Young Writers Society

In one of the 'novels' I've slowly been working on a realization just hit me. It's really, really similar to Twilight. There aren't any vampires or anything like that but I think plot wise it's basically the same.
The protagonist is a girl named Madison. The summer before her freshman year of high school she goes to this artist's academy/camp in San Francisco, (She's from Long Beach). She's really shy and not that confident. Her very first day there she meets this guy named Alekzander and he's really attractive and amazing. Madison is all shy and what not around him but as the summer progresses they become closer even though he's off limits because he's one of the camp mentors and four years older than her. He ends up breaking her heart and she goes back to Long Beach at the end of the summer really upset.
Her friends are suspicious. They know who Alekzander is and everything but they don't know he broke Madison's heart and they want to know why she's all depressed all of the sudden. As they start their freshman year Madison meets Alex and he's really nice and everything but Madison is kind of weird around him because he reminds her of Alekzander because of the names. Finally by the end of the year and a couple of letters from Alekzander trying to apologize and some panic attacks later, Madison tells everyone what happened with her and Alekzander.
That summer she goes back to the academy in San Fran, Alekzander isn't there this time and she becomes more of a rebel with this guy named Carter. She dyes her hair and la-di-da. At the end of the summer when everyone presents their portfolios Alekzander shows up and they see each other but don't talk.
So now Madison is a sophomore and she's still kind of depressed/upset about Alekzander and Alex is trying to help, he's just a really good friend. The two of them, (Alekzander and Madison) continue to write letters sometimes and towards the middle of the year he comes back and the two of them work everything out. Her friends and parents don't really like him because of what he did to her though. They become more and more close and they begin dating. Alekzander tells Madison about this opportunity to go to Italy and paint for seven weeks this summer and she accepts.
They go to Italy and it's amazing and beautiful and they fall in love and everything is peachy. When they get back Alekzander has to go back to school in New York and they try to keep dating but they eventually break up. Madison seeks comfort in Alex, they become close and begin dating for the rest of the year. The same cycle happens again and then Alex gives her an ultimatum, she has to choose, once and for all between him and Alekzander. If she chose Alex and then decided she actually wanted Alekzander, Alekzander would take her back but Alex would never date her again, they would just be friends and if she chose Alekzander and then decided she actually wanted Alex, he wouldn't date her, they would just be friends.
She chose Alekzander and then Alekzander decided to take classes online so he didn't have to go back to New York for his and Madison's senior years.
(This isn't one book, it's going to be multiple )

So isn't that really similar to Twilight? Madison as Bella, Alekzander as Edward, and Alex and Jacob?

What do I do?

-Carly

Develop your characters. Might sound silly, but the characters in Twilight are, in my opinion, largely flat and archetypal. If you put the effort into developing your characters, they will turn out much more vibrant and grow their own differences. A lot of times characters start archetypal and by developing them, they become characters. If the story is still in the beginning stages, you could always go back to the drawing board and do some character and plot work. I would suggest getting to know your characters really well and getting them to tell you about their past and personalities so they can flaunt those quirks and character traits the more you write. Good luck!

DON'T CHANGE THE PLOT.
I like it. I'd want to read a book like this.
But I agree with Writer. The charcters are the things that make a story, not the plot - if that makes sense. Just a little Durriedogidum wisdom/stupidity.

Alekzander? :]
That's quite a name.
Flesh out the characters. Like WD said, Meyer's characters are very two-demensional. Even if your plot is kinda cliched, the characters are what makes it in the end.
Good luck.

I remember reading some of the chapters of your story. I say, do not change the plot. There will always be similarities someone's work will have to another person's. It's inevitable.

"Twilight" and your story are love stories, and it's really hard to write a unique love story; the characters have to meet and fall in love, they inevitably encounter some obstacle, and are either reunited or separated at the end. The best thing you can do to make it yours is to write with your gut and not with your head. Let your characters become real to you and let them lead you rather than you leading them. Add a lot of details, particularly a lot which are personal to you (e.g things which you have seen/felt/experienced) and that will help you make it yours. It doesn't have to be you, but if your characters are visiting somewhere you yourself have been it will make it more yours and more alive. That's what I'd do anyway! Ultimately I'd just try and get the whole thing written and then worry about similarities to other things, because editing while writing can be a bit of a black hole...I think maybe this is your Doubt/Inner Critic or whatever you want to call it trying to stop you from completing your project, so try to silence it and keep going! Good luck!:)

I agree with all the previous reviewers, but unlike Jasmine, I think you have to lead your characters... at least at first. When first creating a character, they're timid and don't instantly want to tell you everything. You have to coax them out of their shell before getting them to talk to you. And if you start to hear voices, don't panic! Those voices are your characters, finally opening up to you at sometimes the most random points in the day, simply testing to see if you care enough about them to stop what you were doing and pay attention to them. Eventually they WILL lead you.
Now, I understand that you may think I'm really crazy, but trust me, it works! Characters in a novel ARE like children -- they need to be loved before they love you back!
I'd love to read your story, so keep working and make your characters come to life, unlike Twilight, where they characters' are flat as a board. This story can go far, so long as you don't abandon your characters simply because of the fear of sounding like someone else. It's your story, your characters, your chance to create their futures. Keep trucking through it, and PM when you post some of your story! Good luck and hope this helped!

Like my creative writing teacher says "the best writers are the best thieves." In a way, he is right. I mean, how many people have never read a book and been inspired by it, and end up writing something similar? I don't think it sounds like it at all. I mean, Twilight is such a cliche story, it's just the vampire/wolves thing that makes it different. I think your stories fine! Don't change it.