New ideas on the dead horse

Since I've been in a somewhat creative mood lately, I have ventured back into my novel writing persona and so far, had no luck in advancing my current writings. Therefore, I thought it was time to move on and see about getting some new, fresh ideas to work with. Devoted some serious time to brainstorming and are now all stored on a notepad file that I will be referencing and gathering from. New ideas happen all the time, and I'm hoping I can get some measure of success from it all.

From the threat of nuclear attack, to a college epic about two friends who strike out in life and love. Toss in the kitchen sink, and we have a book right? About a college epic of two friends who strikes out in life and love, who inadvertently stop the nuclear holocaust while fixing their kitchen sink in the mold of some comedy? That would be increasingly strange to write, let alone read - but given the amount of crap that becomes movies today, that may actually make the silver color screen of the theaters.

I digress, anyhow - the following is very rough and very skeptical at best. Input is always welcome, just keep it constructive. This is a direct copy and paste from a notepad file that I authored and is in its original, unedited form - which means: typos, grammar, stuff that makes no sense, and other mind boggling thoughts. I am not responsible for personal injury, including brain explosion, should these thoughts make your head combust. Without further ado:


-General Aramov has second thoughts?
This has some merit in that, at first - he is power crazed and maybe somewhat insane. As it stands right now, Mark just takes over after Aramov's plans fail. In this instance, Aramov's plans do not work and Mark kills him for incompetence and takes over the command. Mark is of course genocidal. At this point, Aramov begins thinking twice about total annihilation, leading to his demise. I like this idea because it would show that he is still human, and also show just how much of a monster Mark really is.
Verdict: Yes. I like the idea, and will keep it for now.

-Resident Evil type?
Trite, maybe overused? The idea of the zombie attack is feisable, yet not entirely sure how to make it work in the current plot. I doubt it could work, due to the fact that it would be a lot of work to transform the storyline over. Maybe read some of the Resident Evil books? I've yet to read anything on Resident Evil storylines and it seems like the 'black screens' in between levels on the games doesn't bleed much storyline. I really need to put some kind of book order in for those.
Verdict: As of right now, no. In the future, with a bit more research, sure.

-Narrowing team down to main characters?
This involves just maintaining characters, but the majority operate in the background. Only Travi and <insert name here> work together, as partners such as agents or field operatives similar to Leon and Helena, Jake and Sherry, Chris and Sheva, Chris and Jill etc. This would open a new dimension, and also cut down on side plot elements. I like this idea in that it would cut down on a lot of the BS story writing that is almost necessary. Narrowing it down to two characters working together, would allow me to expand into another area as far as chapters and nameplates.
Verdict: Yes. Good idea, and worth looking at.

-Chapters or nameplates?
Amazing what happens when I think. This would open up a new door in storytelling in that I could follow several characters instead of one with side splits. That would allow me to write for Travi, Mark and maybe even Allison and show how important all the characters are.
Verdict: Yes. It's worth a look in the future I think.

-Centralized bad guy?
I'm assuming I was thinking of a Wesker type here? I'm not entirely sure. I thought on this one and still have no clue what I was thinking here. Mark would be the centralized bad guy in most ways, so...yeah, not a clue.
Verdict: Probably not. I still have no idea what I was talking about here.

-Mark's role?
Obviously, a central character in that he serves as a primary antagonist and a source of distress for Travi. I like the way I made him out, and he's the perfect bad guy that has no sense of justice or conscious at all. He's the yang to Travi's yin, and that should continue to hold true. Mark is a force truly evil, while Travi is the epitome of justice and righteousness. The only main thing I thought about, was increasing the amount of encounters they are, but even the best bad guys work mainly behind the scenes.
Verdict: Yes, already is. He should remain as the main bad guy in whatever iteration I choose to write.

-Endwar type plot?
Has merit, but it would again involve a complete overhaul of the storyline and introduction of new plot elements. I like it in that it had the idea of a wild goose chase along with several new plot twists. It would allow me to expand more into Mark's storyline, but I doubt I could give him the same kind of personality as the Snow Maiden, even though she was an interesting character. May be time to re-read that book.
Verdict: Perhaps, but nothing definite.

