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Idea for a novel....help? XP



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Gender: Male
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Reviews: 5
Thu May 12, 2011 1:55 am
Camulaeus says...



So basically I suck at writing novels, and what follows is my attempt at organizing one. I just need any ideas or tips on how to get started, and the Random bouts of inspiration segment will be regularly updated if anyone's interested in that.

Oh, and a name suggestion would be amazing XP


Novel

Genre: Teen Dramatic Comedy Quirky gay teen (hero) struggles with the ignorant degrading behavior given to him (conflict) by the boys and sometimes girls in his class. He has an on-off friend ship with an older lesbian college graduate (heroine), all the while he notices a blonde-haired girl who leaves haunting clues scattered throughout his life (catalyst)

Hero:

Cameron is a quirky teen who lives in a hell he sort of half created, though others always assure him that it is not his fault, he needs to find a purpose or goal in life, as he is lost right now in a sea of drama with no plan for what he will do when he crosses it, what he wants is to just be free of himself, and become one of the 2 dimensional characters so he doesn’t screw up his life anymore, as his deepest fear is total isolation from interaction.


Central Idea

• I want to continue on the future planning thread, because it’s probably the main conflict in the story, and will probably relate with moe of the readers on a deeper level
• I do not want to continue on the bullying thread, because I don’t want it to be the epicenter of his misery, though it is a large component. It will be mentioned, but the big struggle in the book is his mentality
• I do want to follow on the want/ need thread, as I want the main conflict to be based in Cam’s mind

Opener:

We need to lay out Cameron’s fears of no future, perhaps in a conversation with a friend or teacher, from this the problem he must find is initially finding someone he can relate to, and then he must actually find an interest he can grow on. On a first level, the kids in his school will stump his growth, but ultimately he is his own enemy.

Ending:

Cameron should find something that really interests him, but lose something in the process. He should have to be faced with a decision with to either retain his uniqueness in life, or condemn himself to an interest that could give him a future, but maybe not one he wanted. In the end he should be able to reflect on his decision, choose the wrong one, and then have a cryptic sentence that suggests he might of changed once more, or he could succumb to his profession.


Roughing the Middle:

• He takes a mental health day
• Dramatic scene where he snaps and shouts at someone
• Fight with Heroine
• Make-up with Heroine
• “Build your Future” workshop
• Parents attempt to help and fail
• Brief interest in cinematography
• Brief interest in squash
• Brief interest in theater


Disorganized Bouts of Inspiration

“I just think that Rolling in the Deep should NEVER be a purely vocal song,” I noted, taking another lick from my vanilla-chocolate ice cream cone.

“Isn’t is called Acapella, or something?” Em replied, her feet swinging in and out of the metal road fence.

I shook my head “ That’s a Brandy Norwood song, that’s like…ancient”

I was hardly done speaking by the time Em had searched “Brandy Norwood” into her iPhone and had the top 10 results on Google.

“2008 is not ancient “ Em rolled her eyes, stressing the last word as she always did when making a point. She shoved the Wikipedia entry into my face, and I had to twist around to save my ice cream from splatting onto the searing hot asphalt below.

‘It’s last decade, still” I said with a smug, and Em rolled her eyes once more.

“Blue one!” she cried! A grimy teal- stained Hummer crawled by on the normally deserted road. The first one in a while, we don’t get many cars on the back streets in Winnetka, Illinois: the epicenter of small-towns. If the weather doesn’t get you, at least traffic isn’t something to worry about.

The actual town is pretty busy, yet out here a car is a rare sight. Em placed her mint chip ice-cream bowl on the nearest wooden post, and then punched my arm with what I hoped was a playful manner. Sometimes with Emilia it was hard to tell.
With friends and courage one can stand against all foes, for neither man nor God can conquer those who are not alone

"109 in the sky but the pigs won't quit"

GLBT it doesn't matterone thing doesn't change who we are
  





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Gender: Female
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Reviews: 67
Thu May 12, 2011 3:22 am
LadyFreeWill says...



