askerian | tyr story blatherings...

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tyr story blatherings...

If I do NaNo this year it'll be the Tyr story. (IF.) The issue there being I need to plot it out first, and I still don't know how to start it.

I like the way I wrote it the first time, with Tyr and Dian checking out his new, really ugly house. Though the rest was really dragging on and nothing much happened, which really does need fixing.

Issues I've got:

If I change things so the military is the one that introduces people leaving the program to the local werewolves... (not just randomly running into each other!) how does it happen? What/How/When? Would it kill the suspense? How much of the original story can I keep, where should I start trimming? Should I just throw out the first beginning and start over entirely? In that case, with what? argh.

(though I guess I could have a little something mentioned about how military people are surprised to see Dian there; he kinda said/they kinda understood that he was going to go home and go feral and do a suicide by cop thing, but Tyr invited him to stay with him and he just went "okay why not, I haven't got anything better to do with my time atm". Also maybe something about how... okay, a conflict in the pack is that the current alpha is OLD. He looks fifty-five, he's actually pushing a hundred or so, and he'd love to retire, but there's several candidates and he really doesn't want it to be done like they did in the middle ages with a fight to the death, there's few enough of them already and he really doesn't want to look too feral now that the human military knows they exist, so he's pushing the good doggies angle. So he's kinda seeing which of the candidates he can train the best into being a good alpha and being civil with humans. He could bring the two (three?) of them with him to get them used to dealing with officials/humans, so things might be tense and plotty straight from the start since no one else would know why they're here save for as backup. HMMMMMMMM.)

Which brings me to...

I need antagonists who aren't straw men. More specifically, I need other candidates for alpha male in the local pack, who Tyr would have reasons to go against, to go "okay I don't really want to be alpha but you'd be really horrible at it so I can't let you", but I don't want those people to be merely one-dimensionally pathetic (no one'd respect them enough that they'd be considered for the position in the first place!) or easily summarized as evil/narrow-minded/wantonly cruel/etc.

(note, they won't be the main antagonists. More like, idk, mid-bosses? XD)

Problem is right now the only alpha candidate I really have is a guy who so far is nothing but a hispanic hot-blooded wifebeater stereotype and AUGH NO. He needs redeeming qualities. Maybe he has good reasons to be so "we should NOT be dealing with humans!!!" (the issue there is that he also believes all women of babymaking age should be doing so, because if you don't bring humans in you've got to renew the pack in other ways, and this being mysoginistic and controlling, it pushes my "nothing about this guy is redeemable ever" buttons, which then keep him annoyingly one-dimensional.) Maybe he's from a very long line/old pack and to him being a werewolf is not just about transforming, there's all that tradition behind it... And maybe he also has very valid concerns about abuse by the human government and feels very unsafe/threatened now that they know what to look for to find the packs, when for centuries their survival depended on their ability to blend in.

I was thinking the second candidate could be less strong but more reasonable, but a way to make hispano guy less cliche would be to have him less strong, but smarter. Just not as calm and reasonable as the other guy and with biases that would foul that, but it might make for an interesting dynamic. Also the old alpha guy could despair because if only he could learn to stop being all Proud Warrior Race head-in-his-ass and anti-human, pro-segregation (which is not possible anymore now they've been outed to the government!) he'd make a great alpha.

Second candidate could be a nice, reasonable guy, but ... someone who'd be all for cooperating with humans so the humans don't feel they have to destroy them, that he ends up too conciliatory for an alpha, whose first responsibility is to protect his pack from anything, not to encourage them to domesticate themselves until they're utterly cowed. (his platform could be Adaptation = Survival!! and Hispano Guy's could be "Better Die On Your Feet Than Live On Your Knees!" XD)

And I could have a woman as the third candidate! But I have no idea what I'd do with her, and I really don't want to make Second Candidate a chick, because that'd really send the wrong message. >__> Especially since a lot of packs are more sexist than human society -- being at war for so long, about 1/4th of the human troops are women, though they rarely get front lines assignments, and they do have mandatory service for a year or two just as the guys do. They just aren't encouraged to stay as long as most men, because it's all well and good to protect their species but someone also needs to, y'know, propagate it. So there's a bit of a Samurai thing in that a man is with the outside attackers, and a woman stays behind, but to defend the castle, not just to hide. (it's still not perfect equality, mind, and even that mentality can hide some "you stay behind, we'll handle it and won't need you" patronizing bullshit, but ideally, the men are the first line of defense, but the women are the last.)

(my reasoning re: sexism in werewolves: in a non-were wolf pack, females can be pretty high in the hierarchy because a female wolf weighs almost as much as a male and isn't proportionally weaker and has just as many teeth as he does, there's not as much dimorphism as with humans, but in here it's pretty much the human side of the equation and their panic about secrecy/reproduction issues that fucked up the werewolf packs and made them want/need to control their women.)

The two guys don't get why she wants to be alpha on her own, because as a woman she could add her strength to the guy she wants to choose, and they'd rule the pack together as an alpha couple! And she'd totes be a good influence on her mate, of COURSE, so that'd make them more likely to be chosen by Old!Current-Alpha!Guy.

