[Advice req] Matching external/internal stakes

[cr47t]

Hi guys -

I'm trying to write a story on the smaller scale of things (my past projects quickly became too big for me). Right now I am struggling with outlining a rough idea of the plot, and in order to do that I'm trying to figure out the stakes.

For context: In the story the MC (not yet a teen) and her uncle go camping on an island: soon after arriving she discovers and befriends a creature who takes care of the life on the island. It is known, but becomes more weighted as time goes on, that the creature and MC will have to part when MC's vacation comes to an end, and that they might never meet again afterwards.

I have a decent grasp of what I want the internal stakes to be - whether MC will be able to maintain her childlike optimism in the face of departure and separation, or whether her worldview will fall apart because of it. But I'm not sure what external stakes could go well with it to create a throughline for the plot (i.e. a single plot thread that unites the different story parts). I do envision it to be less about a positive change in fortune than about a negative change of spirit, kind of like coming-of-age combined with aspects of tragedy (b/c i can't think of a better comparison, sorry).

Does anyone have any ideas for what it could be, or for how I can figure it out?

[Loleo]

Well 1 external factor is how often the MC can get away from their uncle in the first place (unless the uncle is in on it). What do the child and spirit do in the meantime? Is the uncle or other people harming the island? Is there another external force that needs to be dealt with? Does the spirit have other motives for being with the MC other than just being a friend? Does the spirit have to go through a similar ache to the MC when separation comes? Do they try to fight to be together somehow?

Most importantly: What about the possibility of staying/coming back. How is that dealt with?

[cr47t]

On 8/10/2022 at 1:23 PM, Loleo said:

Well 1 external factor is how often the MC can get away from their uncle in the first place (unless the uncle is in on it). What do the child and spirit do in the meantime? Is the uncle or other people harming the island? Is there another external force that needs to be dealt with? Does the spirit have other motives for being with the MC other than just being a friend? Does the spirit have to go through a similar ache to the MC when separation comes? Do they try to fight to be together somehow?

Most importantly: What about the possibility of staying/coming back. How is that dealt with?

I'm gonna address the first thing first (how MC can get away from uncle) and then the rest

My idea for how the MC can meet away from Uncle is, in the first encounter Uncle is asleep from the setup, and before the second Uncle confirms he also has a past experience with the creature / wonder character (hereon WC), albeit a very different one than what MC knew from her own encounter.

I hadn't envisioned the island being under attack, but I do imagine a past (pre-story) period where hunting was allowed: this plays into Uncle's past experience mentioned above, as well as a reveal late in the story.

On the MC-WC relationship and the possibility of staying/returning - I haven't thought much of what WC and MC do together regarding that. I envisioned a bonding process over the course of the story (even though I don't know what that looks like with me and others since covid began), ending with the friendship having reached a "higher" level of connection where WC and MC are able to separate for both their better good: I imagine that WC and MC would both be hurt bv the separation (although how specifically, I'm unsure) but by then, if not throughout the story starting with the first meeting, the important thing for MC to do (whether she realizes it yet or not) would not be resistance so much as acceptance (that change has come, and it's okay to let go of things when they can't be sustained.). You are right that I haven't imagined a motive for WC's bonding beside a need to temporarily negate his own loneliness, but maybe in future drafts or future encounters, deepening that motive would be an interesting path to take.

Finally there's the question of returning. Staying isn't an option I can see working no matter how I go about anything: after all, if Uncle and family left MC behind to stay with WF, any "happy" part of that ending would be irreparably hollow, given how much MC cares about her own family and vice versa. For returning, that's a more difficult question: I originally envisioned that if MC were to return later, she would be afraid of no longer being able to see WC. On a plot level this is because Uncle can't see WC himself, so perhaps it would be a result of MC's moving out of the childhood state of mind. (Note: To me that is less about classic "innocence" states of being and more about concrete characteristics that make up a worldview - a sense of play, a stronger instinct for mindfulness, etc. but I could go on.)

I just typed this out one thought after another as they came to me so I'm sorry if any of this is confusing, that said, I'd be happy to hear more of what any of you have to say.

 

[Loleo]

That all sounds wonderful, sadly I don't know how to add much more to this concept. Everything added seems amazing. (Would like if I had more reactions)