TITLE: The Memory Taker
GENRE: YA Magical Realism
Astrid takes memories. If someone can't cope with the loss of a friend or wife or someone they love, they can pay a fee and Astrid will erase that memory for them, relieving them of their unbearable pain. Astrid's younger sister is in a coma and Astrid has tried to get into her head to find the memory that has her so deep into unconsciousness, but it's too hard, too straining. But now she's found Kellan. He came to Astrid haunted by the murder of his girlfriend. And Astrid thinks that if she can help fill in the gaps of that horrific memory that's buried deep in Kellan's memories, she may find what she needs to save her sister.
Problem: I want the murder of Kellan's girlfriend to somehow be related to Astrid's sister, but I'm having trouble finding a way to plot it. I want it to be a twist that takes the reader by surprise at the end.
Perhaps astrid's sister is the killer?
ReplyDeleteThis sounds very interesting! I am definitely going to play around with this idea. Thanks, Kristin.
DeleteOoh I like Kristin's idea! But as an alternate, not knowing how the sister got into the coma, maybe it was a car accident caused by Kellan's girlfriend's murderer trying to get away from the scene of the crime. Or maybe the sister was a witness to the murder and whacked over the head by the murderer to get her out of the way.
ReplyDeleteI like these ideas, Rachel. My brain is swirling them all around, and this makes me so excited to write more :)
DeleteIs Kellen a good guy or bad? Maybe the sister witnessed him murdering his girlfriend and he is insinuating his way into her life to see if she will ever emerge from coma - if so he has to kill her too.
ReplyDeleteMy original thought was that Kellan is good, but I'm going to think about that. Maybe being bad would work too. Thanks!
DeleteIs Kellen a good guy or bad? Maybe the sister witnessed him murdering his girlfriend and he is insinuating his way into her life to see if she will ever emerge from coma - if so he has to kill her too.
ReplyDeleteSD King already thought of my idea! It would be a great twist ending.
ReplyDeleteIf Kellan needs to be a good guy, tho - and if it's ok for this sort of magic to be involved - perhaps there's someone out there taking (something) from the spirits of dead girls. His girlfriend succumbed, but Astrid's sister, who survived, holds the key to defeating him.
Oh, this is good too! There is already magical realism since Astrid can take the memories, but I could amp it up with the spirits. Thanks so much for the idea!
DeleteLove these ideas! Where do the taken memories go? Do they have to be absorbed by the taker? Can memory-taking put someone in a coma? Did Astrid cause her sister's coma? Can Astrid set aside her own memories, and be at fault in some way? Or is her sister also a memory-taker? Did her sister take in a memory that harmed her? Does Astrid have to remember something she's done wrong that now resides in her sister's head to bring about her sister's awakening? Did Astrid cause Kellan's sister's death? Would that be a plot twist? Can you take some of my memories? Okay. Gotta stop. Have fun--sounds like an interesting story!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE all these questions! So much to think about, and so many paths I could go down for this plot. Thanks, Chris. I am going to read your questions again and again, imagining how my characters would react.
DeleteI like the idea from King and Garbo. Maybe the killer could be a friend of Kellen's or Astrid's. Also the sister could know who the killer is and Kellen is getting close to Astrid and the sister so he can find out.
ReplyDeleteI like this too! I need to solidify Kellan's character and then decide whether to add a friend of his that is the killer or someone else. Thanks!
DeleteI like the ideas presented above, my only caution would be this: if your two main plot threads are helping Kellen and reviving Astrid's sister, your readers are going to expect that they're connected. It's really hard to pull of a shocking twist when that's the case. It can still be unexpected, but if your climax hinges on "What a shock that they're connected!" you'll have some very tricky writing in front of you. I love your premise, though, and I really like the above ideas!
ReplyDeleteYou are so right, Bethany! I have to be very careful with the twist and how to go about making it work. Thanks for the input. I will keep it in mind as I navigate my way through the writing. Thanks so much!
DeleteThe sister killed K's gf and he must decide whether to release her of that burden after she wakes up with a more remorseful personality. Major internal conflict ! Maybe he sees it all when he enters her unconscious mind
ReplyDeleteMaybe Astrid's sister has the ability to manipulate memories and Astrid doesn't realize this. Maybe the girlfriend came to the sister to have her memories changed because she overheard something she wasn't supposed to. When the bad guy (whoever you decide this to be) goes after the girlfriend and kills her, he also goes after the sister but only manages to disrupt her memory manipulation power--which sinks her into this coma Astrid can't penetrate. The twist could be in the reveal of the bad guy. I think Kellen is a little too obvious. I'd go for a caring doctor or for a cousin who comes to support Astrid or for Astrid's boyfriend. Someone who isn't going to appear immediately as the likely suspect.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Astrid's sister witnessed the murder like Kellan did. The memory of that horrible night is keeping her under. Then the killer went after the sister and hurt her (thus the coma) or something similar. Maybe there was a struggle. Maybe Kellan tried to help the sister, or the sister tried to help him, or he did nothing and hid while she was beaten senseless and that guilt is killing him.
ReplyDeleteAstrid dealing with his memories could be this long and arduous process because he's resisting. When she finally helps him fill in all the gaps, it gives her the key to what happened to her sister, and with Kellan's help they pull her out of the coma.