Doomsday By Design (This is my rant, and I need ideas. Help?)

I had nowhere better to post this, so I apologize if its off topic. I don't know how it can be off topic from ranting, but... whatever...

I have started a novel, and I want to RANT my story ideas, and I'd like if everyone RANTED their ideas back to me.

I start a lot of stories, most of them never go anywhere, but occasionally I start one like this, and it sticks--please stick with me, it may sound played out, but I'm confident in it.

The story starts with a big city in America (it's not clear which city, its supposed to be mysterious) and the story begins with an introduction to two main characters. The first main character is Sandra, a goth-punk rebel who's about 17 years old. She wears spikes, chains, tripp pants, crazy make up, everything... and her hair is short in the back, but her bangs are long--and one of them is much bigger than the other. The "emo" hairstyle. Her hair is blood red with black streaks, she has blue eyes, so on and ect... and, she's also a major conspiracy theorist. She's on conspiracy websites all the time in school, and she loves to speculate... but it's just a big hobby for her.

The second main character is a guy named Julian, an 18 year old youth pastor who's barely getting by living by himself in the city. He's a very mellow, sweet, chivalrous guy, he's slender, wears small transparent glasses, has long, thin black hair, wears a black trench coat and black fedora, and usually dresses pretty formally. One day, Sandra's thug friends run into Julian in an alley and harass him, and that's how Sandra and Julian meet, and they become close friends.

During the beginning, you hear bits and pieces of news in the story, explaining that the media is spreading some serious hype about some super virus that's extremely deadly. Sandra hears the news without thinking much of it. Then, when she arrives late to school one day, her homeroom teacher, who she fights with frequently, tells her that she missed the flu vaccine in the morning and she would have to reschedule for it. Hearing this, she knows nearly everyone in the school has had a vaccine, excluding a girl named May, a petite, joyful girl who dresses very goth--but very cutely goth, unlike Sandra, who dressed to scare--who refused the vaccine, and also excluding Satoru, an Asian kid who was a good friend of May's, was somewhat of a nerd, and who has serious depression and suicidal problems. He avoided the vaccine because he was hiding in the bathroom at the time of the vaccine.

During class, Mr. Knowles, the homeroom teacher, explains that he, and the rest of the staff, have received the vaccine, along with all the kids in school, even the ones who didn't bring permission slips back. Shortly after, he complains of feeling an unbearable burning sensation throughout his body, then he collapses and dies. The students panic, then they begin to die as well... and everyone in the city--across the world--starts dying. The fastest pandemic ever to spread.

Then--just like in all the paranoid fantasies she'd dream about--Sandra looks out the window only to see the military in gas masks kidnapping the few stragglers on the streets and in the buildings that didn't die. In shock, Sandra shuts off--her emotion turned off like a switch.

Now she, along with May, Satoru, and Julian, the only ones who seemed to have survived the sudden plague, set out on their own. They steal a truck from a residential area, only to find that the truck contains a living, breathing infant baby in a car seat. With no choice, they decide to keep the baby (the mother of the baby was lying dead just outside of the driver door when they found the truck).

Now, the four teenagers and the baby are on their own, in an almost empty world. They begin working out ways to loot, to survive, and to start a new life--then they run into dangerous survivors and rioters, bad storms and disasters, and new societies that are building from the ashes of the old world that had, in less than a day, burned and crumbled.

Sandra, having assumed the "leader" position in the group as the group gains and loses members, is faced with a kind-boggling reality--that the world of conspiracies and doomsday survival was no longer just an interesting topic to debate about and watch videos about on the internet. Now, the nightmare was real... and she realizes that, deep down, she never truly thought that the ludacris ideas from the internet and crazy magazines were true, and would ever become reality. She had, many times in school, after dealing with being harassed and bullied all her life, wished for an apocalyptic world, wished for the world to crumble and end, wished that all her enemies would just drop dead...

Then, it happened.

Now, she had to deal with it.

Turns out, the government spread the hype about a supposed pandemic in order to scare everyone into getting the pre-produced vaccine--a vaccine that would kill them. A vaccine that would dramatically lower the population, all in a day.

However, the plan went wrong, and the virus mutated in a way that it wasn't supposed to. After it was spread worldwide through the vaccine, it became airborne. Now, people who received the vaccine can spread the disease to those who haven't been injected.

Then, the high-up officials in the government and the military begin dying as well.

Now, the few colonies of mankind left on the planet are the few people who are immune to the mystery virus, including Sandra and her group.

Now, Sandra and her people are responsible for rebuilding the world, rebuilding mankind, reestablishing the meaning of humanity, and so on. She and her group are faced with difficult choices between helping other survivors, surviving on their own, caring for a baby, saving others who may or may not betray them, and making rules for themselves and each other without it ending in fights, or worse... and they even run along old enemies from the past who, astonishingly, managed to survive the outbreak.

So, this is my basic structure for the book I'm writing, Doomsday By Design. I've finished the first five chapters... and I'm proud to say that they're long chapters. They're Harry Potter-like chapters.

Basically, I need ideas for post-apocalyptic situations that Sandra and her group will get caught in. Situations, new characters, ideas for groups of humans building a certain society, problems with betrayal, and ect.

So, a group of teenagers survive an outbreak and have to deal with chaos, surviving, and rebuilding the world.

What problems will they face...?

reply to post by XxNightAngelusxX


Sounds a lot like Stephan Kings "The Stand". Not totally but the similarities are there.

If you haven't read it or don't have time, you can check a DVD out at the library as it follows the book pretty closely.

That should help kick start the ‘ol noggin and help avoid being accused of plagiarism.

