Young Writers Society

Haha, so that's my working title for this comedy serial story (only half a joke). I decided to focus on something lighthearted, unserious, and ridiculous to ease back into writing, so here we are. It's not meant to be really taken seriously, plot/story-wise (it's probably gonna be a bit of a train wreck anyways, lol). I'm going to work hard to write something that's funny to at least some extent and not annoying.

- serial format
- not romance
- playing around with as many bad story tropes as I can think of

Goal: Finish writing at least one half of Season 1 (so probably 5-ish episodes).

PlanMo and more to come later!

Love the idea! The title also made me smile Humor is a good challenge when you're writing about something that's fun to you - best of luck!

I love this vibe! Writing's so much better if you enjoy what you're writing about and I can't wait to read these updates!

Thank you all!! That’s a real confidence booster

Elevator Pitch

In her totally normal life, sixteen-year-old Aynnhailleah (obviously pronounced “Annalee”) Angel Astrid has it all: a loving family (including her father, the founder and CEO of international Astrid Corporation), otherworldly looks, and a wide variety of talents, just to name a few things. At Kennard Academy, the independent school for raising up the continent of Elmere’s brightest future leaders, she is at the top of her class (on top of having skipped a grade) and she’s practically the best at everything.

Her world is shaken upside down when she discovers that she has legendary powers that could affect all of Elmere and a mysterious new boy named Jhémes (of course, this is pronounced “James”) Blake joins her class. Not only does he start to threaten her spot as the absolute best at everything, he accuses her of being a Mary Sue. Angel is determined to prove that she’s not what Jhémes claims she is, beat him at his own game, and somehow get back to living her best, totally normal life.

Character Tweets

Angel: Heyyyyy! This is my first time on social media so I hope I get it right *inserts cute picture of herself winking and throwing up a peace sign (she got such a good one on her first take)*

Jhémes: *apparently does not have social media but actually has a secret lurker account*

Bryony: hihi what’s up

Not only does he start to threaten her spot as the absolute best at everything, he accuses her of being a Mary Sue.

I’m dead XDD
And not the super fancy names being pronounced totally normally :skull: This is fabulous <333

Character Motivations/Goals

It’s hard to say that Angel has any real motivation or goal before the inciting incidents of the story, because I kind of made her have ultra-flat characteristics. But once that stuff goes down, her main goal is to compete with Jhémes and prove that she’s not a Mary Sue. Achieving this will just make her feel secure in her identity again, because she starts to question many facets of her life due to what he said (and continues to remind her of). Also, a little ways into the story, she challenges Jhémes: whoever is right on the Mary Sue debate wins and the loser has to leave the school. She struggles with her goal because she still wants to be the best at everything, but she feels that she would be a Mary Sue with all those combined traits. It’s also a bit of a problem because her counter-Mary Sue quest is consuming her life without her realizing it.

A secondary goal is to fulfill her destiny as the bearer of the legendary powers as all sorts of weird and dangerous stuff is thrown at her. (I’m still working this one out right now.)

Story arc

In terms of story arc, the general type would probably be “character development.” That might happen very slowly, though, because I think in the episode-to-episode story, events just happen, so it may not always heavily emphasize character development. I have been thinking about where I want the story to go, and I imagine Angel (and maybe Jhémes) will become a better person by the end. There’s going to be a lot of big and small conflicts along the way.

In some ways, it’s also a bit of a typical coming-of-age story?

The Stakes

The stakes of this story are Angel’s challenge against Jhémes, possibly having to bear the shame of being called a Mary Sue for the rest of her existence, and whatever dark stuff is brewing in the background. (The stakes for me are actually writing something funny, lol.)

Most challenging character

My most difficult character to write is probably Jhémes. The thing is, he’s going to be doing a lot of unlikeable and rude things, but I don’t want it to be to the point that it’s too frustrating to read him in any scene. So I think I need to figure out how to balance the things he does/says with comedic elements to make it better. I just need to be more careful and sensitive writing him.

Question & answer

1. What are some bad story/character tropes that you think aren’t discussed enough?
2. What are your most effective strategies for outlining your story (or writing as you go)?

Extra Challenge: Song

This is more of a motivational song, but in some ways it could eventually fit Angel.

Character & Location List

Characters:
Team Verity:
Angel Astrid
Jhémes Blake
Bryony Peters (Angel’s BFF)
[Boy—name unconfirmed]
[Boy—name unconfirmed]

Team Scorpion—names and number unconfirmed

Kennard Academy Instructors:
Headmaster Arlov
Ms. Smith (geography teacher)
[Counselor—name unconfirmed]
[More teachers]

Angel’s Family:
Kenneth Astrid (Father)
Rose Astrid (Mother)
Ander Astrid (Older Brother)

Jhémes’s Family:
[Father—name unconfirmed]
Liliabelle Blake (Younger Sister)


Locations in the continent of Elmere:
Kennard Academy (on a central mountain, unaffiliated with any nation)
The Republic of Shores (Angel’s home country)
—Astraea (Angel’s hometown, one of Shores’s largest cities)
The Kingdom of Plains
The Kingdom of Peaks
The Kingdom of Woods
(Large cities not created yet)