Need help creating a plot that involves a female lead that isn't into watching sports

I find it hard to understand why you feel that because she is not into sports, that she has to accomplish something noteworthy.
Are you saying that, in your mind, people that are not into sports are not noteworthy. Surely not.

p.s. I fail to see winning a beauty pageant as a noteworthy accomplishment. 'a feather in the cap' maybe, but noteworthy?

 

This thread makes we want to kill myself. Just a little bit.

 

I'm imagining people, maybe a whole subset of the population, looking at Pulitzer Prize winners (for example) and saying, "Yeah, but what position do they play?"

Sigh.

ChickenFreak

 

Before or after you win the superbowl single handed with hand tied behind your back and cartwheeling down the pitch ? Because after all that is way more important than that village in Africa that you helped buy a clean water pump for.

 

No! No! don't do that! Finish your story and kill the rest of us. Only joking Ha! Ha!

 

Behind the scenes, the forum intelligentsia has been hard at work and reached the conclusion that MrOz is an ingenious and hilarious wind-up merchant.

Exhibit A:

 

art, if you don't like the direction of my story, you can always leave it alone.

I already made a suggestion where she wins a contest that rewards humanitarianism. But having her save somebody or not win anything is not an option. Sorry, but it ain't.

And there is a pageant I think that isn't as superficial as Miss America or the other popular one. It is called National American Miss. It may not be as popular as the other two competitions (and therefore is irrelevant), but it can be a mark of accomplishment in my story.

 

Sounds right at home in a chick lit paperback.

 

MisterOz_GatorLover, I've suggested a whole bunch of things that she could win, all of them far more important than a beauty contest or a sports contest. Have you even seen my posts at all?

And I haven't seen anyone but you suggest that she "save somebody". I'm not sure where you got that idea. You do seem to keep focusing on "effort". Are you under the impression that winning a major artistic, literary, or academic prize doesn't involve any effort?

You say that you "want to try and relate/identify with people that aren't into following sports". Your responses in this thread, focusing on sports and on "sports substitutes" like beauty pageants, don't show any effort along these lines.

Beauty pageants are a little tiny bit of show business. As with sports, you're out in public and you might do something a little physical like dancing. So maybe to you they look like the next best thing to sports. But that is, once again, coming from a "sports is real life and everything else is a poor substitute" point of view. People who are not into sports do not have that point of view. (For that matter, I'd assume that most people who are into sports don't have it either.)

There are good things in real life that are not sports, that do not imitate sports, that are not done by people who longingly wish that they could just throw away that Pulitzer prize or Booker award and join a sports team. If you want to "relate/identify with people that aren't into following sports", then please make some effort to do so. Very few of those people are going to be into following beauty pageants/contests, either.

ChickenFreak

 

I think the issue is with the unrealistic female MC that is being portrayed - she is too perfect and seems more of an ideal than a real person. Able to do everything too well.

 

I'm really trying, ChickenFreak, but perhaps that's the problem. Trying too hard. Anyway, I read your suggestions and like them, so it's taking awhile to process. Is having her win a surfing competition something that you wouldn't agree with?

Anyway, the last thing I want for this character is to give her Mary Sue traits. She's got flaws and drawbacks. I may not have told them to you yet but if you want them feel free to ask.

 

Well, it is, once again, sports. I thought that you wanted her to do something other than sports? Also, if she has asthma, why would she be surfing if she couldn't do other sports?

I'm going to narrow down to one thing: Have you absorbed, from my posts, that it's possible to get major prizes for, let's say, writing?

ChickenFreak

 

I'm also a guy, but you don't need to be a girl or a guy to relate to one or the other; we're all human.

 

Ok, Mr. Oz...

If you want your female character to ECPLIPSE your male lead in popularity, sports is not the way to go.

Why?

