My Brainstorming the Vital Questions for the Manuscript.

When I set out to tell another story, I wondered could a newly crowned, teenage king truly handle the responsibilities of defending his monarchy from overt challenges as well as those lurking in the background? I mean if his parents are murdered just hours ago as well as the friendly uncle(s) who would have guided his decisions, how would he handle himself? Who would he listen to? Just how far would he go to keep the crown and stabilize the dying monarchy? What if, as the sixth child and fourth son, he has been irresponsible in a lot of ways, but is well trained as a warrior? (As trained as an 18-year-old can be.) What if he has never been instructed in how to use true sovereign authority since he was less powerful than his sisters and was headed for a life in the military? Could this teenager pull off this salvage mission? How? Oh, and the setting is based on life during the 1940s in Europe and America but located in a country I named Magoon.

Personally, I believe that with the right help he could do it.

I believe that he would have total success at saving his own neck (especially in hand-to-hand combat) but initial failure at getting justice and order for the monarchy. He can’t trust anyone, so except for the Prime Minister he must quickly fire his parents’ entire support team. Why keep the Prime Minister? Well, she has convinced him that the people need her, that the government needs her, and someone attempted to take her life during the same time the assassins killed the monarchy. Then I thought, what if he called in a few of his military school buddies to fill in the positions of council and staff? What a mess that would be as these boys lack the wisdom of the true art of politics, war, and negotiations. I can see them attempting to foresee the Federation’s moves. The same Federation which has declared that all empires must die and exile for its rulers is not an option.

Then there is the 40-year-old resistance leader that the empire was dealing with. This man knows the truth behind the power that simultaneously assassinated the royals in one day. Not any loss to him, but he is curious as to what does the assassins want with his beloved country. With the royal family pretty much dead, the king’s attempts to squash the resistance has become more of a repulsive fly than a harmful wasp.

I figured, after the one adult they trusted is killed, the king would call on democratic allies and the remaining empires for help. With this support team the king can eliminate the leaders of the resistance and assassins; then, with the combined strength of the allies behind him, deal with the Federation.

So, with all that the question is what’s on the line for this teenage king?

His life! You have the assassins, the Federation, and the resistance all wanting his head. And his home. The crown is all he has left of his family. This is the beginning of the king’s legacy.

What is this the story of?

The story of how an 18-year-old got justice for his family and revived his crown.

Sabrina-Louise

Female Lead, A Girl for my Protagonist

I’ve been building/brainstorming my current WIP for a month now, but until an hour ago, I didn’t have a love interest for my protagonist. Let me just get it straight now, I’m personally not against love and affection. I haven’t told love to pack his bags and hit the road. And I understand fully that the fiction audience has come to expect a good romance storyline during any coming of age novel. With that said I couldn’t for the life of me come up with someone who would properly fit. I didn’t want to just have a place holder, you know, a cardboard cut-out of a girl that would sit and wait for my main character while he had fun saving the crown and land. I wanted someone that would be an equal to my protagonist, if not better. She had to be strong enough, wise enough, that she would know when to speak, what to say, and how to say it. So, I put the task of a girlfriend for my 18-year-old main character on the back burner.

As I carried on with brainstorming this manuscript, from the creation of a completed premise to the early drafts of a plot skeleton, I hit a wall. What was the protagonist motivation now that I’ve taken everyone he cared for away? I mean I killed everyone and the death that hit the hardest was committed right before his eyes. What would get my protagonist to get out of bed and even try now that he knows he can’t trust those who were charged with keeping him and his family safe? Would the love of the crown motivate him to put his life on the line? Would someone so self-centered care about his people and the legacy that is now his by birthright? Probably not to all these questions. I needed someone he would hope to save from the assassins that killed his family. I needed someone whose words could convince him to step up and be a man, be a king for his people. I needed someone who didn’t have all the answers but was willing to stick their neck out for the very reason they were pushing my protagonist to think and act outside of self. Ah, the girlfriend.

A girlfriend could see my protagonist cry and not feel the need to stop his grieving. A girlfriend who was trained to be a warrior could help him fight. Hell, I made her hobby studying war history so that she could advise him in the war he’s in; because after all, he is facing a native warlord, a militarized federation, and a group of assassins. I describe her as a lovely girl, beautiful in her own right. So, he’ll want to kiss her. They have a history together as he was there for her when her sister committed suicide over flunking out of the His Majesty Royal Academy for Girls. She knows his friends and except for two get along with them pretty well.

So there, I have a love interest that isn’t a curly sue. She is not perfect but she won’t back down from this situation knowing that if they hang in there just long enough allies will come in and help revenge the Turner family. But that’s a paper for another day. Until then know that I’m pleased with finding both more forward-moving plot and a kick-ass female lead.

Thanks for listening,

Sabrina-Louise

Premise to Untitled Project 3/18/17

Premise to Untitled Project

When: Newly crown, irresponsible, 18-year-old king independently declare war on all contestants for his home country and Empire

Character Acts: King appoints former classmates as both staff and advisors together they use classroom strategy to fight

Until: Their only trusted advisor’s head is delivered in a bag

Leading to: Connor accepting responsibility and assistance from older, wiser advisors thereby removing known threats to title and person.

Final Premise Line: When a newly crowned, irresponsible, 18-year-old declares war on all contestants for his home and empire, he fires everyone and appoints former classmates as both staff and advisors, together they use classroom strategy to fight, until their only trusted, adult advisor’s head is delivered in a bag then he accepts responsibility and assistance from older, wiser advisors thereby removing known threats to his title and person.