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Hi, my name's Mack, and I'm new here...sort of. I heard about this website from a friend, and it sounded good enough for me to check out. Like most of you here (i'm assuming), I like to write science fiction and fantasy, but mostly sci-fi, in addition to mysteries and horror...sometimes. I like to read Stephen King, Dean Koontz<sp?>, OSC, and others, and I like to draw whatever whacked out images I see in my head, or in front of my face. I'm six-foot nothing, a Scorpio, and I like long walks on the beach.
Okay, that last part is a lie, but I couldn't resist.
Anyway, I had an idea a while back (and to tell the truth, the Superman thread kind of helped it along) about genetically engineered kids with some funky powers who escape from their lab/prison Olyumpus (which allows for endless "These are my children"/"I am God" jokes from the slightly deranged leader of the whole establishment) and have to make a life in this world that doesn't understand them and fears them...maybe. If they choose (or more accurately, if I choose) to let the world know about them. Otherwise, it'll be a big secret, and only a few kids around their age will know. In either case, throughout the whole thing, the remaining agents of Olympus ('cuz they blew the place up upon escaping) along with other special children who actually liked the place, are chasing them the entire time.
Okay, now for the question: I pitched this idea to a friend, and he called it a gross mix between Harry Potter and Dark Angel. In retrospect, I realize that's kind of true. Still, does that mean I shouldn't write the story/stories? Would it make it less marketable?
posted
I think that it depends on partly how well you pull it off. It could be incredibly bad or really good. You have to be careful around those sort of things. Some writers can take incredibly cheesey ideas and make them into really good stories. Personally I like to play around with those kind of things, but unless I'm feeling really good about it, I don't use it. Have fun!
Posts: 2 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
In my experience I have seen that when you start with a "Its like this and this combined, with more ninjas" or whatever, it isn't always a good idea. Try to refrain from explaining a story idea using combinations of other books you have read, is my advice (well, not really for this topic, but in general). It just makes it look unoriginal right off the bat.
Your idea sounds great till you start talking about Harry Potter and whatnot (not that its a bad book, I love the series).
I guess its good to have a frame of reference though sometimes eh?
posted
I think that the idea is a good one if you pull it off right (but then that is the million-dollar point, isn't it). However, I must agree with Goober not to use combinations. As I have found, the more you try to make it different than other stories, the more you may add to the story and create a solid 'uniqueness', if you will. Do be careful how you treat the 'lab' so that it is not too like the lab in Secret of Nimh or the lab in OSC's Ender's Shadow.
Posts: 101 | Registered: Dec 2002
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posted
You've never written this story before. THAT makes it unique enough that a lot of readers won't recognize it as anything else. As long as you don't start categorizing things in your head as being from one story or another, you shouldn't have a problem.
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