I'm nicknaming my tale of the adolescent who defies the government "Teen Vs Gov". This is NOT going to be any kind of a title for it, but I need something to refer to to it by. I'm posting my progress on this plot also.
One-Line summary:
A Junior High student goes up against the government when her parents' conspiracy theories turn out to be both true and deadly.
Expanded Version
Celia Brodie is in Junior High, and just trying to gain some good grades and a little popularity in spite of her slighty wacky conspiracy theorist parents. These efforts are dwarfed when a horrifying series of terrorist events leave the President and Vice-president of the United States dead and the whole country dissolves in chaos. A new government emerges with dark suppositions and she begins to realize some truths of her parents theories. It is too late for going back however, when the New Government agents shut down her school and begin hunting people on their “Green List”. That last normal day Celia looked out her classroom window and saw the lines of Nova Military vehicles turning into the school parking lot, she knew it was time to run…
Genre: Young Adult, Social Science Fiction?, Subplot may have some elements of romance, mystery, and thriller
Theme: Self-Discovery amid Rebellion
Before normal life collapsed for her, Celia was happy to be just whatever people around her wanted her to be. What she really wanted was people to like her. When her life is turned upside down she finds herself forced to try and find out who she is and what she believes in the midst of becoming a government rebel.
Symbolism- to be determined as Plot progresses.
Yay! I'm going somewhere with this!
Monday, January 26, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
2YN- Rebound
I wanted to make a post for my 2Yn even though I said I wouldn't be following that story here. Mostly because I've chosen a name for my main character! Her name is Lilith, but she often goes by 'Lil'. Sometimes she gets called Lily, but she hates it...
I'm excited about this a lot, because I was kind of apprehensive about not having a name for her even though everything I could think of just didn't seem to fit. Today I was giving thought to some of the interesting stories of names in legends and myths. I was intrigued by both Lilith's and Lorelei's stories.
Both of them would fit as part of my theme and symbolism for my story, but as I was trying them out Lorelei only brought up thoughts of the Gilmore Girls, and I wanted a name that didn't constantly make me think of a wholly different story. The more I thought of Lilith, the more it started to fit. Now I can't think of anything different. Yay!
Jane Doe, I hereby christen you Lilith.
Now off to find a last name...
I'm excited about this a lot, because I was kind of apprehensive about not having a name for her even though everything I could think of just didn't seem to fit. Today I was giving thought to some of the interesting stories of names in legends and myths. I was intrigued by both Lilith's and Lorelei's stories.
Both of them would fit as part of my theme and symbolism for my story, but as I was trying them out Lorelei only brought up thoughts of the Gilmore Girls, and I wanted a name that didn't constantly make me think of a wholly different story. The more I thought of Lilith, the more it started to fit. Now I can't think of anything different. Yay!
Jane Doe, I hereby christen you Lilith.
Now off to find a last name...
Nano Idea Condensed
So I've thought about my nano quite a bit the past couple of days and came up with the core idea for my story. Here we go...
Main Idea:
Tragic events cause Emerald to flee her world, bringing her across dimensions to Earth; She merely wants to find a place in this new world but someone is pushing her towards a series of events that appear to culminate in the destruction of the world. It seems to her like she's being manipulated into place by the destroyer to stop this from happening, but why would someone make a plan to destroy the world just to put her in place to stop it? Something sinister is happening around her that has to do with the world she left and she has little time left to figure it out.
That's still pretty complex, but I'm having problems condensing it more than that. how about this?
A woman from different world finds herself trying to save the world again and again when it occurs to her that she is being set up to stop the destruction by the mastermind behind the apocalyptic threats .
Its still kind of long for a single sentence summary. But better, I think. That will have to do for my long and short summaries of my plot.
Genre is Science Fiction inclined. I started out thinking of it as fantasy, but it doesn't have very much fantasy elements except that my MC is from a different world and the energy that keeps her alive is strong and supernatural. And the reason for that is because of the world that she came from, not because of any special capabilities. Also my villain is a scientist who is trying to harness her energy, so there is some scientific ethical conflict there.
