Young Writers Society

1. My idea that's not fanfiction goes something like this: There's a dystopian society where a monarchy is all-powerful, with the queen being their God, basically. The main character (thinking of naming her Cala) has been trained as a [I'll have to come up with a term], meaning she sings the equivalent of hymns. Then, she finds an old Bible and some real hymns. She has to decide between following God or following the queen.
How could I make this plot better? And should I name the main character Cala?

2. The fanfiction is unknown. Would you, the reader, rather see more Minecraft, Frozen, Warriors, or Harry Potter fanfiction? Or what other "fandoms" would you want to read about?

Well I hope you pull it off with some originality. My story stems from the same concept, minus the Judeo-Christian God. The setting is totally different though.

Fan fiction is a good writing exercise, but I wouldn't write one based on the source material you mentioned.

One: Names aren't permanent. I mean, yeah, it can be hard to change the name of a character you're fond of, or a character whose name you're fond of, but sometimes it just doesn't work. They're just as much a tool for portraying the world and the characters as anything else in the story.

I've had to think about changing my protagonists' names a lot, whether because it didn't mesh with the surrounding culture (Japanese- or Thai-influenced in a Chinese-influenced language, specifically), or because the name just didn't work for the character (a character I named Chloe five years ago and ended up renaming to Audrey recently when her story got a major rework).

So a few things to look at when naming a character are culture and the character's parents or guardians -- would they name their child/ward Cala? What does the name mean to them, if anything? Is it a standard or common name in the society, or is it something rarer? Would it stick out in a crowd, and if so or not, would her parents mind? Characters, ultimately, don't choose their own names.

As for making the plot "better", I recommend fleshing out the antagonist and the reason why the society worships this queen; I would also recommend specifying the reasons why Cala would consider following God instead, if she was raised in a society where everyone worships this queen and she has no reason to question it. If this isn't shown throughout the story (whether Cala's doubts are solidly founded or not), then the reader is likely to disbelieve it.

As for fanfic... I don't read much; I don't care.

No one else need reply. I'm done with asking people about my ideas....

I'm sorry, but if you don't mind me asking, I'd like to know what (if anything) about what I asked you was "completely brutal".

It wasn't all you. I was more sensitive because of the other person on this thread, so I lashed out at you for some stupid reason, if that makes sense. Sorry.

It's all fine, darling. I'd just be a little more careful about lashing out -- I do it sometimes, too, trust me. I know it can be hard trusting people with your ideas, and with your writing, but neither I nor @beans up there meant any harm.

After all, there's no way for you to know if your story mimics someone else's concept -- and I trust that you have a strong enough concept in your idea that you'd be able to pull it off with your own flair.

A lot of things have been written before, but people are still writing teenage-hero coming-of-age stories, right? People are still writing high fantasy elves-and-wizards stories, right? Just because some of the elements of the plot or the concept are the same doesn't mean that the ideas themselves are identical -- not every dystopian novel is 1984 or the Hunger Games; not every religious story is the Chronicles of Narnia.

The important part is that you learn and grow, and that you make sure your story is as strong as it can be. I dropped a few questions up there that might help you with that, and I'm sure other replies to this thread would be able to help you as well!