Young Writers Society

I'm writing about angels but I need a little help with their history.

You're going to have to be more specific in terms of "angels".

There are Jewish angels, Christian angels, and Islamic angels. All of which have very different mythologies, and very different uses in their respective religions. You also have new age angels, who are a patchwork of everything mixed in with the love and "good energy" of the new age movement.

Also, what about angels do you want help with?

As Rosey said, they vary from religion to religion, but one factor is constant: they cannot be messed with. Angels in the Christian Bible greet humans with the phrase "Do not be afraid" for a very good reason.

Are you writing from a non-fiction perspective? Because if it's fiction, you can storm Google for the main stuff and make up the rest.

Keeping them reasonably traditional will help your readers connect to them, but don't be afraid to add your own twist. It makes things a little more interesting and who knows, some day your version of them might become the traditional interpretation.

Not to repeat what others said in case you're asking for already existing angels, but if you're looking for help to write about angels you made up, or from a religion in your novel which has nothing to do with any of the real world's religions, there are other things you need to consider.

For example, why are they there or what's their purpose, what do they look like, talk like, think like...
As for history, it's a very broad thing in any case. Do you mean history of the species, from their creation till today/their fall/whatever, or history of individuals? In many cases individuals wouldn't have much knowledge of the history of the entire race/world, simply because not everyone can be in the spotlight - on that note, if you're writing about already existing angels, they weren't all at the same places at the same times either. Which one(s) precisely are you asking about?

There's a very useful site called Google that can help you do a little bit of research on your own and maybe focus your question(s). As everyone already pointed out "angels" encompasses a huge field of mythology, legends and fiction so you have to be more specific. Also why don't you tell us more about your story. Why angels? What about angels? In what kind of world will they exist in? What other creatures? Who are they friendly with? Hostile to? What do they want? What's their view of the world? Consider things like that to focus your backstory. And how much about them and their history will be revealed? You will still have to think of the entirety of their history within your world but also consider how much of it will need to be shown.

Thanks for all your help! And I'm new to the writing business but here is sort of the plot for my book.
A highschool girl grew up like everyone else and has two best friends but one day something happens that she can't quit explain, the main character goes through a series of changes then finds out her friend/ (maybe crush) is an angel, to be more specific he's her guardian angel and she is the key between a war of good angels and bad but when a new unexpected person comes into her life she's force to find out if the ''bad'' angels are really that bad and if the stranger is worth giving up everything for.

Okay so now if anyone has anything else they can think I can fit into the story line please share!

Thanks so Much!

A highschool girl grew up like everyone else and has two best friends but one day something happens that she can't quit explain, the main character goes through a series of changes then finds out her friend/ (maybe crush) is an angel, to be more specific he's her guardian angel and she is the key between a war of good angels and bad but when a new unexpected person comes into her life she's force to find out if the ''bad'' angels are really that bad and if the stranger is worth giving up everything for.

I've got some questions to help you flesh out your plot a bit.
First off, has there been any signs in her life before the changes to show that she's different? Usually when you read a fantasy book like this, there are signs that the MC is different, even if the MC doesn't see them as signs before they find out the truth. Hearing things, seeing things... It doesn't just happen in an instant, unless something happens to her to kick it into gear. Like Spiderman getting bit by the spider. What are these 'changes'? What kicks them into gear? Why is she the key to this war? Why are there bad angels? Are they still angels once they go rogue, or do they fall from Heaven? What powers do your angels have? Are they all powerful or are they like humans with wings? What exactly is this girl? Is she an angel? Maybe an angel that's gotten her memories erased so she doesn't remember she's an angel? What do you mean the 'if bad angels really that bad'? Are you suggesting that the 'good' angels are corrupt and the bad ones have just been called bad because the 'good' ones are in control? That could be interesting.

Spark gave you a fantastic list of questions to answer, and I'd strongly recommend answering them because they will help you with your plot. Answering questions about the story is a great way to learn the story more, and it's useful at any stage of learning how to write.

I'm looking at your story and going "okay, so we have the standard trappings of a supernatural romance YA". Which is just fine, but, like I said, standard.

You don't have to change it to get out of standard. All it takes is understanding what you're doing and putting little twists on it. Not necessarily big twists, but sometimes just very little things.

Your biggest tropes:

The unassuming everygirl

This is a very common heroic trope, and is usually played one of two ways. First way is this person is Special but doesn't know it, second way is this person is legitimately not special and ends up being special (the latter is what happened to Peter Parker. He was nothing special until the spider bite).

By far and wide the most common play on this trope is "they're special from the start but don't know it". You have a whole host of ways to make somebody special, including a long lost descendant/relative (Star Wars... more examples then I can name to be honest), part of something bigger than themselves (Orphan Black), some sort of special power (again, more examples than I can name)... the list goes on.

Some of these ways are more standard than others. Long lost descendant/relative is extremely common, to the point when somebody has unusual power and seems to be the keystone of a movement they should have no relation to, readers' first guess is they're related to somebody powerful.

Making a character special requires a certain amount of logic, and, in a sense, a certain amount of them not being special. What I mean by "not being special" is, there are more people involved than just them, more people or things with similar power, their life orchestrated perfectly so they really are the only person who can do this (but, of course, the people orchestrating knew what was going on), just something in general that gives them a reason to be the chosen one.

Also, how does she take to being the chosen one? The more heroes have feelings about being chosen, and the more they wrestle with it, the better off they are.

The male best friend/crush

Or, as most people see it, "one half of the love triangle that'll eventually crop up". One way or not making this standard is not making the person a crush, simply because everybody expects him to be the crush. Or, not having a love triangle with the mysterious stranger.

What makes him be her guardian angel? Does he really care for her, or not? Is this a job or something he actually enjoys? Make sure to characterize him so he's not just a pawn in the game who does what the plot requires but he actually has feelings for what he does, especially if the role is predetermined.

The mysterious stranger

My first thought was this mysterious person is a guy. Which is a pretty common thing, considering how much the bad boy who's secretly a nice person trope is. As in, it seems to show up in nearly every single supernatural fantasy story I've ever picked up.

You can make the mysterious person a girl. This doesn't rule out a love triangle, necessarily (bisexuality exists after all), but it would put a twist on it. Love triangle or not, be aware that the mysterious stranger who throws a wrench into everything is basically the most common supernatural fantasy trope.

Playing it straight means the person is indeed right and there are two good sides. Twisting it would be one side is bad (doesn't matter which— could be the mysterious person is right and the past known good side is bad), or even both. I once went and recommended a book series to everyone I knew because the dark and troubled but cute bad boyfriend ended up as an ex boyfriend and the major villain in the next book in the trilogy. Because it was different.

Figure out what throws the mysterious stranger in. There can be any number of reasons why the mysterious person comes in, from wanting to save the protagonist but realizing their side is wrong, wanting to save the protagonist but their side is right, wanting to lead the protagonist astray (side right/wrong applies as well; depends on how mysterious stranger sees it), or wanting to use the protagonist to achieve their own ends.

The takeaway for all this is characterize, characterize, characterize. Figure out why people are in the roles they're at, how they feel about those roles, how they play along (or don't) with those roles, and what twists you can put on the standard tropes. Standard tropes can still make an amazing story, and by setting up a solid world with cause, effect, and nuance, you can really get a good story out of it.

Don't worry about being new. Everybody starts somewhere. We can all learn and be amazing writers.