Story arc issues. I think?

meldy · Jul 5, 2008

I am beginning to second guess myself and wonder if I am even composing anything eventually publishable.

I think its either too complex with too many characters or doesnt have the necessary arc it needs.

So I am not sure if I should give up now or keep typing away. (I am actually enjoying writing it for the most part, just not sure if I am on the right track)

Clearly I am a newbie at this...hope this isn't really stupid to even be asking and posting this.

I do not have the correct terminology sorry, so I hope you can understand what I am trying to say.

Here is my basic storyline:

MC=Foster child (orphaned maybe? search for mother is a side story) she is moved three times through the course of the book to three different homes with her only anchor being a horse and a friend (whom she meets in a school program)
Essentially I am documenting her life and the struggles of being a normal teen that is also dealing with abandonment issues, abuses and constantly being shipped from place to place and having no control at all over that then the struggle to try to adapt to each home and the issues within each home.
Literally her only grounding force throughout the story is this one friend and a rescued horse (who actually dies in the end anyway while foaling out-so the MC is left with an orphaned foal)

But there is no 'arc' really. There are lots of mini conflicts, loads of characters centralized around my MC but I dont think there is a beginning, middle, end with a big conflict and conflict resolution.
Unless bringing the horse back to life, having it die, and leave a foal counts? Although that is not the central plot...granted I am not entirely sure I can pin my finger on what is the central plot?

I think what I am producing is good. My 13 yr old had been my editor/opinion person so far and she loves it and runs in to read each new bit and tends to get very emotional reading it (LOL) so it must have an impact.
Just not a plot.

Maybe? :Shrug:

donut · Jul 5, 2008

Danger, danger will rogers. I wrote a book like this (not YA), where it was all about gradual character development as shown through a lot of mini-conflicts. It was good enough to get me an agent and it's currently out on submission, but it's racked up a lot of rejections, and they ALL say the same thing: not enough story arc!

And it's a really hard thing to fix in rewrites.

Now, there are books that follow this structure and have sold -- and been quite popular. But it's an uphill battle. Maybe you should take a few days off from writing and just brainstorm a true narrative for your story. It sounds like you have great characters, themes, setting... You just need a plot to tie it altogether. If you think about it a while, I'm sure you'll come up with something. And trust me, it will be easier to figure it out now than later.

mirrorkisses · Jul 5, 2008

Here's an idea: try writing a synopsis. Yeah, I know. Those suck. But I've noticed that they really help point out holes.... It also might help you figure out a way to string these arcs together in a real plot.

I did this and I found all the weak points in my story.

But also, I don't know that mini-arcs could be so bad if it's very character-driven.

alleycat · Jul 5, 2008

I could give you any number of suggestions. I'll start with one and see what you think about it.

I would start by asking what your MC wants, and what she needs. Sometimes they're not the same thing.

I might start with the MC just wanting to be a normal teenager, and to ignore the fact that she's in foster care. Maybe she doesn't even tell most of the kids at school (except for her one true friend). She's been laughed at before for being "Little Orphan Annie". She lives a sort of double life; her difficult relationships with her foster families, and the "pretend life" she lives at school. Later she finds that what she's wanted all along, but hasn't been willing to admit to herself because she thought it would hurt too much, is to "belong" somewhere. BTW, the reader should be able to see this need, even if the MC doesn't. Perhaps in the end the girl is taken in with a nice family with horses; perhaps the family had only planned to provide foster care, but when they get to know her, and her them, they decide they want to adopt her. The character arc could be she goes from being a girl adrift, wanting to ignore her past, and living in a sort of fantasy world, to a girl who can be strong, honest, hopeful, and with a plan for a future. Her life may have started off badly, but she is going to make it a "good life".

Something like that anyway. There is a lot more I could add just to that one little idea.

Any help? If not, tell us more about where you want the character to go from the start of the story to the end.

meldy · Jul 5, 2008

donut said:
Danger, danger will rogers.

This made me actually laugh out loud!!

Thanks Donut.

I have a few other ideas for other storylines as well so maybe I will work on those a bit for a while.

meldy · Jul 5, 2008

I am sort of going from her not having anything steady and concrete in life to having this one friend and horse as anchors.

The idea that she is alone and has no one she can rely in is part of her general make-up at this point. She is a teen and has grown up in foster care and is fairly jaded and has given up on the idea of ever having her own family so has accepted that she really has no one to trust or to rely on. She had also accepted the fact that she isnt wanted and will be shuffled from place to place whether she likes it or not. She doesnt like it but knows there is nothing she can do so she kind of does what she has to just to survive and try to fit in to some extent.
It's just part of her life (no matter how depressing it seems to us normal folk)

And the one friend who she does begin to trust is actually someone she was disgusted with on first meeting but she finds he actually has a heart of gold and is the one to introduce her to horses to begin with. This does not become any sort of a romantic relationship, purely plutonic.

So essentially she will be living almost two different lives. One in her homes where she is the jaded, untrusting almost robotic version of herself and the one at this barn with this friend where she can learn to have fun and open up through this horse and helping it overcome its own struggles.

Does that even make sense?

It makes perfect sense in my head, not sure why it comes out in type as such a muddle lol

Story arc issues. I think?

meldy

Instant humanJust add coffee

donut

fame-seeking floozy

mirrorkisses

alleycat

Still around

meldy

Instant humanJust add coffee

meldy

Instant humanJust add coffee