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brightrosefoxI just posted a question about my novel on one of the creative writing communities. Tell me if this makes any sense:
The story takes place in the early 25th century, in a world where psionic powers are seen everywhere. There are government facilities for it, industries, etc. There are also sections of independant governments who really don't like the idea of psionics being so mainstream. This has been going on for about three centuries or so. Not only can humans interact with the astral plane, people can have spirit guides, polytheism is running neck and neck with monotheism, and nobody finds it weird, scary, kooky, or New-Agey. Of course, in this world there are limits. No one is uber powerful. No one has the power to blow up any world leaders, basically because the human brain has developed an overdeveloped sense of empathy. Besides, psychic superpowers aren't possible for 99 percent of the world's population.
However, every generation there is one or two or three people who have such extreme powers that they could be considered super-psychics. I decided to throw in a little "deux ex machina" and explain that these powers aren't a genetic fluke in themselves, but have a little boost from outside sources -- cosmic entities, "guardians of reality" that inhabit and strengthen human psions. I call them Phoenix, Dragon, Unicorn, Tortoise, and Shadow. They represent the elements and the balance of Good and Evil, Light and Dark, so on and so on. For thousands of years, the main players in this cosmic show have been the Phoenix, the manifestation of Primal Good, and the Shadow, manifestation of Primal Evil. (Keep in mind that I am trying really hard to not distinguish between good and evil; I'm pagan, which shows in the story, and I really don't like the idea of ultimate absolute black and white this or that; I prefer balance. So when I say Good and Evil, I'm not talking religious or spiritual, but basic morality).
The Phoenix and the Shadow have always kept the balance going smoothly. But ocassionally, one gets a little megalomaniacal and tries to tip the scales so the world turns more in that direction. It's the other one's job to grab it, smack it, and snarl "No! Bad immortal cosmic being! No!" Usually, it's the Shadow who gets out of line after living inside a human for so long. The Phoenix, with the help of her lover/consort, the Dragon, and her companions, the Unicorn and Tortoise, brings everything back into balance before the world explodes. But the Shadow, being humanized like the others, has unexpectedly fallen in love with the Phoenix, which always wreaks havoc in their human forms, since the Shadow is prepared to sacrifice the universe to make the Shadow his, and throughout history, inhabits humans who carry a torch for a particular woman who is hosting the Phoenix.
This sets the stage for the current story: Dana, my main character, has just discovered that she is the new Phoenix, passed down from an ancestor. A former boyfriend, Jeremy, is the Shadow. Jeremy, unfortunately, is deranged, cracked, psychotic, and schizophrenic: perfect for the Shadow but bad for humanity. Jeremy is already obsessed with Dana, which fuels the Shadow's raging desire to own the Phoenix. Dana's friends are Ian (the Dragon), Kara (the Unicorn), and Thomas (the Tortoise). Ian and Tom are twins. In fact, this foursome is the first in many generations to have all four entities together alive (the Shadow kills the companions in other incarnations quickly).
So basically, most of the novel in progress so far is the foursome finding out who they are and the roles they play in maintaining cosmic balance. This is fine with them, until the Shadow possesses Jeremy, who is in a mental instutution. He escapes, commits murder, and spends several chapters hunting Dana, who is really getting into the whole Phoenix thing.
Now, my question is this: At the heart, this is a multi-layered character driven love story. You've got the sweet, innocent passionate love and then you've got the dark, obsessive psycho-stalker love. But the story is also a classic good-versus-evil lets all save the world story. And it's also a story about discovering the self.
How do we separate plots and narrow things down when there is so much going on? When I submit this to an agent/editor/publisher, and they ask me "What's it about?", how the heck am I supposed to trim it all down? I haven't even given you guys the entire story and already I made you scroll down a novel in itself! I'm just really frustrated by this. I feel like my head will explode if I can't par down my summary:
What's it about? It's about a group of telepaths in a future world where psionics is the norm, who discover that their already formidable powers are being enhanced by cosmic entities who have chosen them to maintain the balance between good and evil. In the process, they fight personal battles as well as a desperate struggle to save all reality from an all-consuming fate.
Does that sound okay?
For those of you who've read bits and pieces and know me personally, you know my mind is a babbling brook. I'm sure noone of this surprises you in the least. But I'm going to need to sell this, and I need to do it right.
Sigh. I love my created world. I love my characters. They're my kids, my best friends, parts of me. I'm listening to them try and explain it from their end. But I think I need to step outside and pretend I'm Joss Whedon (aka the god-in-human-form of creative writing) and sum it up in a couple of sentences.
This may take a while...
