Hi friends, I am planning to write a fiction novel. I wish to cover a new topic that has not yet been addressed on a wide scale in fiction narration. It is about astral travel or dimension travel. I have finalized the concept. But, I am having difficulty in coming up with the plot. Initially, I planned something like this. The protagonist meets with an accident. Inside the operation theatre, he sees himself hovering above his physical body. He realizes he is dead. Actually, he is in a deep coma and he has suffered an OBE. Suddenly, a white light appears and he is drawn slowly into it. When he wakes up, he finds himself in the same body but in a different dimension where world war 3 is going on and where his physical self is the commander of a group of rebel soldiers whose last hopes for survival rest upon him. He has only memories of his past life and not a single clue of his commander avatar. The plot started something like this in my mind. But, I had trouble in coming up with the complete plot. Can someone suggest me some ideas related to this concept of astral travel or dimension gateways? Any new plot suggestions are also welcome with the concept of wormholes or any other paranormal fields. A huge thanks in advance to every person who takes the time to help me out.
"There is nothing new under the sun." Your idea is nothing special. It is and has always been how you write the story that makes it unique. Stories are characters going through crisis and coming out, win or loose, changed forever. Stories usually are (or are better when) started by the writer seeing a scene with a few characters playing itself out in their head over and over 'til they can't do anything other than write the damn thing down just to get it out of their head. Many times what the characters do in these scenes end-up suggesting other scenes; and those scenes suggest how these characters interacting with themselves and within the environment of this developing story may initiate one or a number of related theme threads. It is these elements along with the knowledge that (and judicial application of) for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction that creates a cause and effect cascade, which in retrospect can be viewed as a plot. Plot is a byproduct of characters action and reacting propelled by their needs and wants (motivations) within a given situation. Good luck on your story.
I think you mean story line, not plot. Please see What is Plot Creation and Development? I won't do that, because it would be doing you no favor. Exercise and learn to trust your own imagination, and it will serve you well. Moreover, it will then truly be your story.
I agree that the storyline is nothing special. I've seen it done before and it's slightly predictable. I like the idea, however, for an astral travel/dimension gateways novel. You're just really going to have to develop your storyline carefully. When I was in grade school, I fell in love with a book about a group of teenagers who got sucked into another dimension. Every time they fell asleep in the other dimension, they woke up back in the real world. They continued to live in the real world even while they were living elsewhere. So every time they woke up in the real world, their souls just snapped back into their bodies, updating them with new memories and events that they weren't even really a part of. They were living and fighting in one dimension, but going to school and seeing friends in another. It's really a very interesting concept. You just need to be careful to make your story just different enough to be new and original. We've all read a story about dying and waking up somewhere else. I think something interesting about astral travel is that it CAN happen while you're alive. I've met many who have astral traveled in some way. Maybe do some research on real astral travel experiences until it sparks something creative inside you. Or play on past lives, future lives, alternate dimensions. Mirror worlds are common but still a fascinating topic. It's all about how you drive it that will make your novel really speak to the reader. Good luck. Blessings, Lea
What you have is not even a storyline, it is more along the lines of a general theme of a story. As others have already mentioned it has been done before. As Cogito said you need to discover those things yourself because otherwise you would be writing someone else's story.
You have to write your own story. This is basically asking us to do all the hard work for you. Get to work and good luck!
Strong Story You need more to your story than that. The concept of a man ending up in the body of a soldier in a war is fine, but you need more drama than that. The story cannot resolve around just winning the war. You need some additional conflict, that will strengthen the narrative. Something like; "A man winds up trapped in the body of a soldier in WWIII, having been brought there by a temporal wizard who wants to change history. If he survives, the future changes into a nightmare world, while if he dies, the war ends and peace is returned." There is a conflict there that cannot be easily resolved. Hope that helps.
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWu87FyQe-QDhE0usJZLJFqjwKWxXzBCF That should have plenty of material for you to consider.
At the moment all you have is a guy who dies (or is in a coma), gets drawn to the light and wakes up as a commander in World War 3 - literally nothing else, but it's enough to get you going. The first thing I thought of was "This could make a great comedy!" What did your hero do in his previous life? Was he a gay fashion designer with a lisp? He wakes up in this new commander uniform, under intense fire, bullets and bombs everywhere, his men looking for inspiration and all he can say is, "Who'd put these colours together? O... M... G... Green and red?" then spends the rest of the book mumbling and fumbling his way to world peace in tights and guyliner!
The devices that you want to use are strong ones that are only limited by your imagination. Myself, if I were using any or all of these things, I would sit down in front of some Dr.Who, Deep Space 9, Star gate, etc. I would immerse myself in anything that used said devices...this is how I do most of my research.