Camulaeus wrote:
Novel

Genre: Teen Dramatic Comedy Quirky gay teen (hero) struggles with the ignorant degrading behavior given to him (conflict) by the boys and sometimes girls in his class. He has an on-off friend ship with an older lesbian college graduate (heroine), all the while he notices a blonde-haired girl who leaves haunting clues scattered throughout his life (catalyst)

Hero:

Cameron is a quirky teen who lives in a hell he sort of half created, though others always assure him that it is not his fault, he needs to find a purpose or goal in life, as he is lost right now in a sea of drama with no plan for what he will do when he crosses it, what he wants is to just be free of himself, and become one of the 2 dimensional characters so he doesn’t screw up his life anymore, as his deepest fear is total isolation from interaction.


Central Idea

• I want to continue on the future planning thread, because it’s probably the main conflict in the story, and will probably relate with more of the readers on a deeper level
• I do not want to continue on the bullying thread, because I don’t want it to be the epicenter of his misery, though it is a large component. It will be mentioned, but the big struggle in the book is his mentality
• I do want to follow on the want/ need thread, as I want the main conflict to be based in Cam’s mind

Opener:

We need to lay out Cameron’s fears of no future, perhaps in a conversation with a friend or teacher, from this the problem he must find is initially finding someone he can relate to, and then he must actually find an interest he can grow on. On a first level, the kids in his school will stump his growth, but ultimately he is his own enemy.

Okay. First of all, how old is Cameron? If he is in his later high school years, I think maybe a lecture from his parents or teacherwhile he narrates and answers their questions in his head might work.

Ending:

Cameron should find something that really interests him, but lose something in the process. He should have to be faced with a decision with to either retain his uniqueness in life, or condemn himself to an interest that could give him a future, but maybe not one he wanted. In the end he should be able to reflect on his decision, choose the wrong one, and then have a cryptic sentence that suggests he might of changed once more, or he could succumb to his profession.


Roughing the Middle:

• He takes a mental health day
• Dramatic scene where he snaps and shouts at someone
• Fight with Heroine
• Make-up with Heroine
• “Build your Future” workshop
• Parents attempt to help and fail
• Brief interest in cinematography
• Brief interest in squash
• Brief interest in theater


Disorganized Bouts of Inspiration

“I just think that Rolling in the Deep should NEVER be a purely vocal song,” I noted, taking another lick from my vanilla-chocolate ice cream cone.

“Isn’t is called Acapella, or something?” Em replied, her feet swinging in and out of the metal road fence.

I shook my head “ That’s a Brandy Norwood song, that’s like…ancient”

I was hardly done speaking by the time Em had searched “Brandy Norwood” into her iPhone and had the top 10 results on Google.

“2008 is not ancient “ Em rolled her eyes, stressing the last word as she always did when making a point. She shoved the Wikipedia entry into my face, and I had to twist around to save my ice cream from splatting onto the searing hot asphalt below.

‘It’s last decade, still” I said with a smug, and Em rolled her eyes once more.

“Blue one!” she cried! A grimy teal- stained Hummer crawled by on the normally deserted road. The first one in a while, we don’t get many cars on the back streets in Winnetka, Illinois: the epicenter of small-towns. If the weather doesn’t get you, at least traffic isn’t something to worry about.

The actual town is pretty busy, yet out here a car is a rare sight. Em placed her mint chip ice-cream bowl on the nearest wooden post, and then punched my arm with what I hoped was a playful manner. Sometimes with Emilia it was hard to tell.


Okay, it looks to me like you've got your novel idea outlined pretty well. Based on the excerpt above, I'm assuming Emilia is the heroine. What I'd like to know about this novel idea (haha, I love that book) is how are you planning on developing the characters? This whole idea is all very nice, yes, but what it needs is a love interest. I'm not saying that this needs to be a romance, but I think that if Cameron was interested in someone, interactions between them and results of those interactions could help the story along. For example, the bullies could call Cameron on it or maybe his thoughts over these things could help drive him towards that mental break down.
I'm not sure if any of this helps (it probably doesn't), but I hope you get something out of my suggestions, anyway.
-TSM
Formerly TheScratchMan.
  








something I have been thinking about ever since I saw the Super Mario Bros movie is how once I took a "what Nintendo character are you" quiz and I got Waluigi.
— Elinor