The story takes place in the early 25th century, in a world where psionic powers are seen everywhere. There are government facilities for it, industries, etc. There are also sections of independant governments who really don't like the idea of psionics being so mainstream. This has been going on for about three centuries or so. Not only can humans interact with the astral plane, people can have spirit guides, polytheism is running neck and neck with monotheism, and nobody finds it weird, scary, kooky, or New-Agey. Of course, in this world there are limits. No one is uber powerful. No one has the power to blow up any world leaders, basically because the human brain has developed an overdeveloped sense of empathy. Besides, psychic superpowers aren't possible for 99 percent of the world's population.
However, every generation there is one or two or three people who have such extreme powers that they could be considered super-psychics. I decided to throw in a little "deux ex machina" and explain that these powers aren't a genetic fluke in themselves, but have a little boost from outside sources -- cosmic entities, "guardians of reality" that inhabit and strengthen human psions. I call them Phoenix, Dragon, Unicorn, Tortoise, and Shadow. They represent the elements and the balance of Good and Evil, Light and Dark, so on and so on. For thousands of years, the main players in this cosmic show have been the Phoenix, the manifestation of Primal Good, and the Shadow, manifestation of Primal Evil. (Keep in mind that I am trying really hard to not distinguish between good and evil; I'm pagan, which shows in the story, and I really don't like the idea of ultimate absolute black and white this or that; I prefer balance. So when I say Good and Evil, I'm not talking religious or spiritual, but basic morality).
The Phoenix and the Shadow have always kept the balance going smoothly. But ocassionally, one gets a little megalomaniacal and tries to tip the scales so the world turns more in that direction. It's the other one's job to grab it, smack it, and snarl "No! Bad immortal cosmic being! No!" Usually, it's the Shadow who gets out of line after living inside a human for so long. The Phoenix, with the help of her lover/consort, the Dragon, and her companions, the Unicorn and Tortoise, brings everything back into balance before the world explodes. But the Shadow, being humanized like the others, has unexpectedly fallen in love with the Phoenix, which always wreaks havoc in their human forms, since the Shadow is prepared to sacrifice the universe to make the Shadow his, and throughout history, inhabits humans who carry a torch for a particular woman who is hosting the Phoenix.
This sets the stage for the current story: Dana, my main character, has just discovered that she is the new Phoenix, passed down from an ancestor. A former boyfriend, Jeremy, is the Shadow. Jeremy, unfortunately, is deranged, cracked, psychotic, and schizophrenic: perfect for the Shadow but bad for humanity. Jeremy is already obsessed with Dana, which fuels the Shadow's raging desire to own the Phoenix. Dana's friends are Ian (the Dragon), Kara (the Unicorn), and Thomas (the Tortoise). Ian and Tom are twins. In fact, this foursome is the first in many generations to have all four entities together alive (the Shadow kills the companions in other incarnations quickly).
So basically, most of the novel in progress so far is the foursome finding out who they are and the roles they play in maintaining cosmic balance. This is fine with them, until the Shadow possesses Jeremy, who is in a mental instutution. He escapes, commits murder, and spends several chapters hunting Dana, who is really getting into the whole Phoenix thing.
Now, my question is this: At the heart, this is a multi-layered character driven love story. You've got the sweet, innocent passionate love and then you've got the dark, obsessive psycho-stalker love. But the story is also a classic good-versus-evil lets all save the world story. And it's also a story about discovering the self.
How do we separate plots and narrow things down when there is so much going on? When I submit this to an agent/editor/publisher, and they ask me "What's it about?", how the heck am I supposed to trim it all down? I haven't even given you guys the entire story and already I made you scroll down a novel in itself! I'm just really frustrated by this. I feel like my head will explode if I can't par down my summary:
What's it about? It's about a group of telepaths in a future world where psionics is the norm, who discover that their already formidable powers are being enhanced by cosmic entities who have chosen them to maintain the balance between good and evil. In the process, they fight personal battles as well as a desperate struggle to save all reality from an all-consuming fate.
Does that sound okay?
For those of you who've read bits and pieces and know me personally, you know my mind is a babbling brook. I'm sure noone of this surprises you in the least. But I'm going to need to sell this, and I need to do it right.
Sigh. I love my created world. I love my characters. They're my kids, my best friends, parts of me. I'm listening to them try and explain it from their end. But I think I need to step outside and pretend I'm Joss Whedon (aka the god-in-human-form of creative writing) and sum it up in a couple of sentences.
This may take a while...
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no subject
Date: 2004-05-17 06:22 pm (UTC)"In a future world where psionics is the norm, a group of telepaths discover that their already formidable powers are being enhanced. As their battles become more serious-- and more personal-- they discover what their true purpose is: as warriors in a desperate struggle to save all reality from an all-consuming fate."
...Giving less of your endgame away and making it seem like there's more action. Should have something in there about love, though, in yours or mine. I think it's good to whittle things down because you'll remember better what your focus is-- especially in a plot as complex as yours. :)
no subject
Date: 2004-05-18 04:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-05-18 06:05 am (UTC)