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1. A young woman in Renaissance Italy breaks off an affair and marries the man her parents have chosen for her, but when a dangerous situation forces her and her former lover to work together, she can no longer ignore the feelings she still has for him.
Yes, this is as far as I got with the Renaissance idea. No, I still don't know what the "dangerous situation" is.
The problem is that even though Giovanna's marriage is unhappy and she's known the hero much longer than she's known her husband, she's still committing adultery. And given how young she and the hero both are, their forbidden romance will probably come off more like adolescent hormones than True Love. The friendship she's developed with her new sister-in-law doesn't help, either.
2. A bootlegger in Prohibition-era Detroit finds himself wrestling with his conscience after competition between rival gangs takes a violent turn.
I asked myself the following questions after watching a few too many old gangster movies: "What if the gangster were redeemed—and lived?" and "Why do none of these movies ever take place in Detroit?"
I actually did start working on this one and posted an excerpt from the first chapter, so what happened? One, I outlined it and found that my enthusiasm was nearly gone once I started writing the first draft, because I already knew exactly what was going to happen. Two, I have a feeling it would work better as a screenplay, and I don't know if I have what it takes to write a screenplay. I can write internal monologue for pages on end, but I really struggle with writing dialogue.
3. A girl tricks her eccentric elderly relative into thinking she can communicate with the dead, then encounters an actual ghost.
Another victim of the outlining curse. Even while outlining it, I couldn't come up with a satisfactory reason for why the main character would do such a thing. Besides, it seems like cheating to have her lie about her abilities, then find out she's not as big of a liar as she thought.
4. A tarot card reader and her best friend try to find out the true identity of a mysterious girl with white hair who seems to know far too much about them.
Hey, did you know I'm really into tarot? No? Well, now you do. Anyway, this is fantasy, and I'm not nearly as much into fantasy as I used to be.
5. A boy and his two best friends try to prove they're worthy of initiation into a secret society, but as the temptation to turn his back on his friends and take his dead father's place as head of the society grows harder and harder to resist, he must ultimately decide where his loyalties lie.
That summary is messy and definitely not final. The main character is not as bad of a friend as I made him sound; he just doesn't want to let anyone down. This is what I was supposed to work on for NaNoWriMo. It's closer to my heart than any of these other ideas and has the highest chance of actually getting written, but even if I write it and revise it and polish it until it shines, I doubt it will ever see the light of day. I have a sneaking suspicion that no one but me will think it's any good.
6. Two best friends learn they've been reincarnated many times over centuries—and an old enemy from previous lifetimes is out to get them once and for all.
Again, fantasy. It also involves teen pregnancy, which is not a topic I feel qualified to handle.
Yes, this is as far as I got with the Renaissance idea. No, I still don't know what the "dangerous situation" is.
The problem is that even though Giovanna's marriage is unhappy and she's known the hero much longer than she's known her husband, she's still committing adultery. And given how young she and the hero both are, their forbidden romance will probably come off more like adolescent hormones than True Love. The friendship she's developed with her new sister-in-law doesn't help, either.
2. A bootlegger in Prohibition-era Detroit finds himself wrestling with his conscience after competition between rival gangs takes a violent turn.
I asked myself the following questions after watching a few too many old gangster movies: "What if the gangster were redeemed—and lived?" and "Why do none of these movies ever take place in Detroit?"
I actually did start working on this one and posted an excerpt from the first chapter, so what happened? One, I outlined it and found that my enthusiasm was nearly gone once I started writing the first draft, because I already knew exactly what was going to happen. Two, I have a feeling it would work better as a screenplay, and I don't know if I have what it takes to write a screenplay. I can write internal monologue for pages on end, but I really struggle with writing dialogue.
3. A girl tricks her eccentric elderly relative into thinking she can communicate with the dead, then encounters an actual ghost.
Another victim of the outlining curse. Even while outlining it, I couldn't come up with a satisfactory reason for why the main character would do such a thing. Besides, it seems like cheating to have her lie about her abilities, then find out she's not as big of a liar as she thought.
4. A tarot card reader and her best friend try to find out the true identity of a mysterious girl with white hair who seems to know far too much about them.
Hey, did you know I'm really into tarot? No? Well, now you do. Anyway, this is fantasy, and I'm not nearly as much into fantasy as I used to be.
5. A boy and his two best friends try to prove they're worthy of initiation into a secret society, but as the temptation to turn his back on his friends and take his dead father's place as head of the society grows harder and harder to resist, he must ultimately decide where his loyalties lie.
That summary is messy and definitely not final. The main character is not as bad of a friend as I made him sound; he just doesn't want to let anyone down. This is what I was supposed to work on for NaNoWriMo. It's closer to my heart than any of these other ideas and has the highest chance of actually getting written, but even if I write it and revise it and polish it until it shines, I doubt it will ever see the light of day. I have a sneaking suspicion that no one but me will think it's any good.
6. Two best friends learn they've been reincarnated many times over centuries—and an old enemy from previous lifetimes is out to get them once and for all.
Again, fantasy. It also involves teen pregnancy, which is not a topic I feel qualified to handle.
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I thought that one sounded familiar...
Ironically enough this now bears rather a resemblance to the tightrope I'm dancing along with Hertha and Raoul (Hertha loves Raoul but doesn't realise it. Raoul doesn't [yet] love Christine, but easily might. Hertha suspects that Christine has fallen for Raoul, but doesn't want (a) to create a scandal or (b) put any ideas along those lines into their heads if they haven't dawned already).
So it occurs to me to wonder if the way into the story might prove to be to view it from the *husband's* perspective; Arthur looking on at Lancelot and Guinevere. You have as much of a weakness for conflicts of loyalty as I do, and one doesn't have to be in love with (or sexually attracted to) someone to feel responsibility and loyalty where they are concerned. (Think also "Brief Encounter".) Looking at the lovers from the outside -- from someone who has experience and a certain degree of disinterested judgement -- could also help make it seem less of a teenage hormone thing, if he can actually compare Giovanna's brightness and fulfilment with another man to his own implied lack, and feel pain and regret.
And the married couple know each other in a *different* (and less romantic) way from the potential lovers; this is something I used when contrasting life with Raoul in LND, with all its messy human compromises, with the fairy-tale promises being hinted at by the Phantom. Reality is blood and bruises and children throwing up, and making mistakes and negotiating them. Even an arranged marriage creates a shared household of its own.
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Giovanna's loyalty is never in question: it is to herself. Lorenzo (her husband) is utterly disinterested in her as a person. I never bothered to work out the details, but their marriage was little more than a business transaction. She resents having to play the dutiful Renaissance daughter/sister/wife (she's the eldest of five children), being used as a bargaining chip by her parents, and being married to someone who barely talks to her despite her attempts to befriend him. Bartolomeo (the hero) makes her happy and knows her better than anyone else, so why shouldn't she go behind Lorenzo's back to be with him? (Her rationale, not mine.)
They initially try to keep their distance from each other and forget their shared passion after the wedding, but Giovanna eventually gets tired of trying to be Lorenzo's companion, and she proves too tempting for Bartolomeo to resist, despite his own sense of honor...
Giovanna is much more of a femme fatale than a fairy-tale heroine, knows it, and owns it. She's an interesting character (to me, anyway), but not exactly a likeable one.
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I still think it might be worth considering how *Lorenzo* perceives her: annoyingly inadequate housekeeper? ill-educated feminine flibbertigibbet? pestering little girl? nonentity who doesn't know how to keep to her side of the household affairs? Presumably what he wants of her is to get on with 'it', with 'it' being undefined but deemed to be obvious.