I have an idea to pitch. Or rather, my brother does. He has to write a short story for a comp class, and as he often does, he's going completely overboard and writing a short novel instead. He wanted me to post here to get an opinion, because his account isn't currently working. So here's his idea. The genre is sci-fi. The setting is initially a post-modern earth. Scientists have finally succeeded in creating a race of human-like chimera. (He has about twenty pages of backstory and setting written, I'm just summarizing.) Humans are naturally very racist towards the chimera, who are quite frankly scary. However, early one winter morning, a human boy encounters a young chimera abandoned in the snow. Over ten years, he nurses it back to health, and you have the beginning of the story. The plot is kicked off when the chimera announces that it wants to leave earth for the more chimera-friendly colony planet. The novel actually tracks the human and chimera aboard the ship taking them to the colony. On the voyage, someone begins sabotaging critical systems. Naturally, tensions rise between the humans and the chimera. The two protagonists develope somewhat of a forbidden romantic relationship during the chaos. Conflicts in the book apparently include the internal struggles of the protagonist with OCD and a divisive, splitting personality, the conflict between the human and chimeran factions, the conflict/romance between the two protagonists, and how the ship reacts to that, and finally, the search for the unknown saboteur. There is a bit more complexity to it than that, with some unexpected twists. It's very psychological, and according to him will be very emotional. He doesn't shy away from killing main characters, so I trust him on that. Basically that's the idea. Any replies will be appreciated
A story concept means nothing. I can tell you now, it has all been done before. What matters is how you write it, the characterization, the flow, the imagery, all of it. There's no benefit in asking what other people think of the concept! They'll either say,"Sounds great," or, "it sounds like a ripoff of..." If the idea stirs you, write it. Then ask people what they think of the final story. After they tell you what they don't like about it, revise it, usually several times, until you're happy with it or until you throw up your hands and say the hell with it. Please read What is Plot Creation and Development? In any case, this is a school assignment, and not even your own. We cannot help you.
