I need help figuring out where to take one of my Main Characters. I have several plot lines for him, but I'm stuck at a crossroad--- Tanner Moriage is a very independent man- well, more so a young adult, living on his own in the woods. He is barely old enough to be taken seriously, but a hard life and some unnatural abilities have helped him gain the skills he needs to survive. He's an excellent pickpocket, and has only rarely been caught in the act. He's fairly isolated, and tries to avoid cities when he can, but his main goal of finding and killing his father seems to drive him into them all the time. Now, here's where I get stuck. Tanner's father is a breeder of unnatural creatures, with mixed abilities and traits of different species, sort of like a chimera. He's created a lot of dangerous beings, and had even given Tanner a talking hawk as a companion for his thirteenth birthday. After an incident, though, Tanner's father was forced to run, and abandoned Tanner for death. He escapes with his hawk companion, and now he's looking for his father for revenge. He needs to be able to pick up a trail, but he's sensible enough not to take shots in the dark, and frankly I can't figure out anything creative for him. Any thoughts and ideas will be greatly appreciated!
One question I want to know is why he wants to kill his father and not just find him. One reckless action is not going to make a person want to kill their father so their must be something more to this story.
Well, it's not so much just abandoning him, it's more like Shoving-Him-Into-The-Angry-Mob-With-Swords-And-Spears leaving him for dead. His father was a coward and would rather give the life of his own son than to lose his own, and Tanner hated his guts for that. Sorry if I was unclear, but his father had literally thrown his own son's life away for his own.
Well the best idea I can think of is for him to run into one of these creatures his father made. Unless someone actually sees his dad or reports a creature Tanner knows his dad created.
If you are asking people to come up with ideas for your story, I won't help. It's in your best interest to work these things out yourself. After all. it is supposed to be YOURE story, and working through these ideas is one of the easier parts of the writing process. Exercise your imagination. Don't let it get flabby. As for choosing among alternatives - choose the one with the greatest potential for sustained conflict.
EDIT: to Cogito: Completely understandable. Sorry, I was getting frustrated with the plot line. I know I should be more dependent on my own ideas, but any criticism helps.
I'll be honest... this sounds like a pretty interesting world you're coming up with, and I like the basis for your story. I'd go with something simple, though. While Tanner racks his brain for information, "Oh yeah! Dad said something about a hidden money store/old friend/wealthy client in <place>. I'm certain that's where he'd go!" If you want, he could be wrong about that, but maybe the wealthy client or old friend knows where he would have gone instead.
Yes having your character alone on a trail can be boring. I suggest adding another character as a travel companion to at least give you conversation so that we can learn more about your MC. I would treat this like a mystery with clues found on the trail to give hints to his wear about. You could also develop a back story with these clues to give us more in site to the real story. In the end, it is your story and it is up to you to tell it the way you want, but I do empathize with you. Good Luck.
Well he has his pet so I don't see an actual need for another character unlesss he wants one. Worked well for Far side of the mountain.
