Looking for ideas for my fantasy novel

Teresa Edgerton said:
Anyone capable of taking your details and turning them into a finished story has plenty of ideas of their own -- and no need to steal yours. Plagiarism is extremely rare, and people on the internet who are not nice have easier ways of creating havoc than taking somebody else's details and writing a book ... which takes a lot of work.

The fact is, you are asking other people for their ideas. If you don't want to wake up some day and find that someone has written a story very much like the one you are working on, then don't ask for suggestions so early in the creative process. (I you don't know where the items are or what your character must do to obtain them, it sounds to me that you don't even have a complete outline of your plot. And that is early to be asking for advice, if you are looking to write something that is truly your own.) As it is now, the danger is not that anyone will steal your ideas, but that you may be relying too much on theirs.
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Thankyou for your comments.

I guess I'm just very protective of what I have created and don't want to see some of the details I've added get used by others, that is all.

I'll admit that my plot outline is not 100% complete with every little detail, scene, battle, conversation etc. But I can write a complete synopsis for the over all story, though not a chapter by chapter one.
I have over 600 pages of hand written work, which probably doesn't count for much if the plot outline isn't complete, but I guess I'm one these writers who start with a outline and just writes until the story is done.

I know I should be able to answer my questions with what I have created, but a writer- no matter who- looks at the world around them and finds ideas and inspiration, whether it be in what they see, hear or read. No one can make something out of nothing.
And I feel that sometimes it is good to get an outside opinion to your work because others can see things that you might have overlooked or don't think of. All I was looking for was some ideas that would inspire me to improve a plot detail. I may or may not use them, or they may just inspire me with a whole new idea.

I hope my words did not offend, that was not my intention. Sorry if they did.
 
CallyLee said:
And I feel that sometimes it is good to get an outside opinion to your work because others can see things that you might have overlooked or don't think of.
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But how can they see what you don't see if they only have selected fragments (provided by you) to look at? If you only tell them what you think is important for them to know, then all they will have to go on is the parts you haven't overlooked.

Find a good writers group, a group of people you can trust to look at the whole (and who are willing to look at the whole), and let them see exactly what you have.

Right now, people can only give you ideas based on what they imagine your story is about. They aren't able to find the ideas which are original to your story that might be worth exploring further; they won't find the detail that could grow into something greater. As you describe it, the book sounds totally generic (I don't say that it is formulaic, but by keeping the parts that may be fresh and original a secret, all that is left is a plot that sounds much like the plot of about a thousand other books). So people can only give you vague, generic answers, or get creative and come up with something elaborate that is more theirs than yours. That isn't what you want, is it? You want someone to look at your problem and point to something that is already there and say, "Have you thought about this?"

A writers group can do this for you.

However, I would advise you to get further on with the writing before you even do that much. Allow your idea of the story to become more solid before you allow other people to put their hands on it. If it’s still too malleable they'll try to shape it to fit their own ideas. At the very least, they'll leave their fingerprints all over it.
 
Teresa Edgerton said:
But how can they see what you don't see if they only have selected fragments (provided by you) to look at? If you only tell them what you think is important for them to know, then all they will have to go on is the parts you haven't overlooked.
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And I feel that sometimes it is good to get an outside opinion to your work because others can see things that you might have overlooked or don't think of.
I was speaking in general about writers who get stuck on a spot or something doesn't sound right with a section of their work.

And I know that if I want ideas that suit my story then I need to give more details. But as I said I don't trust some of the not so nice people, and they don't have to sit down and write a book, there are other medias.
It is not my story as a whole I'm afraid of getting stolen but some of the ideas, places, characters, creatures.
 
Cally I find when I'm in a rut helping other people with their work can sometimes give me the inspiration to continue with my own.
 
Or plan ideas / characters / scenes for another book, short story, whatever. It could give you inspiration for something to draft into your current story. Look at other books in similar genres, see what they do well, what they do badly, so you know what kind of ideas and scenes and characters you do and do not want. Look at books in other genres and do the same. Look to mythology, look to music, look to art. Expose yourself to the world (mentally, not physically) and inspiration will come. Accept that in almost no case is anything so amazingly unique that people will steal but. But accept that you can weave a tapesty that is most definitely yours by working at it.
 
Just wanted to say thank you to everyone that posted on this thread, for you ideas, suggestions and advice. It was much appreciated.

I think I will be okay for now. I’ve sorted some of the problem out and will put the other a side and review it in a couple of weeks.

Thank you all :)
 
Though this thread may be dead in the water, in all honesty I would suggest altering the story, simply based on the number of cliches. I hate to be brutal, but the chosen one who is the big bad's only possible downfall has been done to death, as has the searching for items. More importantly, its been overdone in mainstream (Harry Potter, for example, is the chosen one who needs to gather items to defeat the big bad).

This is not to say you shouldn't try, however, as when I started my novels there were so many cliches that I shudder to think of them. It took a lot of practice writing (and reading) to eliminate them, and the process is necessary for all writers. The old adage 'It takes ten years to be an overnight success' springs to mind.

I might make a couple of suggestions:

Does it have to be a boy? Could the warriors (and watch that the two warriors aren't kinda the same character) and the warrior mage, etc be mercenaries hired to do a simple job (find an item), but find themselves caught up in a rivalry between two arch magi as they search for the items? I think there definitely needs to be something that sets it apart. Also, as an interesting side note, maybe banish the word 'evil' from your thoughts entirely. The best villains are those that they believe they are the heroes.

Sorry if any of the above is harsh.
 
CallyLee said:
The queen wants to kill the boy because he is the only one who can find a specific number of special items that can defeat the queen.
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Would it not make more sense if it was that he was the only person who could use the items, due to some prophecy? (Rather than being the only one able to find them)
 
lol, I didn't notice the large time gaps between posts... I'm too used to an other forum I frequent, where old things get buried pretty fast XD
 
Personally, I think you should try and bring a twist into your story. I think it sounds good but the problem is that if you don't think of something shocking and original it could become a cliche, which you definately don't want.
Does the boy really want to defeat the queen? Could there be people trying to stop him from finding the objects to defeat her? Does he actually get them all? Could the queen actually win, or could they become friends?
That's just a few things to think about when you're writing your story, but I definately think you should put in a twist to make your story original.
Ultimately, it's your story and I hope it works out for you.
Hope this helps :)
 
Perhaps the first item he has to find is a flute--when he blows it, the different notes of which will open doors to other realities where the other items are hidden...just an idea.:)
 
I would perhaps consider some serious world building exercises. Specifically about the world, what events have shaped it? What are the major historical events? From what you have described I feel it would be crucial to write histories for these items. Where were they created, who possessed them? Do they individual significance in terms of representing different aspects of the world or the boy himself? Taking this into consideration is there a reason why an item could only be in one place?

I'd track your thoughts on a mind map.

Ask yourself about
 
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