Okay, here's the basic setup. My story takes place in the modern day. Things are pretty much the same, with one major exception - there are superheroes. Or, there were. About fifty years ago, superheroes and supervillains started popping up. People with extraordinary powers had always been around, but the popularity of things like comic books and the rise of sensationalism made them more comfortable with coming out. The world accepted the heroes, looked up to them as the ideal. It wasn't perfect, there were some incidents and property issues, but, for the most part, things worked out. The government wasn't too happy with vigilantes enforcing justice, but they were hesitant to take action; the public wouldn't liked it at all, and the heroes did get good results and save the world on a few occasions. So they pretty much let the heroes be. This all ended, however, when a group of heroes fought against an interdimensional god that was holding New York City hostage...and lost. Big time. Though a handful of the citizens managed to get away, New York City was still razed to the ground. Millions died. Everyone lost someone. And, in large part, it happened because of the heroes' arrogance; they went in blind against an enemy with powers they had never encountered before and enraged him. Sentiment for the heroes pretty much evaporated. The government began cracking down on heroes with ruthless efficiency. They came up with a unit specifically designed for taking care of superpowered enemies; heroes and villains alike were taken away. Many we even depowered. A few heroes managed to get away by just hiding in plain sight - they just stuck with their alter egos and swore off crime-fighting. One such person is Carmen Rosewell, the heroine of the story. She moved in with her girlfriend after the incident, and has been living in LA for the past few years, getting by a police officer. ... <_< I don't have much of an actual plot yet, just a backstory. I came up with this five hours ago, I'm still getting a feel for it. How's it look so far?
It sounds a bit derivative of a lot of other superhero stuff, to be honest, and its quite hard to judge a backstory when there isn't a plot, since ideally the two should mesh together so that neither can exist without the other. Also, why is she living in New York when you just said that New York had been destroyed by the evil god.
How does it sound to you? Does it excite you enough to build it into a full story? That's all that matters. How well it turns out is a matter of how well you write it, not what you started with as a premise. In terms of plot development, think about your central conflict and any ancillary conflicts. Those are what move the plot, and drive character development as well.
It sounds interesting, and I like the idea. But I'd like to see a few more details on the character - she's one of the most important things in the story, so it'd be nice if you could give us a little more information concerning her.
No offense, but at first glance, it sounds like a more serious version of the beginning of The Incredibles. However, there are some major differences here, and those show how unique the story really is. The antipathy towards the heroes, the ego that comes from having extraordinary powers, and the open conflict between heroes and the government; you can do quite a lot with these! Also, read Lucy's post.
It also sounds like the TV series Heroes, a variation on the Five Years Gone scenario. Don't let anyone discourage you with the "it's been done" bomb. It has all been done before, but that doesn't mean your voice won't ring out clearly. This is one of the problems I have with people posting plot outlines here and saying "What do you think?" A plot outline is a fetus of a story. How it ultimately turns out depends mostly on the writers' voice, and the ability to build believable, interesting characters. If the outline piques your interest, write it. If it comes across as weak, revise it or completely rewrite it, depending on how deeply ingrained the flaws are. My suggestion, for you and anyone else who looks at this thread, is don't run the summary past a bunch of strangers. Keep it to yourself until you have some real prose written. Even then, don't tell people where it is going until it is fully built. Chances are the outcome and the path to get there will shift as you are writing it, and as fresh ideas come to you. Come to this part of the site when you get stuck during plot development, when the conflicts seem weak or the story seems to have trapped itself in a corner. Come here when you want the story to move in a particular direction, and everything your characters do seem to send it flying off in a different direction entirely. All you will find by dropping a plot summary here and asking how people like it is an excuse to never move ahead with it! Not because people are malicious, but because every storyline will seem familiar to somebody.
Yeah, I recently learned that a character-driven story is better than a plot-driven one. The plot, obviously, plays an important role in the story though. And Cogito, I can assure you 50% of the times someone asks "What do you think?", he/she means something like "has this been done before?" or "is it a cliche?" And it is also true that most people after hearing what they did not want to hear drop their plots and start thinking of another. I have learned many things in WF, and I hope to learn more of your wise advices.
I'm shutting this down. This is going past a plot development discussion and is turning into a review request, and therefore does not belong in this part of the site.
