Novel Idea (non-creative thinkers need not read, unless you really want to)

[bloodyteehee646]

Well, the title is a play on words, but this is actually a very serious question that I want to ask. I haven't had an actual FRIENDLY environment of car lovers until now, so, I hope I can ask this without being whacked over the head with a torque wrench and carted off to a looney bin.
Okay, so, will all that said, here we go:

I'm thinking of writing a fictional novel about cars being, well, alive. However, this will not exactly be in the Christine or Phantom Racer sense of "alive", because both of those were malevolent depictions of alive cars. What I'm aiming for is something that's more human than anything else, in that the car spirit (if you will) has free will and can be good or evil if it likes. I love both Christine and Phantom Racer, but it always annoyed me that Christine was just evil...nothing more, nothing less. Sure, it was frightening and all, but it gave the character no depth. No one knew WHY she was evil, really, just that she was. Then again, it's been a while since I read the book, so maybe my memory is faulty. And in the movie Phantom Racer, that wasn't the car itself, it was the ghost of the owner, so that doesn't really count either.
So, long story short, from what little I've said so far, does this idea seem like it would have a decent following? Does the plot seem remotely interesting, or should I add more details to the description before anyone can really make a judgment? And yes...there WILL be an Aveo in the story at some point.

[petrified.rabbit]

you mean like herbie?

[4g63gst20]

I was thinking more like knight rider and his cool trans am.
What was the book you are taking about called?

[bloodyteehee646]

you mean like herbie?

DUR! Wow, I'm tired tonight. YES! Herbie is a good example...but (I can't believe I'M saying this) he's a little too cutesy for what I have in mind. I have something more like a combination of Herbie meets Transformers (but without the outer space super robot element) meets a kind of moral fantasy like Lady in the Water and Lord of the Rings. Phew, I know, it's confusing and I'm tired, but I'm trying to simplify it as much as possible. Basically, I'm going for something enjoyable, thought provoking, and soul-stirring.

[bloodyteehee646]

I was thinking more like knight rider and his cool trans am.
What was the book you are taking about called?

Aside from the very sparse outline for a book I have in mind, I was talking about Stephen King's Christine and the Sci-Fi Channel original, made-for-TV movie Phantom Rider. Both were in the horror genre, whereas I'm going for something strictly more sci-fi/fantasy.

[petrified.rabbit]

you mean like herbie?

DUR! Wow, I'm tired tonight. YES! Herbie is a good example...but (I can't believe I'M saying this) he's a little too cutesy for what I have in mind. I have something more like a combination of Herbie meets Transformers (but without the outer space super robot element) meets a kind of moral fantasy like Lady in the Water and Lord of the Rings. Phew, I know, it's confusing and I'm tired, but I'm trying to simplify it as much as possible. Basically, I'm going for something enjoyable, thought provoking, and soul-stirring.

so with the help of his w body friends, your aveo is going to take the doomed hubcap to the incinerator in a far off land controlled by the junkyard import army? and he will be followed by a riced out car, that used to be an aveo, but help onto the hubcap too long?

[bloodyteehee646]

Okay, even though I HATE to divulge more of the plot, for fear of someone stealing the idea, this is what I have for the plot so far:

When Henry Ford makes the first mass produced car, God and Satan (I know, this COULD provoke a whole religious debate, but for the sake of literature, let's keep to the topic at hand) make a pact that they will use these new inventions to their advantage when it comes to influencing humanity, because unlike any other machine, it uses electricity in a similar manner to the human body and we spend an extraordinary amount of time driving as a whole, so with that in mind, the car is more than a machine and is very much alive and even has a spirit, personality, etc. of its own. It's basically a whole unique, philosophical idea that I've cooked up, so I won't delve more into it at this point in time.
The story then jumps to a much lighter setting: the main character gets her first car. She's hoping it's something awesome like a Corvette, something cute like a VW Bug, or even something big and badass like a Hummer. She's just your average seventeen (or so) year old, getting her first car....but....something happens. lol, I'm sorry to be mean and leave a cliff hanger right there, but I want to see if I've gotten anyone's attention piqued by now.

[bloodyteehee646]

[quote=petrified.rabbit]

you mean like herbie?

