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View Full Version : A idea that's been brewing..


Wearedoomed
06-21-2009, 04:29 PM
Hey, everyone. I've been brainstorming for what I'd like to write as a novel someday, and seeing as A.) Don Bluth's work was a huge influence for this idea and B.) This is a Bluth fansite, I'd like to share it to you all and see what you'd think:

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The story revolves around a character named Macy, a small and very eccentric Siberian Husky pup, who is inspired by her heroes out of comic books and movies and makes it her goal to become a super-hero. Her best (and in a sense, only) friend is a fox kit by the name of Ryan, whose actually quite shy and timid. After one particular day when she sees Ryan being bullied by stray cats (I‘ll explain why later), she fights them off and determines to protect those in need from the stray cats, and befriends Ryan and unknowingly incurring the wrath of the entire populace of the stray cats. After talking and sharing similar interests, Macy and Ryan become fast friends and Macy trusts him enough to take him along as her sidekick, although Ryan is a bit reluctant at first and explains the implications of being an enemy to the cats: Although the stray cats themselves are moronic (to put it lightly), their so-called and even more-so stupid “President” has an unknown connection (who is later revealed to be his sister, a domesticated cat who belongs to the town’s Mayor and will be the main antagonist) who gives him advice on how to take over the city via real estate by forcing a plethora of phony taxes onto the rest of the animal populace; The strays bullied Ryan earlier because Ryan refused to pay a recently made-up tax. So, Macy decides to seek out the “President”, his “adviser”, and bring the both of them to justice.

Sounds pretty simple, right? Well, while that’s the plot in a nutshell, the story will be mostly story/character-driven with some action here and there. And there will be strong social themes in it as well; primarily prejudice and bigotry. Ryan is constantly picked on by many of the animals due to being a fox, which are a huge minority in the city, and thus is socially ranked even lower then the stray cats. Macy is the first (and only) one to see past that and, at times, even comes under fire herself a couple times for it. At one point, she furiously confronts another dog when she sees him picking on Ryan for no reason other then because of principle. So, as you can tell, I’m trying to keep the story (despite being a super-hero story) as straightforward, simple, and realistic as possible.

I’m trying to keep it “PG” for the most part and it’ll be a good combination of action, adventure, and drama. And, also, while it’s kid-friendly, the children aren’t exactly the target demographic, if that makes any sense.

For the last few weeks, I’ve been trying to write it down on paper, but Writer’s Block usually gets the better of me lol.

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So, what do you think? Any and all (constructive) advice will be greatly appreciated! If you want, you can even ask me questions (as long as they relate to this) and I'll try to answer them as best as I can. :)

dmgctrl
07-25-2009, 01:02 PM
Moronic cats? I dont think thats been done before, cats are usually portrayed as rather clever and cunning....

Wearedoomed
07-25-2009, 07:52 PM
Moronic cats? I dont think thats been done before, cats are usually portrayed as rather clever and cunning....

Indeed, they have been. And given their personality, It's easy to see why. BUT, my family had a clan of stray cats living under our house for nearly a decade, and trust me, they were anything but "clever and cunning". We had many dogs and a couple birds and (in my opinion) they showed to be sufficiently more intelligent. I firmly believe that (like a human's) an animal's intelligence depends on it's upbringing. Sometimes, I feel that animals have the potential to be even smarter then humans think. And if that truly were the case, the stray cats would be akin to someone who hasn't read or wrote once in his entire life and is easily frightened by complex machinery. So, I'm not writing them as stupid just for the sake of it, I'm trying to add a sort of realism to it. Those cats are essentially uneducated, and they should be portrayed as such. HOWEVER, the main antagonist (whose also a cat), is in fact quite intelligent (as she's a domestic and the intelligence of her owner rubbed off on her) and is the mastermind behind what the strays are trying to accomplish. So, no, they're not ALL moronic lol.


While I'm kinda still on the subject, that brings me to one of the central characters: Ryan the fox kit. He also lives on the streets, but however he's actually fairly street smart. "But Doomed, if your theory on an animal's intellect can apply to stray cats, why not a stray fox?" You ask? Well, just like cats normally would be, foxes can be portrayed as smart too; except the fact that Ryan was raised to be street smart and even kinda taught himself a few things, as since he doesn't have a parental figure by the time the story starts, he's in a situation where he must smarten himself up and adapt (as revealed in the story). And, in reality, foxes are fairly capable of learning and adapting to it's environment as opposed to stray cats who have no real way of adapting and living off themselves. Stray dogs can, stray foxes can, but stray cats can't. So as far as Ryan's intellect goes, once again it's based on a sense of realism.

