I have become pretty bad at updating my blog lately, mainly because it's the summer holidays. I did say to myself before the holidays that I was going to keep on top of it and update regularly. Yeah, that didn't happen. So I'm saying now that I will do at least four posts this month, including another character profile sheet. You can tell me off if I don't.
Anyway, this post is about my new plot synopsis. That's right, I've changed my idea for my dissertation. I haven't told my ECP supervisor yet and I'll email it to her before I post it here. I changed my idea for two reasons. One, the questionnaire results showed that my previous idea wouldn't do too well in the market, the kids wouldn't want to read it. And secondly, I was bored of it. The whole thing seemed boring and I wouldn't want to read it either, frankly I didn't want to write it. I'm already excited to write my new idea though.
The changes I've made are because of the results. I haven't changed everything though. Edgar Allan Poe is still involved, the main character is still Lenore, and weird Gothicy things are still happening around town.
It was clear from the results that readers between 12-15 years old liked ambiguous endings (although many of them had to ask what ambiguous meant...) so I have now made my idea part of a series, that way I don't have to answer all the questions at once or wrap it up neatly, and there can be a cheeky cliffhanger or two. Series are way more popular too, if you think of any young adult books they are probably part of a series, and usually a best selling one.
I've also changed the genre. It is more of a horror/fantasy/mystery with some actiony elements thrown in. Fantasy was a big favourite and I'm not surprised, I'm now glad I'm taking the Sci-fi and Fantasy module this year. Romance, on the other hand, wasn't a particular favourite, in fact all the boys hated it. But I will have a hint of romance, as it seems all the popular young adults have a little love triangle going on, think The Hunger Games Series and (though I hate to say it) The Twilight Series.
While Lenore is still the main character she's now not the only one. I am planning to write it from multiple viewpoints as the results showed that while young readers may have preferred male protagonists they didn't mind either gender, really, so I thought I'd do a little bit of both too. Also, I have been reading the Gone Series, which has many viewpoints which works pretty well, it really keeps you interested and moves the story along at a nice pace. Though some character's stories are a lot more exciting than the others. These books also made me realise that some weird things happen in books but kids just go along with it. (It also has a thing called a 'gaiaphage'. Seriously, since doing the Writing and the Environment module I've heard about Gaia everywhere. She won't leave me alone!)
I have tried writing in the present tense as well as the past tense and I haven't decided which one I like more. I always have issues with tense; I skip between them all the time meaning I lose marks quite a bit. I'm thinking that if I do it in present tense maybe I won't skip so much, and the results showed that the readers do prefer the present tense. It's a decision I will make at a later date, after my supervisor has okayed the plot.
It will probably be in third person just so the point of views don't get all muddled. Also because I always do the first person so it might be nice to try something new. Third person allows you to explore more and not just be stuck in the character's head.
So there were some hints about my new idea. I'll post it later this month along with a character profile sheet about the new Lenore and maybe the other characters too.
Anyway, this post is about my new plot synopsis. That's right, I've changed my idea for my dissertation. I haven't told my ECP supervisor yet and I'll email it to her before I post it here. I changed my idea for two reasons. One, the questionnaire results showed that my previous idea wouldn't do too well in the market, the kids wouldn't want to read it. And secondly, I was bored of it. The whole thing seemed boring and I wouldn't want to read it either, frankly I didn't want to write it. I'm already excited to write my new idea though.
The changes I've made are because of the results. I haven't changed everything though. Edgar Allan Poe is still involved, the main character is still Lenore, and weird Gothicy things are still happening around town.
It was clear from the results that readers between 12-15 years old liked ambiguous endings (although many of them had to ask what ambiguous meant...) so I have now made my idea part of a series, that way I don't have to answer all the questions at once or wrap it up neatly, and there can be a cheeky cliffhanger or two. Series are way more popular too, if you think of any young adult books they are probably part of a series, and usually a best selling one.
I've also changed the genre. It is more of a horror/fantasy/mystery with some actiony elements thrown in. Fantasy was a big favourite and I'm not surprised, I'm now glad I'm taking the Sci-fi and Fantasy module this year. Romance, on the other hand, wasn't a particular favourite, in fact all the boys hated it. But I will have a hint of romance, as it seems all the popular young adults have a little love triangle going on, think The Hunger Games Series and (though I hate to say it) The Twilight Series.
While Lenore is still the main character she's now not the only one. I am planning to write it from multiple viewpoints as the results showed that while young readers may have preferred male protagonists they didn't mind either gender, really, so I thought I'd do a little bit of both too. Also, I have been reading the Gone Series, which has many viewpoints which works pretty well, it really keeps you interested and moves the story along at a nice pace. Though some character's stories are a lot more exciting than the others. These books also made me realise that some weird things happen in books but kids just go along with it. (It also has a thing called a 'gaiaphage'. Seriously, since doing the Writing and the Environment module I've heard about Gaia everywhere. She won't leave me alone!)
I have tried writing in the present tense as well as the past tense and I haven't decided which one I like more. I always have issues with tense; I skip between them all the time meaning I lose marks quite a bit. I'm thinking that if I do it in present tense maybe I won't skip so much, and the results showed that the readers do prefer the present tense. It's a decision I will make at a later date, after my supervisor has okayed the plot.
It will probably be in third person just so the point of views don't get all muddled. Also because I always do the first person so it might be nice to try something new. Third person allows you to explore more and not just be stuck in the character's head.
So there were some hints about my new idea. I'll post it later this month along with a character profile sheet about the new Lenore and maybe the other characters too.
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