New Story Idea!

[uzforce17]

If you get a chance, please read this and respond.

Comments

[talithalucarne]

I think that this could be a very good story. The one pitfall I see from the outset would be that you need to be careful not to do a complete 180 from the standard you're reversing. Boredom shouldn't be the only thing these culture-shocked people need to contend with. My only other thing is more of a question...the 3rd character description...I'm not sure how that one would really fit in. The other two are very clearly going to experience a bit of culture shock - the girl most dramatically. But the 3rd one is immursed in the culture - would he serve as more of a reference point for the others to base their experience off of?

[uzforce17]

Yes and no. He's the most comfortable in the "real" world, as his supernatural experience was limited to fantasy; the character wouldn't be a loser-type geek who can't distinguish between fantasy and reality, but is so entrenched in it that it leads him to, for instance, believe in the possibility of alien life. These are things that he rejects, making the transition from a "supernatural" world to a "real" world. And boredom would not be what they would face; it's intended to be a horror novel, so they would probably at least face a serial killer (albeit a realistic one), if not a vampire, werewolf, ghost or something of that sort. . .but with an ultimate scientific explanation behind it. Or, the horror they would experience would be something less fantastic and more mundane (but no less threatening), such as a natural disaster, being lost in the woods, their car breaking down in a bad neighborhood. I want to do a horror story without anything supernatural involved.

[thefriediceman]

I like it - even worse than the idea that something's out there is the idea that nothing's out there.

I would say to use the serial killer or something along those lines, to make a clearer contrast between the horror of the "supernatural" world and the horror of the real world. But that also depends on exactly what you're going for.

Any of these characters inspired by your own real world experiences?

[uzforce17]

I probably will go with the serial killer, but I don't want that to be the main focus of the story; it would make it just one more murder mystery. One thing I'm not interested in is "unmasking the killer." There will probably be a natural disaster, a terrorist attack, a car accident, a killer virus. . .any number of things exist in this world of completely natural (or human) creation with no magic behind them whatsoever that are just as frightening and just as deadly as any vampire. As for the characters - I don't think any of them are based on actual experiences, except for perhaps the geek character (which is why he's only a supporting character.)