Quitetly, Quiggly stepped into the darkness as he stealthily approached and steeled himself to do what must be done... I'm going to attempt a major crossover, and I'm going to try and write it up coherently this time, because I'm about to do something totally unexpected and unannounced to myself... For many a week and months (maybe years?), I've had a very peculiar idea for a novel floating around in my mind, revolving around the idea of what would happen if, say, Thor became a member of the Illuminati, what sort of shenanigans could, and would, unfold, and what kind of repercussions could and would they have? Not that it was a very important story line I'd had on my mind, but you could say that my whole interest in that series kind of kicked in during the months leading up to the release of Thor and Iron Man that followed, where I had time on my hands to try and take on a project that would take up a lot of time... Which I have done, but it's one that I want to be able to post every day, I guess. At the moment I'm about five days in on a series that will no doubt have a long run (I imagine about a year, but I might have my head up my bum, as far as things are concerned) with the first volume coming out this Wednesday, June 27th, to be followed by the 2nd volume of the same day, the 3rd volume on July 11th, and I've already reached the "point of no return," which is something that might not sound like that big a deal, but it is, for me. In fact, in a way, this is kind of a monumental thing for me, because... I've got too much stuff on my plate, in terms of work, life, and school, for me to be able to concentrate on such a big piece of work, because it can cause a rift in my own personal life, and for me, that is something that I need to avoid like the plague... Which I can do with enough work, and the story itself, as much as I can do with the length of time I'll need to write, and the fact that I need to focus and think long and hard about it, I can do that and I've done that. But it means I've got to focus everything into that one story, so as to keep the schoolwork and other projects to a minimum, and leave me with plenty of time to focus on it... And, I'm not sure if I like it that much, but I need to get it out there. So, at the moment, all that's standing in the way is what I'm working on in terms of schoolwork, and my writing, and that's something I feel very, very proud of. But, I guess what I'm trying to say is, just because something is done doesn't mean it's a final product, or as good as a final product. It's still a very rough idea, and one that I plan on further developing and evolving, as I go along, and as I get more used to it, but I hope I'm pleased with the idea. So, here's what I'd like to talk about. I've got a plot down as to the sort of overarching narrative I'm building, and I'm just about at the point in the first volume of that project, as well as at the point where I need to write the 2nd volume to follow it up and bring it to a complete narrative and a climax of some kind, but I'm interested in your ideas as to how I can make a better, longer, and more coherent plot with the ideas and plot I have so far, or see something different in how I can go with what I have so far, because I always hate looking back at something that I have written and say "eh, this wasn't what I had planned." So, please, be constructive, be critical, be cruel... I don't mind. For this, I'd like to focus on my idea of a hero, this so-called "magician," who has all the powers of his own imagination, combined with an assortment of powers that I'd like to be unique for the sort of world I'll be creating, which are powers for all people in that setting, that the protagonist can draw on if he so desires and is determined to do so. I've got some ideas, a lot of them come and go, with some standing strong enough for a fair while. But the one idea that keeps popping up, and that I'd like to concentrate on for the time being is the idea of these people who are called "magicians" in my world, and their origins. And I'd like to see how, if possible, I could take that idea and go in some sort of direction with it. Because, as I've said, I can't get into too much detail, and I really want to get away from describing things in the way I've described them in my head already. So... Thoughts? And I know you could say, "Why bother," or "Just jump into it and write it!" But I've done that, and it was a very good idea, and I'm not really sure if I'm going to write that much longer on it or not, so I need to think of something different to do. I do not want to write that many more words on a story that I don't like, and that doesn't mean a lot of time, but what I'm asking for is for people to step in, take a look at it, and maybe share some ideas with me. And just to reiterate, these powers are not real, or part of any religion, so they don't represent a problem to many of the religious people. However, there are people who take matters into their own hands because they think things need to be put right, and in my case, it's me and my protagonist. All in all, I'd appreciate any feedback that anyone has on what I've done so far, so I can try and further develop the idea. So, be it, constructive, constructive, or cruelly critical. I don't care. The two characters of the story are a young man (twenty-seven) who has been living on his own for a long time, and a woman in her mid-thirties, who have been friends with each other for a long time. She has recently broken things off with a man, and the friend of both of them, the young man, is now getting into a situation in which he can tell her he loves her, and propose to her, but he doesn't know whether she'll accept it, and will this proposal cause her to leave him, or will it even result in anything. The problem I'm having is that I don't know what to do with their relationship, so far... He's pretty strong and smart, but he's also a very romantic person, as are a lot of people who read the series, but not a lot of people who've read the work. The problem is that he's a bit of a lost soul, and a lot of people (or maybe just one) feel pity for him, and I can understand their feelings, but I don't know how to use it. I've been trying to get things across without resorting to the sort of things that I normally use, which is that he has a lot of self-doubt, and is very cynical. He looks for the negative aspects of things, in order to try to create a more negative image of the world he lives in, which I understand and respect, but which is something I don't like to use, and I haven't come up with anything that I could use to get rid of his sense of disappointment. As a result, I'm afraid, I can't think of a suitable direction to go with this, or a suitable ending, and I'm not really sure what to do with it, whether it has a purpose and meaning in any way or shape, or whether it is just for kicks. I'm also wary of using the idea of his having an imaginary friend (or friends) as a means to an end, so if you've got ideas about that, or other ways to go, as well as ways to go, even if it is something that is based on something that I've already written, then I'd appreciate it, as it would certainly be a more exciting story, and it would help me along, in terms of the things I need to do with this piece. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, as I'll do my best to take them and try to improve the story and make it a better piece of work for you, as well as the characters involved, if I can. If you'd like to look at the chapters I've written for this story so far, I'll post the link to the file I've uploaded in this post. I'm fairly confident that you'll find the quality pretty poor at the moment, but, then, I haven't really had a chance to edit the chapters yet, so you'll get an idea of the original work as it was written. I do hope you'll enjoy it... If I write anything else, I'll try and post it here... But I'll probably try and write it in my head a lot of the time, so I guess we'll see... Hello... My name is Darrin Quiggly and I've been writing stories for a few years now, but I'm just starting to get around to doing more of it properly. I don't have much time to write, but when I do