My Lion King Forum

Not much to see here, just going to use this OP to plan out a Fan Fiction I am working on. Over the next few days this thread will be filled with random bits of information (Notes, to me) about the characters, a few key plot points and that kind of thing.

Plot
Story is based on an OC, my first time using one so we will see how that goes. As of yet he does not have a name but his back story is this (in a nustshell) his mother died shortly after she gave birth to him and his father began to resent him for that. He belongs to a pride of mercenary lions and lionesses, they often carry out the hunting and such acquisitions, either for royalty, higher powers or whoever offers the best reward for them (whichever is in their best interest at the time).

Later on in his life, after being trained by his father to hunt and kill, he begins to get the courage to stand up to his father, however it proves to be the last straw for the last remaining two members of the pride, his father disowns him out of hatred and disgust and our anti-hero's story will begin here.

It is an action fantasy story with possibly a bit of romance thrown in for good measure as this character seeks redemption and a life he can call his own.

Characters
2 X Male OC (Father and son)
1 X Female OC (Possible love interest)
I won't be covering much of his mother's past: if it is his story, it makes sense he wouldn't remember too much to tell. However he will learn more about her as his story progresses, leading to a shocking discovery.
Canon characters are to be decided.

Praise from critics

Yo, cool story, dawg - Xzibit's long lost Jamaican cousin!
A delicious plot, seasoned with filling characters Jamie Oliver does story reviews, not food.
It's amazing! 4/10 IGN

That's a good start for a plot. I'm interested to see where you're going with this.

Thanks for a quick bit o' feedback! Always nice to know there is interest in a story before I start writing it. I am still working on developing their personalities, I am happy with their back stories thus far but how they actually are portrayed is something I'm still working on. Once that's down and this writer's block leaves I should begin it within the week.

This sounds very interesting! Looking forward to reading it

From my own limited experience, it's pretty easy to develop a character's personality as the story progresses. I've been writing a story that isn't all that different from this one, and instead of deliberately shaping the personalities of my OC's, I've come up with a few small subplots, which seem to indirectly serve that purpose.

From what I've noticed, it's better to let the plot define the character than to let the character define the plot, if you know what I mean. It seems counter-intuitive, but I'm almost certain it works out better that way.

My suggestion is to come up with some ideas for subplots (that's the hard part), and then let your character decide how to handle them.

[quote="Regulus"]From my own limited experience, it's pretty easy to develop a character's personality as the story progresses. I've been writing a story that isn't all that different from this one, and instead of deliberately shaping the personalities of my OC's, I've come up with a few small subplots, which seem to indirectly serve that purpose.

From what I've noticed, it's better to let the plot define the character than to let the character define the plot, if you know what I mean. It seems counter-intuitive, but I'm almost certain it works out better that way.

My suggestion is to come up with some ideas for subplots (that's the hard part), and then let your character decide how to handle them.[/quote]

Thanks buddy, I appreciate the tips! Thing with that is I wouldn't want them to react one way to an event and then act totally differently to a similar one because I had winged their personality. When I read, that is the one thing that throws me off a story; if the characters act out of character then it makes me question them and really throws me off.

I'll be sure to bear it in mind though, perhaps write a few example scenarios and how the character would act to them and use that as a basis for making a bonafide personality. Interesting advice though, a lot of writers here could bear it in mind that's for sure.

[quote="AdAstra"]This sounds very interesting! Looking forward to reading it [/quote]


Thanks for the kind words! Gee; this planning thread has received more praise than any of my actual previous stories lol, thanks again guys! Now I feel pressured to write something good, which will probably help to make it so, if anything.

What I found that helped me when I write long stories is not to have a plot that's set in stone. Because as you write, then go on to do other stuff, you will get ideas that you will want to add to the story. Sometimes, they will require a significant plot change unless you allow your plot to be dynamic.

At the same time, if you want to just type up the story and get it over with, then a rigid plan is the better option. The only reason why I allow myself the freedom to change what I want is because it takes me a long time to write my longer stories, so I don't restrict myself with a plan that I come up with months, sometimes even years, in advance.

So my opinion is this: If it's a long, multi-chapter story, it goes this way: If you write a chapter a week or less, go with a rigid story and no compromises. What went into the plane is what comes out. But if it takes you over a week to write a chapter, then allow yourself the freedom to play around with ideas and tweaks.

But no matter what you do, don't allow yourself to forget the core of the story, otherwise it might lose track and you'll find yourself bored with it.

Hope this helps.

[quote="Regulus"]
From what I've noticed, it's better to let the plot define the character than to let the character define the plot, if you know what I mean. It seems counter-intuitive, but I'm almost certain it works out better that way.[/quote]
I think I would respectfully disagree a bit. If you have a plot and then force your character to complete it, that character will never come to life or define itself. You do need to have a general roadmap of the story, but the plot should be organic and shaped by your characters. I don't really know how to phrase it well. Maybe it's that the ends shouldn't justify the means, if that makes any sense. Your character shouldn't do something because that's part of the plot, they should do it because it's what the character would do.

With regards to what you said, Fip, absolutely. The better you understand the characters you're writing, the better your story will be. Always.

Just my thoughts. It's late, they might not make much sense. ;3

But in all seriousness, it sounds like it has a lot of potential and I can't wait to see it develop ^^ I would say make sure to keep me updated, but I'll be stalking this thread now anyways xP

[quote="Azdgari"][quote="Regulus"]
From what I've noticed, it's better to let the plot define the character than to let the character define the plot, if you know what I mean. It seems counter-intuitive, but I'm almost certain it works out better that way.[/quote]
I think I would respectfully disagree a bit. If you have a plot and then force your character to complete it, that character will never come to life or define itself. You do need to have a general roadmap of the story, but the plot should be organic and shaped by your characters. I don't really know how to phrase it well. Maybe it's that the ends shouldn't justify the means, if that makes any sense. Your character shouldn't do something because that's part of the plot, they should do it because it's what the character would do.

With regards to what you said, Fip, absolutely. The better you understand the characters you're writing, the better your story will be. Always.

Just my thoughts. It's late, they might not make much sense. ;3[/quote]

I think I understand what you mean, but I'm not totally sure.

I was actually thinking more along the lines of the elephant graveyard scene. The entire first third of the movie isn't really necessary, and it doesn't add much to the main plot of the story. It mainly only exists to define the characters, and their relationships to one another. It unquestionably does that extremely well.

That's what I was referring to, more or less. Instead of defining Simba with personality traits x, y, and z, the entire plot shapes Simba's perception, and allows him to change over the course of the movie.

The only character that really defines the plot of TLK is Scar. If Simba had a totally different personality, the plot would still work, although it may have ended differently. I believe that's why most people can relate to Simba so well, and I also believe that's one of the reasons why TLK is such a good movie. Typically, the better the reader can relate to the characters, the better the story is going to be.

I'm not entirely sure I'm right about any of this, it's just what I've been thinking.