I came up with a concept I'm very eager to start writing...but I don't know if using a near future setting would give me a little more freedom to write the main plot and create new situations that wouldn't be possible with a current day setting. The premise of my story is: A guy that was the prodigy of his class at school gets an invitation for his 10 year class reunion, but he didn't realize his potential and is a lonely, unemployed loser who is in debt, so he wants to turn things around in order to arrive at the party as a big shot, whatever it takes, and that would involve blackmail, cheating, and probably a couple of crimes. Is adding a different setting too much or would it be able to serve the story? What do you guys think?
My personal view would be to make it contemporary without moving too far into the future. See what you can come up with that would be interesting based on the technology of 2021. I'm curious what you think setting the piece in the near future would accomplish? Do you plan to use technology that doesn't currently exist? Just curious. A little more information would be helpful.
There are a few things that I could push more on if I had a near future setting... like incresing automation causing more unemployment, main character unable to get a job even with a college degree...a few other social issues I could use as a backdrop to the problems the main character is facing. Maybe the main character would use technology that doesn't quite exist now to get ahead, blackmail others and accomplish his task of rising to the top quickly (and destructively). What do you think?
Interesting, but these are things I think you could do with technology as it exists now. There is already a lot of automation, and it is on the rise. There are already many many social issues, at least where I am in the United States. What technology did you have in mind? You could of course make it a bit futuristic, say 2030 or so, but that may not be as relatable as modern times. Just a thought, but of course it's your book and you should proceed how you like. I'd love to know more. You might consider questions like how do people engage in blackmail now. What social issues are there now? What automation is taking place now? And I would say with the pandemic even now, there are problems with white collar unemployment (though you can get a job at McDonald's with no trouble at all).
Let's say for example your protag has six months to get his act together. What would he do? Would he work out to get in shape? Would he try to pretend he was more successful than he was? Would he seek a better job. A 10 year reunion whips a lot of people into shape, but the question is what makes this situation unique? What will make your readers care? What is the protag's redeeming quality that makes your readers root for him or her? Sounds like an anti-hero to me, but the protag has to be likeable. Maybe he could blackmail a high school bully? Something that would seem more palatable for a blackmail.
There are a few things that I think would make the MC likable in an antihero sort of way. A few plot points I already came up with: He's going to get his childhood bully, who is now a drug dealer who shows off his wealth, arrested, while also taking some of his drugs and selling them to make a lot of money quickly. He's going to expose his chilhdood darling's boyfriend (or husband, didn't decide yet) for cheating on her and probably something else I'll come up with, so he can make a move and go with her to the party. He's also going to have a sidekick who's also an underdog and was his childhood buddy, they'll go through this "journey" together. What do you think? Regarding your first post: Self driving cars, lots of new synthetic drugs, maybe mechanical limbs are some technologies I'd like to exist in the story.
All interesting. I would be interested in seeing what all you come up with. It sounds like an interesting plot beginning so far.
None of these sound like the actions of an antihero so much as a hero. It might be cool if he sees himself as an antihero but inadvertently becomes a hero without realizing it. If he has to be a jerk to accomplish these things, that can make him seem like a bad person but the ultimate results can make him likable and even the people he pissed off at the time might see that he had to do it that way. Depending on his personality I guess. Have you ever seen the show House MD? There's a self-centered antihero who sometimes actually does amazing things for other people, but usually not out of humanitarian reasons. Actually he sees to be a sort of half-and-half mix, definitely a misanthrope and his mantra is that everyone ultimately does the things they do out of self-interest, but sometimes he seems to genuinely want to help people. I think it would be very hard to write a character like House (I know that's not your goal, sorry), it would work best if you knew somebody like him quite well and had for a long time. Just conjecturing out loud on you thread, sorry again.
Now I'm curious. In my other thread, you said this character is so evil it's an almost impossible task to make him likable. What changed your mind?
Well, the actions you described here aren't the actions of a despicable person. On the other thread as I recall you described him as something like a total loser who doesn't care about other people at all and does things just to try to make himself look good.
I suppose it depends though on his reasons for what he does. Especially the one where he exposes his former sweetheart's cheating boyfriend. I mean that sounds like a good deed, unless it's just so he can get revenge and get laid or something.
I never said that he never cared about anyone else. That's the idea that I'm going for. Maybe it's a good deed, or maybe selfish...or both?
