Plot Ideas for Creative Writing

[Tyler]

Alright this is something I've given a bit of thought about for a while. I've always wanted to write a book and I've been coming up with ideas and messing around with different plot ideas. At the moment I'm focused on some things to base a plot around but I'm having trouble coming up with a gripping plot that i can stick with. This isn't a big deal just something to mess around with (eventually I really would like to write and try to publish a book but for now it's just to pass the time).

So feel free to jump in and bounce ideas off of me it would help me come up with something better than I have been able to so far.

First, The type of book is urban fantasy specifically of a darker nature like Dresden files.

Next, the world knows about some, but not all supernaturals (specifically knows about vampires, werewolves, sorcerers, and shifters)

The main character, Aeson is a Draconian (half dragon, half human) can transform not into a full dragon but into a humanoid version of a dragon with scales claws and on top of this has the ability to draw energy from fire to work "magic" (not really magic but more along the lines of energy manipulation, can manipulate it to do different things that to some would seem like magic).
His dragon self shows up as a second conscious like a personified id that brings out his primal instincts when he transforms

There is a feud between Nephilim and Draconians that has been going on for a long time because Nephilim believe themselves to be descended from angels and think that their job is to rid the world of demons that pass through the veil.

Because of this they want to kill Draconians because the original Draconians received their abilities by eating the hearts of Dragons (which were the highest class of demon)

He has been attacked by nephilim before and because of it, he now has a reputation for being ruthless.

I got tired of hearing about main characters that are private investigators so I decided to make Aeson a bounty hunter/ mercenary. Working for anyone who will hire including the local PD.

Still debating on the magic system but so far I've come up with this

All sorcerers can use the energy from their own bodies to do a casting ("magic")
they can also draw from different sources depending on what type of sorcerer they are
Draconians from fire
Nephilim on their angelic nature (separate from their spirit)
warlocks from spirits
witches/wizards from demons or whomever they worship
Mages from one of the four elements

I've debated using items of power in the story and I'm fine with adding them in or even using them as a key point in the plot.

So please have fun with this discussion feel free to bounce ideas

[Tyler]

To clarify a few things and help start narrowing down the focus of the plot I want to say what direction I was heading in at this point.

First, when I say werewolves, I don't mean the kind that would be more accurately labeled a shifter, I mean the kind that was originally cursed and has now through generations produced offspring that can transform willingly into a wolf human hybrid.

Second, and this idea was inspired by a friend of mine, the gods are the origin of all supernaturals.

The gods are actually fallen angels that bound themselves to human worshipers to gain power, but in doing so, they became bound to the personality and limitations of the god that the people thought they worshiped. (For instance the fallen angel that became worshiped as Hades becomes trapped in his own hatred and solitude and can never love or even have real affection for someone. or that general idea).

No angels had the power to create life, so after gaining their godly powers, they manipulated humans into these new beings and forced them to fight wars between the pantheons for entertainment mostly.

But over time as their worshipers fell away their power started to wane too until now the fallen (except maybe those pantheons still remembered like the greek and roman and norse) are back at their base power

[Brenda]

What you seem to be asking is how to begin. Not how to begin the notes or the outline or the system or the sketches, but how to begin the actual novel.

[Tyler]

Basically yes I have a general idea of how I want to do things I just need a basic structure to follow I guess. I've come up with some ideas for different plots but none of them seem to stick for me I'm hoping that having people bounce ideas off of each other and myself will get something bigger started in my mind. Part of it is that I feel like my plots are too basic and need more depth

[Izzy]

Tyler wrote: "Basically yes I have a general idea of how I want to do things I just need a basic structure to follow I guess. I've come up with some ideas for different plots but none of them seem to stick for m..."

Look up the 7 basic plots, pick one and run with it. It'll be a lot easier for you, in regards to planning and when it comes to writing your story, to stick with something simple.
If you're an avid reader of the urban fantasy genre then you'll know that most of the mysteries and the story arcs are very simple. Read the books in the genre you're writing in and follow the formula.

If you think about this too much then you're never going to start your project. Besides, once you've finished your first draft you'll probably cut out or change most of it in the editing process.

[Dee]

just start writing...you won't necessarily start a book from the beginning, I know I don't when I write

but November is National Novel Writing Month - the goal is 50k in the 30 days (approx 1600 wpd) - a good way to get started

[Tyler]

I have a problem where I tend to over think every plot I come up with to where I want to be able to explain exactly why everything happens the way it does I guess. I've started over 9 or 10 different supernaturals stories and gotten a few chapters into some of them

[Tyler]

But your "don't think too much" comment actually did help though. I decided to go with a plot I had already done some extensive work on 8 chapters of outline already so who knows maybe I'll put a few chapters on the creative writing link eventually.

[Brenda]

It is perfectly OK to steal a plot (if Shakespeare did it, so can you!). Over at Book View Cafe we are starting a blog series on how to start writing(I think it picks up on Friday).
But it sounds to me like you need to think about character. The coolest magic system in the world gets you squat, if there are no characters to wield it.
I had an enlightening discussion with the late Diana Wynn Jones's American editor. She reports that DWJ (one of the greatest fantasy writers of all time) was totally intuitive as a writer. She never planned anything, but just sat down and wrote. Doing an outline or even telling her editor what the book was going to be about immediately gutted it.
You need to discover what kind of a writer you are. It is possible that discussing it here is the last thing you need to do.

[Tyler]

It's possible but I can't help but think that for me it might be a good thing. I've tried just sitting down and writing twice since I started doing this. Each time I made it a good 8 or 9 chapters in before realizing that I didn't know where to go with it. The whole story had good and exciting parts in it but that's all it felt like was a series of unconnected events that didn't add up to anything. I pull character personalities from the people around me I've done that for everything I've written to make it more realistic. The outline is mostly to keep me on track to reaching the end goal which is one of my biggest issues. It's not so much the plot I have trouble coming up with, it's what it all leads up to the climax "What is the antagonists master plan". I feel like without something that makes sense and ties the plot together it will fall flat. I hope that makes sense.

[Tyler]

I should mention that something I'm good at is thinking about how one thing affects another like how a death in the story will affect not only one persons personality but could lead to other actions in the story. At the same time though it means that I have trouble coming up with credible reasons for a character to do something that needs to be done for the story to progress sometimes. That would be one of my weaker points.

[Brenda]

I can only tell you how it works for me. It is not at all uncommon to start a number of works, and only have the occasional one take root and flourish. That's why writers have file drawers, to store all the false starts in.
If the work comes to life, then it is not difficult at all. All the implications flow into your hands, and the thing runs of itself, like a car with a full tank of gas. If it doesn't come to life? Well, then it's like a car with an empty tank of gas.

[Tyler]

I can understand that. I think I've found one plot that's working for me at the moment, I think I just need more experience with doing this kind of writing.

[R.]

1) Start writing.
2) Keep writing.
3) Finish what you write.