Good luck.

reply to post by TDawgRex


Never heard of it :/

I'll look into it, thanks

(1) why are they immune? not being infected with the bad vaccine does give you immunity? I don't think so.
(2) Please don't go into "spiritual" or "religious" directions. It is a virus, not something sent literally from hell. Didn't like that part in Kings "The Stand", really.
(3) Let them try something new. How about trying to reach a far out island? Or trying to go to Canada/Mexico.

reply to post by ManFromEurope


They're immune because they can not catch the disease, there's a biological reason behind it, I'm not sure how to explain it. The ones who received the vaccine died because the virus was spread through the vaccine. Then, the virus became airborne and killed everyone on the planet who didn't have a natural immunity to the virus.

I like putting spirituality in stories, it's a part of me, and I'd like it to be in my books. Not a lot, but somewhere at least.

The island and Mexico ideas were excellent, thank you

Originally posted by XxNightAngelusxX
reply to post by ManFromEurope

 

They're immune because they can not catch the disease, there's a biological reason behind it, I'm not sure how to explain it. The ones who received the vaccine died because the virus was spread through the vaccine. Then, the virus became airborne and killed everyone on the planet who didn't have a natural immunity to the virus.

You should work on that a bit, I think. It might leave the reader a bit disappointed if the coincidence of having four pupils from the same school as survivors isn't explained. I would be disappointed. Which brings me to point (2):

I like putting spirituality in stories, it's a part of me, and I'd like it to be in my books. Not a lot, but somewhere at least.

Sure, why not, it's your story. Nevertheless, it puts too much of the bad "deus ex machina" into the story - see above. Unexplained and even unexplainable parts of the story have to be at least mysterious, but not in the sense of some old priest sitting in front of his deserted church going "I had this vision! It is gods way of telling us to be good!", and then all the protagonists say "yeeees! lets pray!". No, that is not a valid explanation.
I like your premise of the elites wish to half the plebs, so to say. This is the right board for that idea. It is evil, there is a large amount of possible background infos here, just check for that Dallas Airport Deep Underground Shelter.. Wonderful and ridiculous stuff, really. I envy those with enough imagination to find all those signs in Dallas Airport..

The island and Mexico ideas were excellent, thank you

No problem, I will charge the usual 10% of your revenue, righto? Jus' kidding.. Or am I?

Originally posted by XxNightAngelusxX
reply to post by ManFromEurope

 

I like putting spirituality in stories, it's a part of me, and I'd like it to be in my books. Not a lot, but somewhere at least.

"The Stand" DVD is quite a long watch as it is actually a two DVD set. Probably best for a rainy day.

One of the antagonists is a guy who goes Goth and spirituality is definitly a theme within the movie. I don't think it goes over the top until the end though, and that is mainly because CGI was not that good when it was produced.

But watching it will give you a good idea on what to avoid in your book, while being entertained as well.

BTW, don't let it crush your idea, at a minimum, maybe you could even sell your idea to King as a stand alone story that coincides with his. Copyright it first though.

Sounds awsome!!!!

The baby full time will mess with the story line. Cuz everything's gonna revolve around the baby then. Have them rescue the baby. Then shortly after in some desperate situation where they're being chased or something, they give it to a nice group of people who are sailing away on a boat too small to take the whole group. Or to a couple that are taking off in a twin seater plane and can only take the baby.

Have them run into a scientist or world elitist or political leader who is dying or somethign like that. Have them save him from someone that was gonna mug or kill him. But he is injured and dying. With his last breaths he hands the teens a vial and says to them to "each take a bit of this" that way they'll be immune to the virus. That way you don't have to waste endless paragraphs having them worry about sanitising everything and everyone they encounter to try and avoid getting the virus. Cuz they'll have become immune. Maybe they give some to the baby too just befor they give it away to someone who's taking off in a boat or plane. And maybe some of them debate taking it because they're having concerns as to if they acctually want to try and coup with this crazy new world. But then eventually they all take it. Or maybe the group forces it on one of the members who was reluctant to do it.

Have the 17yr old punk and the 18 yr old Christian fall in love. Alternatively, they have a fling but then mutually agree just to be friends after becaus they're in so much sheatt! But then they often still will show signs that they care about each other without being a full blow relationship. That way each can explore other relationships and friendships and love interests they run into.

I like your idea for sure. Cuz I love post apocolypic stuff.

Here's where you'll get some ideas:

list of apocalypictic works...

reply to post by TDawgRex


Yeah, that's what I was thinking too.
Well that and a few others anyway, just with a multitude of other intro plots, comet, nukes, zombies, Etc. or ect...
All I could think of was...


Nice the use of fluke, assange and beyonce though.

reply to post by r2d246


You're right on.

I have a conspiracy theorist, a crazy scientist named Adrian, who's gonna join up with them a little later. And, after they take the baby, they're gonna take care of it for a while until they run across this little community down south, and the leader of the town, an old Indian lady named Mrs. Gibson, is gonna take the baby.

I love your ideas, thanks

reply to post by XxNightAngelusxX


I'd love to write a book similar to what you're talking about. That would be so much fun. But whenever I try I do a few pages then I drop it. Not sure why. Just don't have the patients anymore to write long stuff like that anymore so I like just writing on here. But I did write a book one time. But it wsn't anything exciting. Its' a lot of fun though when you get inspired you can write for days on end. It's crazy.

How about something bitter, like having to leave the baby to some animals/zombies/whatever?

Its situations like that which will leave the reader unhappy, but it gives the whole story the touch of unpredictability, which I like very much in stories!

Man, was I bored with that "Panem"-movie - it was completely predictable: readiness of the big sister to sacrifice herself, the bullies with intense killerinstinct, a lovestory and so on. Booooring, I have to say (I haven't read the books).