Ideas, Cherry Soda Bottles, and Time Warping Inspiration, ETC

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  • #83157
    Alien and Sojourner in a Foreign Land
    @william-starkey
      • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
      • Total Posts: 634

      @selah-chelyah @kathleenramm @devastate-lasting @michelle @allisongrace @millenium @everybody-anybody-and-nobody-continuous

      Hullo, good morning, please come for afternoon tea, and all that!

      Okay, so recently I’ve gathered some ideas for a potential novel and I was wondering if anyone wanted to chip in with any ideas for the book. Just anything, really, nothing serious or big (though if you want to, you can absolutely think up some GREAT ideas; I’ll add you to my Acknowledgements page if it ever gets published XD).

      And yes, for your information, it does include cherry soda bottles.

      So what I’m thinking includes these main themes/ideas/whathaveyou: time-travel (though actually, time warping better fits the description), some fantasy, set in the real world, something like N.D. Wilson but totally different, the main character thinks way too highly of himself, he’s practically a genius, something with crazy “educational” places for disabled, insane, etc kinds of people — he’s being sent to these places by his so-called parents who may or may not be there. Things like this.

      I’ve got a lot figured out about the time-travel, so no worries about how it generally works. Just other ideas for it and the like.

      There’s a sense of mystery, fantasy, thrilling, unknown, eventually centered around Montana, though I’ll be moving in and out of various places around the world.

      And cherry soda bottles may or may not be included. Wait, did I already mention that?

      REMEMBER: All I need are general ideas, and obviously you don’t have to spend time on this if you don’t want to. 🙂

      Oh: if anyone does happen to put in some great ideas or ideas anyroad, I’ll most likely end up adding them into the Acknowledgements page (if it ever gets published) if those certain people would like it.

      #83159
      Alien and Sojourner in a Foreign Land
      @william-starkey
        • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
        • Total Posts: 634

        Oh, yes: I’ve already written some basic beginning content for the first chapter, but I might end up scrapping that. It’s very short at the moment: only around 1,501 words, but I just started, and I know it’ll get a lot larger than that.

        I’m looking to make this thing around 400 to 500 to 3 and a half hundred (*what?*) pages long, but I don’t know right now. I’m still working on the main elements and that sort of stuff.

        I also am not setting this as a priority writing plan or anything, just stuff in my free time, which can mean anything. XD

        #83160
        Linyang Zhang
        @devastate-lasting
          • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
          • Total Posts: 1700

          @leon-fleming I absolutely love time travel! There are so may different ways to incorporate it…

          Before I can give any ideas, first I must ask: How does he time travel? By cherry soda bottle? By machine? Ability? Magic? Inexplicable events? How often can he time travel? Forward or back? Etc?

          And if cherry soda bottles aren’t part of how he travels, how do they come in? Or are they just random aesthetic sort of thing?

          (I’ve never actually had cherry soda before…is it good?)

          Lately, it's been on my brain
          Would you mind letting me know
          If hours don't turn into days

          #83163
          Alien and Sojourner in a Foreign Land
          @william-starkey
            • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
            • Total Posts: 634

            @devastate-lasting Yes, time travel can be quite exquisite! This idea will be quite different from ones such as Back to the Future, the Endgame time travel, and things like that.

            XD Nope, not EXACTLY by cherry soda bottles. XD Not by machine or anything like magic, either. The events may seem inexplicable to other characters, but they make perfect sense to himself and his benefactor.

            There is never a limit on where or how often he can time travel. He can time travel anywhere, to anyplace, to any time, etc.

            XD Oh, yes, the cherry soda bottles. Those are one of the eccentric elements in the book; they don’t really make sense, but you’ll find out about them more later.

            (Yes, I’m sure it’s good. After all, if prune soda is good, how can cherry soda not be good? XD I mean, I’ve tried cherry Dr Pepper and cherry Coke before [maybe a few others], but not straight up cherry soda. Sounds good, though; I love cherries.)

            #83168
            Linyang Zhang
            @devastate-lasting
              • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
              • Total Posts: 1700

              @leon-fleming Gotcha. So, what area of ideas are you looking for? Plot? Character? Something else?

              Lately, it's been on my brain
              Would you mind letting me know
              If hours don't turn into days

              #83169
              Alien and Sojourner in a Foreign Land
              @william-starkey
                • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
                • Total Posts: 634

                @devastate-lasting Yeah, something like that. General ideas about anything concerning the topics presented, additional ideas for how things could work, plot ideas, etc. Character ideas would be good, too; just anything you can think of, basically.

                #83173
                Linyang Zhang
                @devastate-lasting
                  • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
                  • Total Posts: 1700

                  @leon-fleming Is there a time paradox? Or are there parallel universes? Is there a main villain? Or is this mostly about people he meets? How old is he?

                  You mentioned benefactor…reminds me of Great Expectations.

                  At some point in the character arc…let’s see, you said he thinks too highly of himself…so at some point maybe he gets stuck in time and has to reflect on what he actually is? Or is that too cliched? XD

                  Do people remember him after he leaves? Is there any sort of “punishment” for using time travel?

                  Ahh sorry I only know how to ask questions otherwise I find myself way too invested XD

                  Is there a place outside the world where he can be in a sort of limbo where there’s no time?

                  Is there ever anyone he loves who dies? And what does he do?

                  What is the future like?

                  How does he explain to people in the past/future that he’s a time traveler? Or does he not?

                  Maybe he shares cherry soda to people he meets?

