Underwater City by Anez Erynlis (Found in Yahoo Image Search)
I came up with an idea that has been rattling around my head. I’m still not sure exactly where to go with this, but here is what I have.
A group of friends (4 boys and 1 girl) live in a city that is hidden under a cliffside named Trune. Their people struggle to survive in the catacombs, so these friends decide to head into the world for training. They agree to return in 10 years and become a mercenary team to bring some income into their hidden city. Their headquarters is a building on the cliff with a secret entrance to the city. This is all setting and motivation for their beginning adventure.
The issue comes when they regather. The boys train as a paladin, an assassin, a potion master, and a forest tracker. The girl was training as a warrior until she was taken into an organization that promised her unique skills. Instead, they magically altered her in their experiments to create the perfect warrior race. The forest tracker broke her out before they were done, so now she is a skilled warrior who wanders from child-like nature to raging psychotic. She’ll spout random stuff at times, but she’s still a functional and not over the top level of crazy.
The main plot revolves around the organization trying to recapture her once they find out where she is. This is where I get lost. Part of me wants to do a trilogy that has them do a mission in the first book, battle the organization and lose in the second, and go in for revenge in the third. Yet, I think I can do this in a single book too. It could very well be the sequence of mission, organization problems, attack on Trune, and then an assault on the organization. I had some villains in the form of two completed female perfect warriors, one male perfect warrior, and the head of the organization. A lot of the story would revolve around the bonds between the heroes and how far they’ll go to protect their those they care about.
I’d be happy to hear any insight somebody has to this. The more I think about it, the more I worry that it might be an overdone idea.
Legends of Windemere 
Go for it.
Tales of adventuring bands are cool. And you will have your own unique spin I am sure.
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Thanks. It’ll be interesting to see where this goes, but I think it really is more of a one-shot book than a series. Once the organization is done then it’s over and I don’t want to draw it out for too long.
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Not everything has to be a series. hehe.
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I know, but it’s so hard not to do that when I love the characters.
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What’s their motivation to be an adventuring band? A one off baddie they have to take out? Then they are done?
Fame and their own demi-plane and castle?;)
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Their motivation is to become a small mercenary band and use the money to support the city of outcasts that they came from. They run into trouble with an organization comes looking for one of their members who they were experimenting on.
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Cool. Could be a series if you want easily enough.
That’s up to you hehe. We support your decision either way.
Have a great day Charles. I’ve got to cast Steve Boylan as Hamlet now.;)
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Have fun. I should get back to editing.
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I’m in a similar situation with a story I’m working on. I even came up with (if I do say so myself) dang good names for all three parts/books–which is very rare for me. I think, to avoid disappointment, I’m going to consider them three parts of one novel and if I write enough that I can split it up, it will be a peasant surprise! Good luck—sounds like a very interesting concept!
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Thanks. Good luck yourself. If it only makes it into one book then you can make the names sections or acts. A lot of fantasy novels do that.
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Yeah–for once this isn’t a fantasy piece, but it could still have three segments. Thank you!
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You’re welcome.
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I feel sorry for your paladin already
Sent from an island in the sun
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I promise this guy won’t die a horrible death. He’ll be picked on and mocked, but I’m thinking I might want to make a decent paladin character this time.
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Whew! I was already ordering floral arrangements
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Then again, I can’t have every hero survive, can I?
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perfect. I hope there’s some romance in it, too. ^_^
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Still thinking about that. With the female lead a little childish and nutty, it might be a one-sided relationship for most of the book.
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I loved your idea, but I think this would look better in a single book, other then in three parts.
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Leaning that way too. Guess it will depend on how it all plots out.
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some great ideas, charles. Personally, I think it would work better as a trilogy (using the recipe you suggested, with the intro/training etc, losing, revenge – tried and proven) as it sounds complicated for one endeavour but plenty of adventure for a longer piece. I appreciate others (friends and trusted/talented writers among them) think one book would be ample, this is just my oppinion. Just say shut up, baldy and I’ll go hohowhat! Ten years of absence from each other allows a lot to happen in their world, there is scope for a great deal of storytelling here, I’ll be interested to know what you decide and how your story goes if you decide to pursue it. Keep smiling and keep writing, pal 🙂
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Thanks. I think it’s going to depend on how long the overall plot is. I wasn’t going to write their training because that’s not much of a story. They part ways in the prologue and the first chapter has them in mid-mission or regrouping. This is all off the topic of my head. I’ll have to play it all by ear.
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I think a single book would please the readers more, but if the story gets really fat you many want to consider the three. I like the idea of the three parts though. Maybe Luke can be the Obi Won of Forest Trackers.
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Good idea. As for Luke, it’s a possibility. If he survives his own series.
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it’s an interesting concept to develop and I look forward to seeing what you come up with… side note I’m almost done reading Beginnings… I am enjoying it so far…
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Good to hear. Though that ‘so far’ sounds like it should come with ominous laughter. Maybe that’s just my paranoid author side.
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I like the idea. I don’t see what’s overdone about it, but like you said, it does sound like it could be done in one book. Of course, who knows what your characters will decide?
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Only time will tell. These guys are pretty far down the road too. Who knows what will happen by then.
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I really like this idea. And I would love to read it, when you’ve written it. Best wishes!
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Thanks. I’ll get to it some day. 🙂
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There is, of course, the sweet moment when your latest review is a big thumbs up AND they say they can’t wait for the next book in the series!
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Those are sweet. Though, some fantasy authors do get away with one time stories. I’ll just have to see how it pans out.
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Reblogged this on Wyndy Dee.
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This sounds really promising and I can’t think of anything that it would be similar to. Best of luck with this great idea!
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Thanks. Fingers crossed that it comes along smoothly.
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