1. Toomanypens

    Toomanypens Member

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    I love it when a good story comes together

    Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by Toomanypens, Apr 1, 2017.

    Ok, so I finally got past my nightmare 30% point in my book (usually where I can't get over the hump)
    And I'm looking at what I feel is a terrific set up for any number of stories.

    I have 3 main ideas
    1) a pure biography type story, like oscar bait type stuff
    2) a heroine story, with a very deep and fleshed out woman protagonist, no overly sexualised tropes or dumbed down experiences
    3) supernatural thriller or scifi

    I'm a sucker for scifi, so I kind of want to take it in the direction of revealling the character is actually in the future in a futuristic world and surprise the readers. The reasoning behind why they dont know its the future until 30% in, would be that the character themselves doesn't really notice things outside of herself until then.

    Or I could make her a heroine, give her subtle, on the verge of believability powers, and give people that thrill of following that journey.

    Or I can make it "relevant" and "real" and have it be appreciated like a fine wine or a tea...


    So far the girl left home, built a life for herself, and discovered how she wants to face life after coming to terms with her mother dying infront of her during a terror attack.
    Obviously if I take it into the direction of a biography we get a lot more inner monologues, her entering business, politics, charity, and her developing as a person who then has a part to play in helping the world grow.

    If I take it in the direction of super heroine, she'll face some kind of great upheaval where she lets go of the old world and acclimatises to the new one. She'll overcome her fear of powerlessness and become a symbol that helps the world grow. I'd make her sort of like V for vendetta I guess, a rising political symbol that catalyses the will of the people.

    If it becomes a scifi, then I guess there would be more action set pieces, cool dynamics, and a wilderness to explore.

    I'm probably going to do the biography version, but, I really could take it those other directions, so I'm just tempted to add that bit of flash and sparkle.

    Thoughts?

    What version appeals most to your creative inclinations and why?
    (just trying to gget a feel for the pros and cons so I can make a confident decision regarding which way I go)
     
  2. dragonfire309

    dragonfire309 New Member

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    I recommend just writing what you want to write, not anyone else. Heck, just write the first chapter of all three and see which one you like to write more. What you write doesn't matter, just the execution of it. :)
     
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  3. Jane with dyslexic flag

    Jane with dyslexic flag Member

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    yes, I too enjoy scifi too, write what you like what you hunger for which sounds like that would be scifi.
    What I like to do (cause I am a mostly plotter writer) is to brain storm ideas for your scifi such as:
    * how she would get her powers
    *who does that effect
    *what are the downsides to her powers for example the troubles that arise from keeping it a secret or using her powers makes her black out or hours afterwards
    *what would her goals be both personal for example keep others from targeting her family and keeping her powers a secret or trying to get rid of them or higher goals like being similar to V from vendetta working to for fill a worthy reason free the slaves, stop certain crruption in her city or state
    *who would be her friends, enemies, friemies, loose allies
    *what actions would take her to her goals and what is going to stand in her way
    *what kind of main character is she a boy scout goody-goody, someone who likes to runaway and hide from problems but gets thrown into trouble anyway and is just trying to stay alive, a careful stratigic heroine, or rash and risky type, or one who is always agonizing about whether or not her choices and actions are the right thing
    if answering these gets your creative juices going then go for it, write write write and see who your character is, what her eventually becomes, what is her world like.
    Make a world a reader would find just as facinating as you find it, make a character you can't help but root for, and a ending you can live with one with a twist happy or sad as long as it is saticifying to you
    hope this helps :)
     
  4. Toomanypens

    Toomanypens Member

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    Thank you both!
    Very helpful

    I think there is a way I can have all of those elements, I just need to recognise that the character herself probably desires it to be a scifi, and she or someone else sees a super heroine in her (the likes of V). But then I don't necessarily make them happen, just sort of tease it?

