I'm trying to write a fantasy story, but I'm having a lot of trouble coming up with the plot. I'm planning for it to be told from the POVs of multiple characters (I'm thinking there would be 4-7 protagonists depending on the plot), none of which have ever met before (the way they're all brought together is one of the things I'm having trouble with) and I have a few ideas for what they'll be like and some character development/side plots that could happen.
They may obtain magic at one point early on (like either they each get a magical object somehow or develop powers - how they get this is another problem for me), but it wouldn't be super powerful magic like invisibility or anything; just ones like changing the state of water, hovering an inch above the ground, etc. that would be used more for survival or defense than combat (although some might still be used in that way).
I kind of want a plot that would make them explore several different unique places in the fantasy world, coming across dangerous terrains/creatures/characters, and their adventure would maybe take at least a week or so (probably longer if I divide it into multiple stories) to allow some slow and steady character development/side plots etc.
I was thinking of one where they had to collect a series of magical objects, giving them a reason to explore all the different regions, but I couldn't come up with a good reason why they would have to do it that didn't have a bunch of plot holes. (I was also thinking each object gives a specific power to each character, but then some characters wouldn't get their powers until the very end of the book and I don't know how well that would work.)
Coming up with plots has always been a huge problem for me; I can get a couple ideas but they're either too similar to something I've read or I just can't take out the plot holes and make it work. So if anyone has any ideas that would work with any of that, I'd really appreciate it!
Hey, @Kamryn! I think the idea for your story is promising and I like it. :)
If you're really into the collecting magical objects thing, I think it could be made to work. If you want to try to find another plot though, I can always help brainstorm.
I like the idea of the characters getting their powers from the objects. Maybe they think they have to get their powers from the objects but it turns out later in (like 1/3 in, 1/2 in, 2/3 in not at the very end) that the objects actually just unlock their powers and really they were just dormant but they had them the whole time. And maybe like one or two of the characters could get their powers unlocked in a stressful situation (someone they care about is hurt, in the middle of a fight between two characters and emotions are running high, in the middle of a physical fight between the characters and their enemy/one of their enemies).
One of the internal conflicts might be that one of the characters hasn't had his/her powers unlocked yet and this is a source of frustration/anger/jealousy, possibly even guilt and/or feelings of incompetence if someone they care about is hurt and they feel that they could have prevented it had they already acquired their powers.
Maybe the objects are desired by the big bad? Maybe they are the key to unlocking a portal/door/opening of some sort to release the big bad and/or the big bad's army? Or maybe they're just a great source of power that he/she wants? Or they combine to form…erm…something? So he/she needs all the parts? Maybe the objects used to be one big powerful thing until it was split up into pieces?
It could be that each of your characters lives in a different one of the regions and each region has one of the objects? Part of the challenge could be that they don't know where each of objects is within it's realm and/or they don't know what it looks like.
Just some general writing advice: having lots of MC's can get confusing, so I might not go as high as seven. It's your story though, so don't let me get in the way if you're passionate about having lots of characters. If you do have lots of MC's (5,6,7+) I would suggest keeping their names and personalities very diverse so things are less confusing. For instance, don't have an amy (the most wonderful woman in the world) and an Amanda. Try to have the names of the main characters all start with different letters (if two of them start with the same letter but they're very different that's okay but you get what I mean).
I hope this helps! If you need any more assistance, please don't hesitate to ask :)
Thanks so much for the help! I like the idea of having the objects unlocking their powers that were just dormant, and the conflicts you mentioned from that are really good!
Having each character live in a different region and each region having one of the objects would be really good too, I just don't know how to bring the group all together in a way that would make sense before they start their journey.
I think the thing I'm struggling with most besides that is exactly what the objects would do.
I could make it where each object gives whoever possesses it the rightful ownership of a kingdom or something, and maybe a group of people recently assassinated the current rulers and the MCs are the new heirs or something that the antagonists are trying to stop from taking over, but I have no idea how the mechanics could work for that.
Or maybe the objects could create something that would destroy the world or cast a major curse or something, but I'm not sure how much I'd be able to do with that.
If you have any other plot ideas, though, I'd definitely love to hear them!
Yeah, I am a little hesitant on doing 7 MCs; I'll see how many characters I can make without creating confusion and still giving enough page time to each. I made sure all their names are different, although since it's a fantasy world I used some unusual names, so I hope that wouldn't lead to confusion. I've figured out three of their personalities, but yeah, I'm definitely going to try to make them all different from each other.
