Hi everyone. It's been a long time since I posted, but I am making really good headway in my book, and have but a single problem to figure out. Was wondering if you guys had some ideas My story is a portal fantasy about a kid who cannot stand conflict and tries to escape the conflicts between his parents. He is in the middle of those, and feels like it's his fault, because they keep bringing him into it. So he runs away, and is thrust into a conflict in another world. The combatants are two gods who are basically parents of the people of this world. So, the problem I'm having is trying to figure out an exciting climax involving conflict resolution, so the main character can learn how to cope with conflict, and maybe help his parents resolve theirs. Right now it amounts to trapping the two gods so they have to listen to him, and using common sense to get them to see the errors of their ways, but somehow, a kid talking to two gods stuck in traps and forced to look at each other doesn't seem exciting enough, even if it's in the middle of a battle. Any thoughts on how I might be able to make this scene not just about talking it out and playing nice? Any details I can help with? Thanks for any help!
Well Gods are really powerful, so if a kid can force two of them to confront each other as part of his plan, isn't that a big accomplishment for a kid? Seems exciting enough to me, unless I am missing something?
This part is something that I absolutely can't be in favor of. To me, it means that your story would have a "moral" that the children of dysfunctional parents should learn to be better enablers, and do a better job of becoming responsible for their parents' problems and feelings. A manual to teach children how to take more responsibility for being parents to their parents. Nope nope nope. Other people's conflicts are other people's conflicts. That, to me, is part of what this child needs to learn.
Holy cow. When you put it like that, I totally agree with you. That's a horrible moral. I hadn't thought about that angle. Thanks for poking holes at it So I want the MC to learn that conflict is part of life and you can't escape it, but you don't have to let it break you. How to cope with it. So if other people's conflicts are their's, doesn't that just enable him to continue to avoid his parents after this, even though he learned it's not his fault or responsibility? And now I wonder, does the same horrible moral apply to him trying to stop the gods from fighting? I might have to rethink the resolution. I don't want it to end on a downer where he decides they can't be helped and lets the world get destroyed. Perhaps telling them this isn't his fight and he can't help either of them change their ways and if they want to be alone and destroy each other, then that's their problem, and then just walking away is the solution. Then they come to and realize their errors. I dunno. Does that sound any better? Thanks for all the help. Also Ryan, yeah, when you put it that way, it does sound pretty cool to be able to trap gods!
