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my novel needs a starting point



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Tue Dec 10, 2013 7:59 am
Granger2291 says...



So... I want to write a vampire novel. I have a concept but no idea where to start.

Here it is:

My protagonist (no name yet) is a teenager a few months away from graduating high school. One day she finds something in her father's room and sets out to find the meaning behind it. Eventually, she learns that she is a descendant of a long line of vampire slayers and that her father has been training her to hunt since childhood.

I just want to know if this is a solid foundation for a novel. There would be very little romance, and none involving vampires, so it wouldn't be a twilight clone. Any feedback would be appreciated.
  





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Tue Dec 10, 2013 9:44 am
Deifyance says...



Um, some problems I see already: How in the world do you get trained for something that you have no idea about? And, there isn't any one antagonist. Is the whole story just about her killing everything?

You have created a world, and you have a character, you also have an inciting incident. Now, we just need a situation to put our character in. Give us an antagonist, and threaten us with it's might.

I challenge you to not be cliche. Really think up some good impossible choices and give us characters (Protags as well as Antags) that we can root for. Make it simple, and make it good.
Check out my current Series: Changing Legacy

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Tue Dec 10, 2013 9:50 am
Blackwood says...



To be honest, the only thing you have IS the starting point.

a few months away from graduating high school. One day she finds something in her father's room

That is literally your starting point. As a reader we don't want to have to read a ton of stuff irrelevant to the plot. I suggest you have her find the thing within the first chapter, it doesn't have to be the first page but let it be the first chapter.

You need a plot, antagonist, protagonist, and a plan for where the novel is going and what the ultimate goal/ending will be. It seems like you have your 'starting point' as we put it sussed.
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Tue Dec 10, 2013 10:29 am
Granger2291 says...



I guess I should have been more extensive with my description. Her father was training her by enrolling her in martial arts classes, archery, things like that. Stuff that's relevant to hunting but doesn't raise too many flags.

Also, I know I have the inciting incident but that's all I really have. I'm trying to find a way that leads her into the incident naturally. Which is what i meant by starting point. And yes, there will be conflict, antagonists, etc. But right now, all I have is the summary and a basic plot, which is why I'm here.
  





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Tue Dec 10, 2013 10:49 am
VeniVidiVici says...



I suggest creating an outline of the entire story. Then after you have the basic understanding of where your story will take you. Then you as the author can now decide in which point of your outline you wish to begin. This should be the most enticing, the most gripping, mysterious. The finding of the item is a great place to begin. I wonder what the item is though...
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Tue Dec 10, 2013 5:48 pm
Rosendorn says...



So, you're basically trying to avoid the ever so convenient "I just so happened to be poking around in my dad's room and discovered I'm special" opening?

Very smart idea and I hope to help!

What does her dad keep in his room? In my house, stuff like passports, SIN numbers, health cards, birth certificates, and other such important pieces of paper are in my dad's room. The clean laundry is also in that room before it gets put away. I normally wouldn't need to go into my dad's room past those two things, and the room only really gets cleaned after my mom does a massive amount of clothing donation (cause my dad's the only guy with space in his closet, he gets the donated clothes, too).

Try to think of what her dad keeps in his room, and what would change the room enough that he left that special thing out.

Also, try to determine what that thing is. Is it a ring she's never seen him wear? A knife? A book? What would make that object stand out in his room.

The place I'd start your story building is figuring out the dad's life in detail. He's going to be the main driving force of the plot for awhile, with your protagonist trying to find out about his life. Therefore, put most of your energy into figuring him out, especially:

1- What he keeps in his room
2- What his "normal" is (doesn't have to be everybody else's "normal". Just what his regular behaviour is, no matter how weird it is)
3- What his abnormal is
4- What his slaying life is like
5- How much he'll be involved after the protagonist finds that thing
6- Why he kept her heritage a secret in the first place

One cliche I would avoid is having him be kidnapped and the protagonist discovers her heritage by trying to find out where he went.

Does that help to figure out a starting point?
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo

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Wed Dec 11, 2013 7:24 am
Granger2291 says...



That actually helps a lot. And yes, I want there to be a logical reason for her to find the object. It would absolutely have to be something she'd never seen before, enough to raise suspicion, but not glaringly obvious. I was thinking a blood vial necklace or something like that.
  





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Wed Dec 11, 2013 6:15 pm
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Rosendorn says...



Okay, so in order to figure out the object, you'll need to figure out why that's important to slaying. Is the blood vial necklace an attractor to vampires, that makes them easier to slay? Is the blood poison so they can be sneakily killed? Or is it just a mark of slayers in their organization? Also, whose blood is in the vial? It would be interesting if the vial was empty, and he was going to tell her of her heritage when he had her fill it up with the required blood.

