Story Ideas - Round Two

**goldhawk** · June 30th, 2008, 06:15 PM

Originally Posted by Expendable

Something I find that helps with collaborative stories is to first put together a core background, then create a situation to introduce two characters - the protagonist and the antagonist.

Like oh, hmm... An alien girl who's memories have been taken from her and transported on board a human spaceliner, being chased by a ruthless assassin. Yeah, that works.

No, it doesn't work. If the assassin was ruthless, why is she still alive?

How about a neophyte assassin who this is his first assignment?

And what if he falls in love with her? And what if he knows why her memories where taken from her; and know if she ever regains her memories, she would totally hate him? And no, he is not thinking about sex, but marriage. Yeah, somehow he's committed. (It happens.) (Of course, the story is no longer about her, but him. At this point, the emotional conflict is about what he experiences; and you end up writing a story you never envisioned from the start.

Originally Posted by Expendable

As most of what's going on is happening on the starliner, you'll need to work out most of the background of the starliner, as well as the mystery girl, the assassin and whoever hired the assassin.

It's a good idea if there's a specific goal you're working towards to insist that anyone who joins must be familiar with what's been written so far and lay out what elements they're going to put in.

No, I don't find specific goals worth while. That's not to say that a distance target may be worth pursuing. But with a collaborative story, you have to be flexible.

And may I point out that not all stories are about a clash between the protagonist and the antagonist. Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mist of Avalon is more about biological work than a story; there is no clear antagonist in it.

**Expendable** · July 5th, 2008, 01:18 AM

Originally Posted by goldhawk

No, it doesn't work. If the assassin was ruthless, why is she still alive?

How about a neophyte assassin who this is his first assignment?

He doesn't kill her because he recognises her as the girl who rescued him from a dying lifepod twenty years ago. She hasn't aged a day. Her people twisted him into their secret tool to spy on the other worlds. His controller wants him to kill her, afraid she could somehow lead others to them. That's what the assassin wants to do with her, to get back his own freedom.

Originally Posted by goldhawk

No, I don't find specific goals worth while. That's not to say that a distance target may be worth pursuing. But with a collaborative story, you have to be flexible.

And may I point out that not all stories are about a clash between the protagonist and the antagonist. Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mist of Avalon is more about biological work than a story; there is no clear antagonist in it.

I agree you have to be flexible when working with others. But conflict gets attention.

**panasonic** · August 25th, 2009, 09:53 PM

Thank you, for answering. But this method works for me only with .. In all other cases I get only strange results, like those below
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**NoviceLiterary** · November 9th, 2009, 11:11 AM

Greetings all I'm a noobie..
I have been writing a novel for the last year or so and have quite a few chapters with all of the plot pieces in place.
I am not a writer but more like the creative director and have had an interest in science fiction ever since my youth beginning with Star Trek. This plot I've been writing is one of few publications that can hold my attention long enough for me to finish.

Because my attention span is so short regarding publications this has reinforced my belief that since I have been that enthralled in this project I know it is a top plot line destined to be both best seller and top box office draw eventually, given that is, that it is well polished on first presentation and that's what I lack and am seeking. As they say you never get a second opportunity to make a good first impression..

What I'm seeking is a collaborator to add some spit and polish especially in grammar and some creativity over all but mostly in character discourse..

Funding is not available initially but will most definitely be part of the deal upon publishing and anything else that might be considered in the future as well..

This plot is very relative to current and planned future world events with cross over from the past and the future which is something else that makes it so intriguing, it is space exploration related but not exclusively as well it ties in spirituality, but it is not religious and has undertones of future human existence as a whole..

JFYI I'm not a one trick pony either as recently I have had epiphany on at least 2 other plots with similar potential all any of them need is one good writer for the polish as the plots are sound, realistic and thought provoking...

One is a mass disaster plot and the other is a contemporary murder mystery tying in of all things several members of an internet forum..

I have protected my plot with WGAE but still have to register my others and also wish to get a copy right as well on my rough draft.

Please RSVP ASAP as the window of popularity for this particular plot is wide open right now and as with everything in life timing is everything...

**The Lord of all Things Inane** · November 2nd, 2010, 08:27 PM

"It ain't the clothes that make the man," Horace muttered to himself, "It's the man that makes the clothes."
The man known as Horace wore a tattered Burberry suit, once navy blue, now alkali and sweat-salt grey. His exposed skin resembled a well tanned but hard used saddle, his hands gave the impression of great strength, all knuckles and tendons.
CDN

**Chrisball1** · March 13th, 2013, 11:53 PM

New Member, just joined today... I've been chasing a storyline for about 8 years now, and because it's topical I think it may be coming to the end of its usefulness, more of a film script really.. Here goes, The European Space Agency launches a moon lander, it goes wrong and shoots off into outer space (much laughter from NASA).. Years later a meteorite is sighted heading towards earth, its destination, Basra, Iraq, its destruction capabilities, the whole of the Middle East and 6 months of nuclear winter. For the CIA, acceptable collateral damage to remove one huge thorn.. So the destination is covered up and numerous attempts made by the US to halt the meteor, fail. The story is really about individuals caught up in this, US soldiers and civilians already in the Middle East, other scientists that discover the true destination of the meteor and are subsequently removed. The CIA think they have scored a winner, however as the meteor gets closer observers notice that the meteor has rockets attached to the back of it, a guided meteor, and the rockets look remarkably like the ones built for the European Moon landings, could even be a mini-series... I’m not a writer, so any help would be very welcome.. where do I go from here? any thoughts out there???