My novel

Post Reply New Topic

Hiya, guys!

http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt99081.html

You might be familiar with this thread from last year, but the times, they are a changin'. I realized that screenplays lack the complexity and depth of a novel, which is why I've decided to turn Redesigning Eva into the latter before I get into the screenwriting business. Discussion of Redesigning Eva will be moved here.

I've written two and a half pages so far. I think I'm making good progress.

From day one, I was looking for a way to explore Eva's psyche. It was very difficult for me to accomplish that in the form of a screenplay. Besides, novels are much more intricate when it comes to character development and thematic depth, and I was deeply impressed with the kind of stream-of-consciousness narrative mode used in novels like Fight Club, so I was like "why not?"

Finished the second chapter last month! I'm currently halfway through the second. In my opinion, once you've finished that first chapter, the process becomes easier.

Congratulations!

Thought I might talk about the revised plot, amongst other things.

This time, the story takes place in the not-too-distant future (early 2016 to be exact). A decent amount of technological advancements have been made; "green" cars are available, as are extremely expensive virtual reality televisions. The main technological focus is the proliferation of biotechnology in the six years prior to the story, in particular, those dealing with genetics. Enter eighteen year old insomniac Evangeline "Eva" Parker, a girl whose life has turned gray. She needs to bring some color to this absurd, dreadfully boring existence. One night, a mysterious figure clothed entirely in black leaves a Prometheus Corporation business card on Eva's bedroom floor. Prometheus is one of the world's largest and most influential biotechnology companies, specializing in GM. Most of these experiments involve animals, such as a well publicized case in which the vision of lab mice was increased significantly through gene therapy. However, the Corporation has a covert project, named Catharsis, with a more ambitious goal: human enhancement. Traveling to their complex, conviently located in the forests outside her homeplace, the Californian megalopolis Janus City, Eva is introduced to Project Catharsis, and reluctantly volunteers, being told she is their "first subject." The gene therapy goes off well, and Eva is now classified as an A-class (or "perfect") human by Prometheus Corp. What follows is a profound story of deeply flawed human beings, and their efforts to rid themselves of said flaws. It is strange, yet at the same time clear. Externally the story sounds simple, but it penetrates far deeper levels than you could imagine.

This time around the story is told from the viewpoints of not just Eva, but five other characters(!): Brian Hicks, the main male character, who is experiencing a crisis of young adulthood; Carmen Barton, Eva's nihilistic best friend and "suicide junkie"; Patricia "Trish" Scott, a stoic friend of Eva's; Natasha Grant, an extremely wealthy young woman who indulges herself in sex and drugs, using the latter to escape from this absurd reality; and James Holden, a depressed, alcoholic British expatriate, who is also one of the head scientists of Project Catharsis.

EDIT: Hey guys. I'm almost done with the second chapter. Just thought I'd let you know.

Finished the second chapter! Yay!

Hmmn, not much discussion going on in this thread. We should talk about the story, character or themes sometime.

Congrats!:)

This story sounds interesting. Will you mainly be focusing on the character Eva?

You are correct; most of the story is from Eva's viewpoint.

Just finished the third chapter. I'll probably come back and edit this; I'm not feeling well.

Congratulations on writing this much!

--David

I'm currently on the fifth chapter, and I'm trying to find a way of introducing Natasha. Let me tell you a bit about her.

Natasha Grant is the daughter of multibillionaire Taylor Grant, and when she was still in the crib, she was literally fed with a silver spoon that is now worth over five-hundred thousand dollars. Externally, she is role model to the higher youth of Janus City; she appears altruistic and brutally honest. It is only when the sun goes down that Natasha's true side emerges. She is actually an elitist, manipulative psychopath who spends her hard-earned money in the realm of drugs and all manner of delinquency. Like most reckless rich kids, she finds outlets for her boredom; she frequently abuses designer hallucinogens, and because of her shallow nature, she also takes emotional stimulants ("emostims") to help her pass as a person with normal affect. Natasha is the head an all-female group of fellow rich girls called the Scarlet Society, which operates under three basic tenants:

1. Shut the hell up.
2. What happens in the Society stays in the Society.
But most importantly...
3. Have fun.

You can pretty much guess what they do when they're together, and you may be wondering why I have such a sleazy character in a book that has some humanistic underpinnings. I digress. In addition to being a story about the human condition, it also contains a tinge of nihilism. It asks questions about whether or not existence has any intrinsic meaning or if there are indeed morals. This exhibits itself in random, unexpected occurances and the ethical issues of Project Catharsis, not to mention Natasha's excess.

Because of her shallowness, Natasha is going to be a tough character to develop. I am open to suggestion.

Grats! Keep keep going!

Sounds like a fascinating plot. Your description of the first chapter made me wonder this: imperfect humans are trying to better themselves and become A-class people. But how can you trust the perfectionist judgment of people who begin being imperfect? Their ideal of perfection may be tainted by their initial imperfection. What do you think?

Your novel sounds interesting. You are going to make it available for us to read, aren't you?

I'm not sure. The maximum chapter length is between eight and eighteen; I doubt I could post whole chapters here. I would also have to censor it somewhat, given some foul language, but that's okay with me.



Good insight. It's a predisposition in human nature to better ourselves for the sake of ourselves. In a way, Redesigning Eva is a scathing satire of this unfortunate fact.

Do you think you could attach it in a file and make it available for us to download, or something?