Having just finished the first draft of my primary novel, I recently got an idea for a young adult supernatural project, however I am still brainstorming in how to make the idea more original. Having posted this on a different message board, I figured I may also get some good suggestions from this site The story surrounds a young woman who comes from a blood line of Monster Hunters, however being her parents had died (at this point I hadn't figured out how), she is raised by a strict but loving grandmother who is aware that one day her grand daughter will be sent away due to the fact that with each generation the blood within the hunter's blood is at its strongest. The young woman will be sent to a school that is a boarding school as well as a training ground for those training to be hunters of the monsters. At this school, the teenagers learn just how real these monsters are through their lessons, however the protagonists meets her two closed friends a hybrid who may have a cold personality due to her mistrust towards the hunters but is trap their and a defeated hunter with a slacker type personality. Down the road both the hybrid and the protagonist begin to question what they are becoming trained for without the answers becoming before them only to discover answers that the training school hadn't told them of there being a school and training ground specifically for monsters. I do have several ideas in where the characterizations will take certain characters, however I do realize there are many novels particularly within the genre young adults that deal with boarding schools. How can I focus on making this idea more original? Being it will be a training school I realize I need to keep the lessons towards hunting and such, but any suggestions will be helpful in figuring out where to go from here.
Hey, i personally love all supernatural and occult themed books and was love to read a book like this if it were published. And i also understand your pursuit to find originality, as a supernatural writer myself i often feel closed behind bars, i don't want to deviate to much in the fear of rejection and yet i don't want to copy or reuse constantly used ideas. Id like to think that i have come up with a new idea, that has not been done before, with my own book. But unlike you i am too skeptical to post it online. Now here are my suggestions to help with your originality; Special schools like you mentioned are used all the time, so much so that they are almost cliche. If you really want to do a school then you should make it a normal school with an elite group of kids who are in reality these hunter. Or maby make it like a club in school. Also are these monsters or are these demons from popular demonology, are you going to be using the Lilith or a made up monster. Honestly i would suggest you use monsters of your own creations. Using demons from christian demonology has become very popular in recent years so i suggest you avoid this to retain your originality. Another random idea i had, after the two become friends, and btw by hybrid i hope you mean half monster half human, the hybrid will show the girl in person what is happening to his kind. He could have a friend whos brutally murdered by the hunters idk just shooting ideas, but yeah hope i helped a little.
You could even ditch the school and go with a Mr. Miyagi type mentor if you wanted. I assume you're afraid it might look too much like Harry Potter with the special school and all?
Thank you for taking the time with your suggestion, with my previous novel it felt like I was fighting just to find aspects to make original, however when this idea came to me, the notion of it being at a boarding school came to my realization, originally I wasn't even thinking of inspiration from Harry Potter, I was considering the classics, but after writing the idea out, I realized it may have not been as original as I thought which made me realize I needed to find a way to make the school original. It doesn't even have to be a school but a place where a young adult can learn to become the monster hunter that the adults in her life knew she would one day be. It is a pain to become original with these concepts which is why I appreciate the suggestion. Regarding your suggestion, it make be something to consider as I didn't think of making the school normal and use a elite group at the school. Another idea I had was to have another school become the enemy where they take those creatures which these monster hunters are taught to fight, which links the protagonist to her past and her best friend who is the hybrid. I was going to make the hybrid part monster and part human. That's a good suggestion about showing her aspects that she wasn't aware of before. Referring to the monsters I was considering having her be part demon, but i didn't think clearly on the monsters or come to terms in what kind they will be as I am still developing the storyline and the characters before I figure out the enemies. Thanks for taking the time for the suggestions,it is appreciated.
The idea of the protagonist learning from her parents past seemed like a good idea to go somewhere where she is taught to fight the monsters, I was thinking, the training place could be responsible in the fight against evil. It doesn't particularly have to be a school, but somewhere she can go for training or to learn.
As stated above, 'Special' or 'Boarding' Schools are used all the time. The idea of a normal school or group is good, but it doesn't really give them any grounds which they can train in unwatched... I'd say that, instead of a school, you could send them to a dojo or something... Either that or just an unused, old army base. On another note, if you get this published, I'd gladly buy it It sounds like a good story.
Oh thank you for the suggestion and compliment, at this point in time I am just writing ideas out, seeing whats the best for me to go with before I dedicate to any specific idea, being I understand that no idea is original and its how I write out the characters therefore I am taking the time to figure out how I may be able to do so. I hope to become published down the road.
I really like the idea. I think I would be interesting in reading it and it doesn't seem at all cliche to me. But learning from a mentor definitely is. I haven't really seen any stories like that other then I guess maybe Harry Potter. But if you don't want to go with a school I think maybe you should try a special branch in the military that deals in monsters? It would be pretty much the same thing. With a training grounds, living together, a brotherhood-like feeling. All without being a school.
