Back in elementary school, I developed a character named Alphaboy. He's stuck with me ever since, and he's one of favorite characters. Something about him brings out my inner idealist. For awhile, I kind of forgot about him, but now, its all coming back to me. I said to myself, "I've changed, and so shall Alphaboy." What is Alphaboy though? Well...
I don't really have a concrete storyline as of yet, but some encouragement and advice would help. It's set in a dystopian alternate reality where humans and extraterrestrials coexist, but don't really get along (think District 9). Into this framework comes fourteen year-old Ryuhei Ogata, the titular Alphaboy. You see, he's not exactly from around here. He's the heir to a mighty warrior race known as the Alphas. His biological father sent the fertilized ovum that grew into Ryuhei into space in a "wombship". Ryuhei was adopted by a kindly Earth scientist named Junko, and when he discovers this by the time the story begins, he doesn't know what to make of it. In an effort to find himself, he joins the Earth Defense Force (either before or after discovery), acing all of the exams necessary for a kid his age to get on the battlefield without a lick of combat experience. He's assigned to a special unit of teens known as Stardust (The IMF meets the Children from NGE) and... I don't really know what happens next. Something to do with another, evil alien race called the Zentarans. And Heat-style shootouts. Chases. Oh, and Ryu looks like Shinji Ikari. The love interest looks like Asuka, Junko looks like Yui, and I'm starting to get off on a tangent now... I like cheese.
Still, waves of nostalgia are shooting through me. This is going to be good, but unfortunately, I'm swamped with other writing projects. Damn. I guess what I'm trying to ask is this: How do I make sense of the mess? It sounds like one of those projects that I'd have to outline and extensively research. The subtle difference in genre may have something to do with it. My current WIP, Redesigning Eva, is a psychological thriller, and is easier to write for me because its so character-driven. Alphaboy is still character-driven, it's just more of an action spy-thriller.
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Yes, I'm still alive.