I've started writing a series of books, would you read it, based on this premise

[imortimer1976]

I have started writing a series of four books about a month ago. They are set in the late twenty-first/early and late twenty second centuries, but envisage that they will encompass a timeline which spans from a time on Earth, where there are ancient civilizations which appear to us as being lost to time to a time up to a couple of hundred years in the future.
The first book that I started on (which is close to 200 pages long as we speak) is set in the late twenty-first century, and starts with an alien race called the Vendreeki arriving and saving the people of Earth from total destruction at the hands of two factions which had been fighting each other for decades. The Earth is in pretty bad shape from the effects of climate change and the small scale use of nuclear weapons. It appears that the Vendreeki are here to help, but in the background this is not the case, as they are actually using and exploiting the people of Earth in a war against another race called the Sordarians. The Vendreeki had been manipulating the human race and their history for a very long time, through their human collaborators. This book also gives a backstory to a number of characters, which appear in some of the other books in the series.
To put it simply, the first book's content will lean more towards the TV series V and the X-Files. The other three books, will lean more towards Star Wars, Star Trek and Babylon 5 in their content.

Would be interested to hear from anybody with comments or suggestions.

Thanks in advance.

Ian

 

[Brian G Turner]

The thing is, it's not about the idea behind the plot as much as how well the story is told.

The worst plot in the world can be well written and therefore make for a good read, but conversely the best plot in the world if badly written won't make for good reading.

Also, a couple of pointers:
1. You're mainly referencing TV shows, which is a flag because novels are a completely different medium and are written in different ways because of this. If you're going to talk about books you'll benefit from referencing classic and modern novels that you're read;
2. Writing is usually a very, very long-term project. Simply put, the equivalent of doing an undergraduate degree, a masters degree, and a PhD, all for little financial reward. So be prepared for the long-haul!

In the meantime, welcome to the chronicles forums.

 

[Plucky Novice]

Echo what Brian said. I also note you didn't mention any characters. Interesting, well written characters will make the book even with a weak plot.

From a plot perspective I'm not sure how a half dead planet is going to help a highly advanced space-going race win a war. You may know the answer to that already. Perhaps soldiers or natural resources?

Welcome and good luck!

PN

 

[Finch]

Hi
I have been reading how to Plot by Ansen Dibell . In the intro, he points out that the first couple of chapters of Mellville's Moby Dick are centred on the character Buikington . He is washed overboard and is never mentioned again , because the story is overtaken by Ahab. The point is ,the creation is in the writing .

 

[Stephen Palmer]

When I get asked for advice in these matters, I usually reply with the question: what is it inside you that has to come out via the vehicle of writing?
I emphasise how important it is that writers answer this question with absolute honesty, i.e. remove as much self-deception as they can.
In this case, what I'm hearing is: what I want to come out is Star Wars, V and Babylon 5. I hear this a lot.
My advice would be: focus on characters and little else at the beginning.
Nobody will be interested in any backstory. They'll be interested in story.
Don't over-reach. Four books is a lot. If you're new to writing, begin with one.

 

[Toby Frost]

I agree with the earlier comments. I would add that it's a good idea to narrow your view down, from a series of books to one story, and from huge conflicts to individuals. When people talk about A Game of Thrones, they talk about individual characters, not the houses that they represent. It's just how readers' minds work, even in epic-scale stories. To my mind, the question is: who is this person, and what is their individual problem?

Also I would strongly agree with those saying that novels and films/TV are very different things.

 

[imortimer1976]

Echo what Brian said. I also note you didn't mention any characters. Interesting, well written characters will make the book even with a weak plot.

From a plot perspective I'm not sure how a half dead planet is going to help a highly advanced space-going race win a war. You may know the answer to that already. Perhaps soldiers or natural resources?

Welcome and good luck!

PN

Thank you for posting your comments. I appreciate them. You asked me about why a highly advanced space-faring race like the Vendreeki would be interested in a half dead planet? Well, the Vendreeki throughout their history look for other races which they can manipulate and that they can use in their wars. My first book starts off with the Vendreeki being portrayed as humanity's saviors, and that they need humanity's help. The reason why they have come to Earth is use it as base to rebuild their forces (ie: warships and manpower) and also to provide supplies to one of their allies, called the Reptilions.
With regards to the characters, I have come up with quite a few. The one of the main characters from the book that I am well into writing who he is the hero of the first book appears in a limited capacity in the other two but appears as a main character in the fourth. His opposite number is a woman who has been installed been installed by the Vendreeki as the president, who unknown to the people of Earth has been collaborating with the Vendreeki for decades. She is manipulative, ruthless and is using the Vendreeki and their arrival to push her own agenda.

If you want to know anything more, feel free to ask.

 

[imortimer1976]

The thing is, it's not about the idea behind the plot as much as how well the story is told.

The worst plot in the world can be well written and therefore make for a good read, but conversely the best plot in the world if badly written won't make for good reading.

Also, a couple of pointers:
1. You're mainly referencing TV shows, which is a flag because novels are a completely different medium and are written in different ways because of this. If you're going to talk about books you'll benefit from referencing classic and modern novels that you're read;
2. Writing is usually a very, very long-term project. Simply put, the equivalent of doing an undergraduate degree, a masters degree, and a PhD, all for little financial reward. So be prepared for the long-haul!

In the meantime, welcome to the chronicles forums.

