Time is ticking down

Just another three days until my masochistic challenge frenzy begins. For the first time in the planning stages I have made it 48 hours without throwing out my plot idea for Script Frenzy so I am thinking I will be going forward with the communal society idea mentioned in my previous post. Even though I have not yet read The Hunger Games I will say that the idea of warrior children fighting for their lives is loosely based on the current hype surrounding that series. Truth be told, as I built the plot in my head, I borrowed ideas from several stories that I have read. There was a time not too long ago that I thought using existing plots as inspiration was the mark of a bad writer, but with time I have come to believe that inspiration from the experts is one of the best ways to go. The challenge is taking that muse and creating something that is entirely your own.

For this plot in particular, I imagined small portions mainly from three book series, with three more in the back of my mind as I was planning. The initial thought came in thinking about R.A. Salvatore's The Dark Elf Trilogy (Book 1) Dark elf children are sent to one of three schools: battle, magic, or temple. It is a matriarchal society that places a much higher value on females than males, and the children are sent to a school that benefits the family the most. My original plot idea followed this relatively closely, with families choosing what career path would be the most prestigious for their reputation, keeping in mind that if their child did not succeed and was killed in battle school or wizard school the shame would be worse than having a child working in menial labor or as a scholar (assuming the society valued warriors and fighters).

The next inspiration came from the Night's Watch in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire (My personal favorite series) The various members of the Night's Watch are selected to serve as either Rangers (warriors, explorers), Stewards (scribes, cooks, etc), or Builders. The boys are selected based on their skills and the needs of the group as a whole.

These two series cover the vast majority of my inspiration when thinking of this plot, and I have to give credit where credit is due. Hopefully I will be able to come up with a story that is uniquely mine while putting good use to the ideas born from some very talented authors.