And she's all fuck you guys, no.

I think she's also young, so she isn't considered very seriously for the position, but OldAlpha, being quite manipulative, is using her as a foil to shape the other two in appropriate directions, just like he will later use Tyr. I wonder if maybe she doesn't also find that the government making tons of new weres is very beneficial for their species' survival! Or maybe I could give that idea to SecondGuy, because most Black Ops guys who got the treatment will never be were-anything but bugfuck crazy, and that's really not the attitude you want to promote positive views.

The issue with a military-chaperoned meeting is that there's no OMG! reveal scene like meeting by chance/accident had, which was really fun to play with. Hrrrm. Sadness. But the random meeting thing was also a bit contrived, anyway. I need to make this scene less generic in my mind than "okay, they'll just get a conference room and have a little meeting." It might be more logical for the characters to choose, but as a scene in a story it'll need more sparks than that if it wants to be anything but boring. >___> (especially since if the old alpha is there, HispanoGuy won't start a fight! This is v. sad. Maybe he can go against Xiang ahahahahaha KICK HIS ASS, LIN. >D)

Okay, I'm running out of thinky thoughts for today. I keep having new plot ideas, oh god, how am I going to stuff it all into a single story?

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:DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

YES, NaNo with me! <3 (also Tyr yaaay <333) MY EXCITED FACE, ASUKA, IT IS THIIIIIS BIG.

I always find that the easiest way to start out is to do the following, courtesy of

user

Step one: Fill out the following in accordance to your story.

*WHEN SOMETHING HAPPENS*, *YOUR PROTAGONIST* *PURSUES A GOAL*. But will he succeed when *ANTAGONIST PROVIDES OPPOSITION*?

Step two: Get a BIG piece of paper. Draw a big curving arch on it. At the LEFT side of
the arch, write a brief phrase about the opening scene. At the RIGHT side,
write a brief phrase describing the climax of the book. That's your pot of
gold at the end of the rainbow.

At the TOP of the arch, write down your BIG MIDDLE, or whatever event it is
that starts the dominoes to falling.

Then make a bunch of tick marks along the way and fill in any scenes that you
have in mind that you know you want to do. Once you've done that, add in some
more tick marks in between, and add in phrases describing scenes that lead
your character from one established tick mark to the next, in a logical
fashion.

Hope that helps!

I'm sorry but I just had the image of Zechs, who, yes he's a were but he's a natural were and he didn't exactly *hide* it while in the army, but he also didn't flaunt it so everyone knew but agreed not to know and now he's sort of hoping to settle down and retire but *he* knows that Tyr is not the best Alpha out there because he took to the program *too* well or something (honestly, those two have never needed a real excuse to not approve of each other) and Tyr knows that Zechs would be an awful Alpha because a) he'd hate it and b) he'd probably get them into a war again because he just can't Leave Things Alone where Tyr simply Doesn't Give A Shit.

And the old Alpha is probably sitting back and going 'If they don't kill each other, they'd make a great *pair* of leaders...'

But that's how my brain works.

I do really like Tyr, so that would make my November quite happy.

Re: Alpha candidates--maybe the angry Hispanic guy could be an angry Hispanic woman? Possibly in the middle of supporting her own "Keep makin' babies" philosophy? There are plenty of violently conservative women who still want to tell others what to do around (Sarah Palin, anybody?), and it might make that character less stereotypical for you (though it would, admittedly, derail the whole "marry one of us" idea, and that wasn't a bad idea. Hmm).

Re: Meetings...maybe the military officially notifies both groups of each others' existence to prevent problems, but doesn't actually set up a chaperoned meeting? It could be more organic that way, but still possibly involve deliberate introductions. Ooh, maybe HispanicGuy could show up out of the blue to try to Lay Down Da Law for the newcomers (pfft, that'll work), and drama could happen that way?

What if FirstCandidate had been trained as a historian-bard-preacher keeper-of-knowledge type? So he's got all the Grand Traditions And History Of The Pack, which includes all the werewolf-hunting humans have always done, and so he honestly cannot understand why anyone would think it's a good idea to quit hiding even now. Perhaps especially now, when the humans know weres aren't fictional or delusional: coming out, you might as well just paint a giant drop-bombs-here target on your roof.

SecondCandidate might be the one who knows more about humans and is sizing them up like a fight. "Yeah, no, if they think it's us against them -- you DID see them beat the elves, right?"

Oh, and maybe SecondGuy could look perfectly reasonable and be gaining the main characters' support...right up until he showed himself willing to sell out a subordinate/packmate for his idea of peacekeeping. Only a minor sort of sellout of course--making the other guy lose face or something--since OldAlpha obviously wouldn't put up with anything severe, but it could be a way to illustrate the importance of a strong leader in the pack.

I like everything about fem!candidate. Her youth/inexperience, her passion/righteousness at being sidelined just because she's a woman, and ESPECIALLY Current!Alpha sneakily using her to shape the other two. Does she ever catch on to that?