Main Idea:
Tragic events cause Emerald to flee her world, bringing her across dimensions to Earth; She merely wants to find a place in this new world but someone is pushing her towards a series of events that appear to culminate in the destruction of the world. It seems to her like she's being manipulated into place by the destroyer to stop this from happening, but why would someone make a plan to destroy the world just to put her in place to stop it? Something sinister is happening around her that has to do with the world she left and she has little time left to figure it out.
That's still pretty complex, but I'm having problems condensing it more than that. how about this?
A woman from different world finds herself trying to save the world again and again when it occurs to her that she is being set up to stop the destruction by the mastermind behind the apocalyptic threats .
Its still kind of long for a single sentence summary. But better, I think. That will have to do for my long and short summaries of my plot.
Genre is Science Fiction inclined. I started out thinking of it as fantasy, but it doesn't have very much fantasy elements except that my MC is from a different world and the energy that keeps her alive is strong and supernatural. And the reason for that is because of the world that she came from, not because of any special capabilities. Also my villain is a scientist who is trying to harness her energy, so there is some scientific ethical conflict there.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Revamping the Nano Novel
As I had earlier said in this recent post I had only completed half of my Nano project when I quit shortly after passing the 50,000 mark. I've barely touched it all December.
The reason I couldn't get back to it was because I had so many plot holes. I couldn't figure out what the villain really wanted, or what his main flaw was, or what my main character's driving force was, she just kind of meandered throughout the story line reacting to whatever happened in the storyline. Chapter after chapter went by only creating more plot problems like this, rather then solving them. Then of course, I had to figure out how exactly things worked in the world of my story, because there are some pretty fantastical elements in the story that need some kind of logic.
So today was devoted to looking at what I have and don't have in my Nano. I started to jot down background information, flesh out details of a motive, and I figured out what my novel was leading up to in the climax.
What I have left:
The main synopsis of my novel has changed so many times, its hard to keep up. I'm trying to actually outline it now, and maybe come up with the summary in a single sentence. When I do that, I'll be back.
The reason I couldn't get back to it was because I had so many plot holes. I couldn't figure out what the villain really wanted, or what his main flaw was, or what my main character's driving force was, she just kind of meandered throughout the story line reacting to whatever happened in the storyline. Chapter after chapter went by only creating more plot problems like this, rather then solving them. Then of course, I had to figure out how exactly things worked in the world of my story, because there are some pretty fantastical elements in the story that need some kind of logic.
So today was devoted to looking at what I have and don't have in my Nano. I started to jot down background information, flesh out details of a motive, and I figured out what my novel was leading up to in the climax.
What I have left:
- Villain's use for the object of his ultimate desire- What does he plan on doing with his power once he attains it?
- What was Villain's hopes and dreams before he was set down the path of "evil?" Were they thwarted and how?
- What convinces Villain of the necessity to endanger the world?
- How does Emerald's energy work? Is she tied to the life of her own world?
The main synopsis of my novel has changed so many times, its hard to keep up. I'm trying to actually outline it now, and maybe come up with the summary in a single sentence. When I do that, I'll be back.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
My Plotting Problem
So as I was saying, I have this other idea that I want to go ahead with alongside my 2YN novel that I'm doing with forward motion.
So here is my problem. I am attempting to condense my Idea into a single sentence that tells the basic synopsis of the plot and reveals the main conflict. But every time I come up with the single sentence it feels like something important is left out. So I have many different versions and I'm not sure which one would be the most acceptable. I'm posting them all here, and maybe I can come to a decision here by the by.
Here are the summary sentences I've come up with so far:
-Adolescent girl finds herself on her own against the government as a series of disasters cause it to morph into a tyrannous structure.
-Adolescent girl realizes her parents conspiracy theories had some truth in them when the US government becomes tyrannous and controlling following a series of disasters to the American way of life.
-Adolescent girl finds herself at odds with the new tyrannical government put in place after a social upheaval.
-Adolescent girl who thought her problems only involved growing up and getting good grades finds out that her parents conspiracy theories were all too accurate when the new government begins to hunt down her family with accusations of treason and expatriotism.
-Adolescent girl realizes grades and growing up popular are the least of her worries when her family is arrested and she is pursued by the government with charges of conspiracy and treason.