(P.S. If you're a "Cat Person" I apologize)

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Moronic cats aside, though, what did you think of the concept of the story?

dmgctrl
07-30-2009, 11:36 PM
I like the story! Is it something thats a work in progress or something that you have ready to roll?

Wearedoomed
07-31-2009, 09:51 PM
I like the story! Is it something thats a work in progress or something that you have ready to roll?

A work in progress. I've been alternating between brainstorming and actually sitting down and writing it for close to several months. Writer's Block can be such a pain at times but I'm managing, though lol.

johncbeggs
08-01-2009, 02:33 PM
it just doesnt sound realisticand natural to me , sorry weardoomed!

Wearedoomed
08-01-2009, 05:59 PM
it just doesnt sound realisticand natural to me , sorry weardoomed!

Don't be, man. I completely understand your POV. If someone else were to have pitched this, I'd kinda think the same thing. But, however, it doesn't mean that I'm not taking painstaking measures to make it as realistic as possible. I know it's not going to be the most realistic/natural thing on earth; it's a story about a dog wanting to be a super-hero, so of course it won't be. :laughing: But, obtaining as much realism I can get is indeed a priority.

If you have any questions, though, I'll be happy to answer!

Rodney
08-01-2009, 06:04 PM
It would be good practice... and good for your story... if you'd thumbnail it out.

This would help you determine what elements aer working for you now and what to add or leave out.

A technique I've never used* but have heard works great for some is to doodle out your ideas and sketches on 3x5 index cards. Grab a large open space like a living room floor and start laying them out. Pretend you are presenting your story to a board of your peers. (this is in simplistic terms the essense and origin of storyboarding)

As you go you may find you are missing important stuff.
Add it to a new 3x5 card. (It can be a drawing, a word... what ever cements the idea)

Get with the program.
You don't have time for writer's block. :)

*I lied. I used it once testing the process many years ago. It worked great and that's why I suggest it here!

Wearedoomed
08-01-2009, 06:14 PM
It would be good practice... and good for your story... if you'd thumbnail it out.

This would help you determine what elements aer working for you now and what to add or leave out.

A technique I've never used* but have heard works great for some is to doodle out your ideas and sketches on 3x5 index cards. Grab a large open space like a living room floor and start laying them out. Pretend you are presenting your story to a board of your peers. (this is in simplistic terms the essense and origin of storyboarding)

As you go you may find you are missing important stuff.
Add it to a new 3x5 card. (It can be a drawing, a word... what ever cements the idea)

Get with the program.
You don't have time for writer's block. :)

*I lied. I used it once testing the process many years ago. It worked great and that's why I suggest it here!

A wonderful idea, good sir! But, I'm not much of an "animator", per se. I can draw various fantasy-based creatures (as best I can), but I'm no master like all of you and Don Bluth. I actually tried to draw the two leads, and I kept failing miserably lol. However, I'll try to do something along the lines of what you suggested. Thank you very much for your advice!

Rodney
08-01-2009, 06:51 PM
Don't misunderstand.
You can draw on the index cards but you don't have to.
You definitely don't need to be an animator.

If you can't draw... write a word.
One word may be enough but write as many as you need to.

It seems you are working on your story at this point.

Don't get bogged down in the process.
Don't wait for technology to do it for you.
Don't invest more time and energy than you have to.
Keep it simple and just do it.

I'm confident you can draw well too but that's a completely different topic. :)

Wearedoomed
08-01-2009, 07:15 PM
Don't misunderstand.
You can draw on the index cards but you don't have to.
You definitely don't need to be an animator.

If you can't draw... write a word.
One word may be enough but write as many as you need to.

It seems you are working on your story at this point.

Don't get bogged down in the process.
Don't wait for technology to do it for you.
Don't invest more time and energy than you have to.
Keep it simple and just do it.

I'm confident you can draw well too but that's a completely different topic. :)

If I misunderstood, I apologize. I will look into the whole "Flash Card" plan, though. It seems pretty straightforward yet effective.

johncbeggs
08-02-2009, 04:21 AM
I have an idea, change the husky into a mutt and the fox into a racoon :D would work i think!

Wearedoomed
08-02-2009, 09:43 AM
I have an idea, change the husky into a mutt and the fox into a racoon :D would work i think!

Hmm.....I'm sorry but I'm not quite sure how that could work.

I actually looked up Siberian Huskies when I was thinking about what to do with the Macy character, and after reading about their energetic (and somewhat eccentric) nature, I knew that that particular breed was the perfect choice. And besides, I always envisioned her as a husky from the get-go. :) Same goes for Ryan being a fox.

If you could explain in detail how your presented idea could work, I'd be happy to hear you out.