ORA Plot help

This is a project I haven't done in years and thinking of trying again. Last time I tried pansering the plot and well. Obviously that didn't work out too well.

I am not sure what this plot needs. Like, is it a short story I am trying to give too much time? Or am I failing to come up with plot to make it better? Or is just not very good.

ORA
The Order: Retun of Alptraumkatze

The idea is 10 years following the devestation of an alien invasion, the world has become corrupted by fear. The quality of life is low for the common person and many gangs are forming as a result.

Unsatified with this, the MC tries to resurrect the name of a long since gone terrorist Alptraumkatze(think like batman kind of) hoping to scare straight the corrupt bad guys, or face the wrath of the never caught Alptraumkatze.

Though, she quickly learns that this is not an easy task. And the govermnet is rather interested in catching Alptraumkatze, fake or not. And if things weren't intense enough, the original decides to come back. (Yes, this is almost the entire reason I want to write the story, that moment when the MC sees the original and practically shits herself.)

The original explains why she abandoned the namesake and tries to save the new one. (Well, she felt responsible. So save or destroy, she wasn't sure which it was gonna be but she was gonna clean up the mess.) And a friend that was helping the MC dies in the resulting conflict. Ending with her having to abandon her friend, letting her take all the blame.

So I see the end as this. Walks away and joins the original to become better, having only lost a dear friend at her attempt to help the world through the name Alptraumkatze.


So what do you think?

Does this sound worthy of a novel? Or more a novella. I guess that is my current main question because I struggled to think of a lot of plot for it. And I wonder if I am failing or if I am thinking about what it needs all wrong.

PS if anyone is curious Alptraumkatze translates to Nightmare Cat. lol

 

Even though that I don’t know how much there happens between your MC taking the role as the Alptraumkatze and her meeting the original, I think that if you pursue your current ending, your story would be more of a novella than a novel.
If you do want to make it into a novel, you need a bit more. Why does the MC follow the original, while her friend died because of the conflict between them? Doesn’t the MC blame the original in some way? Maybe you could make the MC wanting revenge or in some sort. And ten later end up joining the original (if you want to keep the same ending).

Anyhow, your idea sounds very interesting! Good luck on writing!

 

Its tricky. I think you may be right about the novella.

But firs to clear up a mild misunderstanding. I meant the conflict in the situation. As in, the friend dies like in the Alptraumkatze outfit from a different party. And the main character wanting to like recover the body and save their name. Cuz otherwise her family is gonna think she did all this. But the real Alptraumkatze telling her "its too late. If you go in their now, all you do is join her." The MC respects quite heavily what the real Alptraumkatze did to try and salvage the situation. Hence them becoming a team.


See, the trick to me is that "escalation" I wrote 9 chapters and once stuff starts happening, it just kind of snow balls to fast for me to give any sort of pacing too. At least in my expierence. So I am unsure how to run the story at a better pace or perhaps unsure the pace this story needs.

 

Shorten this name: "Alptraumkatze" Takes readers out of the story when they can't easily read an important name. You can get away with a name like Rumpelstiltskin because people can pronounce it. Alptraumkatze... not so much.

I like the story concept.

 

Do you plan your story beforehand? If you don’t, maybe that would be a good idea. Write down what’s going to happen in the whole story. You can also do this with every chapter if you like. This way you have an outline of your whole story and can look at the pace it has (and change it if it needs to be).
In a story you can have a slower and faster pace as long as it’s in balance.
It really depends on the story what kind of pace it needs. Do you want the reader to be in a constant suspense for example?

 

I don't think it's so tough. It's German so if it helps it's two words. I also have the pheotic spelling somewhere. Oh found it.

Aalp-traom-kat-se

Yep, I always do that. Hence me knowing the ending. I am starting to realize my issue. I really just didn't have enough meat in the middle. I am starting to get ideas. Not sure which are good, but I am getting ideas lol.

I think one of the issues I was forgetting is that this is essentially two stories. Coraline(the main girl) is both a character and becomes Alptraumkatze. So in a sense. She flops between the two connected stories as she dawns or removes the costume and thats a way I can pace the story. I just need plot for both and for her to switch between the two.

I think part of my issue is most of my other stories, the protangist has been defensive or reactive, but this time. The protagnist is the aggressor and thats such a difference! lol.

 

OK, so let's get the reader up to speed on that.

Alptromkatse.

Do you need those extra two a's? I would even take out the 'p'.

Altromkatse.

 

but its not a made up word. It's German, it means "nightmare cat" lol

 

That moment when I wonder how serious you are actually being lol.

 

A word you have never seen isn't un user friendly. And there can easily be a foot note explaining how its pronounced.

I mean thats like saying, you as a consumer never want to expierence something you haven't already enjoyed. How are you to ever gain new insight into new likes if you avoid something based on a word you haven't seen?

 

Well, I think you misunderstand. I am not trying to pursade you to like it. That would be foolish.

But it doesn't need to be changed because you simply don't like it. If authors changed something based on any dislike from any reader. They would never finish anything.

But the product doesn't even exist yet. I hope you aren't saying the product is bad before it exists because of that one detail.

 

Yeah, I can't get past it in just these posts. Drives my dyslexia crazy so after the first instance I just skimmed. But once I start skimming, I skim a lot of things because I'm not as invested. So I'll be missing out on a lot, and would probably end up giving up on it and reading something else.

 

Thirded. I can't even with my dyslexia. That word immediately made me start skimming.