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Young Writers Society


Advice on my plot idea.



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Sun Mar 23, 2014 6:22 pm
jenchuu says...



Hello, everyone. I joined this site recently, and it seems rather interesting! I am a newbie writer, and I have been on and off with my creative writing for many years prior. This is because I am never able to pin down an idea I have in mind and determine if it is actually a good idea or not. So, I've come to this site to see if I could get some help.

I'm going to start of with this idea I've had in mind for a while, and see if I could possible get any advice on it. :D

This is only a brief summary:


In an alternate world similar to earth, there are people very alike and different to humans in many ways.
In this world, people are born with something they carry with them from birth (this is what I would like some advice on- What do you think they should have? Should it be an item? A tattoo of some sort?). This 'thing' determines their social class. The lower the social class (resulted of the 'thing' you are born with) the more likely you are to have some sort of animalistic mutation, i.e. scaly skin, abnormal ears, or some sort of disability. The higher the class, the more of a chance of you to have some sort of telepathic ability, i.e. (these are all very minor) mind reading, second sight, premonisions, or some other minor capability.

The story is centered around two character and all the friend they meet along the way. The first is a young boy, I'm thinking around 9, mabye older- what do you think? This boy is the lowest class. The lowest of the low. This type of child were rare. (Also, should he have a mutation? If so, what kind?)
The second character is an adult (still determining gender, advice?), mabye around 25 or older. I haven't really planned out this character backstory either, but I'm thinking she'll be around middle class, or mabye higher. This person finds the young boy in a horrible state, and helps him. The adult then discovers something odd about the young boy, which leads up to them both discovering something big about the world they live in.


I apologize for the lengthy excerpt. I also apologize for any spelling and grammar mistakes. I am in high school and I do not expect this idea to be perfect in any way- but I do enjoy creative writing when I can think of a good idea. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. :D
  





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Sun Mar 23, 2014 10:49 pm
GreenLight24 says...



Hi there. :) Don't worry. I got you on this one. ;D

First of all, I think you have a some pretty awesome ideas bouncing around here. I really like the whole premise of an "alternate world to earth" where the inhabitants are both very alike and very different from humans. What's really piqued my interest is what exactly you're trying to show with this novel or what exactly your central thesis is here. I think that figuring this out will greatly aid you in ironing out the plot details you've mentioned here.

What it seems to me is that you are presenting some sort of dystopian society where things seem to be perfect but have actually gone terribly wrong. Or maybe not. Maybe you wanna write something that forces a reader to think about human identity and what it means to be a human being. Maybe you want to explore the nuances of the human condition (choice, free will, dear, etc.) Or maybe you might even want to try to present a possible utopian universe where things have gone right. My point is, you should try to map out your goal for this novel before you start to think about the specific details. In other words, figure out all of the macro before figuring out all of the micro. This way, you can use the micro in order to further support and develop your macro. For instance, if you wanted to show the faults of a dystopian society where everyone is predestined to be of a certain social class, you are going to want to adjust the plot details and character traits in such a way that suggests that that type of society is no good. Perhaps you develop a character who challenges this status quo and seeks to find a purpose in life that conflicts with the society's standards. Or maybe you use characters to represent certain institutions which exist within this society. You could give them traits that help to communicate to the reader whether or not those institutions are beneficial. No matter what you choose to do here, make her that these details line up with and contribute to the central thesis of your narrative.

As a reference point for this work, I would recommend you read up on Aldous Huxley's novel, Brave New World. It basically presents a dystopian society in which people are genetically engineered, conditioned, and predestined to fit into a very rigid caste system. I would recommend you read the novel, but idk how much time you have on your hands. If you do read it though, try to look at how Huxley uses his plot details and characters to progress his central message, which criticizes capitalism, mass production, and rigid social structures. :) I hope this helps you out! :D
"My Wellspring of Wisdom told me so!"

-Victorique De Blois, Gosick.
  





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Thu Apr 17, 2014 11:18 pm
Lauren2010 says...



Hi Jenchuu!

You've got a lot of really great ideas to work with here! And awesome ideas are the most important thing to have when working with a novel. ^^ Since GreenLight focused a bit more on the philosophical side of things (what the story is going to mean to a reader) I'll look a bit at the more physical, worldbuilding type things.

Status Based Society
Social status/social class is a great way to create conflict within a world, but there obviously has to be good, believable reasons for the division. In the real world, this is most often based on wealth/family line (which is pretty much tied to wealth/prestige as well anyway).

As far as the "thing" they're born with, have you considered it being genetic? Those with the animal mutations could be shifted toward the bottom of the social ladder, for any number of reasons (prejudice, mutation preventing people from working regular jobs, the mutation being contagious in some way, etc). As with the magical abilities for the higher class, there has to be some rhyme and reason to how these things play out (a system of rules, if you will). They can't just *happen*!

Basics of the World
I don't know if you've thought more about this than you've shared here, but figuring out how this world works in general might help solve a lot of your problems. For example, how does the government of the focus nation work? Is it a democracy? Monarchy? Dictatorship? Are there other countries nearby? What are their governments? How do they relate to this society?

What kinds of jobs are valued? Does everyone work? Is it enough to support them? What happens to people without jobs? Is there a lot of poverty? How do homeless people live? Are there a lot of cities, or more spread out small towns? How do average people live?

It might be helpful to look up a worldbuilding worksheet online! There are loads of them, and ask a lot of really specific questions that can help you work out all the little intricacies of your world. Of course, you're totally allowed to skip anything irrelevant to your particular world/story.

Good luck!!
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