My idea

[TheMewster]

Dunno whether I'll go through with it or not but I have this idea for a manga. It's about a group of high schoolers that decide to stop being like the Norm ( the popular group that is in social and legislative due to leader's 'connections' power over the school; symbolizes worldliness.) and chase after freedom and lost dreams. I plan to make this a Christian series. Thing is, has this already been done? And if it has been done, is my variation unique enough where I can get away with it? Thanks and God bless!

[Tsukuyomi]

Moved to New Prodjects and Ideas ^_^

It sounds like a pretty good idea ^__^ I look forward to seeing how things turn out ^__^

[Atria35]

That sounds like every high school story ever. The one that most immediately comes to mind is 'Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants', though I know that it's different.

.... *hates saying stuff like this, but it sounds super-cliched*

[USSRGirl]

True, it's an old idea, but every story has been done before. That's a fact that trips most writers up; everything is cliche. Get over it. You're never gonna be original. What you can do is put your own twist on it and make it a story worth reading in terms of quality. If it's something you wanna write, go do it. If nothing else you'll learn and grow as a writer from it. Writers who get too caught up in analyzing whether an idea is good or bad miss out on actually doing any real writing. It's like a professional athlete wondering if their jumpshot is good while never practicing it. One of my professors famously said take a minute every day and allow yourself to write badly. Write what you want and enjoy. True facts.

However, I do agree with Atria that when you reach the level of wanting crit on it, you will run into some in terms of the plot being done a lot. It sounds a tad heavy handed, but then Christian lit has never really been my cup of tea so I may not be the best person to advise there.

Personally, I'd much rather love to have a story told from the mean girls POV (I'm sure that's been done before... ohhh cliches) but mainly I like stories that don't cast people in cardboard cut outs but rather depict more human characters.

One biggie; teens can't have legislative power. Sorry. No matter how much of a bully you are, no matter how rich the lead girl's daddy is, it just isn't realistic. They can't be the anti-Christ. They're just kids with a learner's permit, no job, living in mom's house, and soon to be collecting college debt once the days of popular crowds are over and only useless degrees and minimum wage jobs await them...

Edit: I sounded so jerky and cynical in that reply, I don't think I got my main point across. If you have the idea in your heart then roll with it and let it develop on its own! More things will come to you as you write - it doesn't need to be perfectly unique and publish worthy. Creative should not be denied! Rawr!

[Atria35]

I know what you mean, USSR Girl, and I realize that it will have been done before. I guess my issue is that I'm not seeing the twist that will make it original.

And thank you for bringing up the legislative issue.

PS- I will also say this: Every single piece of modern Christian literature that I have seen contains the following:
1) The bad people are emo/goth/have tattoos or piercings
2) Someone is working with the devil

I would really love for you to be original and NOT use these. At this point, I put down the book at the first sign of this. I am super-sick of it.

[USSRGirl]

I'd be the first to agree with you there, Atria. Like I said, I'm not a fan of the Christian label genre (read: hate ) for all the reasons you mentioned and more; it tends to be corny, "inspirational," heavy handed, and poorly written - not the kinda stuff I could really get into. Haha, yeah! And goths working with the devil! With demonic tattoos that sap their brains and make them emos!

I do think the twist at this point isn't original enough to make it distinct, but I think it can be worked on as ideas come. I get my best ideas from sucky ideas, ya know? Sometimes a burst of inspiration is just an idea in the raw and more "meat" can be added to the story/concept as you go.

Also not sure how much crit Mewster was looking for, so feel free to disregard this, Mew, if it isn't helpful to you. :<

[Lynna]

I think this can be done well if done right

[FllMtl Novelist]

[quote="TheMewster (post: 1481507)"]Dunno whether I'll go through with it or not but I have this idea for a manga. It's about a group of high schoolers that decide to stop being like the Norm ( the popular group that is in social and legislative due to leader's 'connections' power over the school]
I haven't read much (if any?) Christian fiction, but whether it fits in that genre or not, if you want to try it you should go for it. Writing of any kind is good even if nothing seems to come out of it, because you get the practice.

Side note: If you're writing Christian fiction or any other kind, you should have some knowledge of what's been done in that genre so you can make your work stand out. Whatever you write, you should to some degree be a fan of the genre it's in.

And Atria, if you're not a fan of the genre, I'm not sure it makes sense for you tell her to avoid that kind of thing. It sounds cliched, but maybe to fans of the genre that kind of thing's a staple, and something fans look for? (Again, I don't read Christian literature, so I don't know.)

That said, I'd hate to see all goths portrayed as evil, so maybe you could have one of the good guys be goth, too? Maybe you could have a "most-people-shun-her-but-she's-actually-a-nice-person" thing going. Just an idea.

I'm no expert, but I hope some of that helps, Mewster. ^^; Don't get too discouraged!

[mechana2015]

That said, I'd hate to see all goths portrayed as evil, so maybe you could have one of the good guys be goth, too? Maybe you could have a "most-people-shun-her-but-she's-actually-a-nice-person" thing going. Just an idea.

Or she could portray them as real people rather than some good/evil stereotype.

[Okami]

I'm with Mech. Just because a person fits any one stereotype doesn't mean they are said stereotype.

[Atria35]

@ Fllmtl-

It might be a staple, but that doesn't mean it's a good one. And it comes off as more of a lack of creativity than anything else when it's done. Stereotypes aren't cool, and neither is not being original.

I love Christian fiction- it's just that teen stories like these are disturbingly similar. They all have the same story, with different characters. It's like they think their readers don't have brains or don't want something different.

[FllMtl Novelist]

Or she could portray them as real people rather than some good/evil stereotype.

Well yeah, whichever side of the conflict the character is on, he/she should be well developed, not a cutout. I simply meant that since goths apparently tend to be the 'bad' people (in Christian fiction, I don't mean irl), it might be nice to have a goth, despite his/her appearance, be among the 'good guys', or friends with the protagonist. Like any other 'hero' in the story. I didn't mean make the person a complete angel, and I didn't mean she had to force it in for the sake of having a 'good' goth. Sorry I wasn't clear.

@ Fllmtl-

It might be a staple, but that doesn't mean it's a good one. And it comes off as more of a lack of creativity than anything else when it's done. Stereotypes aren't cool, and neither is not being original.

I love Christian fiction- it's just that teen stories like these are disturbingly similar. They all have the same story, with different characters. It's like they think their readers don't have brains or don't want something different.

Thinking it over again, you're right. I was thinking of criticism of staples of other genres, like "the hoarding, riderless dragon is always evil", but that isn't the same as the "goth=evil" thing, because goths are real people, in real life. Dragons are made-up, so you can chalk up their repetitious evil intentions to being 'built in'; not so with real people. I didn't think my comment to you through as thoroughly as I should have; my mistake.

I didn't realize you're a fan of the genre. I haven't read any teen stories like that; if you're right and they're all the same, I agree that's pretty bad. I hope they get some fresh blood in that market.

With your thoughts in mind, I encourage Mewster to look for a way to make her story stand out.

[Atria35]

^ It's okay. I can understand where you were coming from, and I've done the same thing with character stereotypes.

I'm as fond of Christian fiction as anything- as long as it's interesting and well-written, I'm up for it. I've had too much exposure to teen fiction through friends who are fans, though, and the overwhelming story is very much like what Mewster outlined (not to say she can't do it well, I'm just not seeing any part of it that's original yet).

But Mewster, I'm going to say that you should still go for it- just know that you can make good Christian fiction without pounding themes into the reader's heads (the worldliness would be so very obvious in your original idea. We aren't stupid).

[ABlipinTime]

So um, Mewster... What are your thoughts?