Young Writers Society

So I've had this idea for a while and am not sure whether it's worth pursuing or keeping.

This girl wakes up in a hospital with no memory of who she is. A couple claim that they are her parents and she lives wit them for two years and completes her school and studies doing extremely well. After her results and uni offers come out her "parents" reveal that he r real parents and younger brother died in the car crash she lost her memory in and that her older sister had died sometime before. They claim to have kept this from her so that she could complete her school without it affecting her.

The girl decides to accept a uni offer in Melbourne where her real home is ( her adopted parents live in Sydney). She stays with her friend but visits her real home. On her first visit she finds that before memory loss she was an extremely avid diary writer, writing very detailed entries about her life. Through this she discovers that she was a bully and a person who did anything to get her way.

The novel will be told from 2 povs: current girl and the diary entries. It will basically be about her discovering things about herself and her family. Also about coming to terms with who she was and why she was that way.

Soooo what do you guys think? I would really appreciate all your opinions.

I think any idea can be fantastic. It seems as though you have thought it it through, so all that is left is to right it! I say go for it, my friend.

At first I was going to say no, due to the fact that I could see her "parents" being faked and her real ones dead. But when you said the part about it being about her diary as well sounds quite intriguing. Just make sure there is a point to all of this. I would go for it!

@Rosey%20unicorn might be able to help you better. She has really good writing tips.

My advice will be identical to JohnLocke1.

Write it.

Do not put trials for your ideas. If you are interested in writing it, write it. Every single idea on the planet has been done before, so it's a case of what spin you can put on it. Yes, people pretending to be parents can be a bit cliche. It's been done a lot. You have to put your own twist on it. But, chances are, you won't be able to put that twist on it until you write it.

There is honestly no point in asking us what we think of an idea, because we are not you. We will not put your own unique spin on the story that only you can give. Your idea could be pulled off wonderfully or horribly, and the only way to find out which way it'll go is to write it, put it up for review, and rewrite it.

If you're interested? Don't ask us what we think of an idea.

Show us a finished piece and request we review it then.

(Alternatively, show us the far more fleshed out plot with causes, effects, solid points, activities, and everything else that actually makes something more concrete than a simple concept. That we can look at. A concept? There is nothing to review.)

Hey there!

I think it's an original idea, and if you like it--GO for it! You might never finish it, but who cares? The only way to trial your ideas is to do them. Talking about them won't get anything done. Try it out, plot a little more, experiment.

If there were some spots I'd suggest you watch out for it would be the part about her fake parents keeping the fact of her real parents from her. How exactly does that work? How did they take her? Also, what friend is she staying with? Is her friend from her old life? If so, how did she remember that said friend? What connection did the fake/adoptive parents have with the real parents? Did they have any at all?

Ask yourself these questions as you're writing, and you'll probably have a great story

Hey everyone!! Thank you for all your comments and for supporting my idea. I have actually begun writing bits and pieces some time ago, I just wanted to know if it was something that people would be interesting to read. Also because I don't read too much teen fiction (mainly fantasy) I don't know if this had been done before or was too cliché, so I decided to put it out there. For some reason I find this story a little had to write even though I really want to so was hoping to generate some conversation to help me progress.

Conversation is more than welcome!

What, exactly, are you having trouble with? Sometimes just rambling about the project in no given order is exactly what you need.

@Rosey Unicorn and @SparkToFlame thank you so much both for your comments. To answer Spark's questions:
Her adoptive parents are her uncle and his wife who have no children of their own. As they are next of kin they are the first called to the hospital to see her. At the hospital they decide that it would be best not to reveal the full tragic nature of her accident and decide to pose as her parents instead so that she can complete her critical VCE (I don't know what it's called elsewhere: GCE? Finals? You know.. The last two years before uni)
Once everything is over though they tell her the truth and though she is somewhat reluctant they encourage her to find out more about herself.
The friend she stays with is a current friend who also moves to Melbourne to study or I could change it to her living alone or on campus or something.
The "my parents are fake" part isn't the central part of the story it more focuses on her trying to cope with who she was before the accident and also trying to remember her old family. She feels bad at not feeling sad over their death, she doesn't remember them so doesn't mourn them and she feels guilty over that.

Main parts of the story will be her trying to track down her old, friend,, enemies and victims. Most of the things they tell her aren't what she wants to hear and she has to try and accept that she was this person. Although to her, her former self is almost a separate entity. She regards her as someone totally different and has trouble accepting the consequences of her former actions.

I'll have other things going on too, like her getting a job, getting started at uni and other such things.

I just really wanted to talk to someone about my idea. I'm not sure it's strong enough to hold someone's attention, or if I can write it well enough. As it is for some unknown reason I'm having trouble trying to translate my idea to paper. It works well in my read but comes up clunky when I try to write it out.

It sounds like you're making the whole "We aren't your real parents" thing very early on at the beginning. I think that helps battle that "dramatic reveal" which has been overdone a little. But I'm not exactly sure because you've mostly described her life before the reveal up till now.

When it comes to holding attention, develop the character's voice. A good, well developed voice can carry a story through thick and thin.

So far, you've mostly talked about backstory and plot. What's the character like as a person?

The main character is friendly, caring and kind. She makes friends easily and has many genuine friends who sincerely love her. The type of person who put's a smile on people's faces. She's also very smart and hardworking and manages to get into law at uni. Basically the A grade daughter who makes her parents proud. I know she sounds almost too perfect and superficial but she's like this because of an intense fear of failing and not making people proud. Also the fact that she was lucky to survive the car crash makes her appreciate life and want to make the most of it. She's decent looking with reddish dark brown hair and honey coloured eyes, about average height. Her adoptive parents have always showered her with love so she live in a happy house hold. She is content with how she is and her life.

He former self is almost like the black to her white. She grew up in the shadow of her overachieving sister who is the apple in their father's eye and the heiress to the family company. However her sister is one of the few people who treat her well and shows any sort of love for her. Their mother is always busy attending social events and mingling with the other rich and wealthy. Her father is always busy with business and always disappointed with her due to her low school marks and is positively enraged at her choice to pursue music instead of business. She still has genuine friends at school and mainly kept to herself. Once her sister dies however she becomes worse and only strive for popularity sacrificing her only friends and doing whatever she can to get whatever she wants. As the new heiress she is under even more pressure to do well and pursue business. She slowly becomes worse and worse until she has the accident.