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Hi guys! I need some brainstorming help for my Camp NaNo project…
Let me break it down:
Hope, MC, is living in the wild with no one except a stray dog as a friend. She lives in a cabin in a valley, surrounded by cities full of hostile people (who are diseased). The cabin is strange–there are weird sounds in the attic, strange knocks on the walls, and whispers in Hope’s mind.
One day, when she goes out of the valley on a scouting trip, someone sees her and reports back to “head boss.” Hope is now in danger of being found, but she’s trapped, so all she can do is build defenses and hope for the best. Her hiding spot is so well hidden that she’s safe. But after the Wolfpack (the group of people hunting her) break into her house, find nothing, and leave, Hope is in for a surprise: the Wolfpack left behind a scout, who is not the kind of man they think he is. Instead of killing Hope, he covers for her. They gradually learn to trust each other.
At the end, she wakes up and realizes had a vision, and that the strange things in the cabin are happening in her bedroom. What happened in her “vision” world is about to happen in the real world. Hope has all the tools to stop it (the details in her vision), but she has to find out what everything means.
——
So right now I feel like there’s not enough to build off of. Every detail means something in her Vision World, but there really isn’t enough to make it a novel. So I was just hoping that some of y’all might help me come up with some ideas to help me build the story. They can be specific or vague, just something to help add depth to my story.
Also, the genre is thriller/mystery/dystopian.
So without further ado, i’ll tag some peeps:
@gracie-j, @devastate-lasting, @issawriter7, @mkfairygirl, @kayleigh-idea, @kathleenramm, @scoutfinch180, @writerlexi1216, @abigail-m, @wyn-rose, @everyone-else
Thank you!!!!
what we do in life echoes in eternity
-gladiator, 2000- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
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@nova21 Oy… First of all, this sounds FANTASTIC. Second of all, I have no idea! You have so much great potential, and it sounds like you have a really good basis.
I may not be understanding everything correctly, but here are some ideas:
- Maybe Hope isn’t able to fix/stop something, which makes her reality different from her vision world, so then she really doesn’t know how to stop everything.
- The dream ended abruptly, so she doesn’t actually know how things end…so maybe if she let reality play out, she’d live happily ever after…and if she tries to change things, it’ll only be worse. Make sense?
- Her dream is actually reality and her reality is actually a dream. (I just threw that in ‘cuz it sound crazy.)
- Something in reality is different than it was in the dream–like a person’s name or appearance–so she gets confused and (i.e.) trusts the enemy or doesn’t trust her only ally.
- ROMANCE (my answer to everything)
Anyway, maybe that helps? If there’s anything specific you’re looking for, let me know and I can brainstorm some more suggestions!
@gracie-j
Thank you so much for the compliment and the ideas!!! I love all of them, especially 4 & 5 (TOTALLY agree on five, lol).
I’m also trying to come up with ideas for the annoyingly murky middle… I have a pretty good idea of how to write the end (and you gave me even more–better–ideas!!), but I’m really struggling with adding more to the middle (i.e. subplots, more mystery, action, high stakes, etc). I appreciate your ideas SO much, thank you!!!
what we do in life echoes in eternity
-gladiator, 2000@nova21 Hmm… I had an idea! What if Hope’s real world days keep repeating (like, whenever she wakes up it’s the same day again) since she keeps doing things wrong? So that way, she has to figure out what to do right so she can stop the repeating days!
I dunno, just spitballing ideas. 😝
staring at the fields
if nothing's really real
i'll make the winter now my home@nova21 First, OH MY GOODNESS your story sounds so interesting! Definitely something I would read! 😀
I really like @gracie-j’s suggestions… Maybe the dream cut off at an important part and she misses some key information; then in her reality where the vision is repeating itself she won’t have this bit of information the vision cut off. There should be some big consequences if she isn’t able to complete this mission, which would raise the stakes because she didn’t get that important bit of info. And maybe the “vision world” and her real world are more connected somehow (maybe people she thought were friends in the real world are her enemies in the vision world)? I dunno, just a thought. 🙂
I'm a Kapeefer 'TIL WE'RE OLD AND GREY!
www.jennaterese.comTysm for responding! I love that idea, super awesome stuff. Especially since she has to figure out what the right thing to do is. That opens a lot of idea doors… 😀 (ooo, i should coin that term… LOL!)
