A Post-ComicCon Update
San Diego Comic-Con has come and gone; I think I picked up the con crud. :(
I'm working on a serialized story and have at least four different ways to begin. They all have their strong spots, but none of them are jumping out at me in a big way.
The main thrust of the first arc involves a group of tried and true heroes who are murdered. Their apprentices (for lack of a better word) are left alone in a hostile situation without a support structure and have to grow up fast. So the actual meat of the story is supposed to focus on the apprentices and how they come together as a group. Here are the various options:
A) The heroes are killed off over the course of four installments. This lets me set up the fact that these guys are a tight force and whatever is hunting them is just that much better, it lets the audience come to care about the characters, and it installs some suspense as to "who's next?" The pov would be from the apprentices' side as the mentors' plans continue to fall apart. But, it means that their storyline doesn't gel till late in the game.
B) I kill off the heroes in twos and threes throughout the first installment. This has both the pros and cons of A, but at a lesser intensity.
C) I kill off all the heroes in the first scene. This opens the series in a very active way, but doesn't allow for anyone to actually care about them at all. This option would have me giving some information through the apprentices reactions. And this does let me focus on the apprentices, who after all, are the focus of the series.
D) I kill off almost all the heroes before the book begins. The series would open just after the first fight - where bodies are strewn in a warehouse and three scrappy figures are trying to make their escape (one of which wouldn't make it).
I've been struggling with this decision for a while now... No closer to an answer.
I'm working on a serialized story and have at least four different ways to begin. They all have their strong spots, but none of them are jumping out at me in a big way.
The main thrust of the first arc involves a group of tried and true heroes who are murdered. Their apprentices (for lack of a better word) are left alone in a hostile situation without a support structure and have to grow up fast. So the actual meat of the story is supposed to focus on the apprentices and how they come together as a group. Here are the various options:
A) The heroes are killed off over the course of four installments. This lets me set up the fact that these guys are a tight force and whatever is hunting them is just that much better, it lets the audience come to care about the characters, and it installs some suspense as to "who's next?" The pov would be from the apprentices' side as the mentors' plans continue to fall apart. But, it means that their storyline doesn't gel till late in the game.
B) I kill off the heroes in twos and threes throughout the first installment. This has both the pros and cons of A, but at a lesser intensity.
C) I kill off all the heroes in the first scene. This opens the series in a very active way, but doesn't allow for anyone to actually care about them at all. This option would have me giving some information through the apprentices reactions. And this does let me focus on the apprentices, who after all, are the focus of the series.
D) I kill off almost all the heroes before the book begins. The series would open just after the first fight - where bodies are strewn in a warehouse and three scrappy figures are trying to make their escape (one of which wouldn't make it).
I've been struggling with this decision for a while now... No closer to an answer.