Menewsha Avatar Community

Menewsha Avatar Community (https://www.menewsha.com/forum/index.php)
-   Writer's Conference (https://www.menewsha.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=95)
-   -   Need help with a story line. (https://www.menewsha.com/forum/showthread.php?t=158649)

McNugget 04-12-2010 07:08 AM

Need help with a story line.
 
O.k. So there's this extra manga I've been thinking of doing (outside of work), but I can't seem to think how to work with the little bit of a story line I have created.I'm trying to go with an action/adenture type theme. Here's what I have so far : A demon child meets up with an average highschool student, and they become friends. The demon looks to them for shelter to stay hidden from some big scary guys that are trying to capture him, and hopes the student can help them. That's only a little bit of what I got, but I'm just trying to figure out where the demon child comes from. I was thinking maybe that he time travels, or maybe he comes from another dimension. Any one got anything more creative they would like to share? Please and thank you. ;)

SugarRos 04-12-2010 06:44 PM

Okay, saw this post earlier, but I was working, so I'm tackling it now!

Honestly, your plot and story line is way too vague right now to ask for other's specific ideas and oppinions on. There are some questions to ask yourself specifically about your plot and your characters first. You need to flush it out a little.

First of all, you said this was a manga, so I'm guessing the story is based in Japan? If it is I strongly suggest changing the setting to one you're originally from (for example, I'm from America, and if I were to write about someones life somewhere, it would probably be here [funny enough, I only write Science Fiction, so I create my own worlds in general]). Writing about natives in other countries is EXTREMELY difficult without proper research.

That being said, I think your plot would work very well in any sort of setting. I'm going to assume you're American (excuse me if I'm wrong), and I think writing about a student in america who stubles across a demon and they become friends is an extremely interesting plot. I think you'd have more fun writing it too (research is HARD).

Anyway, a few things to figure out first:

-Setting: Where is the school located? Is most of your story going to be placed in the school? At the students home/town area? At a completely different setting all together (maybe where the demon ends up being from)?

-Purpose: There has to be a REASON why the demon popped up into your main character's life. Why is that reason? Does the deamon know himself? Does your human character know? Even if nobody in the story knows, YOU Have to know. Remember, you can't think like a reader anymore. You have to know the information and control what the reader sees and when the reader sees it. So why is he there? Was he banned from his world/dimention? Was he sent on a mission of some sort? Or did the human call him over? You should come up with at least seven to ten ideas and pick which you like best.

-OMG MAJOR PROBLEM!!!: You need something for your characters to overcome. Whether it be mental or physical, your characters need something to fight against (note that 'fight against' isn't necessarily an evil bad guy) or to reach for. Maybe it's not even something remotely purely evil in nature. Maybe the demon helps the human become very popular, or good at school, or extremely physically fit (or all those things)! Maybe the demon helps him battle against other kids in his school who are against the human character in one way or another.

If I've overloaded you I'm sorry, but as you can see, no one can really answer your question at the moment. It's too broad, you need to narrow it down and figure out many aspects of your plots and characters.

It's never really a good idea to plunge ahead into a story without knowing at least a LITTLE bit about it, and I'm not just talking about a basic one-liner. You kneed a structure first, otherwise you run the risk of finding yourself at a block you can't get past, or you get bored and throw your project out and never complete it.

Let me know if I can help you in any way. I really enjoy discussing story and plot, so if you want to hash it out a little I would love to talk about it with you. :)

McNugget 04-12-2010 08:13 PM

O.k. Well, I do have more to the story. And I would like to talk more about it. But my English is a bit limited. I just wanted to give people a basic, short idea of my plot, and hope they help me a little with ideas. I'm originally from Ichiwaka Japan, so it's most likely I will have the setting mostly in that area. Maybe send me a private message and we can discuss more?


All times are GMT. The time now is 12:33 PM.