Novel Description: A story following three families in three different countries at different time lines, all of whom experience some of the most shocking events in recent history, and their stories intertwine in the most incredible circumstances. Families: Very basic description of their storylines, each family has their own host of sub-plots. India- An Indian family who are farmers struggling with the recent drought and lack of monsoon seasons. Build an orphanage and school for the street children in their village. They are struck by the 2004 Tsunami. United States - Immigrant family, half Albanian/Egyptian, parents escaped Kosovo war/Dictatorship for a better life. Three adult children who are essentially the main characters of the novel, each have their own story lines. They experience 9/11 Zimbabwe - A mother with three children, struggling in an AIDs ridden village. Militia invade their village, wanting to recruit child soldiers and massacre the adults. They experience rebel militia massacre during Mugabe's Rein. Like I mentioned before, these are the most vague descriptions of the basic plot for each family. Each family has a host sub-plots and become interconnected through very special circumstances which I won't reveal as they are spoilers. Have there been any other novels dealing with intertwining story lines revolving around these kind of events spanning many decades?
First of all, whether it's good depends on how well you write it and can't be determined by summaries, etc. This is what everyone here is going to say. This really reminds me of a book I read, but I can't think of the title at all or the author's name. It's by the guy who wrote "Kite Runner" if that helps at all. You can probably find it with research.
Sounds extremely interesting. Also ambitious. I don't know if there are others quite like this, though Leon Uris is one who comes to mind as having done something similar, several times. But his only treat one country at a time, for instance Trinity, which is about Ireland, and Exodus, about Israel. The more I think about it the more ambitious this sounds. For one thing... have you thought about book length?
it can work if you can write brilliantly, it will probably flop, if you can't... i've read books like this by top-flight writers who've pulled it off masterfully, but can't give you titles or author names, as i've been reading pretty constantly for nearly seven decades and understandably can't recall them all...
A story concept means nothing. I can tell you now, it has all been done before. What matters is how you write it, the characterization, the flow, the imagery, all of it. There's no benefit in asking what other people think of the concept! They'll either say,"Sounds great," or, "it sounds like a ripoff of..." If the idea stirs you, write it. Then ask people what they think of the final story. After they tell you what they don't like about it, revise it, usually several times, until you're happy with it or until you throw up your hands and say the hell with it. Please read What is Plot Creation and Development?
rany... 'living' much of my life online for the past couple of decades and dealing with aspiring writers of all ages from youngest teens up on a daily basis, my speech [verbal and typed] is pretty much up to date, while being peppered with 'cool' stuff from past decades, as well... all of which makes it hard for some to believe me when i tell them how old i am! nifty, huh? hugs, m