I live on the mainlaind USA. Surfing? I have no clue about any surfers or how they even organize stuff. I have a idea about football, but unless you are really into football you will not know more than the members of your team and a few notable players here and there, especially with college football. (Note: This is not talking about the people who have fantasy football teams and follow it religiously).

Same with all other sports I can think of. If you want her to be known and more popular then the guy, sports are no the way to go.

It sounds like you want her to be known by her talents and effort, and you want a competitive atmosphere. I have to ask, have you ever been in the audition room of a dance studio? Have you ever been on the sidelines going through your lines one more time in a acting competition?

You haven't seen cutthroat until you've seen those two, let me tell you. Especially ballet, but since that is athletic and she has asthma that would be a no.

Acting might be the best way to get her 'insta-famous' while having her work hard and do all this. Late nights going over lines, agonizing on how to get into the head of the character she needs to portray, etc. Remember, do not confuse physical effort with effort. I know actors and writers who spend more time and effort on their art then some professional athletes. Also, if the prize of the acting competition is a prime role in a movie, then BAM! Insta celebrity status. Everyone knows at least a handful of actors, not everyone knows even that much of famous athletes. (I can only call up three to mind, and two are brothers.)

However, as others have said, drop the pageant idea. Although there are many impressive people who are pageant winners, there are a lot of mixed feelings about the thing and someone winning anything other than Miss Congeniality on talent and effort alone breaks the suspension of disbelief for a lot of people. I once went to a beauty pageant as a contestant when I was a kid. You know the show pageant moms? That is only scraping the surface of the horror of all of it. (My mom used that as a teaching example of why we never ever want to be a part of it. >.>)

Ain't no one winning on talent and effort alone in that.

Anyway, rambling now. Hope this helped.

 

Saving someone doesn't take effort? What? When you save someone, you're risking your life you know.

Anyway, raising money for a charity isn't "saving people" and most certainly would take effort lol.

In any case, with regards to your new comments - please don't make her win 3 competitions. Seriously, she's not superwoman. And also, winning something doesn't make someone a role model - my role models are people who are kind, patient, gentle and loving - most of the people in my life whom I admire have never won anything.

Or how about, I once watched a film, I think it was called Wild Heart, or something, I don't remember. This girl trains as a circus performer, or something - she performs a stunt on a horse, where she has to mount a galloping horse and dive with it into a pool. She's very talented and makes it big - and then an accident happens and she becomes blind. Eventually, she gets back up and though still blind, performs the stunt again and succeeds.

Or maybe the film Karate Kid - the new one with Jackie Chan, did you see it? SPOILER BELOW!! The kid Dre trains and eventually participates in a kung-fu tournament. He becomes injured in the end and he insists that he wants to fight to the end. Winning doesn't matter to him, but he wants to go out to confront his opponent because he is still afraid of him. Therefore he goes out, and fights, and wins and earns the respect of all his enemies. The whole film is about working towards a tournament, and I like the value of the film - how it's not actually about whether he wins, but rather about facing his fears and being brave. And the fact that he wins doesn't matter, but the fact that he confronts his fears makes him a role model.

In short, you've gotta think of - what sort of moral value are you trying to promote? It has to be deeper than just the value of effort and passion. What message do you want to say? Then weave a story around that instead. Your competition has to fit the value you're trying to promote, and you need to start narrowing it down. Most competitions requires effort and passion for you to win - so to choose a specific thing to win, you need a more specific goal also.

Both films were somehow about one person who overcomes something in their life. The first, she overcomes her disability and does not lose hope or ambition. The second, the kid overcomes his fears and has the courage to stand and fight.

So here's the key question: What is your MC going to overcome?

Instead of thinking about her strengths, think about her weakness. That's where your story should start.

 

Well...

She's overcoming asthma. She loves kids, swimming, singing, the gym...

Maybe after overcoming her own physical issues, she decides that other kids suffering from a variety of physical conditions are missing out on too much. Maybe they don't get enough exercise, or they can't participate in a lot of things other kids do because of whatever condition they have.

