Is my plot a good one, or is it overused? Hi, so I am in the process of writing a fantasy book, but I am not sure the plot is any good. I am very open to constructive criticism, so do not hesitate to tell me what you think. My story takes place in a semi fantasy seting. The main character is the 16 year old, orphan daughter of the area deed lord. She and her twin brother, have been brought up by their mother's legitimate half brother. Tragedy comes, when her brother falls of a horse, braking his back (completely paralyzing him). This leads to a series of heart wrenching events. There father's sister comes to live with them, she attempts to tern the main character into 'a proper young lady '. Making her stop hurting, and horseback riding, as well as seeing her friends in the town (this includes her boyfriend). As this is go the main character's brother askes her to help him commit suicide. Unable to live trapped in his own body. Other problems include the treatment of the srvents and legitimate half brother, by the father's sister. I am unsure what will happen from there. Thank you.
Hi there! The plot isn't as predictable as I though it would be from the title but I kind of guessed this part: This sounds like a typical situation where an 'evil' character comes and turns around the MC's lives making them something they are not. I kind of expected this to happen and expected her being told not to intereact with her friends. The bracket part was also predictable because forbidden romances are sweet but very popular nowadays. I suggest about that, that you make him a character who is around the house and he tries to take her down to the village and stuff and enjoy their time there. X.x.V.x.X
A lot of people like fresh versions of classic stories. Coming under the thumb of an asshole relative is a kind of chaos that a lot of people want to read about because it hits close to home. Some people will be bored by it because they have read it a lot, but other people won't be.
I can't add much more, but what really matters is what you do with the story. No one else has your vision or idea for your story. To write without worry And happy writing!
Whether it's overused or not doesn't really matter. I mean, if overused plots were enough to kill interest in a story, superheroes wouldn't be nearly as popular as they are now. It's all about what you do with it. If you write a cliche well enough, no one cares that it's a cliche anymore. However, I will admit that there will be a number of people who are so jaded that they'll notice what the plot is, and write the rest of the book off entirely as a cliche, but you shouldn't listen to those people because they don't know what makes a book good. Besides, at this point, almost everything has been done already, so it's practically impossible to do something completely new. It's not about completely rejecting the old paradigms, it's about building on them and making them work for you. Good luck!
The bare bones of the story can be a cliche, but if the characters and the story are done well, you will still get a good story. What's far more important is that your protagonist/main is someone that the reader wants to root for. That said, I will note that ladies absolutely ride on horseback. That points strikes me more as an attempt of isolation for the purpose of controlling the protagonist than making her appear to be a lady, unless she refuses to ride side-saddle.
[QUOTE="S A Lee, post: 1684001, member: 81178" That said, I will note that ladies absolutely ride on horseback. That points strikes me more as an attempt of isolation for the purpose of controlling the protagonist than making her appear to be a lady, unless she refuses to ride side-saddle.[/QUOTE] I think that part of the MC aunts refusing to let her ride is out of fear. (And after what happened with the MC brother, I can't say I blame her.) The MC does refuses to ride side -saddle, she thinks that it is for girls that don't know how to ride. She favors a normal saddle or bare back.
Plots can sound lousy when summarized, then turn out to be great novels. Plots can sound amazing when summarized, then turn out to be terrible novels. The only way to know for sure is to let your writing show you.
It's definitely hard to go at speed side-saddle. A lot of your context did make me think of Victorian or earlier times, in which case, horses were vital for long distance travel. By stopping her riding, it can be out of fear, but it could also be because if she rides freely the MC could visit her boyfriend and friends despite the aunt's wishes.
It does take place in Victorian times, although the setting its self is on the cost of Ireland. I had never thought about it being become of her boyfriend, although it makes sense.
I think that one possible way to differentiate this from similar plots could be to make the father's sister a sympathetic character...somehow. So that the reader may be exasperated with her, but nevertheless when she hurts, the reader hurts. I can think of several somehows, and am happy to babble on, but since she's your character I don't want to pre-influence you.
Hmm. I had ideas when I wrote the post, and they seem to have floated away. Can you tell us any more about the aunt? There's the really obvious one of: Maybe she truly thinks that her niece's life will be better if she's a proper young lady. Maybe the aunt didn't have all that training when she was young, and so she had limited marriage choices and was unhappy with her husband. She wants better for her niece. A second option could be that the half brother is the one who really wants his niece to toe the line, and if Aunt doesn't do the job, she'll be thrown out and penniless. A third and closely related option would be that the half brother has already made a marriage contract for his niece and accepted a large dowry, and, again, if Aunt doesn't do the job the groom's father will be displeased and cancel the marriage. I'm thinking that the fact of (1) brother has accident and (2) aunt comes to stay could be related. But how? One thought is that now the brother is unlikely to produce an heir, so the succession is the sister's problem--and that is more motive for the half brother to want the sister to comply with expectations. Or we could abandon all sympathy for the aunt. Maybe she arranged the accident, as one step on the way to inheriting the family fortune, and since the brother didn't die as expected, she's there to slowly kill them all off. So she looks like an ordinary controlling nanny type, but she's really a multiple murderer. Maybe she's not really the father's sister but the father's sister impoverished companion or lover, who took on the sister's identity when the sister died and is now frantically trying to survive. Does the aunt have to mistreat the servants and half brother?
The aunt is the oldest of 3, in order, her, her brother (the father of the MC) and a young sister. She and her family are part of the English Nobility. She was brought up to be a proper lady. Then her brother, in the eyes of the family, ruined the family reputation when he married the MC Irish mother. The aunt believes that the MC has 'bad blood ' from her mother's side of the family. She also believes that the MC has been 'tainted ' by her upbringing in Ireland, and by long term exposure to the MC mother's brother. She wishes to stamp out all the things that she considers Irish or 'unlady like '. The MC accent, riding without a side-saddle, dressing like a boy, taking back to people older than herself (men in particle), seeing he boyfriend (the aunt does not like him', and other 'unlady like' things. The fate of the family line, also rests on the MC alone. The aunt was married, but never had children. Her younger sister, had a good match, but died in childbirth, and the child, (a girl) is blind, (so she has little hope of a good match.) That leaves the MC and her brother. Both had a good chance at finding good matches, but now the brother is paralyzed. So the fate of the family line only truly (in the eyes of the aunt) is heled by the MC. I think this answer your questions?
Most good plots are overused. It does not matter. "Same but different" is the answer. How you use your plot is what matters. And what is your theme? How do you handle your theme? How do you bind it to your plot? What kind of subtext does that bond make? Are your characters alive? Do they live and make plot or does plot happen to them? How do they change? What kind of dance there is between protagonist and antagonist? How do they step each others toes? How do they unwillingly support they opponents?