Thank you for your reply. I will take everything that you have said onboard.

 

[imortimer1976]

When I get asked for advice in these matters, I usually reply with the question: what is it inside you that has to come out via the vehicle of writing?
I emphasise how important it is that writers answer this question with absolute honesty, i.e. remove as much self-deception as they can.
In this case, what I'm hearing is: what I want to come out is Star Wars, V and Babylon 5. I hear this a lot.
My advice would be: focus on characters and little else at the beginning.
Nobody will be interested in any backstory. They'll be interested in story.
Don't over-reach. Four books is a lot. If you're new to writing, begin with one.

Thank you your reply and I agree with what you have said.

With regards to me writing four books at the same time, this is because the first one isn't far off from being finished and it ties in with the other three. Two of the remaining three books that I'm writing at this time start round about time the first book is set and branch off from here. One of these books has a time travel aspect to it and will be continuation of the fourth book which is set in the future of the first book.

Anything you'd like to ask. Feel free to ask.

 

[tinkerdan]

We can see what you have watched on tv and movies; however what have you been reading.
Look at your plot points and ask what you are offering that is new.
Really the main point of aliens with ambiguous intentions is pretty well beaten about these days.
I don't see anything new; the answer to will people read something with this plot is that they already are.
What are you going to add that will compel them to read yet another.

What are your characters like and will they be sustained through the series.
What I mean is is this a 4 book series with same characters through the four or does each book deal with different characters.
You might have a plot idea that can carry the story; however most times it's the characters themselves who carry the story.
If the characters are in all four books then great--how well developed are the characters--that's what the reader will be deciding from.

Since the idea is not new I might suggest you read something.
Have you watched Ghost Whisperer? The show came out in 2005.
Two years earlier Dean Koontz wrote Odd Thomas--having just recently read the first four books I have come to the conclusion that there are some remarkable similarities to the plots.

However the reason I am talking about Odd Thomas is that I think you could benefit by reading at least the first book. It's, for me, a great way of demonstrating the value of a compelling character that drives the story forward to where you just have to read the next one. Not just because the plot ideas were interesting, more because you want to know how Odd handles the next set of circumstance.

Dean has written these books in first person and he does that just as well as he does third person. The narrator Odd is a somewhat unreliable narrator; this could be bad, but believe me that Dean does this so well that you can easily forgive the unreliability of the narrator.

My point is that if you can reach this level of narration and character development that is compelling to read, then you won't have to worry that much about whether people will buy your soon to be over-used-plot-ideas.

 

[hitmouse]

Thank you for posting your comments. I appreciate them. You asked me about why a highly advanced space-faring race like the Vendreeki would be interested in a half dead planet? Well, the Vendreeki throughout their history look for other races which they can manipulate and that they can use in their wars. My first book starts off with the Vendreeki being portrayed as humanity's saviors, and that they need humanity's help. The reason why they have come to Earth is use it as base to rebuild their forces (ie: warships and manpower) and also to provide supplies to one of their allies, called the Reptilions.

You might want to have a look at Salvation, a recent Peter F Hamilton blockbuster, which has a similar premise.

 

[Danny McG]

Your plot outline made me think of John Ringo's Legacy of the Aldenata series...not really sure just why, but a little buzzer went off in my memory

 

[imortimer1976]

Your plot outline made me think of John Ringo's Legacy of the Aldenata series...not really sure just why, but a little buzzer went off in my memory

I checked out the wikipedia page for John Ringo's Legacy of the Aldenata series and compared it's plot outline to mine and there are a few similarities, not many but a few.

 

[tinkerdan]

Here is the most recent series I've read that you might want to look into.

Amazon.com: Freedom's Fire Box Set: The Complete Military Space Opera Series (Books 1-6) eBook : Adair, Bobby: Kindle Store

Freedom's Fire Box Set: The Complete Military Space Opera Series (Books 1-6) - Kindle edition by Adair, Bobby. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Freedom's Fire Box Set: The Complete...

www.amazon.com

The synopsis(in my own words)is that:
Earth nearly destroyed itself with war-aliens come to stop the war- subjugate mankind- begin enlisting them into an interstellar war with a race that has supposedly deadly intentions toward Earth and Humans.

Nothing is as it seems-some deep cosmic game is happening where the lives of several races are being sacrificed and the benevolent aliens are major players.

There are others I have read--what have you been reading?

Here is another recent read::

Amazon.com: Immortal: 9780993077975: lloyd, nick m: Books

Amazon.com: Immortal: 9780993077975: lloyd, nick m: Books

www.amazon.com

excellent novel.

Benevolent alien race that has seemingly conquered something beyond the speed of light sends a message to Earth that an event is approaching that will annihilate Earth. Along with the message they indicate their own soon arrival and their 'demand' for specific resources to use to create a way to save humanity. Time is of the essence and we have to rally quickly. But can we trust them--what agenda might they have.

 

[Toby Frost]

I think all this shows is that similar ideas crop up in different books. Harry Harrison wrote a novel about aliens who, whilst seeming to help, turn out to be trying to capture the Earth, too. But I don't think that matters very much. In the end, it's the execution of the idea that really counts. Dozens of SFF novels have a plot that boils down to "a mysterious evil force tries to conquer the world and is opposed by a small band of heroes" (including the one I'm writing), but they vary enormously in details and quality.