I'm having trouble with a concept about a line of androids that have caught a computer virus that have corrupted there minds. This is my first story that interested me. But as you can see I need major help. Years since a mysterious virus has fled. robots have been abandoned to reboot by living there own society and live for themselves. Thousands have been called to the center of the deserted city to be called up confront a human being named Blake Harris. A robot named G.U.S., who takes pride in his deeds, has come to return to human society, yet the higher ranked robots no not approve. Having been rejected, G.U.S. feeling worthless and finds life unfair. Blake goes to him and give him an opertunity to come to human society despite his flaws. He even commits to helping him hunt down the virus. As you can see I need major help with this. Hope to get feed back.
What do you need help with excatly, is there a specific thing you need? You seem to have a basic idea, you just have to flesh it out. Could you ask a question or state what you're specifically having problems with.
I just need some help developing story points and stuff like that. I have an idea about the antagonist being Gus's imaginary friend. But it turns out he was manipulating him into believing he can be better then humans and overpower them. And I need some help in the theme of the story. Which is basically the power of pride.
Best way to really hammer in a theme is to have a couple of different subplots that have the same theme woven in somehow. With themes, you have to be careful about not making them too obvious. Don't preach or hit your readers over the head; let them figure out the moral on their own.
Yah, That's why I am going to use a sort of a moral theme based on human society, Yet Focus more on the robot characters rather then the human characters. That might seem like a simple sci fi flick at first. but threw time it will have a moral about human society. I believe dialogues help disguise it as well. The word good deeds will not show up in the dialogue if it helps.
Have you read this sticky thread yet? https://www.writingforums.org/showthread.php?t=10677 One thing I'm confused about in your story is, does this take place after the virus has come and gone, or during the viral infection? As for your theme, you could say alot of things. The theme that comes to my mind is... Finding a place where you belong; Is GUS a robot who belongs with robots, when the elder robots demand that he stay away from human civilization, or is his "heart" and place amongst the humans. Is that in anyway what your trying to say. Usually a theme is what your story is trying to say, and usually deals with the polarity of life that your main character is struggling with. ie. The matrix - Knowing the truth. neo spends his life knwoing something is right with his world, he spends his time is a hacker looking for renegade cyber terrorist in hopes he'll find the truth. In the end he has to unplug from the system of his society to know the real truth, eventhough it's not pretty. batman begins - a boy who's lost his parents is filled with angry and guilt for the death of his parents. He grows into a young man angry and guiltful child who seeks revenge, but he realizes that he's become no better than the man who killed his parents. he travels the world to use use anger and guilt to fight crime so that what happened to his parents never happen to anyone else. To me it seems like your theme could be GUS finding his place in the world.
Sure, the 3 act rule is a pretty simple rule...Signifies the beginning(Act 1), the middle(act2), the end(act 3). Now you can google videos that may help but I'll give you a short basic out line of what you need in each. Act 1: (about 25% of your story or 30 pages in 120 page script) - Introduce your main characters/villians -Have your incitin incident -Basically your inciding incident is what sets the story in motion or what gets your character to start acting, so your incidint incident that sets the story in motion could be GUS decideing to go back to human society, or your toher character coming to GUS. -Introduce the point of the plot. Yours is stopping the virus. -Turning point at end of act 1 (an example of a 1st act turning point is in The Matrix, when neo wakes up in the "real world") Act 2: (50% of your story, or 60 pages of 120 page script) -this is your complication resolution area, you've established where the story is going and what the characters want, be it personally or not. A stop gap either challenges the story from advancing or the character from getting what he wants. Now you have to give stop gaps in the story. -An example of a stop gap could be that the characters have located the source of the virus but it is acorss a vast desert, without transport and if they don't make it in time it will be too late. resolution; they get a jet car that takes them there. -Another stop gap the get attacked by a monster in the desert and their car breaks down, now they kill the monster but they don't have a trasport and time is ticking. Resolution; they walk a bit and they run into an auto-repair shop. They borrow a car from the owner of the repiar shop after finding out about GUS and the others intentions. -the you have a turning point. Turning point would be something that changes the dynamic of the story or makes things look very bleak. -Example of a turning point of act 2 would be in the matrix when Morphues gets caught by Neo. -Repeat the stop gap, resolution a few more times and have a climactic turning point at the end. -an example would that they arrive there but it's too late the virus has spread full, and in order to stop it, GUS has to plug in and stop the virus from the inside. or in the matrix, when Neo rescues Morphues, or when he decides to face off with smith. Act 3: (about 25% of your story) -the final act is basically the resolution to the whole story. -IE. GUS is inside the source of the virus and has to stop and delete the virus once and for all. - have stop gaps. IE GUS getting his butt kicked and is losing the fight and all looks bleak. -have a final gap which everything looks bleakd and it seems like the good guys have lost. example of that is in the matrix when neo is killed, or in The dark knight when harvey dent dies, or batman begins when they train is heading straight into the mainlines without any breaks. You get the idea. -Now either this you could end with the bad guys winning or you could have the good guys prevail. ie. Neo walks up and is "the one", Batman sacrifices himself for Harvey Dent's image. Gordon derails the tracks and the monorail crashes before it hits the main lines. All my examples for your story are bad so I hope you'll just ignore them as i just made it up on the spot :redface:. Also, these are strictly just plot outlines, I'd recommend using it but don't rely only on the three act structure, you have to build your characters alot, like you would your plot in the 3 act structure. Did that help though? I recommend you google videos or articles to help you, there are plenty out there.
Oh yah, totally, The virus is actually mindful and can minipulate. He's like a holographic figure. But the humans somehow have a theory that its affecting the robotic race. So thats why the humans are at the robot country to check up on them. (Sorry for the lack of detail.) Also for the theme. Gus kind of has a prideful mind thinking he needs to be with humans by what he can do, At the moment he knows the ticket to human society is being the best he can be with the robots to impress the human race. So at that point the robots see that he didnt do as much as he could have done. Soon believing he is worthless, he runs away. The robots now are told by the virus who wants to pick on somebody else that gus is going to human society and that the person who took him must be destoryed.
A story concept means nothing. I can tell you now, it has all 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 What is Plot Creation and Development?
Yah your right, I'll have to check out the post you sent. Basically, here is my plot. A Material has infected a line of robots making them corrupted. Living there own society after being kicked out of human society, have a feeling they can work there way back to human society. One robot named Gus, who has been working his way back to get back to human nature has a chance to help a man named Blake Harris, stop the sorce of the virus and save the robot's from pure corruption. Gus's Desire is to be with human society, and his flaw is that he works his way there and takes pride in it. Gus's goal gives him a revelation where he realizes he needs to accept his failures in order to be in society of with humans. Theme- Fighting pride. Excepting your inner problems. That is my story basically. Any ideas?
Acrimen, What works for me is to take a fragment of image or dialog I have in my head and write it out. It doesn't need to be perfect - nor even make it into your final draft. What it does, however, is to force you to think about your story. Say you have a snatch of dialog and you begin writing it. Suddenly, you have to start thinking of how the two characters interact - and much more vicerally so than just thinking the lines over and over. The act of composition forces your mind to create the characters fully. Likewise, if you write out an image, you suddenly start thinking "where did they walk in the door from, what exactly did they throw - oh, no that's not right - they REALLY threw a ***. Write out a couple of those short vignettes and see if that helps you any. -Frank
Ive been writing down some draft and I think I got a clear flow to what is going on. Yet Im still struggling to how I can show a point in to return the story. But I am working on that as well. Anyways, thank you.
By the way what is required to review my work. Do I need a full part of completed work? Just wondering.