So she decides to start a summer camp specifically for kids with certain physical conditions.

And then, given the explosion of reality TV, some network or other catches wind of what she's doing and they offer to make a reality TV series out of the summer camp.

And she becomes an instant celebrity.

Or you can use any of a variety of way to elevate her in the public eye, if that's what you're after.

 

Isn't surfing a sport ?

 

Hi Mister_Oz,

I read all the suggestions. If the female character needs to be strong and gain a notoriety that overshadows the male character’s achievements then I can only think of one thing:

Have her become a champion Olympian, a multiple medalist, breaking world records. Every four years, these winners become the ‘sweethearts’, national hero’s of America ‘overnight’ and no one (or at least I don’t know of any one) discounts their effort and drive. In addition, the Olympics provide a dynamic backdrop: overpowering personalities, remote locations, mentorship (close father-like relationships), and intense competition because they only have (usually) one or two chances to win a medal.

Oh, and one last suggestion: The fact that she has asthma could be a dirty-little secret that's revealed at (what appears to be) the most critical part of the story. For example, she just finishes the Vault event, scores a perfect ten - everyone knows she will take her spot on the gold medal platform and she collapses...By this time the whole world is in love with her and are on pins-and-needles to see if she's okay.

 

Uh... Surfing and the Olympics are sports.

 

Thanks for your suggestions everybody. I'm sorry I've been away but there've been plenty of obligations that I've faced.

I absolutely don't like the idea of having her save people or not having her win a competition. Sorry but that's just me.

I've revised my standards. She can be a person who participates in Olympic Sports or surfing--any sport that ain't as mainstream as the "popular" sports. Just letting you know, the story takes place in Hawaii, so if she were to win a surfing competition or two, she'd gain instant notoriety.

I'd like her to be well-rounded anyway. Perhaps having her win a competition that honors a multitude of talents and doesn't reward people for looks? It wouldn't be a pageant of any kind.

 

MisterGator, are you reading _any_ of the responses that people have taken the time and trouble to write? Could you perhaps be courteous enough to respond to some of them? The protest that you make above has been amply responded to, more than once.

So here I am, asking again: Are you aware that there are competitions in writing, science, and the arts? Could you please take the trouble to answer this question? It really wouldn't take long.

ChickenFreak

 

Of course he is not listening. He was never looking for advice or help. He only wanted us to tell him that his ideas were wonderful and that he would sell a million copies of his stereotyped and clinched caricatures. We didn't provide that validation so he decided to ignore the advice of his peers. If he even gets published with the above story I will eat my best pair of panties.

 

is suddenly rooting for him to get published Tell us you will video it Sasha

 

But why does he keep _asking_ if he's going to ignore the answers?

-----

"I need a dinner main course that isn't beef."

"Try chicken or fish."

"No, I don't like fish."

"So try chicken."

"No, I'm sorry, I really don't like fish."

"Right, that's why we said try chicken."

"It's the scales, you know? Fish just doesn't work for me."

"Chicken. Chi. Cken. The thing with the feathers that goes buk-buk-buk? It's not fish. It has no gills."

"I'm sorry, seafood just isn't going to work."

"Chicken. It's a bird. It's not a fish. It's not from the sea. It can be fried or creamed or made into soup or you can eat the wings. Chicken. You know, chicken? Are you perhaps confused by that whole 'chicken of the sea' campaign for tuna? I mean real chicken. Chicken of the land. The bird. _Chicken_."

"Sorry I was away so long. I have to say, I really don't like the idea of fish."

-----

Yes, yes, the sensible thing is for me to never return to this thread. Just can't seem to help it.

ChickenFreak

 

Kinky.

To make this post a bit more uh... relevant.

I'm sorry but... this doesn't make much sense to me. How could saving lives be an effortless act? I suppose it would depend on how she is saving them but in most cases that I can think of it would take effort.