real world, but it particially takes place in the character's head because the character is writing it and not the writer. Then when the main character gives up writing, the writer must take the main character's place and start writing in the "real world" again. But what I don't get is that when the writer start taking the main character's place, does the sun still stay up in the East and fall quickly, even though the main character isn't writing the story? I think it's a good idea if we're on the same page.
Hi, I get the idea, and also the thought that since the sun never rises and is always setting, that perhaps its symbolic of his death of his imagination. His imagination being what he loves, is giving way to the brutal reality of life. In a way it strikes me as oddly similar to Stephen Donaldson's Thomas Covenant, where the land, although it becomes very real, is linked to him. Cheers.
I didn't origionally intend on having the whole concept on here, mostly just the sunset because it was the only thing anyone who had read my rough work had questions about. But since you asked, I will just lay it out quickly. Have you ever wondered what happened to the stories you started writing but never finished? What happens to the characters you've brought life to when you forget about them? Tolkien called these "sub-creations" and I am inclined to agree with him. So I decided to find out what really did happen, in one mans imagination, when he decided to give up writing for good (hence the sunset of his imagination) but the characters he had created would not to go down without a fight.
