Young Writers Society

Alright, I'm going to try this. I'm one of those people who swap from one story to the next, never finishing anything. Now I have an idea that actually might stick, because it won't tell me I have too few words. I don't care how long it is, really.

Here is my idea, and I'm trusting you not to steal it .

Corliss, a young adult, knows she is going to die. She has a strange ambition; to meet and make friends with as many people as she can before that time comes.

That's all I have over a period of three days of thinking about it. I'm not exactly sure how I am going to do this, but hey, I'm going to try.

What do you think?

Off to read more of those Holly Lisle articles *grins*.

(LOL! I was just working out my plot with her little mini-lesson on plotting. ^_^)

Ok, at a first glance, this is depressing. I mean...she's going to die.

Questions you must ask: Why does she want to make a bunch of friends?
Why does the reader want to see her accomplish this?

Ok. Harsh part over.

Good news? This could come out really good. You just need to give the main character an edge. For example (I'm a fountain of plot ideas, feel free to inspire yourself from it): She's been to a few funerals and thinks it's super depressing. What she'd really like is to make an army of friends that will celebrate her life. So many, in fact, that people might mistake it for some kind of festival.

Give her some quirk that makes her special, that way readers can love her for it. Because as it stands, your plot sounds like what anyone might do: Make friends, be happy, die happy. Give us a twist!

...

omg, when you said she was going to die did you mean 'eventually' or 'soon as in some illness is killing her dying'? <Thought it was the later, my answer changes slightly if it's the former.

Does she have soem terminal illness? Because everybody is going to die.

I think this could be really good, as long as you actually finish it.

Oh, and the name Corliss is really cool. Where did you find it/come up with it? I love names like that.

If you want advice on how to actually finsih it, here's what worked for me:

1. Ban all other ideas- This is your only project. Don't think about any other stories. You can only write other creative pieces if they're for school

2. Tell people about it- This will depend on who you tell. And it doesn't always work over the internet. Find someone who really likes the idea, and give them a chapter at a time. If they like it enough, they will keep bugging you and you'll end up writing it

3. Make sure you can do this- All stories end up losing their steam at some point, this was proved in NaNoWriMo for me, but you need to make sure this has a begining, middle and an ending. And you need to make sure you can actually write the whole thing. Because if you write a bit and then realise that the story stops and nothing more can be written, you've just wasted a whole lot of time.

Well, those worked for me. Hopefully they'll work for you. I'd love to read it when you get it up.

This actually sounds like a really cool idea, but I agree with Sleeping Valor. You need to give her a REASON to want to make a bunch of friends. Maybe she's just depressed by the idea that so many dying people refuse to associate with people. Maybe she's just been a very quiet person all her life and wants to make the most of it before she dies. Whatever. It can be a small reason, but make sure there's a REASON.

*talks to self* what would I do without these people?

Sleeping Valor: Yeah, I know it looks like a rather emo-ish plot (no offense intended to anyone), but I'd like this girl to be lively, despite the fact she is going to die.
You made me think. Wow. Ever since I read your post I was like, 'why? why? why?' to everything I came up with.
Thanks so much for the advice, and I might have to pluck that little idea from you ;D.

Chocoholic: Thanks bunchies!
I got the name Corliss from a babyname book I got from a thrift store. I found it and loved it. It was actually a last name I think. I love names that are uncommon.
I should tell my best friend to call me a few times a week and ask 'Did you write another page?'. She writes, so she won't think I've gone for a loop.
I've also just taped a quote to my computer. It says 'If a task is once begun, Never leave it till; it's done. Be the labor great or small, do it well or not at all'. I think I might be able to tackle this sucker.

Sunny: I like your little example reason there *is thinking of stealing*. Thanks!


And I did mean as in some illness. Can't decide which one yet.

I'm glad you guys think this is a fairly good idea. Or else I probably wouldn't do it. Can I go on record for giving you all a big piece of chocolate?

This is a really great idea.

And i agree with everyone else, she needs a reason. Off the top of my head, maybe she just wants to be remembered? She doesn't really have a lot of friends, and that maybe depresses her a little that when she's gone, hardly anyone is going to talk about her or visit her grave.

The thing with a plot like this is that it has the potential to be a really emotional story, so i think you have to be careful about how you present her emotions, and the emotions of the people around her. It needs to be realistic, but not depressing.

Good luck with the story.

Kadie is right about the emotions, you definitely have to be careful. Some questions you should ask yourself are: How do her parents feel about this? Is her lively behavior actually shortening her life? Is she going to tell all her new friends about this, or keep it from them for fear of depressing them?

Just finding answers to those questions opens up huge possibilities to making your story more real. Especially is it isn't all sunshine and lollypops and there is the conflict of the people who know she's sick thinking she's just setting herself up for disappointment or some similar less than positive feeling about her behavior.

Other question: Is there any romance? And how is she going to get all these friends? Maybe she'll have a competition, maybe she'll go around sending cards, if she's trying to make a lot of friends, she'll have to have a pretty out there plan.

And lastly, killing her. She is dying, and no doubt you're going to have to chose how long she has to live, which will be part of her motivation for making so many friends fast. But when she's made all these friends, will you kill her at the end? Will we see how these people react to her death? Or will she be hospitalized and wake up surrounded by more friends than her room can hold because they pressured the nursing staff and let the reader be content knowing she is happy?

Definitely think about that last one, because the end of a story like yours can be the one that makes it a story people will be touched to have read, one one they'll avoid because they feel like they were led along in search of a happy ending and didn't find one.

(Again, all ideas I suggest to you are up for grabs, I doubt I'll ever be writing a story about someone dying =P)

^_^ Good luck!

http://hollylisle.com/fm/Workshops/plot-outline1.html

I read this little mini-guide and it if you follow it I'm sure it will help you with keeping your plot interesting for readers.