DUR! Wow, I'm tired tonight. YES! Herbie is a good example...but (I can't believe I'M saying this) he's a little too cutesy for what I have in mind. I have something more like a combination of Herbie meets Transformers (but without the outer space super robot element) meets a kind of moral fantasy like Lady in the Water and Lord of the Rings. Phew, I know, it's confusing and I'm tired, but I'm trying to simplify it as much as possible. Basically, I'm going for something enjoyable, thought provoking, and soul-stirring.

so with the help of his w body friends, your aveo is going to take the doomed hubcap to the incinerator in a far off land controlled by the junkyard import army? and he will be followed by a riced out car, that used to be an aveo, but help onto the hubcap too long?[/quote:3ttcipvf]

As amazingly fascinating at that would be, no...just...no. :P

[Z34guy]

I've already said I think it'd be awesome. BTW peoples, Ari's told me the entire plot outline so far and it rather deep, thought provoking and overall, just sounds like a really good read.

[mikedudley17]

if you need an editor, I can help. I am curently editing my friends script for a movie he has written. It take me a while but only because I am very thorough. Dont worry, I wouldnt share your writing with anyone.

If you want to read ome of my own writings, they are on my facebook. heres an example:
Butterfinger Chronicles
Butterfinger Chronicles
May 9, 2010
08:00

Day 1

This is it. I have one Butterfinger bar left and I will consume it slowly and deliberately. I know this is the end and I should have prepared myself better for what looks like a grueling journey ahead of me. I’m nervous, apprehensive. Only 30 minutes until it’s all over and all I can think of is all the torture that lies ahead of me on this sugar free journey. I’m opening the Butterfinger now. I am listening ever so hard to the sound of the wrapper tearing and coming unglued. I’m biting into it now, the slow descent of my teeth through the chocolate and layers of buttery-flakey-toffee-ness is so rewarding. Yeah, it gets its own word, toffee-ness. The chocolate is melting to my teeth and gums; it’s so sweet and delicious. The toffee and chocolate are coming together and dissolving in a whirlwind of molars, premolars and saliva. I’m almost done chewing it but I don’t want to swallow it, not yet. One more chew just to be thorough. My favorite part of biting into a Butterfinger is when the bits of toffee under the chocolate flake off and slowly disintegrate in between your teeth. Ok, it’s swallowed. Here is my last bite.

OH MY GOSH! I found heaven, it’s in my mouth! This must be what it’s like to wake up as Jesus everyday!

Well here I go. Goodbye sugar, I will miss you. I’ll send you letters from the front; don’t write back, it will hurt too much and if this is my last letter, then know I went down thinking of you!



Always and Forever yours,
Me.


My book I am writing:

No Title

Chapter 1
How can love be defined? It means so many things to different people, which allows them to display it through different events or actions. I like to think of love as an essential vitamin for the spirit and soul that allows for greater spiritual growth.
Love is a simply, complicated emotion which deems the question of how can you establish love?
First, you have to learn to love yourself for who you are. When you begin to love yourself, you open new doors to your heart to accept the love of others, and as their love begins to fill your heart, you will begin to love even more. Love also opens a channel through which you can receive God into your heart, spirit, and mind. By allowing God into your heart, you will begin to feel a new strength that you did not have before. This new strength allows you to build the foundation that is necessary to allow your love to thrive and develop into positive interactions with other sources of love and growth within yourself, others, and gain spiritual guidance.
Love is also a commitment that through thick and thin, you will offer and give your undivided attention, respect, and subservience to those who are close to you and the lord. This commitment is like a garden that you must always tend to and the more you expand the garden, the more bountiful the yields will be.
Love is also the greatest and most precious resource on earth and is available in infinite quantities. Without this precious resource, our lives would feel abandoned and empty and because it is such an infinite resource, it means that we can continually keep giving it to our families, friends, and neighbors.
Love additionally helps ease feelings of guilt, sadness and shame by allowing us to forgive others of their injustices that get dealt to us. If we did not allow ourselves to love and forgive but rather harbored the feelings of hurt and discontent, we will become resentful and possibly hateful. These feelings of hate and resent actually take more energy to maintain and in the end leave you feeling diluted and vacant.
Love is an amazing feeling. It instills passion and commitment, allowing your heart, mind, and soul to mature and receive the lord, our savior and to love other people. The most prominent example of love is when Jesus died on the cross for our sins. This forgiving act helped ease the pain and transgression that man had inflicted on its self. Love is an appreciation of the absence of hate.

