Young Writers Society

The basic premise: Chuck is a young god sent to Earth to do a research mission. If he succeeds in this mission, he will be granted the powers of an adult god. All is dandy until a secret is discovered, and Chuck's mission takes on a whole new dimension. Meanwhile, high school drama ensues.

The characters:

Ashton is the main character. Chuck has chosen him to help with his work. He is often sarcastic and is not good at paying attention to things. He is also a bit of an outcast.

Chuck is innocent and naive. To avoid turning him into a Mary Sue, I'm making him socially awkward and he has difficulty holding a conversation with people.

Ursula is from the popular clique, and she is constantly in-and-out with her frenemies. She is rather matter-of-fact.


I'm having trouble with the antagonist here-she only has two scenes, both of which portray her as the Uberbitch from Bitchenville, Bitchland Hence she is a very poorly-developed villain. I'm trying to change that. What should I do with her?

So what do you think? How would you go about writing this idea? Any suggestions are welcome!

Interesting idea. It sounds like it might end up in the Romance fic section though.

How about instead of stereotyping the 'villain' as being a popular bitch (which you have overly-emphasised), maybe give a reason behind her poor attitude. She could be a victim of something that made her like this. Develop their characters more. Give them depth.

The mission hasn't been explained clearly. But I'll just sit back and watch the action unfold before my eyes

~Have an awesome day!

Building on Meep's idea, perhaps have her come around towards the end, maybe even help them out while they move on with the overall plot arc, which is, of course, the god. I've got a feeling Ursula (sea witch!) has something to do with Chuck's problems, but perhaps you can have another problem happening in the story and Ursula can help them fix...? Maybe?

*shrugs* I don't know. Meep's idea of giving her a reason for her attitude was brilliant for character development of villains. In the end, don't write the hero as a hero or the villain as a villain, write them as people with flaws and virtues. More often than not, the flaws and virtues is applied to the hero, while the villain remains all-or-mostly bad. A great story can be turned around -- told from the villain's point of view as if they were a hero.

Jack and the beanstalk: take the Giant's P.O.V. A stranger breaks into his house, eats his dinner, and steals, not only bags of gold, but his most prized, loved, and treasured item -- a singing harp. Not only that, but his wife helps the stranger in his thievery and getaway. Can you imagine what life must be life for him, that his wife would jump at the opportunity to help a stranger steal a precious item from him? In the end, when he gives chase to the thief (a reasonable reaction, given the circumstances), he's killed.

Sad ending, but you see how suddenly Jack becomes the bad guy? Pretend you don't know any of his story, you don't have his point of view. Maybe he perceives the giant as cruel and deserving, but we don't know that, because he's the villain, and we're looking through the hero's eyes. Even while the harp is screaming for its master, the giant, to save it, Jack continues to run away with it. Surely that can only do more to point him as the villain?

Treat Ursula as though she were the giant. What's the story like from her point of view?

Also, the idea of the popular kid being the bad guy and the geeky outcast being the good guy is very close to cliche, if not already there. Tread carefully, or choose a different path altogether.

Maybe the villain could be another child God, and he and Chuck are competing for the same privilege of powers, and only one can get it. And the other god could like playing dirty. Does that work?