New Concept: "Hopedead"

You know, it's very frustrating to try to edit an old novel to a deadline when you have little time to work on it and your head is filled with ideas for new novels. Maybe they're worth pursuing. Maybe not. But they shouldn't be forgotten, I think. So from now on, whenever a new plot pops into my head, I will do my best to record it to this blog.

Many fantasy stories and games start out with a basic plot that's some variant of "Something evil is trying to take over the world, and there is only one hero, chosen and/or destined to stop it." A good story these days does away with this old cookie-cutter idea. Only a few take it as a base and mangle it enough to find something compelling.

The idea of saving the entire world singlehandedly and facing impossible odds, while cliché to read about, is frightening to actually consider. If it's well-known that you're the chosen one, suddenly you're famous for something you haven't done. You're seen for what people expect of you with zero room for error and no recognition for your actual accomplishments. The heroic image starts to replace your humanity while the pressure builds around you. It's enough to drive someone insane.

In fiction you almost never see a hero lose it. Even one that's perfectly capable of becoming hysterical when things go wrong in his or her quest is really only mildly unsettled by the fame. It's quickly put out of mind to deal with something else. But what happens when one hero just can't take it anymore? What happens when the quest is over before it even begins?

Hopedead is a story of survivors, in a world whose hero has been driven to suicide.