Chapter 2

Conflict is an inevitable, natural element of our human lives. Where does conflict come from and how should conflict be handled?
It should be understood that conflict is actually very healthy when handled correctly. It engages us to use problem solving skills to get past the problem, into the resolutions stage, and many times offers us new life skills to apply to future conflicts. But where does conflict come from? Conflict I believe, is a direct result of competition for the satisfaction of ones self being. Whether you realize it or not, conflict enters every aspect of our life almost always as a form of competition from getting food, or getting into that school you have dreamed about, to love and religion. For some people, an entire relationship can be built entirely on competition. This type of relationship is unhealthy because in most competitions there undeniably will be a winner and a loser. The loser is necessary to support the winner because without a loser you can’t have a winner in the sense of competition in a relationship. Building a relationship entirely on competition is sort of like trying to ride a horse with all four legs being broke, you won’t get very far, but at the same time a relationship cannot survive without competition; a healthy balance must be achieved. This healthy balance is known as a balance of power which allows both sides to win or lose through compromise that will not hurt the relationship, but rather strengthen it.
Healthy competition is also a great tool to use for personal improvement. If we did not have to fight for what we wanted, we would lose the ability to appreciate what we have and others. If we lost this appreciation then we would lose the feeling of self fulfillment and fulfillment from others.
Every healthy competition will have conflicts that are indirect results of the competition. However, how these conflicts are resolved, will have direct impact on the relationship. For example, a couple who has been married for while and has a healthy relationship with each other are knowingly or unknowingly always within a power struggle. Each person has a level of requirements that they need to be met by the other partner to allow for self fulfillment and meaning within the relationship like intimacy, love, and friendship. Now let’s say that the relationship is in need o improvement as established by partner A. The reason being that partner B is working long hours leaving partner A alone and feeling that their intimacy needs aren’t being met. This will result in a conflict that is an indirect result of the power struggle between the couple, and how it will be handed will have a direct impact on the relationship by either destroying the balance of power that has been established, or it can strengthen the balance through compromise. Compromise in this sense is a series of mini conflicts won and lost on both sides in what is determined to be a fair decision for all parties involved.
In this instance, it may need to be established that both partners need to set a designated time or day in the week where they give each other the time and attention necessary to bring back the level of romance that ultimately will starve them both if they don’t each receive it from each other. On the flip side, the partners may not be able to establish a compromise in which case the partners will end up going in separate ways. As you can see, either of these two options would have a direct impact on the relationship. Again, this is just an example.
In a near perfect world, there would be no conflict. I am thankful that we don’t live in this near perfect world because conflict allows us to grow physically, mentally, and spiritually at our own pace. Conflict also allows us to learn from each other and inspires passion and romance. There is always a dark side to conflict, and that does not just mean being the loser in a conflict. Based on passion, romance, and mans need to grow, conflict amongst man can breed hate and violence. The eruption of violence from conflict usually occurs when a compromise cannot be reached and each side is blinded by passion for themselves and their own need for self gratification. A person who feels the need to demonstrate conflict through physical and verbal assault usually does so because of a feeling of emotional emptiness that they can’t identify, which frustrates them and leads them t express this pain through the vehicle of whatever impassions them like religion or politics. This emptiness will be their ultimate demise because with nothing for them to build their life on except fiery passion, they will become consumed by the fire until they are left with nothing but a scorched heart and the ashes of hate. This passion will leave a person emotionally hungry and the only way they can satisfy the hunger is to have the conflict go their way. But even if they do win, their hunger is not really satisfied so they erupt new conflicts in an attempt to win love until they are ultimately self defeated. They ultimately crave love but they do not know how to love themselves or other so even if they are given love, they don’t know what to do with it.
This is why conflict needs to be handled in a healthy manner. As a society we need to develop and practice using peaceful conflict resolution skills. Unless we can overcome cultural, socioeconomic, and social greed, and begin to love ourselves and each other for who we are, we are always going to have situations of unhealthy conflict.

