I'm currently thinking of a series called The Wandering Freak. Main character is named Freak. Although he's called various other names. He wanders the land. Having adventures. The character is currently too loose to have any real motivations, can anyone help?
If you're going to write, you really need to learn to make your own decisions about your story. Not being mean, but why are you asking us? It's YOUR story, and you can do whatever you want with it. Write the book you want to read.
Do you give that advice to everyone? I'm just asking for tips on why someone who's complete scum would go wandering. Would making him complete scum make the character to hard to relate to?
Somewhere, a misanthrope's day just brightened. Having no place and no welcome home is a good reason to leave.
If the character is legit "scum" - someone who steals, has betrayed a bunch of people, is a perv, even guilty of abuse or murder - then he could be on a permanent road trip to avoid the law. If he's the nice but unmotivated type, he could just cruise around to avoid having to pay rent and all the other expenses of a permanent home. Or, you could throw in a sticky situation for him - perhaps he only intended to go visit friends on a cross-country road trip, but something bad happened that led to the wandering being permanent. I agree with Pea, gotta say. You seem in the very early development stages of this story - and at that stage, you've got to think through the idea yourself to map out a specific storyline. Also, this is just a personal preference of mine, so take it with a grain of salt: I'd reconsider naming him Freak. I feel like this has been done before. "Freak the Mighty," "Cirque du Freak" (okay it wasn't his name, but close enough) and some other book I can't think of at the moment....
Help? It's your story, and your character. The story will define the character. Just write it, and your character will be outlined, like flinging sticky clay will reveal the shape of an invisible creature.
Okay, so now you say he's complete scum. You didn't say that in your first post. It's very hard for anyone to suggest anything if you're holding back info like this. Anything else you need to tell us about him and his situation?
No. He's Freak. He wanders. He's scum. That's it. This seems to be my biggest problem. By which I mean he's at most, a one dimensional character. Also I'm not a good writer and a poor plagiarist at best. Also he's based off me.
He probably gave you that advice because you didn't give him anything else, and it IS your story. What we say shouldn't influence you on the basis of your plot.
You have a title, a name and a vague idea of a character.... you are at the starting point of a marathon race.... now run (write)
Other way around. Cupps, just drop your character into a situation and write what happens. Sounds like your book is intended to be more character-driven than plot-driven, anyway. So, maybe he wanders into a rundown gas station, maybe to see a friend at the desk, and he's trying to bum some change when the front doors swish open and a guy rushes in with a shotgun. What happens next?
No one is a good writer at the beginning so that doesn't excuse you. How is he scum? What is it about him that makes him scum? What did he do to deserve the title Scumbag? If he is based off of you then you should have a better idea of what his likes and dislikes, motivation and goals. What kind of world does he live in? Are there any supernatural elements? Does he have powers? Or is the world as ordinary as ours?
No. No one can help. *Freak loves adventures. He's constantly searching for more. *Freak hates adventures. He's constantly looking for a place to settle down, but trouble finds him. *Freak wants to find a woman. *Freak wants to find a man. *Freak wants to found a country. *Freak wants to open a restaurant, but must piece together an ancient recipe for the perfect pancake. Each fragment is entombed and guarded by an ancient and angry spirit. *Freak is drunk and doesn't know what he's doing. *Freak's headache only goes away when he walks westward. *Freak's sense of smell takes him eastward. *Freak is looking for the place where he won't be a freak anymore. *Freak wants a cure *Freak has to keep wandering at a speed of at least 55mph or his feet explode. All of these motivations can be made more scummy by having him punch old women and wearing puppy-skin slippers. You will notice that none of these work for you. My suggestion is to shelve the superficial character description until you can apply it to a real character in a real story. Writing about a person named Freak is a lot easier than trying to write a person for the name Freak.
It's perfectly understandable to ask for prompts from us, but nothing we say should be taken as a direct instruction as to how / why / what you should write. The best, most relevant advice has already been given: why is your character a freak? If you're looking to develop a plot, think about past experiences in your life, and people who may have been labelled a freak. School is a great source for such inspiration, as name-calling is quite common. Was there a socially awkward, highly intelligent kid who people didn't like because he always got A's? Perhaps then, if you were writing in a medieval themed setting, you could have Freak go from town to town, in search of work in his trade (blacksmith etc). However, he is such a talented blacksmith that all other blacksmiths in town don't get any more work. This drives them to try and kill him, so that they get their customers back. Your story could then essentially be about Freak, and his attempts to settle down and find work without being chased out of town by furious blacksmiths with pitchforks who label him a 'scumbag' because he takes all of their business. Hope I could help in some way Edit* Freak could be an affectionate name / label, as he is freakishly talented.
