Before I bother to write all this, I just wanna say: Don't make any replies such as "Oh, it all depends on your ability as a writer and only you can make it work." no. I really just want some feedback on al of it, your honest opinion. Okay, so the story begins with the MC (if you can call him that, he sort of is and sort of isn't) saying he's about to kill himself. Then the story launches two hundred years earlier and explains how one family unleashed their family curse onto another family, which caused the affected person to fall deeply and madly in love with the other person, who would be thier ideal "true love". The curse would be passed down genetically and stuff, as well. Well, one ancestor passes the curse to another, and he doesn't take it seriously. Well, the story also says that the only way to end the curse is to timetravel backwards into time and end the curse from where it began. From there, the story is basically a recount of the two families and how they intertwine for the next two hundred years, and how they deal with this curse. Most have little knowledge of it; however, those who do usually either try to avoid its affects, try to avoid being affected at all, or try to discover the secret of time travel. The "MC" (Calvin) keeps appearing throughout the story, though it's not revealed until the last third of the story. He is the last of both family lines (two members had met and given birth to him). When both his mother and father die, he is given to his mother's sister who, along with her husband/brother, Thomas, raises him all while desiring a child with him, though it's an imposibility because of the incestuous inbreeding. Calvin grows up to be a lustful, sex-crazed person, but also an intelligent one, and also goes off to college. During a summer visit, he reunites with his cousin and best friend, Henry Austin, and they hang out. Well, Calvin is the one who disocvers the secret of timetravel, and, with Henry Austin, they travel back and forth in time, exploring their family's history and stuff. Well, Calvin ends up unwittingly sleeping with many of his ancestors and actually impregnates them, and eventually comes to learn that he is his own grandfather on so many levels. Discovering that it's actually impossible to end the curse, Calvin decides he must take his own life so that he doesn't mess up his genetic line and the lives of his ancestors any further. ...too farfetched? Too poorly explained?
How about too odd? No, my honest opinion is that the plot interests me, but I think I think it would prove too complicated to develop without creating some epic-like novel. The whole incestuous thing is odd for the present yet intriguing in the past, if that made any sense I think what you've done is try to focus on too many points at once, maybe you need to wittle some of your points down or out. Which means more to you in developing the plot, the time travel, or the nymphomania the MC clearly needs to reign in? If you think the plot cannot possibly sustain without both of these, then there's some surgery that needs to be done. Overall though, I think this would make an interesting piece that would need a different plot summary if you intend others to pick it up and read it through. Was this in anyway helpful for you?
You really should listen to what you'd rather not hear. What do you expect from the responses? Permission to proceed? Part of the message in that frequently posted answer is that this is a forum for discussing the process of plot development, and solving problems with dead ends, not getting opinions on individual plots. Posts like this are not plot development questions. By rights, these threads should be closed as off-topic as quickly as they appear. It's a lovely idea. Now go ahead and write it!
There isn't. It's like hanging up a photograph of an eight week ultrasound of a fetus, and asking, "Do you think he'll grow up to be a movie star?" It's really a bad kind of question to ask. You'll either get, "I've seen too many stories like that. Pick something more original," or, "That sounds fantastic! Go ahead and write it!" You may even get both, along with a dozen ways to turn it into someone else's story. The only opinion that matters at that stage is the writer's. While developing it into a story, you'll make character decisions, introduce complications, even change some of your original ideas because soimething else fits better. The last thing you need is a bunch of other folks' ideas and opinions polluting the mix. Really, don't do it! Nothing good will come of it.
Hmmm...yeah, but it seems like all the replies to these kinda questions always result in those kinda of answer. Yes, of courseit's the writer's decision. But I'm just writing it wondering like...how is this not going to end up at least 100 pages long? It's already the length of my last novel, and I'm not even 1/3rd of the way through.
Id be more concerned getting the whole thing written in a rough draft, and if it takes more space then you thought, who cares. That’s why when you have finished with a rough draft you go over and edit/re-draft it until you’re pleased with it. It I wrote a first draft story and it hit 500 pages I wouldn’t care the slightest. It would just mean I’d have to be harsher on what I cut and so forth.
Um, you can't have your cake and eat it too. Like I said before, wittle some or write the darn epic-like novel. One or the other, compromise cannot be ahieved.
But what if opinions on an individual plot help a person with the process of plot development, or help them solve a dead end?
When people ask questions about how to get out of a dead end or to develop a plot that lacks something, that is on-topic and can be explored. But when someone posts a plot summary and asks, "Well, folks, what do you think?" that is off topic. In fact, it borders on being a review request, and should be immediately deleted for that reason alone. Instead, though, I think it's more important to point out how unproductive--even counterproductive--it is to try to showcase an idea at that stage of development. If members want to post these for comment in the Review Room, and are willing to post the requisite reviews of other peoples' work, they are free to do so. But they are even more likely to be discouraged, because at that stage, the story is woefully undeveloped, and is certain to be shredded, however gentle the reviewers attempt to be about it. Knowing that, they post ideas here instead, looking for - what? Do you see why I take the strong stand I do on this? They are not doing themselves any favors whatsoever with this practice.
I completely agree with Cogito - its pointless asking people whether you should go on and write a story. I have often wondered whether my ideas are interesting enough or whether people will think they are tried and tested plots and have been tempted many times to post synopsis and find out other people's opinions. I always decide not to because I realize that people wont understand fully what my idea is - to understand my concept is to read the finished product. You've probably got lots more to your story than you have posted here so we don't really have the complete picture. If you are really unsure, write out a synopsis and any other 'scenes' or notes to go with it and file it away until it screams at you to be written BTW I thought it was a good idea until the incest part near the end.
for the record, cog always speaks for me, as well, on this topic... he just gets to reply sooner, since i'm on the other side of the world and am asleep when you're all posting...
