Plot help

[Kerusso]

Okay, so here's the deal: I want to write a story on fictionpress.com. I've got an idea or two, but I'm putting the premise up for... CRITICAL ANALYSIS!!! (aka give me your thoughts)

[Kerusso]

First idea
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Genre: Romance, Action

To the blind people who own them, seeing eye dogs are a valuable asset in their daily lives, and Caleb is no different. Except his dog isn't actually a dog. It's a werewolf.

[Atria35]

Personally, I think most things are workable as long as they're done well. And listening to too many people will give you an even more convoluted plot.

But if you really want to post it, go right ahead. I'm willing to take a look.

[Kerusso]

First idea
----------
Genre: Romance, Action

To the blind people who own them, seeing-eye dogs are a valuable part of their daily lives, and Caleb is no different. Except his dog isn't actually a dog. It's a werewolf.

[Esoteric]

To the blind people who own them, seeing-eye dogs are a valuable part of their daily lives, and Caleb is no different. Except his dog isn't actually a dog. It's a werewolf.

Admittedly, I'm not super well-versed in the world of fantasy stories, but I've never heard of a seeing-eye werewolf before, so you get points for originality. I'm also fond of stories where 'the mundane' is mixed with 'the fanciful', so a seeing-eye werewolf get points for making me smile at the cross-over bizarreness of it. You've already got me thinking What would that be like?
That being said, the reasons there probably aren't stories about werewolves as seeing-eye dogs are because A: They are normally of human intelligence and most humans wouldn't want to run around pretending to be a dog, and B: They aren't always a dog/wolf, so unless the blind person knew about the arrangement, it could cause intolerable consternation ("why does my dog keep running away/disappearing for days at a time?" etc.)
If you can surmount these issues--give us a logical reason why the werewolf would subject itself to this arrangement and how the blind person copes losing their dog from time to time, then you've got a good start. It's all about characters. Make your characters interesting, a little flawed, and most importantly make us care about what happens to them. If the characters are good, you can make just about any plot work.

[Atria35]

^ I think Eostric has some very good points.

My other question would be how people would react to the werewolf- People that know dogs can tell the difference between wolves and dogs. So you'd need a believable way to explain that.

[Kerusso]

I really appreciate the advice from all of you. I'd like to to take the time to clarify some things, as well as add something which i didn't (and probably should have) earlier:

When I say "plot help," what I meant ( and should've made clearer) is that I wanted other's opinions on how workable a premise to a plot would be, not help on a pre-existing plot. Two criteria would be

1. How can Christian themes be incorporated into (insert plot premise here)? Even if it IS a good story, God's glory needs to be the focal point.

2. Can this be made into a novel-length story? I'm looking to write a good-sized story. If I wanted to write a short one, I''d have just gone and done it.

Hope that helps!:thumb:

[LadyRushia]

1. How can Christian themes be incorporated into (insert plot premise here)? Even if it IS a good story, God's glory needs to be the focal point.

If you're a practicing Christian, they're going to show up in your story no matter what. One of the stories I just finished working on for the time being started out with me not purposefully saying "This needs to be an overtly Christian story," but Christianity ended up becoming a central part of it naturally anyway. Just don't think about forcing it in there because that won't work (been there, done that). "Christian themes" can mean a lot of things, a lot of very broad or very specific things. Sacrificial love, helping the poor and oppressed, humility, grace, and forgiveness are examples of broad Christian themes. They can and do exist outside of a Christian context, but they line up with what Christianity teaches nonetheless.

If you're thinking in more specific terms, attribute all of the above to God in the story. Characters can forgive because God forgave first, stuff like that. Something that always happens to me no matter what is that my characters, at the very least, acknowledge the existence of God and/or a reality/creator greater than themselves.

You could dedicate your writing to God. I did that a few years ago and ever since, every story I flesh out has involved him somehow and Christianity naturally weaves itself into the fabric of the story.

Something to avoid is the stereotypical Christian goody two shoes protagonist who converts everyone to Christianity and is always happy and loves God all the time. This isn't realistic and it's just a recipe for Mary-Sues and all their relatives.

2. Can this be made into a novel-length story? I'm looking to write a good-sized story. If I wanted to write a short one, I''d have just gone and done it.

If you want it to. Any plot bunny can grow into a novel. If you're having trouble, consider this. All stories can be broken down into cause and effect. Something happens that changes the status quo and there are consequences (good and/or bad) that cause more things and lead to more effects.

There are about a thousand different ways to plot a story, but starting with an outline is generally a good idea. Sometimes, starting the actual writing is faster/better. It depends. Even if you have an outline, you're story's going to deter from it but at least you have a general idea of where you're going.

[Atria35]

1. How can Christian themes be incorporated into (insert plot premise here)? Even if it IS a good story, God's glory needs to be the focal point.

Basically, what Rushia said. On a more personal note, the best Christian literature is that where the authors concentrate primarily on making a good story. I loathe reading most Christian fiction because they make a point of including "Christian themes". If I want obvious Christian themes, I read the Bible. And if you're a practicing Christian, then the Christian themes will come through anyway.

[LadyRushia]

Yes, Atria put it in much simpler terms than I could at 2:30AM, XD.

On a more personal note, the best Christian literature is that where the authors concentrate primarily on making a good story. I loathe reading most Christian fiction because they make a point of including "Christian themes".

Also, they all seem to take place in the 1800s in the South. That or they're mediocre fantasy stories.

To add to your point here, no one likes preachiness in fiction. Whether the subject is religion/Christianity, atheism, feminism, any specific political views--anything under the sun, it can't be forced down other characters' or the readers' throats. The quality of the story should come first. Strong themes can only shine when the story surrounding them is good.

[Atria35]

Also, they all seem to take place in the 1800s in the South. That or they're mediocre fantasy stories.

QFT.

But while yours is a sort of fantasy story, it doesn't mean that it will be bad. LoTR and Narnia are fantasy, and some of the best ones out there. Just write the story that you want to.

[FllMtl Novelist]

LadyRushia and Atria both have very good points about your questions.

Concerning putting in themes of any kind, I think Stephen King suggested writing the first draft, and then going back to worry about what your work says afterwards.

Lots of people try to write stories but they never finish. I think you need to get your story all on paper first before you get too caught up with what you're saying, or anything else like that. Of course, thinking about your story before writing it is a very good idea; I just mean to say be careful that you don't worry so much about the quality and theme of the work that you never actually write it.

[the_wolfs_howl]

[quote="FllMtl Novelist (post: 1439985)"]Concerning putting in themes of any kind, I think Stephen King suggested writing the first draft, and then going back to worry about what your work says afterwards.

Lots of people try to write stories but they never finish. I think you need to get your story all on paper first before you get too caught up with what you're saying, or anything else like that. Of course, thinking about your story before writing it is a very good idea]

Example! When I wrote my story The Black Dragon, I started writing just because I wanted to see what would happen if I wrote about my ideas of a dragon rider story. It was only around halfway through the story when I began to realize I was writing about themes that are very important to me, like love and friendship being stronger than hate and selfishness.

Plus, you're actually more likely to get a message across if you just focus on making a good story (at first), because otherwise you'll end up with a boring fable. And if it's a good story, it will probably have your unconscious ideas and beliefs in it anyway.