... I feel like she'd either become Xing's best friend/fangirl, or be constantly trying to prove to herslf she's better than Xing (but be grudgingly respectful anyway).

Since she is obviously the most alpha female, are the other two alpha candidates interested in her?

...Just read the comments above, and wow, the idea of melding fem!candidate and angry-hispanic-guy!candidate into one character looks really shiny. Like a more charming, more educated, Sarah Palin (nice and likeable face-to-face, but with some pretty whacked ideas. All booksmarts and speeches and charm but with no practical ideas of how to run the pack).

And I like the idea of the second!candidate being too liberal/laid back, and forgetting to look out for the interests of his own pack over the humans.

Just my two cents. Sorry I couldn't be very helpful. >_>

Argh, Xing should be Xiang! Sorry.

Also, what is wrong with Tyr + co accidentally meeting up with the local pack? It doesn't seem so weird to me -- Tyr would have chosen this are to move to because he liked (or the military sent them there because it was appropriate), except, unbeknownst to them, the place is already taken. And they might come across signs of each other scouting the woods,or randomly pick up each other's scents on the wind in town or something before they finally confront each other.

Maybe the local group have managed to stay underground so far, but are just about to show themselves? What if Tyr + co accidentally give them away, bedore they realised that this group of weres were unregistered?

My suggestion for coming up with villains is look at dogs. They have so much personality, but they can be real ass holes one second and then sweet and affectionate the next. Plus you're doing an 'alpha' thing, so that's appropriate.
Other than that pick a trait you do like that can be used to imply depth even if you can't get into it, like holding the door and refusing to swear in front of women, or having a diverting interest in...I dunno, architecture or world building (lol).

I'm still not sure I will!! D:

Oohh, this is an interesting method. o.o-b thank you, hon!

oh god Zechs. zechs as a natural were in the army. This is such an awesome idea, I'm all WOE that it doesn't fit with the plot I've got. It'd be so fun. ;_; especially the alpha's reaction, pffff ♥

Huh, making candidate one a historian/secret nerd type would be more interesting than making him a "i respect tradition because it's TRADITION but i really know nothin more about it than what my parents mentioned vaguely as justification for the way they lived." I like this idea. *__*

I dunno, the "making him a woman" isn't a bad idea but the character is very male in my head. Hrrrm. I probably do need female villains, huh. *ponders* :/ I dunno, it's a good idea and an interesting character type, but not one I'm feeling atm. *prods it with a stick*

re: meetings: very good point. But then I need to come up with an interesting way for them to meet, and i'm lazy. XD Then again maybe the local pack was not one of the ones who were out to the military! They'd be very freaked out about getting outed. this does sound shiny, but also like it would bring even MORE PLOT to stuff in the story, which is already looking fat and well-stuffed as it is. HMM.

yeah, I'd planned something like that for SecondGuy. XD

re: trait, I think making him a secret nerd/history buff like Jo suggested would be fun. XD

Does she ever catch on to that?
Possibly, and likely it'll piss her off even more that she was never seriously considered but just used for the men's sake XD Mmh.

I have no idea how she'll get along with Xiang, since being a tiger Xiang isn't really in the pack hierarchy anyway. (... she'd probably be alpha if she were. XD then again she might have the power but she doesn't have the dedication to the pack and the instinct to actively care for, either)

I think the two alpha candidates are sorta interested in a vague, "she's young and hot" way, but she'd also be a lot of work to keep in hand and she's very rebellious. Maybe one of them/they'd both prefer someone more docile. XD

My only issue with accidental meetings is that my meeting ideas are either not dramatic enough, too dramatic, or too random/not very believable. *sad* If I found a good idea I'd go with it, but. ;_;

Maybe the local group have managed to stay underground so far, but are just about to show themselves? What if Tyr + co accidentally give them away, bedore they realised that this group of weres were unregistered?
... HMMMMMMM. Interesting idea. Must ponder it more.

thank you, lovely~

I hadn't actually thought the meeting was all that random--it makes sense that the werewolf packs would want to go somewhere isolated (but perhaps not completely cut off from more standard!human civilization?), and that would also be the sort of place where Tyr would go to try and detox.

I think the idea of the third alpha being female has a *lot* of potential--for example, does she figure out that Old!Alpha isn't taking her seriously? If so, how does she react? Did she maybe know all along? (And if you want an excuse for a reason she'd be a viable candidate when usually females aren't, perhaps she's gay and some gay women get to fight on the front lines [and some gay men get to stay home and defend the castle]. That could bring in a whole bunch of new issues there, too.)

Also, I too love Serrano. I'm glad you decided to do this for NaNoWriMo. Good luck!

I was mostly thinking, the first shop Tyr goes to, there they work. That was meh.

Glad you like Third Contestant-girl, but she's telling me she's straight so hey. XD I don't like the idea of people being able to get around the "a woman as alpha" issue with "well she wants to fuck girls and not be fucked by guys, that makes her not a real woman/almost a man anyway" mental gymnastics, either in the story or by potential readers. There'll be other lesbians in this story.

Serrano loves you back! ;^; ♥

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