I am by no means a writer, I do not care if my story gets published (if it does great), I just have a goal to write a novel. I have been playing around with an idea for my story for some time now and by reading this forum I see that there are many others with similar ideas and it worries me that my story wont be unique enough. So here is a simplified plot line. Please feel free to make any comments. The genre is mostly fantasy with a bit of sci-fi. My story is about a boy named Fin, he was raised by his grandparents because his parents were on the run (it is illegal to marry someone or have kids with someone from another tribe). His mom is from the water tribe, his father from the fire. When different tribes have children together, this creates elementalists, or people who can control all elements. Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Aether (Space/Void). His parents are from a magical world where the only 2 aether elementalists were in a major battle, which created a dimensional rift that allows people with the ability to sense these rifts (imagine a wave) at the peaks and valleys one can travel through the rift to other worlds. There is a prophecy that there will be two elementalists, one that will try to destroy the world and one that will save it. Because of the prophecy this is why it is illegal to marry between tribes. Fin is an elementalist and because he grew up on Earth, a world without magic, he knows nothing of his powers, his parents or this other world. Fin gets thrown into the magical world, he must travel the world and hone his elemental magic powers, and learn from a master of each. He then must defeat the evil overlord (one of the original aether elementalists that created the rift) and her sidekick another elementalist. Fin knows he cannot win by himself and convinces the other elementalist to help him defeat the evil overlord. I have not worked out a ton of the internal plot but mainly just the premise of the story. There will be other supporting characters, love interests etc. There seems to be several other posts with people writing on elemental magic so is this something that is being overdone? What are your thoughts on the combination of fantasy (magical world) with sci-fi (dimensional rifts)? Is this a good pairing or? It seems that there needs to be a way to get to the magical world in any story if they are not currently part of it, and I thought that this could be a cool way of doing so. Please let me know your thoughts, I plan on leaving sections of the story on here to get peoples opinions on as I write.
I don't know how dimensional rifts add much sci-fi to this--they're very similar to portals which are often used in fantasy. If you really want to add sci-fi elements, I suggest you add a little more technology or DNA splicing or something (I don't know what all makes it sci-fi; I just know tech does). Have you ever watched the series Avatar: The Last Airbender? Your book sounds a lot like that, but with a twist. I don't really read books with a lot of magic in them, but I imagine elemental magic would be very popular because anything element related is fun to play with--I mean, they're elements: things that exist in unique ways that can't change from one to another. They're a great base for something like magic and powers. I know they're always used in games, so why not in books? If you don't care whether or not the book gets published, why are you worried about it being similar to others' work? Your goal is to succeed in a difficult task and write a book you can be proud of, yes? Focus on writing it well and don't worry about what others do and you'll be fine. Good luck!
Besides Narnia I have not read anything involving portals so if this is not that uncommon then I will keep it fantasy for now. I have not read the avatar books but saw the cartoon series. I am using that as the premise behind the elemental magic but adding I'm new elements. If people like my book I would pursue publishing it, but as of right now the goal is to complete the task. Thanks for your feedback
No problem! I suspected you got some inspiration from that show (It's a great show!). I've heard of a subgenre called "portal fantasy," so I know plenty of books with portals exist, though I'll admit to not reading many myself. I don't think anyone would find it odd in a fantasy book. Writing can be frustrating, but it's also a ton of fun and you learn a lot doing it. Even if you decided not to publish your work, it's a road worth treading.
Welcome to the site! I'm planning on using elemental magic and portals between worlds in my own series too As for it being overdone: There are too many lawyers in the world, and not enough good ones. Same goes for everything else (I'm actually using elemental magic in my series because it's been done so many times: when millions of people know the gist of the same idea, magic based on that idea becomes more powerful because it's being fueled by the mental energy of so many millions of people.) 1) Is this supposed to be a stand-alone or the first in a series? 2) What will the characters be using their powers for? "Magic" is not a solution to a problem, it is a collection of tools that characters might or might not use as part of the solution they come up with. 3) How does Fin convince the Evil Overlord's sidekick to betray her? 4) What will the other characters be doing while Fin is doing his part in the story? 5) Does Fin need to learn from "masters" of each element, or would it make more sense for him to start learning the basics from whoever he runs into, then look for masters later on? 6) What can a novice of all 4 elements together do against a master of all 4 elements together that a dozen masters of each of the individual elements can't?
Not sure if it is a series or not. My first impression is yes and similar to Avatar the last airbender each element is a book. But if I can't develop enough content maybe just 1 book. The combination of the elements is the key to defeating the evil overlord so he must master them. But like your take (I read your thread) each element kind of has a psychological trait associated with it. The sidekick is also an elementalist and he was raised by the evil overlord solely to prevent the prophecy that says an elementalist will save the world. Fin makes him realize this fact and convinces him that he has the power to defeat the evil overlord too. Valentina is a rifter she helps fin travel through the rifts. She is also his love interest. Not sure on how she helps fin out. There are 2 other characters that find gets help from along the way. Part of the journey is finding the masters but yes he will learn bits and pieces from others Think of it in terms of colors. When you mix pigments together you begin to make black the more colors you add. But light is also all of the colors mixed together but it is a pure form. Mastering all of the elements means you can use them all at the same time creating a pure energy that you cannot get from just mixing the elements I have Dramatica software to help with the plot and character development. Thanks for the questions and comments
One of the ways that I'm distinguishing my ow from AtLA is that my characters are learning the basics of multiple elements, then the advanced of multiple elements, rather than the basics and advanced of one, then the basics and advanced of another. If the sidekick has been raised that way his whole life, then I would think Fin would have a hard time convincing him. My pleasure!
That is an interesting take on how to learn elemental magic. Think of the relationship between the sidekick and the evil Overlord as an abusive parent where the child wants to leave the relationship but never has the chance to or doesn't believe that they can until someone shows them that it's possible and it's obviously with reluctance and takes a lot of you no convincing something that happens over the course of all of the books or the entire story and culminates at the final battle.
I find elemental magic exciting. There are lots of Fantasy books written where rifts between dimensional worlds play a major part. I like it! But being a Sci/fi-fan, Fin just doesn't do it. Not since The Force Awakens. You might love this name and character, fine, use it. But avoid using names (in this case) that appears in a major motions picture, that will draw the readers attention -even if it's just a little bit- away from your story and make them think Star Wars. Always try keeping your reader in your story. Never give them a chance to question your possible lack of imagination, or obvious inspiration from another story, even if this wasn't the case when you thought up the name.