Chapter 3

Memoir of a Fallen Patriot
I am not a product of my environment. How do I love so much? How do I know how to console someone? I really don’t know. I do know that I love everybody I know very deeply and to see anybody I love suffering as much as I saw this last almost 3 weeks, hurts me very deeply. My grandpa used to tell me that I am a “gentleman and a scholar.” I have heard this from other people but when I would hear it from him it meant so much more.

Before my dad married my mom, my grandpa was my teacher, teaching me how to love and embrace others. He still was my teacher after my mom married my dad; I was just blessed to now have two teachers.

My grandpa would take me on trips around the country and allowed me to experience places and people that I otherwise may not have had the chance to do. He showed me both oceans that surround us, sunsets on the east side and west side, and both mountain ranges from the top. He has helped me while I have been living here in Chicago by inspiring me to stop my use of alcohol for relief of my personal hurt, guiding me through the puzzle of life with his wisdom he would pass down to me through his stories, and always having a way to cheer me up with his silly and fun jokes. I could never have a bad day when I was with grandpa.

As he departed from us this last Monday morning, I was really upset. I wanted him to stay here with us for forever, but I knew that would be selfish and I understood that there was not a lot I could do, except make him as comfortable as possible. The whole experience of being with him in the hospital has been a hard one. I felt scared for him. I know that even with all the pain management he was receiving, he still hurt so much. He needed someone to soothe him and let him know that he will be ok and it was all I could do. It hurt so much to see him go, but it hurt more to watch his suffering.

The day that he passed, I was waiting patiently in the car around the corner from his house, and I fell asleep. While I was asleep, I had a dream, and in my dream my grandfather came to me and said two words that have helped so much in easing my feelings of guilt and sadness, and essentially made this experience so much more valuable than what can be defined with words. He told me, “Thanks Michael.” I have a feeling that he will continually approach me in my dreams to help me out.

I woke up right away after that. I had a huge wave of relief come over me and I know that no matter what happens in the rest of my life, I am always going to have grandpa at my side and with him at my side I am going to experience strength that I never knew I had. I got the tattoo of an anchor with a lightning bolt emblazoned on it in celebration and remembrance of grandpa. When the artist asked me where I wanted it, I told him on my right arm. The purpose behind that decision was because all the way through my life, my grandpa has always been my right hand man. It really seemed to work out especially with the experience that I had in the early morning before he died. I was bent over him, rubbing his head to try and soothe him from his misery and my back really started to hurt. I straightened up but I could no longer reach his head so I simply put my right hand on his shoulder just to make sure he knew I was there. All of a sudden my hand that was on his shoulder started to get really warm. The only way I can explain it is to compare it to when you are washing your hands and you only turn the hot water on at first and sometimes the water will get to hot to keep your hands under it so you stop and add some cold water to make it more comfortable. How it felt was that instant before the water gets too hot, it’s just really warm. I believe that when that happened, I had made a spiritual connection with him and to God and this is why he decided to leave the physical world while I had left to go attend class. Even though his heart has stopped, everybody else’s heart will beat stronger.

I will admit that I have taken his passing very hard as did everybody else, but I want everyone to remember that he just took the next step in his journey through life and he is no longer suffering. He is in a good place and soon enough, we will all be able to join him although hopefully later than sooner. His funeral will not be a sad event for me in the sense that traditional funerals are. I’m going to celebrate his life and all the things he did for us as a family and us as a country. He was a brilliant and strong man and I will remember him as that.

