I am writing a novel called Death is near. It is a historical fiction about the black death. This family is living in 1348 and the black death sweeps their village. Everyone believes God will cure it but then the vicar dies... I don't know what to put in the plot now any ideas ?
Don't mean to sound critical, but as a writer, it is your job to figure out what to "put in the plot". Relying on others for such ideas makes the story somebody else's work, not yours. Tell the story of that family in a compelling way. Build characters which cause readers to feel empathy or any other emotion that you want to show. I would suggest you begin with research...lots of research. What actually happened to people during the Plague? How did people live back then? Look up the medical symptoms of the disease. Check out Goggle on the subject. Then, after you have lots of information, write your own story.
Without repeating everything NaCl said, If you have a problem with a certain area of a plot you've already developed we would probably be able to help you further. However, the only plot piece you've given us is a family who lives during that time which leaves a whole field of possibilities. Maybe the sole survivor of this family is a boy and after the death of the vicar he sets out to restore everyone's faith? That's one starting point. Maybe you develop the idea of a band of evil-doers who exploit the plague and they come up with a treatment but force citizens to do unimaginable things to acquire it. That's another starting point. Maybe you put a conspiracy twist on the black plague and put it out in the sense that the government released it to commit legal genocide for some greater purpose. A plot is very complicated. You have the main plot, your sub plots, and you have numerous areas in between. Begin your plot brain storming from a starting point (such as above) and then build upon it. Add sub plots and more twists and eventually start with "Once upon a time." Eventually your story is going to unfold and once you revise it you will be able to tie it all together from start to finish. Also, I highly recommend taking NaCl's advice to heart when he stresses research. The biggest mistake you can make basing your fictional story in a real time period during a real crisis, is to not know what the crisis was from the first dotted "i" to the last slashed "t." Obviously your story will be fictional, but its based on a real event. Research. Caleb
Amen to the above two posts. It is your story, so you must at least come up with the main story elements yourself.
amen to the amen! writers write their own stuff... ghostwriters write other people's stories, but only when they get paid to do it!
Kurt Vonnegut gives what I believe to be the best and simplest advice to kick-start a plot: Create a character, and make them want something. The rest of the story, the conflicts, the drama, should spring organically from that point as you work towards them acquiring (or not) the thing they desire. In your case, the character would want to survive, so what would they do?