Well I liked it before you said he was scum, but even if he were, I think it can be interesting either way. Don't get that many books from the bad guys point of view. But from your first post, assuming he was a good guy, it could be about some hapless drifter stumbling into adventures (a medieval Forrest Gump or something) or maybe some lazy guy who always seems to get caught up in things he'd rather avoid. Seems like it would be a cool read. The "scum" part turns it a shade darker and can be disturbing to outright shocking but it is what you make of it. But then again, I'm not sure if he's a freak by physical appearance or some very odd character quirk. That would definitely change things...
Explanation Here's a pretty rough and clumsy opening. Not much past the end point. A cold, dry wind blew over the desert, throwing sand in the eyes of a horde of marching knights. In truth, few were actual knights. Most were sergeants, grunts. These particular knights had sworn an oath to Christ, their duty was to reclaim the Holy Land. These men were fearless. All but one, this one had his head filled with modern ideas, ideas that could kill him. Ideas like the Pope not being the representative to God, like leaving the Mussulmen to have their land. He only knew of these things because of a bizarre series of events that started with an attempt at starting a free form jazz compilation. He didn’t care for Hughes De Payen, or whoever else lead them to the next hell hole to be killed at. He’d only become one of the Poor Fellow Soldiers to escape his creditors, and resorting to lying in the process. One of the knights on horseback began shrieking at him in French. The man he was shouting at was stumbling and tripping, shifting off to one side. He was hated, and with good reason. “Shit, have to think of a way outta this group.” He knew better then to speak in English. The fact that he was sent to the Holy Land after joining the Templars in England was only possible by his escape under the reason of “Going Crusading”. The mass of Christians had stopped to make camp. And “Caprice” had wandered off to find a way home. 900 years in the future.
Here's a pretty rough and clumsy opening. Considering putting in a diary type opening, followed by Freak's various time traveling(?) journeys. Once again, this is a very rough opening and will probably change things. A lot of things. Not much past the end point. Overall, I think it's terrible. A cold, dry wind blew over the desert, throwing sand in the eyes of a horde of marching knights. In truth, few were actual knights. Most were sergeants, grunts. These particular knights had sworn an oath to Christ, their particular duty was to reclaim the Holy Land. These men were fearless. All but one, this one had his head filled with modern ideas, ideas that could kill him. Ideas like the Pope not being the representative to God, like leaving the Mussulmen to have their land. He only knew of these things because of a bizarre series of events that started with an attempt at starting a free form jazz compilation. He didn’t care for Hughes De Payen, or whoever else lead them to the next hell hole to be killed at. He’d only become one of the Poor Fellow Soldiers to escape his creditors, and resorting to lying in the process. One of the knights on horseback began shrieking at him in French. The man he was shouting at was stumbling and tripping, shifting off to one side. He was hated, and with good reason. “Shit, have to think of a way outta this group.” He knew better then to speak in English. The fact that he was sent to the Holy Land after joining the Templars in England was only possible by his escape under the reason of “Going Crusading”. The mass of Christians had stopped to make camp. And “Caprice” had wandered off to find a way home. 900 years in the future.
I think you've got a genuinely brilliant idea there. Ignoring that it reads like a first draft (which it probably is -- and that more detail would be welcomed to give it pace), I feel like I want to read the rest of such a book. A nice jumble of history and absurdity.
this will help, i think, it helps me or sometimes sends me on a thought driven rampage... Story Bubbles... u know like brain storm session.... say start with Adventure 1 in the center bubble, the work out how he gets there, whats in the adventure and what the end result is.. important thing is to WRITE EVERY IDEA DOWN !.... then open up wordpad on your computer, or grab a pen n paper, and start putting 1 and 1 together, and re-read and shape the story as u go..... it works for me, yes its lengthy process but it gets results... youve got a good idea, just need the bubbles and start putting things together... edit: also if your dealing with people in a story, keep description of a person short and sweet... any description over 3 lines is overkill, unless it is a main character and your really trying to convey his look...
