Story Help and Advice Needed--RESOLVED
caffeinated.joy:
When I read this that was going to be pretty much the response I was going to give, base on my experience in participating in the contests here. :)
cypherathos:
I'm so sorry for this, but as a fantasy writer myself, this is what I can say to you.
Your teenage girl - medieval world - evil marotzi
Harry Potter - wizarding world - voldemort
The Pevensi Children - Narnia - the white witch
There's also The Seeker, but I don't know anything about it
See what I mean?
Advice though. You're idea's okay, because many people have done it already yet the readers still like it. But for them to LOVE it. Give a twist. There could be a war (which is what I do in my story, along with other twists), or some others. Or instead of making your protagonist a girl, why not make it a homosexual (also what I did in mine, and I have nothing bad against homos, i have many gay friends...)? You're writing a fantasy story. You're the goddess. You're in control. The possibilities are endless, as long as you have an open mind.
Hope I helped!
gazania:
You could also look at many manga/comic/anime/movie storylines with the same theme to see what works and what doesn't.
Actually, when you mentioned your idea, the first thing that came to my mind was Inuyasha. I really enjoyed this series, but there were some flaws in it. Here are some observations based on that anime and others with this theme about what worked and what didn't:
DON'T just have battle after battle. Make this girl YOUR character, as cypherathos suggested. The "fish out of water" angle is a good way to inject humor and/or drama into a story, and flesh out the character. She's thrust into a medieval-like world. What would she find abhorrent there, and what might she find appealing? Do a bit of research into this kind of culture, and then have fun with it!
DON'T just leave the story hanging at the end. Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Drama/Romance ... UGH, I find it an incredibly annoying turnoff.
BUT ... here is where I'm going to sound contradictory. If you choose not to tie up all the loose ends, throw us a bone and tie up just enough of them, leaving us with a tantalizing tidbit to mull on for the future. Although this doesn't exactly fit the teenage girl/save the world theme, I thought that the ending of Samuari Champloo was great. I won't give it away, but the author made all the right moves ... resolved it enough to satisfy the viewer, but left a door or two open just in case. And it seems like I wasn't the only one who thought so. In an anime magazine, that ending was listed among the best ones, in the editors' opinion.
DO continue, whether you get tons of readers or not. It takes a while for readers to get into a story, particularly a new storywriter's story. Don't be discouraged, and if you get the occasional boor who decides to put you down, don't listen to him or her, This story is inside you. Write it.
Good luck!
bamrd:
Thank you all for the suggestions. Wow, i didn't think anybody still read this...
Cypherathos, there are many twists and turns in the story line. I just didn't want to say too much because it might give too much away...But yeah, the main character I've been working on for ages (about 3 years) and i really hope the story is original with all i have put into it. However, the disadvantage of working on something for years but never writing it out is the fact that it gets so much like a grand-story that you keep wanting to change things, fix certain things (i.e. up until a few weeks ago I didn't realize that my main character was a total Mary-Sue and so i toned down her whole image so that she'd be believable) or have somethings so confusing that you can't write them down right at all. The main character is my 'baby' seeing as how she's where it all started. So, i have to say that the story might never be written or, if it is, it won't be a sims-story cuz I'm terrible at pictures and they just take too long for me. I suppose that, down the line, if i do write it all out, I might be able to find some wonderful person on a Sims 2 site that would get the pics for me if i do everything else.
Gazania, don't worry, when i write things out, i write the whole thing before posting anything because 1) i have a very short attention span 2) i hate it when people don't update in months because of running out of ideas and 3) i never want to be the kind of author who randomly says 'No one is reading my story!!!! I want to threaten to take it down so that you will comment on it!' I know that if you have a story you need to stick with it 'till the end or else you get a bad rep with your stories and you never get comments.
The story line has been altered a whole bunch too and i don't really know which way is the best way to tell the story to the public...but that is a whole other problem that i will deal with on my own.
So sorry if anybody was hoping for the story... That's another reason why didn't give too much detail. I wanted to be able to back out if i needed to without people wanting to know what happens... And it's why i rarely ever announce things I'm writing ahead of time (this was the first and pretty much the only time i have ever done that).
Thanks for all the tips and such, I'm still not sure if it will be out before Sims 3 (which I'm not getting for my own personal reasons) but if it is, i will see if i can get it out in a sims-story (as unlikely as it is...)
Thanks again for the advice!
cypherathos:
Wow. We actually are alike. I've been working with mine for two years now. I've finally written it (first book, its supposed to be a trilogy, chapter one is in anecdote assistance), but I really feel that there's still something I could add to it.
And please, if you ever did manage to write it, I want to read it. I'm a fantasy lover. (I am god of my own world).... Or you can tell me something about it, we may be able to help each other!
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