Hi, thanks so much for your ideas!! I love the idea of cut-off information… and high stakes are my thing!
[quote quote=96738]And maybe the “vision world” and her real world are more connected somehow (maybe people she thought were friends in the real world are her enemies in the vision world)?[/quote]
That’s exactly what i want to do! great minds think alike, haha 😜
what we do in life echoes in eternity
-gladiator, 2000Hmm, I’m not the best brainstormer, (just a warning XD ), but maybe there is something in Hope’s vision world, like an object or a person or an event that is there. But in her reality, she doesn’t see it at all which is strange because of how it felt like it definitely should have been there like it was in the vision, (and maybe it is there anyway. As if it was a person she wouldn’t have expected it to be or the object is well hidden, perhaps a shape in the land that you can’t see unless you’re really high up).
…So anyway, that’s just an idea, I hope it made sense:)
- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
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@nova21 You’re welcome! Whew! I’m so glad that helps!!! Thank you! Let us know what you decide! I absolutely love the sound of this already!!!
@nova21 ELLA this sounds FANTASTIC!!!!! I would read that in a heartbeat!!!!
* puts my thinking cap on *
Okay now. Let me think.
So I’m kinda getting some romance vibes between the Wolfpack Scout dude and Hope ;))))) That might spice things up if you’re not already going that route.
I think the vision/dream shouldn’t line up exactly with what happens for repetition’s sake. Maybe the dog wakes her up at the most important part.
–ORRRR maybe the dream only comes to her in pieces!! So one night, she dreams part of this weird dream, wakes up, and that happens the next morning! That could elongate it some.
I think the dog should play an important role. Somehow. Idk, but dogs have a really soft spot in my heart XD
Maybe go into why she’s alone, if she has relatives, where they are, etc? That could be interesting (especially if her dad is the leader of the Wolfpack gang or something….:D) and it could also add length!
Hope that helps!!! Good luck on your story and God bless!!!
"It's easy to be caught up in stardust and whispers when reality is so dark and loud."
@nova21 Maybe…not only what she does in the Vision World affects what happens in the real world, but eventually what she does in the real world affects what she does in the Vision World.
Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into daysYeah, that’s a great idea! She could have like this hunch that something’s missing… *thinks deep and complex thoughts* XD Maybe her friend in the vision could be her enemy in the real world? what do you think?
@gracie-j
Totally will!
Thank you!! I love the romance idea, totally doing that, LOL!! XD Yes, i totally agree with the dream and reality not lining up, that would be sooo boring… Hmm, you triggered some thoughts with the dog playing an important role… I think about that one 😉 Everything you said was super helpful, thx!
Ooo, wow, that’s a fascinating concept… I love that!! One part of my story is that the mom is outside her door (in reality) knocking and talking to Hope, but in the vision, she only hears taps and distorted words. It happens every day at the same time, so that could be the repeating day.
what we do in life echoes in eternity
-gladiator, 2000Ooh, I think that’d be an incredible plot twist!:D It definitely would be unexpected and add a ton of conflict! 😀
@nova21 Of course!! Glad I could help! 😀
"It's easy to be caught up in stardust and whispers when reality is so dark and loud."
Alright first off, apologies for my late response. Secondly, THIS STORY SOUNDS SOOOO AWESOME!!!!!! Third, I shall try my best to help, but I can’t say if it’ll be any good. (Aannnd I didn’t read everyone else’s thoughts so I might just be repeating them XD)
- I’m assuming there’s gonna some romance between Hope and the scout so first, have different scenes that lead up to them falling in love then throw in a bunch of complications (sorry for the vague idea)
- maybe in the dream there is something she has to find or tools she has to gather to save the day, so she might have to travel to some places to get them which would then result the Wolfpack chasing after her and setting the stakes up a bit higher, since she’s more at risk.
- have some close call scenes where the Wolfpack are close to getting her and she just narrowly escapes
- I really wanna put in something else but I’m terrible at brainstorming soooo I don’t know what else to say
I don’t know if any of that help. Sorry. But I wish you the best of luck with your story and am cheering you on as you start working on it!!! WOOHOO!! GOOO ELLA!!!! <333
God gives His hardest battles to His strongest soldiers.
TeenWritersNook.comAw, thanks! I love your ideas, especially point two… that gave me a bunch of ideas!! Super helpful, and thanks for the encouragement.
what we do in life echoes in eternity
-gladiator, 2000
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