Plots/Ideas | National Novel Writing Month

I thought what with almost being within the 24 hour countdown until November and all this madness starts, that it'd be nice to have a thread in which to get ideas/plots out there, as well as ask for any help if it's needed.

So I'll start!

Basics: I'm writing a story called "Interlock". It's probably going to turn out as being set in the near future (2050 or even sooner) on planet Earth. The title comes from a new hallucinatory drug (in the story) also called Interlock. The basic idea behind this hook is that interlock is drug taken intramuscularly by two (or more? Unsure if I'm going to go there) individuals at a time, (this is where it gets kinda surreal/supernatural) after which the two people experience a shared hallucination. I'm hoping to show this by having different sections of the book be reality while other sections are 'trips', and as the story goes onward the two start to blend together. It's going to at least dabble in horror, and I think I'm going to add a bit of supernatural aspects to the story, and to the drug itself. The main character is probably going to be named Gabriel, and will be somewhere between a high school senior and a college sophomore. I'm sorely tempted to put him in school at Miskatonic (anyone who is unsure of what I'm talking about, it's a fictional school of H.P Lovecraft's; a setting used in many of his stories. Anyone who knows what I'm talking about- High five!) but I feel like it's important for me to set him in either a real school/area, or at least one I come up with myself. I'm still working on sub-plots (I don't want it just to be a whole long thing about this one drug 'cause I'll definitely get fed up with it, not to mention how any readers will feel!).

Uncertainties (A few thoughts I've jotted down):
1) Have some sort of system where instead of having a literal drug that is injected, people start popping up as "Carriers" of it, and other people inject blood/some sort of body fluid from the carrier into themselves to get the high- the catch is, it's highly likely that they'll become a carrier themselves (while at the same time addicting them to the 'drug'), thus it begins its spread throughout the city/country/world. The catch is, it only gives a high when passed on to a non-carrier (This is a bit zombie-esque, but I think it's a pretty original take on the idea.) This allows me to play with ideas like forced injection, what happens when a region runs out or runs low on non-carriers, etc.

2) The drug is an infernal creation, somehow originally coming from hell or some other sort of supernatural source.

Anyway, those are my first ideas, I'd LOVE to get some NaNoMail feedback, (remember this is my first time really trying to put together a piece of writing of this caliber) Thanks for any thoughts/criticisms/ideas!!

Still working on:
-Characters!
-Sub-plots
-Exact setting (it'll be somewhere in the US, somewhere on the east coast.)

-MK
----------
Heaven or Hell? Let's ROCK!

OneSix_TwoOne	Plots/Ideas
1,218 / 50,000 Joined: Oct 28, 2007 Location: NC. Posts: 3 Posted on: Oct 30, 2007 - 19 04	I thought what with almost being within the 24 hour countdown until November and all this madness starts, that it'd be nice to have a thread in which to get ideas/plots out there, as well as ask for any help if it's needed. So I'll start! Basics: I'm writing a story called "Interlock". It's probably going to turn out as being set in the near future (2050 or even sooner) on planet Earth. The title comes from a new hallucinatory drug (in the story) also called Interlock. The basic idea behind this hook is that interlock is drug taken intramuscularly by two (or more? Unsure if I'm going to go there) individuals at a time, (this is where it gets kinda surreal/supernatural) after which the two people experience a shared hallucination. I'm hoping to show this by having different sections of the book be reality while other sections are 'trips', and as the story goes onward the two start to blend together. It's going to at least dabble in horror, and I think I'm going to add a bit of supernatural aspects to the story, and to the drug itself. The main character is probably going to be named Gabriel, and will be somewhere between a high school senior and a college sophomore. I'm sorely tempted to put him in school at Miskatonic (anyone who is unsure of what I'm talking about, it's a fictional school of H.P Lovecraft's; a setting used in many of his stories. Anyone who knows what I'm talking about- High five!) but I feel like it's important for me to set him in either a real school/area, or at least one I come up with myself. I'm still working on sub-plots (I don't want it just to be a whole long thing about this one drug 'cause I'll definitely get fed up with it, not to mention how any readers will feel!). Uncertainties (A few thoughts I've jotted down): 1) Have some sort of system where instead of having a literal drug that is injected, people start popping up as "Carriers" of it, and other people inject blood/some sort of body fluid from the carrier into themselves to get the high- the catch is, it's highly likely that they'll become a carrier themselves (while at the same time addicting them to the 'drug'), thus it begins its spread throughout the city/country/world. The catch is, it only gives a high when passed on to a non-carrier (This is a bit zombie-esque, but I think it's a pretty original take on the idea.) This allows me to play with ideas like forced injection, what happens when a region runs out or runs low on non-carriers, etc. 2) The drug is an infernal creation, somehow originally coming from hell or some other sort of supernatural source. Anyway, those are my first ideas, I'd LOVE to get some NaNoMail feedback, (remember this is my first time really trying to put together a piece of writing of this caliber) Thanks for any thoughts/criticisms/ideas!! Still working on: -Characters! -Sub-plots -Exact setting (it'll be somewhere in the US, somewhere on the east coast.) -MK ---------- Heaven or Hell? Let's ROCK!
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webaker	RE: Plots/Ideas
3,518 / 50,000 Joined: Oct 25, 2004 Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina Posts: 5 Posted on: Oct 31, 2007 - 11 23	I'm going to go ahead and apologize for the meandering nature of this post, because my "plot" is limited to the one or two disconnected ideas that have been bouncing around in my skull for the past few days and I'm hoping that something as concrete as a forum post can help me organize them. At least a little bit. I already have my title regardless, because I am absolutely obsessed with the phrase "Full-tilt Boogie." So, there you have it. A title. It's like magic! I'm also a fan of journeys of self-discovery and the idea of a road trip, so the basic premise is that a single main character, most probably female, will set off from somewhere on the east coast and start driving. I know it will be first person from her perspective, although I haven't got a name for her yet, or a real motive, anyway. I want to incorporate something fantastical or supernatural along the way, something very Neil Gaiman "American Gods"-ish, maybe involving carnival freaks (I am perfectly serious.) On the other end of the spectrum, as a foil, a South American boy trying to escape something and traveling northwards (as opposed to my protagonist, who will be searching for something rather than leaving something behind.) And anyway that's about as far as I've gotten...
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