Plot problem: why does my character do this?

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starrykitten

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Thanks for reading!

So I need help, briefly, with a plot problem. (Let me start my saying that although you will be dealing with the concept of mermaids, my stories are NOT fantasy,so I'm not posting there.Thanks!)

I'm writing a series of stories about an urban mermaid. She gets around the city, goes about her day, etc. There's nothing anything magical or unusual about her except that she's a mermaid.

I got an idea in a dream last night for a very short piece told from the mermaid's mother's point of view that explains how she came to live on land. The mermaid's mother used to live on the land, she bargained with Yemaya (the Queen of the Ocean--this comes from Santeria, Ifa, and similar religions). She has a mermaid baby, but because she used to live on the land, she's given the choice of if she wants her child to live on the land or in the water.

What I can't figure out is why she chooses the land. She'll establish that her baby won't die without being in water and can be mobile and everything on land, but it still doesn't make sense to me why she would choose what seems to be the more difficult path. Nostalgia is the only reason I can come up with--perhaps the mother feels lonely or estranged from the other mermaids and thinks the human world is nicer and/or more interesting? There must be a better reason than that.

Can anybody come up with one?

Thank you!
 
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Literateparakeet

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I have been studying personality types to help me with characterization. I am reading Please Understand Me II by David Keirsey.

Just last night I was reading about a particular personality type that I think your character could fall into. It would explain her choice (which seems crazy to you since you have a different personality type. :))


I think your character is an "Artisan". They thrive on excitment. The book says Hemingway was an Artisan and quotes him, "Don't be afraid...Taste everything...Sometimes I think we only half live over here. The Italians live all the way."

They are very optimistic in looking ahead...so your character could crave the thrill of living on land, but also feel optimistic that nothing really bad will happen. Artisans live and act in the present, to them tomorrow never comes. They see themselves, and want to be seen by others as bold, daring, and adventurous. They admire courage and bravery.

Pretty much they think that being bored is the worst possible thing that could happen to you. :)


Anyway, that is one possibility...
 

starrykitten

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Thanks, Literate Parakeet! That is definitely one option I will consider.

This is a very short piece that will introduce the stories (and I'm not even sure if I'll use it because something about it feels too different), so I don't have to go too deep in to her personality type or motivations. You're right; she could be the sort who thinks "How fantastic! My daughter would get to be a land mermaid!"

I'll consider that, but other theories welcome too.
 

Chazevelt

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Perhaps momma 'maid is worried about pollution. Maybe an oil spill (current, relevant) has contaminated their habitat and she's desperate to save her baby from the long term effects?
 

starrykitten

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Perhaps momma 'maid is worried about pollution. Maybe an oil spill (current, relevant) has contaminated their habitat and she's desperate to save her baby from the long term effects?

Oooh, interesting angle. A threat to mermaids. I wouldn't have thought of that one. I'll think about it. Thanks!
 

Bulletproof

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I'm confused... and am not trying trying to be a PITA, but why isn't this fantasy?

The original description, ok, but for some reason, the introduction of the queen of the ocean takes this out of mainstream for me. But I seem to be alone here and wonder what I missed?

I second the pollution idea. Pirates, loneliness (if there aren't so many left) and more aggressive/sophisticated cryptozoologists also come to mind.
 

shadowwalker

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Why did the mother live on land before? Was she always a mermaid, or was the 'change' to mermaid voluntary/involuntary?

I think nostalgia for the place she used to live would be sufficient. There are places people live for a time and their dream is to one day return there and live - so why not?
 

Kerosene

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Either she's attracted to the land for exterior reasons (love) or she's repulsed by the underwater world for fear of her life. She would have to fear her life, to threaten her life on land.


And sorry to say this, your story is Fantasy. Since there are no evidence Mermaids exist or can through science (at the moment), the story genre would be Fantasy. Fantasy is what you make up in your head and thus is made up without reason or any evidence that it could actually exist.
 

starrykitten

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Thanks for the tips!

A definite case could be made for my story being fantasy, sure, but including Yemaya should not be such a case. I mean, stories where characters rely on God or Jesus aren't automatically considered fantasy, so why should a story involving a non-Western deity be considered as such?
 
