Hey, what do you guys think of this basic idea I have for a novel?
> 18 year old guy molests his younger half sister
> gets kicked out after she tells CYFD and couch surfs for a while
> tries to hold an apartment while working at Wal-Mart for a while (his mom helps him a bit)
> starts to date date girl with BPD
> loses his apartment and moves in with his friend's family
> his mom ends up letting him and BPD girl live there illegally
> dude encourages BPD girl to go off her meds so she can do acid and other drugs with him
> has fight with BPD girl one night which results in them quitting their jobs
> girl becomes a prostitute to support them
> guy continues to molest his sister while BPD girl is out doing sessions
> they do a lot of heroin together throughout all this
> they get their own apartment after his mom gets everyone kicked out because she won't pay all the rent
> both of them get really strung out on heroin and a little meth
> BPD girl has nervous breakdown and has to stop prostituting because she gets busted
> they temporarily move in with his grandparents until they get fed up with the couple's erratic behavior
> BPD girl ends up in hospital and her family takes her back
> dude becomes homeless and turns to intravenous drugs instead of smoking them
> dude sleeps with random girls he meets at punk shows
> dude catches AIDS
then the rest of the story is him dying of AIDS as he reflects on his life and continues to lose his already feeble mind
(I might cut out the Wal-Mart part of the plot and just skip to him being homeless...idk yet.)
What makes you think that anybody would want to read your autobiography?
>>7472826
Don't really like the ending.
what if you end it when he gets kicked out of his grandparents house?
Like, all this terrible shit happens and his grand parents are still willing to take him in. and it almost seems like things might be good again. cause crazy girl is gone and someone kind of believes in him. but then he fucks it all up, again, and realizes that he's burned his last bridge. and that's the end.
>>7472829
....what do you mean?
Do you think I am the prostitute or AIDS guy? lol
>>7472826
I'm pretty sure there isn't actually medication for BPD, since it's learned behavior not an imbalance of brain chemistry or anything
Also this is the sort of thing plot that puts me to sleep with a sneer on my face but whatever, if the prose is good it could be okay
>>7472831
I like that better but I still want him to catch AIDS at some point.
>>7472836
Nah, most shrinks would put a person on an SSRI for Bipolar disorder. Lithium, too, if it were bad enough.
>>7472836
I forgot to specify she is borderline co morbid with bipolar 1, so she is prone to psychosis when she gets strung out and off her meds. Sorry for not articulating that.
>>7472826
The main character sounds like an asshole, a completely unlikable and irredeemable piece of shit. I honestly wouldn't be able to read a book about this cocksucker.
>>7472839
eh, that just strikes me as a bit heavy handed.
like, that's a real physical consequence to his behavior.
i guess it could work, but if you did it that way, id' want for him to be, emotionally, unmoved by any of it. you know? like he's bummed that he has AIDS but he still hasn't actually learned anything. he just has to change his behavior for self-preservation.
>>7472846
Thank you, this was immensely helpful. I haven't written in a long time. The prostitute character is loosely based off me and AIDS guy is loosely based off my ex boyfriend.
>>7472851
i was going to say this shit is 3edgy5me but if you've got the life experience to bring truth to the story then you should write this.
>>7472851
no problem.
good luck.
it actually sounds like something i would read desu.
if you wanna shoot me an email, i'd be happy to give you feedback once you have an actual draft.
here's an old email address for me:
[email protected]
>>7472860
Thank you. Your comment almost made me cry. I'm not kidding. This would be so cathartic for me to write about. I would actually feel like everything I went through wasn't for nothing.
>>7472860
this, strungout teens doing too many hugs & drugs is usually cringeworthy creative writing class fodder when it's fictional imitation BUT imo it's an incredibly popular subject for imitation because the real thing can be done so right
i like the idea.... dont skip how he becomes homeless, even if you don't want to write it just make it the first chapter.... or have him remember it at some point in the story, because its a pretty good (and realistic) back-story
>>7472862
I probably will sometime.
I'll write yours down, but it might take me a while to come up with anything.
Thank you!
>>7472876
We are in our early 20's.
I hope I could pull it off right. It's hard for me to even articulate the challenges I face as a writer. It has a lot to do with my memory and condition. I know it would only be loosely based off of what I've been through, but like I said, I haven't had the chance to sit down and write in years and still struggle with organizing my thoughts. It's hard for me to even talk at AA/NA meetings.
>>7472878
I'm glad you like it. I'll definitely try to incorporate as many of my genuine experiences into the story. As many as I can recall.
>>7472867
you're welcome anon. writing will be good for you. try to make time to write instead of trying to find time to write.
i highly recommend donald maass' book "writing the breakout novel" or the associated workbook. you're working from real life but it's good to learn storytelling techniques so you can construct the narrative.
also, try to find a writer's group irl to get critiques. /lit/ is not a great place for this.
good luck.
>make time to write.
>>7472967
I'll write it down so I don't forget. You are right- I should make time for myself to do this instead of boring journal entries about whatever I did during the day instead of working on something creative. My grasp of language is one of the only parts of me that survived the last 6 years. I think /lit/ is pretty alright. Sometimes I get helpful answers, however I don't come here a lot. Finding a group in person would definitely strengthen me, though. I need to work on my public speaking skills.
>>7472826
What's your target audience, 13 year old girls because your plot doesn't seem interesting at all. None of your characters seem remotely likable or relatable either. You're going to have to talk about why the guy is a total fucking retard because the guy is a special type of stupid. Don't mention wal-mart either, it seems tacky and just don't. Replace it with a vague grocery store or retail store, something made up.
desu senpai I think your novel needs serious work and your premise just isn't up to snuff - it just doesn't seem remotely plausible and I doubt you're skilled enough to make it work. If I wanted to read a novel that's a downer and has the characters be stupid/horrible people then I'd read someone's edgy fanfiction.
>>7472984
there's nothing wrong with journalling. it's good practice.
i found my writing groups through nanowrimo (a good place to find other writers. the next sessions are april and july) and one that was hosted at my mom's senior center. your na/aa group can probably help you find one too.
>>7473004
I found this immensely helpful. I definitely won't flat out say it was Wal-Mart. I also agree with you that it be necessary to explain why the characters are the way they are. That would actually be a huge part of it. And yeah, I like the idea of it being a downer. I'm a nihilist who thinks life is meaningless. That would be the point of the story. I might not be skilled enough yet, but if I practice enough these next few years, it might be feasible. I'd want it to be a la' The Consumer by M. Gira. Most of his characters aren't likeable either.
>>7472826
It could be alright, biggest thing you have going for you so far is that it's mostly true. Although the whole thing seems pretty edgy, and a lot of it seems to be name-dropping 'bad' things: molestation, BPD, prostitute, homeless, meth, AIDS
>>7473026
Any suggestions how to soften the edges? I'm...not trying to be edgy.
As long as you understand clearly that your story is a meditation on the destructive power of lust and that it should end with a redemptive message about chastity.
>>7473032
I think if you take the time in the book to explain why the dark things are happening, it should be fine. It'd be a problem if the novel is just "I had bipolar and then I was a prostitute and then we did heroin and then he was homeless and then he got aids"
reminds me of the movie heaven knows what but with aids
>>7473038
fuck off christ poster
>>7473051
Way to read the thread fuckwit.