-Allison still love interest?
Allison has transformed four times now as a central character. Started as Latasha, first with no military training, than she did not. Then she became Allison as a doctor with no training. Latasha was originally a love interest to Leon, then to Travi. Allison is Travi's childhood sweetheart at present, do I keep that? How much does she bring to the table? She serves as Travi's conscious on several instances, then she seems to be part of the glue that keeps him together during the tough times. His better half as they say. I think she adds an entirely new dimension to his character and also demonstrates that love in war is possible. I like Allison's character as she reminds me a lot of a perfect and ideal woman for myself. The added lead-up-to-sex scene that I put into the other draft really adds her into the realm of someone that wants the means of intimacy with someone she loves and cherishes.
Verdict: Yes. She will, by whatever I make her, remain his love interest. Even if she becomes a soldier again, they will still have a relationship in the mold of Chris and Jill. (Come on, you know those two are something when they're not killing zombies)

-Mass scale weapon?
Tony gave me this idea, in that its something takes a while to prep - giving the good guys a chance to be in position to stop it. This serves a good merit on any storyline in that it is feisable to maintain realism with this outlook while Travi and Co. wreck shop and figure out the mystery. I like this idea immensely because it would make a bit more sense than figuring out the secret of the main plotline within a couple weeks, no matter how skilled. This would also allow the team more time to plan and also open the door for the sideline stories.
Verdict: Yes, and will probably be something I look at heavily.

-Allison's role in relation to the story?
This mainly stems from my original question about her. She was a soldier at first, then nothing more than a researcher. So, does she maintain that profile? Or do I send her back through bootcamp? This one is weighing my mind heavily, due to her role being important in the story. Does her story need to be redone, or do I need to keep it and maybe it where she followed Travi into the military? A lot of possibilities. Daisy even offered up an idea that she could be Trav's partner in the storyline, and they could maintain their relationship from childhood. Maybe separated and reunited by events in the book with one of them being relocated to the others precient.
Verdict: Needs to be looked at for sure, and find out what exactly she is.

-Scratch Project Alpha?
This one is probably a last resort and that's just ditching the entire original storyline that involved the cure turned virus. This is due to my inability to fill the plot holes that are currently glaring. This option would just the ultimate fuck all, and start completely from scratch. The only other thing that could be stemmed from this is a virus that causes humanity to suffer in some massive way, like Resident Evil style.
Verdict: Last resort, but will if necessary.

-Plague Virus?
This ties into the Resident Evil thought. Probably not, unless I think of something that involves that genre in a similar manner. Rage zombies maybe? See above.
Usable: Maybe.

-Nuclear threat?
Again, trite and overused. Everyone and his grandfather has threatened the world with nukes before. But on that hand, nothing much more suspenseful or scary than the thought that a thousand nukes could drop on the main characters at any point. Worth a thought I guess. This may also help with the mass scale weapon idea, in that it would take some time to get that many missiles loaded and ready to attack.
Verdict: Yes, and will be useful as a fall back.

-Redo team, Agency or back to their RL counterparts?
SOCA? Or SEALs, Rangers etc. The only issue with this is that the team would be split because of their different branches. Bill and Trav would remain together due to both being SEALs.
Other than that, agents that work in pairs similar to above question of BSAA, RCPD, Jake and Sherry, Leon and Helena etc. This could also have some implications to a tie in with my reduced team theory and allow the other characters to work behind the scenes. I could see this happening in some measure.
Verdict: Yes, and may be useful in the way they would work.

-Different bad guys?
Soviets get a bad rap at times, and sometimes its better to move onto other bad guys. But let's face it, who are the usual suspects? Oh right, Soviets/Russians, Islamic extremists, or tree huggers. Take a pick.
Verdict: Investigation is required.

-Time Crisis storyline?
Has merit to tie in with the lowered character numbers, but doubtful it would have much as a story. Too much action, not enough dialogue - even if I was to take all of the Time Crisis games and link them together with their entire plots.
Verdict: Probably not.

-Going local?
Daisy offered this idea, in moving the story stateside and localizing the story. This would open up more areas of types of work the characters have. This has merit for sure.
Verdict: Yes, and something to look at.

There you have it. Inaugural entry complete, Au revoir.