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me-a-monsteR

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Agree with WillSauger. This sounds like fantasy. The keyword being *mermaid*.
Ok. My thoughts. The mother chose to live on land. Why? Did she fall in love? Was she threatened by someone or something in the ocean? Then came baby. Who's the father? A human male or merman or a werewolf who got hold of her one full moon? Somehow mum gets to choose where baby lives. She goes with land. Why? The initial threat she faced may exist for baby. On land baby can go to college. Or maybe the baby's daddy doesn't want to let baby go (if he's a land dweller). Or maybe the father is a bad guy from the sea, and mum wants baby away from him. Incidentally, how is the mer-culture? Are females allowed opportunities?

If this is a series, you need to think about the ultimate goal your mermaid needs to reach (at end of series), and how living on land affects this goal.
 

Orchestra

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Unless the reason is incidental and simply part of the setup, you almost can't answer that question without also pinning down what this story is about. Is it love she's after? Wanting to be more like normal folks? Finding a community? What is it that interests you in her mermaid-ness?

Since there are no evidence Mermaids exist or can through science (at the moment), the story genre would be Fantasy.
This is not what defines fantasy as literary quality or a genre, though. Mermaids exist in many types of literature – magical realism, science fiction, surrealism, slipstream or fairy tale, just to name a few. And I don't think arguing about the genre of this piece is very fruitful, especially when none of us have even read the thing.
 

Bulletproof

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Thanks for the tips!
I mean, stories where characters rely on God or Jesus aren't automatically considered fantasy, so why should a story involving a non-Western deity be considered as such?

It's not the same as if the MC is workshipping this diety.

At the risk of offending a bunch of people, I'd say that when a supernatural being has a baby and is a member of the MC's immediate family, I'd consider it... something other than mainstream. Set in 2012, I think most people would agree.

If I squeeze my little brain I can imagine a mainstream story where the MC is a mermaid. Where the mermaidness and lore are not the focus of the story, where I'm not even sure if the MC is actually a mermaid or just thinks of herself as one. Having a supernatural mother and a mermaid backstory invalidates those indulgences.
 

HoneyBadger

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If your work has a literary bent, it's magical realism *if* the mermaidness is a metaphor for some larger theme.

Otherwise, it's urban fantasy, and there's nothing wrong with that.

To the point, the land/sea thing is less of a problem for me than *why* the mother is given the choice in the first place?

Also what's your end-game? Publication? Fun?
 

backslashbaby

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Travel, naturally :) I know that's not the only way to go, but the urge to explore what's out there can be very strong and folks understand it, imho.

An ocean reason could be that there's some reason mermaids can't go to a far-off ocean place. Maybe there is a dangerous pass they can't go through? It's a place all mermaids would love to visit, almost a mythical place. Voila! Cross the land instead to get there :)

She may have to scuba dive to see it once she gets there, though, if she can't do the underwater thing on her own anymore. Still works for me.
 

frimble3

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All excellent questions/suggestions, especially the ones about the mother's backstory. Was she a mermaid who lived on land for a while, or a human who became a mermaid? Two very different perspectives. Maybe she regrets her choice to become a mermaid, but is told 'No backsies', so she chooses differently for her daughter?


It still doesn't make sense to me why she would choose what seems to be the more difficult path. Nostalgia is the only reason I can come up with--perhaps the mother feels lonely or estranged from the other mermaids and thinks the human world is nicer and/or more interesting? There must be a better reason than that.

Why would it be a more difficult path? Children tend to accept however they are raised as 'normal'.
And, I have a different motive for the mother, but I don't know that it will work for you, it doesn't present the mother in a very good light.
She sent the child to live on land because she didn't want her. It's the equivalent of sending your kid off to boarding school because she cramps your style. Her official story is something high-minded about 'opportunities' and 'cultural enrichment', but really, it's because she wants to able to swim off without thinking about the kid.
 

Allen R. Brady

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There's something in the ocean that terrifies her. Maybe something real; maybe something mythic. Maybe even something that's looking for your MC.
 

kkbe

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Mom does it because her one true love walked the Earth, walked away, and she couldn't follow. . .

She made a bargain with somebody years before, she had no choice, kind of like: I'll help you now but you're going to owe me your first born later. . .

Her kid is a pawn in a game of Gods. . .kind of like in "Clash of the Titans," Gods are testing some poor sap, placing bets; of course, Poseidon's involved. . .
 
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