    The way your responses helped was like this,
    Janes response was full of the mechanics I'd need to add to fully COMMIT to that direction
    Dragonfire spoke about writing them out then choosing the best
    Which got me to thinking that the best exists in a place that I am most comfortable commiting to

    So, therefore, how about I commit to teasing, by using the characters to display different perceptions of the same event.
    I'll make the guy she meets see her as a bit of a super hero, and have others agree,
    Then I'll allude to it being the future so much the audience can kinda taste it, but let it be a tone she expresses, like she wishes it was the future (but maybe it is the future but it is the present for her which she dislikes)

    Maybe in these ways I can blur the lines without explicitly crossing them. Spice up the feel of the story, even give some similar payoffs, but still keep to the biography style.
    Yeah, I think that is definately besst, because if I just untether from reality now, I'd lose the tension I've developed.
    Thanks a lot guys.
    I appreciate your time and thought put into those responses.
    Wonderful.

    Very helpful!
    I'm a little in your debt,
    Just a little.
    Thankyou
     
  5. Alex Brandt

    Alex Brandt Member

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    I'm voting for the sci fi edge as well. What I love about sci fi and fantasy is that ALL other genres can exist within it, including a biography. Which would be new and very interesting.
    I like your teasing idea, and it really sounds like you can pull it off. BUT be very careful, if you hold off on the type of story you're telling for too long, I think your readers may opt out because they are unsure what your going for. (Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson was almost like that for me.)
     
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  6. EstherMayRose

    EstherMayRose Gay Souffle Contributor

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    Yes, go for the sci-fi. My style of storytelling isn't very popular, so whenever I doubt myself, my mum tells me to "write what you want to read", and that gets me going again. If you're a "sucker" for sci-fi, go for it! The way you talk about the biography option makes it seem like you don't really care for that genre, so if you choose to write that book, it will be really tough going. Hope this is helpful.
     
  7. Toomanypens

    Toomanypens Member

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    Like the signature.

    I got to the sixth-seventh chapter now
    Chose to keep it more like a biography cuz its "classy" and more respectful to the tough topics its addressing.

    BUUUUT...
    It feels more interesting than I thought it would be. I think I'm sucked up in her story now without frills required.
    Heck, I might not even do a villain now. I might just follow my feet to where this main character leads me.
    Just gonna trust her.
     
  8. R.Eagle

    R.Eagle Member

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    I think biography is the best idea since the other ideas sound like total U-turns. You're 30% through the novel now, and although I get that suddenly changing things up is kinda what you're going for, the build up to this plot twist hasn't in any way been adhered to since you never decided explicitly what genre you were writing into. I don't know how it reads, but it sounds like there would be a lack of build up and the story would first be one thing, then another. It sounds disorienting and could only be fixed by heavily editing the first 30 percent - then again I have no idea what it's really about so maybe the way you've told it, it would work.

    It sounds like you've made up your mind now anyway, so good luck with it! I think you made the right choice.
     
  9. QueenOfPlants

    QueenOfPlants Definitely a hominid

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    I recently read "The Three-Body Problem" by Cixin Liu and although it's science fiction, the first part of the book describes the experiences of some characters during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. That was very fascinating to read.

    I see no reason why a sci-fi story shouldn't be a biography of a person who lived through and dealt with the consequences of a terror attack. Maybe that inspired this person to become politically active to do something against terror while history and technology march on. Maybe, at one day the person looks back and realizes she has become a kind of hero without realizing it, because that was just the course of her life.

    Good luck with your writing, Toomanypens. :)
     
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  10. Toomanypens

    Toomanypens Member

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    Yup, Queen of Plants thats precisely the note I want to hit.
    Albiet, a bit more subtle.

    A hint of a Scifi that is a biography of a victim who becomes a heroine.

    Though, it isn't that far into the future how I've written it (maybe 15 years?)
    So, a TEASE of future events, as things are really coming to a conclusion after a 30 year cycle of war.
    And the final realisations of how many million dead and retrospectives, and how she ends it?

    I think it is a thriller...
    Just with a dash of those other things in how its alternate universe is created.


    I'm up to chapter seven now, and have a great idea of where to go
    I'm enjoying it
     
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  11. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    Sometimes it can take a while to figure out what your story IS actually about. But once you know, you 'know.' Have fun. It sounds as if you already are.
     
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  12. Toomanypens

    Toomanypens Member

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    I think I knew what it was about conceptually at the beginning, but now, wow... It has so much more meaning.
    So I think, you are right, in that you find some part of your concept in the process, and when it comes, it just booms like thunder.

    That has to be the best feeling in writing I have felt so far, the moment I came to realise how to direct it to best serve the story and not myself.
    It just feels great.
     

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