It is important that she is an adolescent girl, because the story will have a "coming of age" element to it. It is important that her parents were involved in some groups that could be labeled conspiracy theorists, or *militia*. More specifically, gun rights militia with heavy conspiracy theories about the government. And its important the government is pursuing her, by herself, not her with her family.
From that I need to figure out a simple plot sentence!
So here is my problem. I am attempting to condense my Idea into a single sentence that tells the basic synopsis of the plot and reveals the main conflict. But every time I come up with the single sentence it feels like something important is left out. So I have many different versions and I'm not sure which one would be the most acceptable. I'm posting them all here, and maybe I can come to a decision here by the by.
Here are the summary sentences I've come up with so far:
-Adolescent girl finds herself on her own against the government as a series of disasters cause it to morph into a tyrannous structure.
-Adolescent girl realizes her parents conspiracy theories had some truth in them when the US government becomes tyrannous and controlling following a series of disasters to the American way of life.
-Adolescent girl finds herself at odds with the new tyrannical government put in place after a social upheaval.
-Adolescent girl who thought her problems only involved growing up and getting good grades finds out that her parents conspiracy theories were all too accurate when the new government begins to hunt down her family with accusations of treason and expatriotism.
-Adolescent girl realizes grades and growing up popular are the least of her worries when her family is arrested and she is pursued by the government with charges of conspiracy and treason.
It is important that she is an adolescent girl, because the story will have a "coming of age" element to it. It is important that her parents were involved in some groups that could be labeled conspiracy theorists, or *militia*. More specifically, gun rights militia with heavy conspiracy theories about the government. And its important the government is pursuing her, by herself, not her with her family.
From that I need to figure out a simple plot sentence!
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
After writing half a novel last year for Nanowrimo and then getting stuck on many plot bumps and holes, I want to be able to write from a more structured start(My Nano was a kind of plot-as-you-write kind of mess).
So to start off my year, I've entered the online class 2YN, or 2 Year Novel at Forward Motion. I'm going to attempt a chick lit story for the class, a type I've never tried before. I'm pretty excited about it though. I have another idea stewing in my head also though, so I am planning on using the same principles that I apply in the class to my other idea.
For now I'll post my 2YN idea as an example, but for the most part that's all going to be dealt with on Forward Motion. What I really want to flesh out here is that "other" idea in the back of my head.
2YN Idea short version:
After several months of break-up blues, Jane Doe* decides that to get over her ex-boyfriend she has to find a rebound guy to "love and leave".
2YN Idea expanded version:
Jane Doe's first boyfriend of eight months had been funny, sweet and completely perfect; That is, until he dumped her out of the blue with fuzzy excuses that left her confused, hurt and depressed for months on end. When her friends ask her when she is going to get over him, she comes to the conclusion that she needs to find a rebound guy to make her forget about her ex. She only wants to make a guy fall in love with her for a few months... Why should guys do all the dumping?
Now, when I get my other idea set up into this structure, I'll post it up here as my start. :)
So to start off my year, I've entered the online class 2YN, or 2 Year Novel at Forward Motion. I'm going to attempt a chick lit story for the class, a type I've never tried before. I'm pretty excited about it though. I have another idea stewing in my head also though, so I am planning on using the same principles that I apply in the class to my other idea.
For now I'll post my 2YN idea as an example, but for the most part that's all going to be dealt with on Forward Motion. What I really want to flesh out here is that "other" idea in the back of my head.
2YN Idea short version:
After several months of break-up blues, Jane Doe* decides that to get over her ex-boyfriend she has to find a rebound guy to "love and leave".
2YN Idea expanded version:
Jane Doe's first boyfriend of eight months had been funny, sweet and completely perfect; That is, until he dumped her out of the blue with fuzzy excuses that left her confused, hurt and depressed for months on end. When her friends ask her when she is going to get over him, she comes to the conclusion that she needs to find a rebound guy to make her forget about her ex. She only wants to make a guy fall in love with her for a few months... Why should guys do all the dumping?
Now, when I get my other idea set up into this structure, I'll post it up here as my start. :)
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