~Ideas Corner~

[Dark_Angel13]

~Ideas Corner~

 

This was discussed over in another topic about one of these being put up, so I'm putting it on myself to take care of it. Some of you may point out that Mae put up something like this but this area can also be used to discuss any form of writing, including the mature realm stuff and the challenges that Loki is currently setting up for all of us. Readers may also like to look over the ideas we all have in our crazy heads and maybe give us a nudge to write something that they'd be interested in. It's also always good in my opinion to get a second set of eyes on a project before you start so this should help with that.

 

 

If you aren't 100% sure how to write something or get an idea across to people in a story then one of us I'm sure can help you out here, this is to help out each other and I'd prefer it if there was no insulting or anything like that, so don't blatantly come out and tell someone their idea/s suck or worse. Anyways I do not currently have an idea in my head to post here so someone else can start this off and hopefully get a discussion rolling.

[† Emotional Outlet]

Yes, okay.

 

In 39 I have these people with elemental powers. I know they have not made their debut in the story, but I promise they are there and they do stuff. They were originally going to be an entirely separate race, but I couldn't figure out a compelling reason why it would be that way and I didn't want to deal with more "they are aliens but look and function exactly the same as humans" kind of thing. Think X-Men.

 

Anyway, there are certain levels of how much their power manifest. You have people who are completely in touch with their element and have transformative powers. Others, particularly those who have a parent who aren't gifted as such or have some other problem (one of my non-POV protagonists have one that interferes with their powers), may have some measure of control over their element, but are not afforded these transformative abilities in full.

 

I have these deities, for lack of a better word, who serve as the embodiment of the different elements. Most people I have asked prefer the four classical elements--fire, earth, water, air--but I feel like I need a fifth. There should be a fifth. Anyway, these deities fight all the time and are always vying for superiority over the other (think of the Warring Triad in FFVI). And people being people, they started fighting with each other over the powers and it was pretty much awful.

 

Anyway the deities' fights kind of ravaged the world and wrecked everyone's shit, so a bunch of people who were completely tired of their shit got together and sealed the deities away.

 

The damage was done, though, and they shuttled everyone up to the plates because increased distance from the deities, who are sealed underground, weakens people's bonds with them and thus they are unable to use their powers. Think like the whole bender/non-bender thing on Legend of Korra.

 

One of the POV characters has a great tie (secret secret) with a dissenting deity. The one who wasn't super into the whole fighting thing. The plot eventually comes to revolve around the potential unsealing of the deities. Everything I just said was backstory.

 

Anyway the point of this whole thing is what the hell should I do with this fifth deity. Do you see my need for the fifth. Or should I make one of the big four a dissenter, and if so, which one. Also if anything doesn't make sense or sounds dumb, let me know and I will either rethink my dumbness or explain it better.

[† Mute point]

Maybe the fifth could have been born of the leftover energy from the fighting, and so the character with the link to it is like the Avatar, and is able to use all of the elements.

[Dark_Angel13]

Mute put a pretty cool point forward and I can see the need for a fifth, just cant think of an element for it really, unless it's like darkness or something, corrupting the minds of the others or something, idk just a thought.

[† Emotional Outlet]

Yeah, all I have is "whimsical fifth" on my notes so I really don't know. I've dug through different element mythos and "spirit" or "breath" as a fifth seems to be pretty common, but it wasn't speaking to me as much as it should.

 

Having one born of the leftover energy sounds pretty cool though! I'll roll that one around in my head for a bit and see what comes of it.

[† Anras Rune]

Oh god, I swear you are out to confuse me! lol

 

But leftover energy does sound pretty good, like energy bending in Avatar. Or maybe something a bit more classical Orient, where they had fire, water, air, wood and metal. Kinda weird, but a suggestion lol.

[Breathless]

A lot of the time the fifth element is represented as 'pure energy', at least from what I have read. Like Aether, Spirit, Ki or something like that. I guess you can use light/dark/chaos at a stretch but they're more like alignments then elements.

Anyway, spit ballin' in the other direction to having all of the elements, my first thought was just the opposite. Something like a 'null element'. I have never read or watched X-Men, but I think there was someone in it with a power similar to what I'm thinking of. They have no power themselves, but at the same time neither does anyone else when against the 'null element'.

[† Mute point]

I don't know if it was in the comics... but in the third movie, there is a little boy who suppresses the mutant powers of those around him, and his blood is a key ingredient in the "cure" for mutants.

[Dark_Angel13]

That's not a bad idea, the null deity but then you could always go the other way X-men wise and use Rogue, who can just sap the powers from people she touches but instead do it more like Heroes with the main dude in that who can just steal powers by being touched one time and then has them forever

[† Emotional Outlet]

A lot of the time the fifth element is represented as 'pure energy', at least from what I have read. Like Aether, Spirit, Ki or something like that. I guess you can use light/dark/chaos at a stretch but they're more like alignments then elements.

Ye, ye, I mentioned that earlier when I was looking up different mythos. Spirit in itself wasn't speaking to me, but the idea that it manifested from all the warring was an interesting one.

 

I do prefer the idea of having a somewhat larger cast, like the Mana spirits from the games or the different Espers/Scions in FF, but a more compact cast would probably work better. Don't want to go full Greek mythology in here and have a guy representing wine and finding lost objects.

