So...this is a little complicated. Basically, one of my of MCs is kind of living in her brother's shadow. He's always one upping her, and, even when she does get the better of him, she is often dismissed by her parents due to gendered expectations and stuff like that. She's kind of a girly girl/mean girl (although, she is kind at heart, just dealing with a lot of bullshit from her family). I want her to have some talent that she's really good at and enjoys but is looked down on by her family so she mostly keeps it to herself because she's tired of her family dismissing it, despite that fact that she could probably make a name for herself with that talent in certain communities. Also, her family is like...rich and respected in the community for being the perfect "all-American" family so they are very concerned with their image and stuff. I also think that either her brother or her and her brother are some kind of influencers? On the other hand, her new sister (other MC) has a talent that is praised by her parents; however, the second MC takes credit for her sister's abilities in order to get praise from her parents. I'm trying to figure out what these talents could be. They go to an elite private school (or catholic school, I haven't decided0). The MC is popular at school, but her (read: her sister's) new talent catches the attention of the most popular guy in school. I'm still working out the details of the storyline and this is a very bare bones description of the context. However, I can't think of a reason why one talent would be dismissed or frowned upon over another, or why one talent would draw such obvious praise and attention. I was thinking maybe MC does some kind of sport? Or like...Taekwondo or something. And then maybe the sister does some kind of art form like painting or something, but I'm not really sure...
You've got an interesting setup already... high-class American family with an obsession of maintaining a certain image. Make them Catholic and have the MC's talent centre around something her parents would find unacceptable. You can further amplify this within the school if its a Catholic one. Based on this setup, anything can work if at least one or more of these criteria apply to it: It's not easy to make a career out of (singing, drawing, writing, etc.) Her talent has elements her religion deems unacceptable (Metallica music!) It doesn't fit her gender and she is frowned upon by parents (video games, sports, etc.) Video games would be my pick. She's really, really good at them and they mean a lot to her. But her parents frown upon them because they're just "silly games". At school, she brings whatever portable console she has (PSP, DS, Vita, 3DS, Switch or whatever her era permits) and her talent grabs his attention because he really likes them too. There's also potential for the boy to understand her dilemma, which can bring them closer. This would be more effective in the older days though (late 80s to 90s). That was a time where religion had a much stronger influence in society than it does today. The Satanic Panic might be especially interesting. But it doesn't have to be games. I grew up in a heavily religious and conservative country so I have some insight to these things. Hopefully it helps a little.
Tiny bit of a wire cross, it's the sister's talent that the popular guy is attracted to (the one the MC takes credit for), however, I do plan on the MC making a connection with someone over her true talent, it's just someone much less palatable to her family. I though on it more and thought of maybe making her a dancer? Like, she does ballet but in kind of a Dirty Dancing-esque thing she learns about other types of dance like hip-hop which her family wouldn't approve of. In this case, her family wouldn't necessarily dislike her talent, but they just aren't very impressed by it even when she tries to push herself to stand out and make them proud of her. Honestly, the story is a little complicated. I'm still not really sure how to put weight onto these talents. I was thinking some kind of talent show with an award, but that feels so overdone. I was also thinking of making the sister a singer but that also feels overdone, especially with the theme of my book. I guess I could make some specific competition maybe, so that the sister's talent was kind of dismissed as well but suddenly comes in handy...I don't know.
Ah, the status-seeking thing. It's good that she recognizes seeking status in the eyes of others as a poor way to live, but it sounds like she also does the same, by seeking praise from her parents and popularrity from society at large. If she dislikes her family's status-seeking behavior, shouldn't her path be toward getting her sense of self-worth from internal sources rather than doing the same thing they do? If a person goes through life needing the approval of others, then the others are largely in control and the person can easily be manipulated. In fact that's usually what witholding approval is for, to manipulate, whether that be to teach proper behavior or to use someone. Having a talent is a good thing, but usually the protagonist needs to find something deeper within themselves, some character trait they can rely on when the going gets tough, that maybe needs to be developed (or often is already there but only needs to be understood, like everyone's positive traits in The Wizard of Oz). Usually there's a character flaw or a lack that needs to be addressed and overcome, so it's happening within the character. Of course there are external opponents, but generally they're externalized representations of the character's own inner issues, which are the real heart of the story. This is the core of the hero's journeuy—realizing what that flaw is and learning how to overcome it. When that happens the external opponents can be defeated. It turns out the hero was only vulnerable to their attacks because of the inner lack or flaw.
Let her be one of us: the Cryptid Writer. They may shun the lack of practicality our trade offers, the subjectivity of our art, and our finances (or lack thereof..), but the Muse just won't let us go. The popular kid finds one of her poems or stories, and you take it from there!
