I require your opinions.

[earphonesan]

I have an idea for a story, and want some feedback before I begin. Sorry if I don't have much to go on.

The main character is an obligatory stereotypical adult male type, but he's not terribly important. The story's not really going to be about him, it's just from his perspective.

The story will be about a 23 year old woman, who pretty much has the mental capacity of a kid, due to some sort of trauma/abuse. I suppose that's a bad way to describe it, since she's able to interact well with people, and lives by herself, and has a job. I guess she has child-like reasoning skills and delusions. (Like, if I can't see you, you can't see me. Things like that.)

The setting was originally going to be modern day, because fantasy really wouldn't fit, but I'm thinking perhaps future? (Not space, or inter-galactic, just technologically advanced.) I'm leaning toward modern day, but I want to hear what you guys think.

As far as plot, honestly I haven't thought of it yet. So far, all I have is a man finding and protecting a woman with psychological trauma. It's not going to be an action, comedy, or fantasy story. Most likely, it'd just be a story about dealing with everyday stuff. (But not in a crappy "slice of life" way.)

So anyway, your thoughts and/or suggestions would be appreciated.

[ZeeAk]

At 1/1/11 03:14 AM, earphonesan wrote: The main character is an obligatory stereotypical adult male type, but he's not terribly important. The story's not really going to be about him, it's just from his perspective.

Then he's the narrator, not the main character.

The story will be about a 23 year old woman,

This is your main character; your protagonist.

who pretty much has the mental capacity of a kid, due to some sort of trauma/abuse. I suppose that's a bad way to describe it, since she's able to interact well with people, and lives by herself, and has a job. I guess she has child-like reasoning skills and delusions. (Like, if I can't see you, you can't see me. Things like that.)

Maybe a schizophrenic personality would be better for this particular character. Having a child-like state of mind means that you struggle to do basic things like interact with adults, live by yourself and have a job. I work with two girls like this, and I can tell you that they have problems performing basic tasks, despite their physical age.

The setting was originally going to be modern day, because fantasy really wouldn't fit, but I'm thinking perhaps future? (Not space, or inter-galactic, just technologically advanced.) I'm leaning toward modern day, but I want to hear what you guys think.

The setting really doesn't matter as far as this story should be concerned. In a proper, riveting, character-driven story, the setting is unnecessary to specify. Stories about what makes people people, which seems to be what you're aiming for, should be - mostly - timeless. People's ideals and thoughts can be affected by time periods, but for the most part, they're individual and setting is irrelevant, like I've been saying.

As far as plot, honestly I haven't thought of it yet. So far, all I have is a man finding and protecting a woman with psychological trauma. It's not going to be an action, comedy, or fantasy story. Most likely, it'd just be a story about dealing with everyday stuff. (But not in a crappy "slice of life" way.)

How can you expect us to give you feedback on a story that you haven't plotted out yet? It's like buying the frame for a picture you're going to paint, and then wanting an opinion on what the drawing's going to be like when it's finished. It's difficult to do, and you're not giving us a lot to provide feedback on.

So anyway, your thoughts and/or suggestions would be appreciated.

I hope that what I've said is helpful in some capacity.

[SirCannabisClock]

At 1/1/11 03:32 AM, Dr34m3r wrote:

At 1/1/11 03:14 AM, earphonesan wrote: The main character is an obligatory stereotypical adult male type, but he's not terribly important. The story's not really going to be about him, it's just from his perspective.

Then he's the narrator, not the main character.

He is still a main character.

The story will be about a 23 year old woman,

This is your main character; your protagonist.

No, that is the focal character.

As for the idea, it seems alright if you really think you can milk a full story out of these two. But the problem therein is that the idea itself is probably %5 of overall writing, if that. If you're serious about attempting to write something I'd suggest going to barnes and noble and getting a book about it. Or a torrent.

[ZeeAk]

At 1/1/11 07:40 AM, SirCannabisClock wrote:

At 1/1/11 03:14 AM, earphonesan wrote:

, but he's not terribly important.

He is still a main character.

A main character that's not actually terribly important? That'd be new. It'd be like headlining Ranjit from How I Met Your Mother as a main character.

No, that is the focal character.

Protagonist.

Also, advising him to download a torrent is promoting illicit activity.

[earphonesan]

Thanks.

[Arthur-Swordswinger]

At 1/1/11 03:32 AM, Dr34m3r wrote:

At 1/1/11 03:14 AM, earphonesan wrote: The main character is an obligatory stereotypical adult male type, but he's not terribly important. The story's not really going to be about him, it's just from his perspective.

Then he's the narrator, not the main character.

The story will be about a 23 year old woman,

This is your main character; your protagonist.

You're completely right there. Other's visiting this thread should ignore the comment that says otherwise.

AlI really wanted to say was covered already by Dreamer so the best I can say is plot it out a little more and they let us know. You didn't really give us anything to critisize here but I'd be interested in throwing my opinion out there and maybe helping you figure out how you want it to play out.