                  I’ll come back with more…

                  Lately, it's been on my brain
                  Would you mind letting me know
                  If hours don't turn into days

                  #83174
                  Alien and Sojourner in a Foreign Land
                  @william-starkey
                    • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
                    • Total Posts: 634

                    @devastate-lasting Well, I’m not really sure what you mean by time paradox or parallel universes (if indeed, you don’t mean those literally). But here’s how it basically works. He can go back in time, yes. And he can talk and converse with people, yes. But it anything he does in that past effects what already happened, then those two realities split, making two different universes. A person from one of those universes can come, meet, talk to, etc with themself in the other universe. Except they’ll be two different people now. The thing is, nobody but the main character notices this.

                    There will most likely be a main villain, yes. Though I’m gonna have to work on him carefully. The main character is sixteen. And he’s an indifferent genius. He doesn’t care about other people except for the fact that they exist. He treats people like different experiments with which he can train his senses in formulating their characters in his own mind. He’s quite flawed in many ways.

                    Yes, I did mention benefactor. But that was for the fact that at the time I didn’t have quite the right word to describe the person. It’s not at all like Great Expectations. The “benefactor” will become known to the main character probably during the fifth chapter. Also unlike Great Expectations, the person funding the main character’s relocations (*which is another thing I probably should discuss) is related to him quite intimately.

                    *The main character (who begins the story as a one James Goldsmith) apparently has parents. But he hasn’t seen them in something over ten to eleven years. They send him about the country to various educational places for mentally disabled people “thinking” that he himself is mentally disabled. He is a quiet boy, but that only because he doesn’t care much for things happening around him. He doesn’t think he cares about his parents, but he has dwelt on the subject of their relations quite thoroughly. He is definitely haughty and thinks much too highly of himself. And like I made mention to note above, he treats people with the indifference of lab rats in a laboratory of study.

                    That particular element may be too clichéd, though I definitely see some value in using it in developing his character. I’d have to be careful how I use it, though. Good idea.

                    No; as of now there is not a punishment for time travel. People in the past seem to always think that there should be some consequence of using this great story idea (the same goes for magic in many novels), but I don’t think that will be necessary. The fact that is doesn’t have consequences in of itself may be punishment to the main character’s character. He needs to have some sort of conflict, change in his life. Otherwise he will begin to think of everything as futile.

                    Honestly, he needs to repent and believe the Gospel. XD!

                    People do remember him after he leaves.

                    XD Hey! That’s totally fine; it helps a lot!

                    Yes, in a way there is a place outside of time. Though it is on Earth; this is where the cherry soda bottles come into play. XD

                    Yes, I think there should be a loved one who dies, though who that is yet, I don’t know. He doesn’t care much for people, as stated above. It’s one of his flaws.

                    As for the future: Ruin and Ants. You and I will both figure that out as I go along. XD

                    There will be a girl he eventually comes to love, but not until after a long sequence of events. It goes against his character in the beginning of the book to truly feel concerned about other people.

                    Usually, he wouldn’t. He phase out of visibility in the past, but he’s still there. It doesn’t effect anything, though. In the future, he never phases. When he’s in those “time limbo things” he goes into a state where he’s like a liquid ghost. His form is liquid-like and you can see through him. But he doesn’t ripple or anything. It just looks like you’re looking into water when you look through him. Almost like a magnifying glass (which complies with the laws of physics; thanks Mrs Haas!). I say almost, because light doesn’t filter all the way through him when he’s in these limbo type places.

                    XD As funny as that would be, the cherry soda is quite undrinkable. I wouldn’t advise tasting it at all. There are reasons for this, as you’ll soon find out, but I’m still trying to figure out what those reasons are.

                    Okay, great! Thanks for the help!

                    #83177
                    Linyang Zhang
                    @devastate-lasting
                      • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
                      • Total Posts: 1700

                      @leon-fleming Oh wow, a lot of thought went into all of that! This all seems very interesting, looking forward to seeing more.

                      No problem! Happy to help!

                      • This reply was modified 3 years, 10 months ago by Linyang Zhang.

                      Lately, it's been on my brain
                      Would you mind letting me know
                      If hours don't turn into days

                      #83180
                      Alien and Sojourner in a Foreign Land
                      @william-starkey
                        • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
                        • Total Posts: 634

                        @devastate-lasting Okay, great!

                        #83190
                        Michelle Black
                        @michelle
                          • Rank: Wise Jester
                          • Total Posts: 87

                          @leon-fleming *thanks you then sips the tea* I would love to help you leon:) I have some good title you could think about. “Consumption” “The Bad Half”  “Under the moon” “Everything Under the Sun” Stuff like that

                          #83196
                          Alien and Sojourner in a Foreign Land
                          @william-starkey
                            • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
                            • Total Posts: 634

                            @michelle *passes you the seed cakes* Thanks! I’ll definitely think on those. Right now, I’m calling it Piece of Time. I can show you what the prototype cover looks like, if you want.

                            #83253
                            Michelle Black
                            @michelle
                              • Rank: Wise Jester
                              • Total Posts: 87

                              @leon-fleming  *eats up all the little tea cakes and bread* Oh yeah! I would very much like to see it:)

                              #83320
                              Alien and Sojourner in a Foreign Land
                              @william-starkey
                                • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
                                • Total Posts: 634

                                @michelle *adds a few sprinkles of salt and lemon on a fried fish* Okay, here goes! But, it’s just a prototype at the moment, so it isn’t the best.

                                A prototype cover image.

                                 

                                #83321
                                Merie Shen
                                @merieshenanigans
                                  • Rank: Charismatic Rebel
                                  • Total Posts: 38

                                  @leon-fleming Time travel? Cherry soda? Indifferent geniuses? Color me intrigued. How big of a cast would this story have? Also, why cherry soda of all things? Is there something special in the cherry part? Is the cherry soda purple? Purple things are interesting, although I admit it would be strange for cherry soda to be purple.

                                  ~ always be a happy camper ~

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