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Hey guys! Before I tell you my problemo, I’ll fill you in on the story first. Here’s They Came At Night’s synopsis:
24 miles off the Island of Camino, a commercial airline goes down in the Pacific. Only one passenger survives.
Dylan, an orphan-turned-foster child, was living with his uncle when he got the chance of a lifetime: travel to the ideal vacation destination, Camino, to fulfill his dream of fighting in a MMA tournament. It’s the chance of his dreams, but it all goes terribly wrong when his plane crashes and he’s stranded alone on the ocean, fighting to stay alive.
Drifting in and out of reality, Dylan wakes up on a beach with two strange girls standing over him. This island isn’t Camino——in fact, it’s the opposite of the lush, high-end place. And as it turns out, the girls aren’t the only inhabitants. This island is a clock-work mechanism, with each member doing their job to keep it in order. But after Dylan’s appearance, disastrous events begin to happen on the island. Inexplicable and far too coincidental, the inhabitants begin to turn hostile.
Soon, Dylan is not only trying to get home, but fighting for his life.Idea: Dylan’s arc is basically going from his mindset that he can’t be loved to realizing that he can.
Conundrum: Right now, I have my whole book plotted and I’m working on plotting on the next one so I can have the big picture. But in the first book, I want to be able to give some sense of satisfaction to the reader about Dylan’s character arc, but I want him to be constantly struggling with this lie. But if that just doesn’t work, would it be better to give him a new/slightly related problem? I’m just not sure.
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what we do in life echoes in eternity
-gladiator, 2000Thanks for the tag! In my opinion, you should have one character arc for each book. That doesn’t mean your character has to be perfect in that area after the story, but the arc should be resolved by the end as it’s more satisfying. I hope that helps!
well i like it!! the idea is very cool and sounds like you have an amazing story in the making!
I’d say you could probably continue his lie through the series as long as you have a way for it to be easily triggered, and words can do that. If he believes/believed he’s unloved, there would be insecurity. When people are insecure, comments and words that are not meant to be insulting or mean or sarcastic can be twisted in their mind to make them feel like they’re unloved and unwanted, and body language and expressions can also be misread. It can be very crippling.
As far as new problem, you could also give him trust issues and when someone hurts him it makes him revert to his old problem of feeling worthless? Sorry if I’m not being helpful XD
I'm 'a homeschooler' because cookie-making writing artistic animal-whisperer isn't a job title
@nova21 First off, can I just say I love that idea for a story??? I would totally read that!!
A few weeks ago, I actually had an idea come to me about ending book one and starting book two. It’s like doing a gradient in painting. You want each book to have it’s own color, but the end of book one needs to be blending into the ‘color’ of book two, and the beginning of book two needs to be bringing the ‘color’ of book one into it. Does that make sense?
That being said, I personally think it’s slightly cheesy when I start the next book or movie (Frozen II comes to mind right now XD) and there’s suddenly a lot of drama with a side plot that wasn’t there before and feels unplanned. So be careful adding in a new/slightly related problem, or make sure it weaves into the first book right.
Maybe, if you wanna give off a sense of satisfaction, make him realise it’s okay to love/like/trust others, and then in book two make him realise it’s okay for others to love/like/trust him? Or do a totally separate character arc for both books, with his overall character arc working through both novels? Idkkk XD If this is confusing just tell me loll.
Good luck!
"It's easy to be caught up in stardust and whispers when reality is so dark and loud."
- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
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@nova21 I LOVE THIS IDEA!
Noooowwww, I would give you my advice, BUT Elfwing has already said everything I wanted to say!!!
Maybe during the course of the series there could be a goal he’s striving to achieve. I know it’s getting home, but will the getting home stretch over the whole thing, or just one book? If it’s a single book, then maybe give him a larger goal, like to find the meaning of what it’s like to know you’re loved, but make it a development that lasts a while. If he gets home by the end of the first book, shift the goal from what it’s like to be loved, to what it’s like to maintain this reassurance, or something like that. But have him reach a smaller goal each book to give that sense of satisfaction.
An over-all goal is extremely helpful, as it gives the readers a question that can be solved to look to. Like in the Percy Jackson books, how (I’ll try not to spoil anything) Kronos was the big picture goal, but there were little adventures along the way through the books that helped develop the characters to get to that goal in the end.
Hope that was helpful in the slightest, thanks for the tag!
I don’t really have any ideas, but it looks like other people do. 😛 So–as I am not feeling in a creative/helpful mood at the moment–I’ll just say that it does sound like a really interesting story. Keep it up! 🙂
@gracie-j whoops! sorry lol
I'm 'a homeschooler' because cookie-making writing artistic animal-whisperer isn't a job title
@nova21 I like this idea! Unfortunately I never plot out my character arcs so I can’t help you with that. Best of luck, though. I believe one time someone told me that an overarching theme for a series + individual themes for each book is good, so I think that could work the same with arcs. Maybe for the next book focus on something more plot-driven rather than character-driven?
Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into days- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
- Total Posts: 1789
@elfwing Haha, don’t be!
Hey Kayleigh!! Of course! That’s a great idea, I definitely get wanting that feeling of satisfaction. 🙂
Hey Elfwing! Thanks!! Oh I totally get that!! That’s an awesome idea, thanks for the advice!
Hey Daisy! Aw, thanks!! That’s super helpful, especially the part about realizing that he can love and be loved!
@gracie-j
Hey Gracie! Haha, that’s cool. It is very good advice… 😉
Hey Anatra! Ooo, I love that idea!! Super creative, and yes, I’ve read Percy Jackson, so that brings up some new ideas… Thanks!
Hey Molly! Haha, that’s totally relatable. Thank you for the kind words!
Hey Lin! Hmmm, I didn’t think of that. *ponders deeply for two seconds* I’ll do it! 🙂
what we do in life echoes in eternity
-gladiator, 2000- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
- Total Posts: 1789
@nova21 Haha, thank you! XD
You’re welcome! 🙂 the story sounds so intriguing, and I’m sure it’ll be epic, whatever you decide!
I'm 'a homeschooler' because cookie-making writing artistic animal-whisperer isn't a job title
@nova21 Ay, good luck! Glad I could be of use.
Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into days
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