I've picked up my writing a few days ago, when I found this site and read a lot of very good tips. The very basic for the story has been mulling around in my head for a very long time, but with each try I hit dead ends. Anyway, the plot in short: A girl of around fifteen, gets bullied at school. The girl pushes everything and anyone away, and instead of doing her studies she draws. She often goes walking in the desert where her town is in. After a few visits, the girl sits under a bush. From the bush a curious rattlesnake(who thinks rather humanly) watches her draw, creps closer, falls out of the bush onto the girls shoulder. That's where I am now, and eventually I want the snake and the girl to 'befriend' each other, the snake to come with the girl to school, intervene with the bullying and all is well. How long would be a good and believable time for the girl to come to terms with the fact that the snake won't hurt her? If it takes too long, it'll get boring, but if it's too short, it would be unbelievable. Anyone suggestions? (I know the plot is rather simple, but I'm merely practising having a plot AT ALL) Lady
I'd say that the time it would take for a girl to befriend a snake would be long, indeed. But, one suggestion I have is to put them in a situation where they have to be on the same team. That might speed up the process a little. Also, I would suggest reading The life of Pi. It's about a boy who is put in a situation that forces him to befriend a 450 pound lion. Similar situation, maybe it'll help. Edit** It's a tiger he befriends, not a lion.
doesn't make sense, since in the desert, rattlesnakes wouldn't be in bushes, but under them... better do your homework and study up on desert flora and fauna... as to your plot prob, if a rattler fell onto a young girl, if she didn't die of fright, she'd more likely throw it off, jump up and run, rather than stick around to find out if the thing was friendly, or not... i think you need to rethink your set-up some more...
I know, the bush is indeed a bit stupid... There are bushes in Sonoran(and other deserts) desert btw(which is also were western diamondbacks live). I actually did my homework this time The girl indeed jumps and throws the animal off...But thanks anyway @ Roseberryse, thank you, I shall look at that book.
I'll bet the OP will love the whole story, too, and I second your suggestion, which is a good one! There's so much to learn about writing from reading how others have done what you'd like to try. Lady's instincts about avoiding being either too long a process to avoid boredom or too short to be plausible are both important and right on target, and the suggestion to force teamsmanship is a really good one I probably wouldn't have thought of myself. The desert details are important too--whether it's fantasy, realism, or fantasy realism, because you'll need to work with and around them in order to deliver the kind of story you decide to write. Who knows where the story will takes itself from there? Just let it fly! LIFE OF PI'S a really good example of an imaginative story that just soars into the ozone.