 

I could make it be the product of the fighting and then incorporate the null aspect, in whatever way it may manifest. But ye, I saw the movie. I'm trying to think if there were characters not from X-Men who did the same kind of thing like he and Rogue had. (There was a guy in a visual novel I read called Dusk World who kind of did the same thing you're talking about in Heroes, but his power leeching was temporary. He did leech a set of powers permanently, but it killed the guy.) I think this requires a trip to TV Tropes to see what I can dig up and recombine, haha.

 

ETA: Wait, I just thought of other power leechers. Mega Man and Kirby. Hmhmhm, yes.

[Dark_Angel13]

Nice so you have your idea all solved now?

[† Emotional Outlet]

Ye, it's cool if people move on, haha. I'm still digging, but the wheels are turning regardless. It should be enough for now.

 

[† Mute point]

Having a little trouble with something. Mal and I have discussed it, and we can't seem to decide which route to take with part of our story.

 

Basic premise, Kids are showing up all over the world with strange powers, they have been for years, but people are starting to notice now. There is an organization that collects these kids to study, keeping the ones that can be useful, and dissecting those who prove to be the most uncooperative. The problem? I don't know whether to go with a government sponsored military op, or a privately funded group... Both have basically the same purpose, except the government wants to create better soldiers, while the private group is more petty and run by people who just want powers for themselves. Both also claim to want to help those with special abilities.

 

There will be a third group later full of people who grew up with their powers, but I've got them mostly figured out.

[Breathless]

This might be a silly question, but why just have two organizations? You could even change the second one to a cult if you wanted to! (Military and Religions, polar opposites!) If I were to pick only one of them though... I'd probably go with the private group.

[Dark_Angel13]

Breathless has a point, you could use both. If you've seen movies like Resident Evil, Umbrella corp is a privately funded organisation but with ties to the military. So you could make it like that. The private organisation is contracted to the military, so while they're supposed to be building these "perfect" soldiers they could also be trying to work out how to give themselves ultimate power or perhaps just the evil CEO of the company. Just another spin on the idea =)

[Pinkie Pie]

Or they could just be in it for the money. Just sayin'.

Personally, I like the idea of there being a cult. It opens the door for some conflict, because no cult would want their chosen deity or way or life challenged by people who want to profit from it [that aren't in the cult, anyway]

[† Anras Rune]

Or they could just be in it for the money. Just sayin'.

Personally, I like the idea of there being a cult. It opens the door for some conflict, because no cult would want their chosen deity or way or life challenged by people who want to profit from it [that aren't in the cult, anyway]

 

This, essentially. If you are going for a corporation, please don't fall into the "evil corp that wants to be more evil" clique. Just make them want to turn a profit, maybe not in a moral way of course, but profit being the end result in what they want. That way you can have some serious character conflict in those that are beginning to feel a little wrong in their doings and the likes...

 

Although, I like the cult idea as well. Cults are easy to make have a unique standing in the politics of things as they are generally easy to build from the ground up. Ntm, they can be as "evil" as they want because they will justify with their beliefs...

Edited February 4, 2013 by Anras Rune

[† Mute point]

An entire group of truly evil people wouldn't work. An entire group of pragmatic people who legitimately think they're doing good things in the name of money, power, and science however? That's just great. I do intend for there to be at least one sadistic bastard in there... because who else would willingly carve up some random kids just because they break the rules? (There is more to it than that, but that's how some of the characters would see it.)

 

A private organization selling the secrets of power to the military though... That could work quite well.. And it leaves more room for a semi-normal life for any who manage to escape if any do (haven't decided what happens that far ahead yet.) Because if the government doesn't officially know about these people, they can't exactly spend tax dollars hunting them down without drawing suspicion.

 

A cult that worships something that they say gave people the powers they have... or even just those who have said powers... Possibly for a part 2 story. A cult for the introductory antagonist just feels wrong.

[† Anras Rune]

Mmmm. Sounds good mute.

 

NOW MY TURN!! lol

 

Well, I've kinda got stuck on what too do in Dreams of Trinity. I don't know if y'all read the my Opinions thread back before I posted the story's beginning chapters, but I'm trying to work my way to have the story told by the view points of 4 people. Which is where I'm stuck. I'm not sure if having the story from 4 different perspectives is too complicated. I mean, all four are going to be different in very marked ways, but if I go through with this plan I don't know whether to begin introducing their view points now and converge it all in a focal event, or too wait for said event and continue from there?

 

I mean, the story is being told a la classic sci-fi with an "omnipresent" third person that focuses on the events surrounding major characters, with theirs thoughts and the likes. Generally this is more suited to multiple views, which I wanted too do. But I'm not sure, as I've said, whether too do this now or later. Or even whether to do it in general. Now I'm blithering...so thoughts?

[† Mute point]

I would suggest that you begin each chapter up to the point where all of them get together with an annotation of which character's viewpoint it is. If you don't want to use names right away, you could use some other identifying marker for them. A nick name perhaps (like how you use "the hunter" in the first chapter)

 

I've seen several authors use this same tactic, and it does work. The most important thing is to keep it clear in your head just who you're writing about.