So, this is probably going to sound like a strange question, but, how do you take a real life problem and put it into a story (or build a story around it) without cliche or unoriginal-ness?

I'll give you a situation...it's real life, so, my life is kind of confusing.

And I hope this situation is something that helps you understand the question. Though I'm mega confused, I'm not asking for advice. ;)

A really good guy friend of mine is "popular". He moved down the street from me, and though summer has been out this long, I haven't gotten down to see him (grounded, softball, work, I'm just busy). He used to like my best friend, who we'll call Jenna, but now hates her (that's another story all together). He's been to my softball games and we do flirt a lot, but nothing serious. We both know we're on different levels of dating/matureness.

Now though, I haven't talked to him since he was very sarcastic and mean after we lost our last game of the season (we would have been undefeated) and I told him not to talk to me. But he's starting to hang out with these girls who are real [inserted mean and curse words here]. These girls leave voicemails on "Jenna's" phone telling her she's fat and ugly (which she is far from). I don't know how to tell him that he's making a big mistake being friends with them and he's going to dig himself into a ditch that I can't help him get out of. ;) ;) ;) ;)

Hmm, if you wanted to make it sound less cliched (although it is real life, sometimes life is cliched and filled with drama! People tend to forget that sometimes), maybe you could change the setting? Instead of high school, put the characters in the workforce, throw in some competition and finding oneself issues and make it more young adult as opposed to teenage drama? And maybe tell it from his perspective! You don't see much young adult about post-college guys ... or at least I don't. Anyway, just don't make the character in your situation Mary Sueish (you know that) and you'll be fine.

Sure, it sounds a bit familiar, but not unoriginal. Remember, everything you write is original! No one's putting it in the same words as you are.

Good luck! With your story and your confusion. :huggle:

Thanks, Marisa...I wasn't really planning on putting it into a story, I was just curious. But, maybe after a lot of thinking, I could pull it off. :D

:glomp:

Oh. :P Well, anyway, my advice stands ... I'd try to change the situation not to unrecognizable lengths but to a point where it says something. The plot shouldn't just be based on your experiences, but should be used as a starting point for a bigger plot. If people want to see drama played out in real life fashion, there are plenty of tv shows that cater to that need. :)

I actually got a good idea (how do you always give me random ideas? :P ) on how to incorporate it into my NaNo fic. Maybe I'll actually get to 50k this year. :rolleyes:

I was going to do my OF for NaNo last year, but realised, it's going to take a while to get everything right.

I'm writing a story based off some old correspondence I had with a friend online. He's been a friend for the last 16yrs...lol..

But what I want to do is put our emails into actual conversations with fictional characters. This person and I have never met, so its like starting a fresh, but having something to go off.

But yeah, its hard to put certain situations into a fictional piece...But good luck trying to do it for NaNo :)