Chapter 4

Family
This has by far been the hardest piece for me to write. It took a lot of thought and energy to define family as I know and see it as I don’t have a big family or a really close family. I had to ask myself, “What constitutes a family and how can it be defined?” To me a family is the idea of multiple generations of people who cohabitate, celebrate established and establish new traditions, provide a love and support structure, and give each other strength. Of course this is not the standard for all families as we all have different ideas and principles for the growth or separation of a family also coined as a “broken home or family”, and as well, you don’t have to be biologically related to have a sense of family. Whatever the case, almost all of us are a product of some sort of family system.
People cohabitate for a number of reasons such as it’s easier financially, dormitories, love, or just a plain need for companionship. Generally within a family there are different levels of dependence on everybody whether you consciously know it or not. Examples would be mom and dad depend on each other for love and support from each other. Any children they have depend on mom and dad (mainly) for food, clothes, shelter, comfort, love, and guidance. Then later on down the road the roles may reverse and mom and dad depend on the kids for help due to old age and illnesses. This can at times prove awkward but we should prepare ourselves for it as you never know when you will need help yourself.
Families can also be influential on other members of the family, usually within the immediate members of the family household or home. Some of us may recognize this in different events or situations and we can sometimes end up mimicking others in the family in this way. We can sometimes acknowledge exactly where we got our habits during the situation and we often say something to ourselves that goes to the effect of, “That’s something my dad used to do when I was a kid! Aw! I’m turning into my dad!” Sometimes the revelation can feel damning, especially if as a kid you swore that you would never be like your parents. In all reality we can only practice and teach what we know. You will almost never see a dentist performing brain surgery. Ultimately, you will at the very least inherit some of the habits of our parents and most of the time you won’t even register it in your head because it seems so normal to you.
Most of the time we are willing and able to say that our families are crazy. There are two main types of crazy. There is a good, fun crazy such as mom and dad jumping out of a plane on a sky diving adventure to renew their vows and redo and add new meaning to the term “taking the plunge”. There is also a bad crazy like going to visit grandpa and he starts to ramble incoherently and one minute knows where he is and the next he does not. No family is perfect. We all can’t have the dream family like in the TV sitcoms where the family is doing great except for one member who will expose the entire family unit into conflict. Then the family rallies and moves to solve the conflict and they laugh and hug and a TV audience says, “Aaaawww”, and claps and cheers. I’m not saying that families don’t have conflicts but there are definitely different standards among every family as we all have our own free wills and we did not come with scripts.
Some conflicts can absolutely destroy a family unit and can brew feelings of anger and carry grudges. This can lead to the feeling of constant friction that will always lurk in the background. For some family members this can lead to a separation of various family members from the family unit with no intentions to reunite themselves with the family or ever fully reuniting back together. The conflict does not only affect the members involved in the conflict, it affects the entire family. Some members may feel that they have to choose sides or be a sort of “middle man” between the conflicted members and they will desperately try to be a peace keeper among the quarrelling but they still at times feel like they are big dragged through the mud in the tug-o-war game between the two sides. This can lead to the middle man saying that they have had enough and they too leave the family situation completely leaving the quarrelers to wrestle in the mud themselves, even if they are not near each other or in communication with the members they are in conflict with. Please keep this in mind if you find yourself in a situation like this: you add a heavy burden to the entire family that can be destructive to the entire family and maybe other who are simply on the outside spectating. You gain nothing positive from an event like this and do you really want to have any regrets in the end? Don’t let your anger blind you and allow it to hurt yourself and others further.
Recently there has been a new twist in the recognition of a new family type; same sex marriages. Some states are now allowing gays and lesbians to unite together in the legally binding contract that is marriage. This newly formed unit will then take steps to begin a family of their own if they so desire. They will do this in any number of ways including adoption, surrogate mothering, and/or in vetro fertilization. As told to me by my sociology professor, there have not been any signs to show that children who are raised in home with same sex parents are different from children who have the “normal” traditional mom and dad parents or that they themselves will become gay or lesbian themselves as they grow and mature. This brings me to the point of that we need to be sensitive to other people’s family backgrounds and not rush to make judgments on somebody because they and their family may be a little different from what you have established as “normal” set by standards you have built from your own unique family experience.
I feel it is safe to say that everybody’s family is different. We all experience different types of events with our families that can bring a family closer together or drive themselves apart and break a family altogether. In the end we all have our crosses to bear and what you choose to do with them is up to you. No one can make decisions for you. We all only have one mom and one dad, and one of each other person in our families. In my opinion, you would not want to end your time here on this earth with any regrets. Families can be a great source strength and love in ideal conditions. Love yourself to love others even if they drive you crazy. Family is important because you never know when you will need someone to fall back on. So I end with this, what is your sense of family?