I'm not saying it's a bad idea, but I am asking you to figure out the significance to worldbuild a little bit (that will come up eventually, so might as well figure it out now). What her dad needs for slaying and to show his heritage are the list of objects she could potentially find, although some tools like wooden stakes could be stored in camping equipment without raising too many eyebrows. And he could really like garlic so he keeps a few whole cloves in the house.

Mind you, what he needs for slaying also leads you to what vampires are killed with. You don't have to go traditional with this; you can make up your own vampire lore and use it instead of anything previously known. Even just a little twist can have big impact on the plot. (Like, metal stakes instead of wooden ones. Does that mean all vampires react to certain metals and never touch stainless steel appliances?)

Also, is the dad a single dad, or do her parents live together? If they do live together, do her parents share a room? (Having them not share a room isn't out of the question; my parents don't) Divorced parents or a widowed dad will impact her life a lot outside of slaying, and gives you a place to start with your protagonist. Although, if you do make her dad widowed, I'd suggest that her mom wasn't killed by vampires. That's another monster-hunting cliche I've seen a lot.

Parents living together could make for quite the dynamic, because you'd have to factor in the mom in her day to day life, instead of just every once and awhile. If her parents are divorced, you'd need to figure out custody rights and how often she lives with her dad over her mom.
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo

Ink is blood. Paper is bandages. The wounded press books to their heart to know they're not alone.
  





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Fri Dec 13, 2013 6:19 am
Granger2291 says...



Her dad is a widower. Also I'd like to add that I've tried outlines in the past, and They haven't really worked for me, I'm more of an edit as I go kind of writer. But, I've always had trouble with world building and setting details.
  





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Fri Dec 13, 2013 6:51 am
Snowery says...



Hey! :)
You say that she's graduating soon? In my graduation we put up our baby pics. Maybe she can have something that she needs for graduation which she went to take from his room. For example if she was looking for baby photos (like I was :) ) maybe she could find a mysterious photo of her dad or someone else, do you get the idea?
By the way, is it her father's bedroom or his study? (I find studies more ominous, just saying :) ).
Also don't forget to fully figure out the life of your protagonist, because that is generally what the reader is introduced to especially with the graduation happening as a backdrop.
I also don't make story outlines, I prefer typing the story straight out and winging it. What I do though is make notes on the world, characters, items and major events-just roughly so that I have it sorted out and written down.
There's a lot of great advice from the writers above if you take in everything they say, then you should end up with a great story. Also I'm glad that you're aiming to make this different to the cliche vampire stories.
Best if luck! :)
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Fri Dec 13, 2013 4:56 pm
Rosendorn says...



Studies can also be a tad cliche, just saying. Why figuring out where he keeps this stuff and why is a good idea.

You don't really need to outline to have a good story. I'm giving the above questions with the intent of simply solidifying the setting. I'm personally an A to B style writer— I come up with my start point, my end point, and just kinda write between them with a bunch of little mini goals that are set scenes I've dreamed up.

So for me, worldbuilding is the main tool I use to fill up the next events. I think along the lines of "Okay something needs to happen what's going on right now... I have a wedding, and that wedding will spill out into the streets because it's the crown prince getting married so it's a huge party. During the wedding could be a perfect covert way of getting information to the MC." (yes this is a legit thought process I had for the next plot event)

Maybe that's how you can go about worldbuilding? Focus on the purely practical elements of it. Why this exists, or if something has existed for this purpose. Dream up whatever you want, then come up with reasons for it. That's why I gave you all those questions about the blood vial necklace— it's a good idea, but it's an even better idea when there's reasons for it to exist.
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo

Ink is blood. Paper is bandages. The wounded press books to their heart to know they're not alone.
  





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Sat Dec 21, 2013 7:59 am
Granger2291 says...



So, I've started. I started the story with the death of the MC's mother.
Now I'm on chapter 2 and my romantic plot just sort of jumped out at me. I want to dial down the romance as the characters involved are preparing for something much more important to the plot. Has anyone else had this issue?
  





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Sat Dec 21, 2013 5:05 pm
Rosendorn says...



That would be a romantic plot tumour!

Any particular reason why it jumped at you? Does the story feel boring without the romance? Or do you just want to write it?
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo

Ink is blood. Paper is bandages. The wounded press books to their heart to know they're not alone.
  





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Fri Dec 27, 2013 6:53 pm
Granger2291 says...



No it was more like my characters, who I planned on being romantic later, insisted on being romantic immediately.
  





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Sat Dec 28, 2013 9:22 pm
Rosendorn says...



Hmm. How long have they known each other?

I'd suggest to actually let them do what they want... for now. In a first draft I tend to let characters do whatever they want and see if it works or not. What works gets to be saved, what doesn't gets cut.
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo

Ink is blood. Paper is bandages. The wounded press books to their heart to know they're not alone.
  








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