Need help with developing a plot? What could his "Secret" be??

Question

So, I'm writing a story. It's about a teenage girl who moves with her mother to a smile town after the death of her dad. She quickly makes friends and rediscovers an old childhood friend. Feelings between them develop, but she can quickly tell that he is hidding something from her.

What I keep trying to figure out is "what is it that he is hiding from her?" It could be who he is, or an action that he had previously committed. Originally, it was going to be a love-triangle story. So she was meant to be with someone else (it was fate, and the other guy lives forever), but I can't figure out a way to tie that together. Maybe he, the guy she loves, could live forever? I'm still trying to figure everything out.

Have any suggestions? What secret could he be hiding? Is he something other-worldly? Or, has he committed a wrong action? Thanks for your help, have a great day, and God Bless!

Answer 1

the secret should be focused on your audience.  never forget your audience.  it should be something that will evoke a particular response from them.  do you want horror, shock, amusement?  remember that what may be horrifying, shocking or amusing to one group of people may not be to another.  remember the emotional roller coaster you're carrying your audience on.  each peak and valley should grow when you want the story to speed up and wane when you want to slow the story down.

Answer 2

Well maybe her friend might have accidentally killed her dad in some way (like a car accident) and he's trying to hide that or he got accused of some sort of crime. Maybe the boy is already dating someone else so there's a love-triangle between the two girls and a boy. The girl could also be dating someone else. One of their marriages is already fixed is sort of crazy because they're teenagers.There are endless possibilities. Try to get inspired from a movie or novel, many people do that. Tying in the father's death is a good idea too. Or here's another one! What if the boy is involved in some dangerous activites or he's done something to upset some gangsters and they're gonna do something dangerous. He wants to hide it so the girl doesn't get involved.

Answer 3

Other-worldly secrets are overused, especially after Twilight. I say you make his secret be that he was accused (but never convicted) of murder. You could take a lot of directions with that idea, and it would truly test whether love is enough.

Oh, and God bless you too!

Answer 4

It's so hard to try to think one's way into "your" story from the outside. Much as I'd like to make a concrete suggestion from my side, I don't think anyone can really make the story "run" for you. If I can suggest something - the kind of thing I usually try when my plots give me problems - is, first, don't hurry it. I think the answers really are there in your subconscious. Just give them time to come out. Sleeping on it, even for a day or two, is often helpful. Otherwise, strange as this may sound, forget about it for a while (give yourself say two or three days), then go back to it, and you may find the ideas start flowing again. Another option - quite a nice one this! - is open a bottle of wine, pour yourself a few glasses and sit back and wait to see what kind of ideas start popping into your mind. If nothing else, you should have a few pleasant hours of relaxation (put on some nice music at the same time). Hopefully one of these will get the story going again. Good luck, and whatever you do, keep pushing it. The story's there, believe me, you just have to get it out.

Answer 5

ok so personally, i am a fan of fantasy things like vampires,werewolves, etc. so maybe the guy who lives forever is a vampire or a god or somethin, and the childhood friend is a werewolf, but he accidently did murder someone and has run away to a small town so noone will ever find out who he is. and maybe the person he murdered was the girls father and when he sees her he try to make her hate him so she would stay away from him cause he couldn't bear the pain of knowing that it was her father he killed. evenually, he can't stay away from her, and they fall hopelessly in love. then the rival comes to the town and they start to fight over her. i hope i helped!!!

Answer 6

The guy she is in love with is promised in marriage to another girl, because his (pick one) religion/culture/political standing dictates that his parents  choose his bride, but he doesn't love the girl they picked. He is afraid to go against tradition and his parents, but he loves the main character. The rest of the story could be about how they escape and elope.