So I've got one novella finished, and I'm around half way through its sequel. It occurs to me now, though, that they're arguably similar enough in tone and theme that they could fit together as one longer work (probably still short for a novel). The elevator pitch for the first is: High School girl makes friends with a bullied younger girl, realises she's a pædophile, and ends up driving said girl to suicide because angst and self hate. There's more to it, obviously, the whole abusive boyfriend subplot doesn't get a look in, but that's why it's an elevator pitch. The second part deals with aforementioned high school girl's subsequent trauma and recovery. Does this sound like the kind of thing that might work when put together? Each of the two would be about half of the whole, which seems pretty extreme for two disparate storylines, connected as they are. There's some potential for a third piece, following the main supporting character experiences during and after, but that might just end up being woven into the two other parts.
... How is someone in high school a pedophile? Don't you need to be above the legal age and sexualize much younger people than yourself?
The older is 16, the younger is 12. I think that's a pretty significant difference. Either way, the older perceives herself to be a paedophile, and that's really the important thing. I foresee a comment about those ages not being together in high school, or something to that effect, and I'd point out that it's set in the UK where high school' spans 12-16 (18 in some cases).
Eh, I went to a school that has kindergarten to grade 12 so it wouldn't phase me. I suppose it would be interesting if the MCs mindset is developed and we can explore the theme. I if length isn't an issue, you could easily have the two put together as they tie in perfectly, as far as it sounds to me.
IMO, it sounds to me like the interaction and results alone sound incomplete. Just from what you've given, it sounds like it needs the second part added as a resolution to make a well-rounded story. Of course, I haven't read what you have. This is just going off what you've stated. Just as a quick example, going off the three act plot structure: Act 1 (Setup): Bullying Act 2 (Confrontation): Face the trauma Act 3 (Resolution): Recovery That's what it sounds like to me, anyways.
It's more like a pair of three act structures, and I don't think I was really clear enough. The bullied girl is a separate girl from the main character. It's more like: Act 1, Part 1: The older girl and the younger, bullied girl meet. Act 2, Part 1: Their relationship develops, and the older girl realises that she shouldn't get into a relationship with someone that much younger. Act 3, Part 1: Everything goes wrong for everyone involved. Younger girl commits suicide. Act 1, Part 2: Older girl moves across the world, still having not entirely recovered. Meets local girl. Act 2, Part 2: Again, relationship develops, but more as a platonic friendship one. Act 3, Part 2: Older girl eventually pulls herself through with much help from local girl. They could both work on their own, from where I'm standing. The first as a tragic love story, the second as a story of recovery from an unclear past trauma.
They could work on their own, but I think they sound more interesting together - although they're different stories and following somewhat different themes, they link together well. Not just in the case of the recovering character, but their differences could combine to make a really interesting longer work.
