1. sash119

    sash119 New Member

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    Plot Idea-Would this work?

    Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by sash119, Feb 12, 2010.

    Alright, I had an idea for a story....and a prequel. But I need to know if you would read it before I start to work on it. My idea for a book is to write a story about how this mans life is destroyed by his enemy in the end his enemy wins. Afterward, I would write a prequel explaining that the man from whose PoV the first story I told from is actually a tyrannical leader who effectually took his eventual enemy's life from him. So to summarize would you read a prequel to a book in which the enemy wins? Or is this idea cool but not good to implement?
     
  2. Afterburner

    Afterburner Active Member

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    Anything idea can be turned into a great story if you can write it well. Personally, I think it'd be interesting to read a story where the opposite of what I think will happen, happens. It'd be a shock to see the "good guy" lose for once.
     
  3. DvnMrtn

    DvnMrtn Active Member

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    It all depends man. Sounds like a big twist but if you can pull it off I bet it would be great. Capture your audience with solid characters and description. Craft the story out of unique conflicts and action. You can make anything worth reading :)

    My suggestion though is to leave the FIRST one off kinda as a cliff hanger rather than a full blown. UGH good guy dies. Because the reader will walk away thinking "wtf, why did I waste my time" the journey of the protagonist is usually the journey of the reader and they want to come out of it feeling like they learned something or conquered something whether that be physically or emotionally. Just make sure the ending leaves them feeling like they got something out of the story rather than just a story, leave it on a cliff hanger, and i'm sure people will read the next one. Good luck :)
     
  4. sash119

    sash119 New Member

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    Yeah, thats my thought. I don't want to write the book and then get the prequel done and find out no one is going to buy it. And to Afterburner that something I've alway wanted to see... the good guy lose.
     
  5. DvnMrtn

    DvnMrtn Active Member

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    Except you flip it so that it turns out he was a bad guy all along :p But I completely understand why you do it. It's kind of funny how no one wants to relate themselves to the bad guy therefore it seems the good guy always wins.
     
  6. HorusEye

    HorusEye Contributor Contributor

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    I think a bigger and more shocking twist would be if the protagonist turns out to be the "bad guy". How you'd write it so the reader doesn't realize this until the very end, I have no clue.
     
  7. sash119

    sash119 New Member

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    well in the first book its written from the PoV from the evil guy and no evil guy actually sees him or his actions as evil. They all justify it with some reason. and HorusEye that's what I'm writing the book so that in the first book the evil guy is trying to get his life back but the good guy is trying to stop im so you see them as the opposite of what they are and when you read the prequel it's written from the PoV of the actual good guy and his life is ruined by the evil guy destroying his city, trying to conquer his land, etc.
     
  8. Cogito

    Cogito Former Mod, Retired Supporter Contributor

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    No, I wouldn't read it before it was more or less complete. :p

    A story concept means nothing. I can tell you now, it has 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 this thread about What is Plot Creation and Development?
     
  9. mizzy b

    mizzy b New Member

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    I actually enjoy books where the good guy dies. I like getting "rude awakenings", or seeing things happen in a story that I would never expect. My advice is, if you really want the good guy to die, make it a struggle for the bad guy to win. Not only that, but make the good guy's death significant, not just a death that the reader will forget about when they turn the page. Make the death an event that changes the protaganists life. For example: Lets say the bade guy of your story was killing thousands of innocent people. The good guy comes and tries to stop him. The bad guy wins the battle/confrontation, but he changes his ways and finally realizes that what he is doing is wrong.
    Something to that extent, doesn't have to be exactly that...I would read it then.
     
  10. sash119

    sash119 New Member

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    Thanks for the input guys. It helped. Now that I have a place to work from and to come back to helps a great deal.:D
     
  11. Norm

    Norm New Member

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    One thing you gotta remember is that readers like it when good things happen to characters they like, and characters they don't like get punished.
     
  12. Cogito

    Cogito Former Mod, Retired Supporter Contributor

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    That is true. However satisfying your readers is not always the best strategy.

    Certainly you don't want the reader satisfied before the end of your story. Reading is driven by anticipation, and there must always be something for the reader to hope for. Keep the tension alive to keep the reader's interest.

    But you want the reader satisfied at the end, don't you?

    Maybe not. Maybe you have hopes of continuing the story in the next book, and want to keep anticipation high. Or perhaps you are writing a cautionary tale, and need the ending to leave the reader uneasy.

    Still, every book should be complete in itself. Let's assume you are working on a heroic saga, and plan to continue it in subsequent novels. But this is your first manuscript, and you have to sell it on its own merits. What do you do?

    You end with victories. Een though the long term picture may be bleak, you want to leave the reader feeling tat some kind of progress has been made.

    Many people feel The Empire Strikes Back was the best of the Star Wars movies. But it ends with everything in shambles. Han Solo is frozen in a slab of Carbonite, Luke has lost an arm, strayed closer to the dark side, and learned a disturbing truth about his origins. The Empire seems stronger than ever.

    And yet, the rebels remain united and resolute, a new hero has joined te Rebel Alliance, and Luke has been rescued from Lord Vader's trap. Luke has suffered, but he is wiser and less reckless as a result of his trials.

    George Lucas already had a green light for The Return of the Jedi, so he could confidently write in such a dark ending. Writing your first novel, you won't have that luxury. Still, you can end on a high note while still leaving some potent loose ends. Keep the focus on the plot that finishes triumphantly. Win the battle, while tacitly acknowledging that there is still a war on. People do live in difficult times, and yet still experience personal triumphs and happiness.
     
    1 person likes this.
  13. JTheGreat

    JTheGreat New Member

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    You may, but the general public?

    First off, EPIC IDEA.

    Now, I think it could be done. But you need to have a good enough hook to keep your audience reading into th prequel.
     

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