Could you tell me if this is a good idea for a teen novel?

Question

A 14-year-old girl who lives in Oklahoma City,Oklahoma in 1995,during the oklahoma city bombing. Her mom and mom's friend works at the building, when the bomb goes off the two moms are working and the character's friend who's mom is friends with the characters mom is there visiting her mother. (read this slowly it may be a little confusing LOL!) The friends mom dies and the friend and the charachter's mom get seriously injured.The character has a boyfriend but he soon becomes her ex-boyfriend because he is selfish and thinks that she is spending too much time taking care of her mother and friend.

I have finally came up with an idea,because i have been interested in the Oklahoma City Bombing for a while. (I live in OKlahoma)

Answer 1

i WILL SAY SORRY AHEAD OF TIME CUZ JUMP AROUND A LOT IN MY WRITING AND I TEND TO GET TOO INTO WHAT I AM DOING, ALSO I HAVE BAD GRAMMER SKILLS:
ummmmmm.............. I am going to give you my honest opinion...........I read a lot, I mean a lot of books and I if you changed some of the parts then it would probably be a book that I would read and really like................first...make the girls older ( such as 16 or 17), it would probably appeal to a broader audiance and b/c a lot of younger teens read books with older teens in it but not very many teens my age are interested in books about younger teens (sound crazy....i know but that's me). And another thing you should keep the boyfriend but you shouldn' t make him that way maybe she starts getting distant and he cheats on her, she finds out,but to give her a happy ending let her meet a guy at the hospital (she went with her friend(moral support) to see her friend's mom for the first time after the bombing) that was involved in the bombing (i.e. he went in to work with his father that morning and (dad's an accountant, and wanted him to be one, he was showing him the ropes and trying to pursuade him on it).......in the end she found out why he was in the hospital on that day........turns out he had to identify his father's body. In the beginning he asked so many questions about her and just kinda avoided telling her that his father was dead that she never got around to asking him why he was in the hospital on the day that she met him).......also you should make the mom death thing the opposite way around so that her mom dies and they haven't found her body yet and the friend's mom is in a coma ( I think this would add a lot of drama with the main character) and secretely she wishes that if it had to happen this way that it was her mom in a coma and and her friend in her place (secretly.....out of mild grief ridden jelousy) her and her friend is also struggling to cope with what has happened, she waits everyday to have some closure, watches the news hoping that her moms body is found, maybe you should add something about her father in there too........maybe.......that he's always working and they didn't spend much time together and when her mother died he worked even harder to stay away from the house and keep his mind busy.......but after awhile they realize that they need each other to be able to cope with what has happened and they become closer and he starts being more of a father (or for extra drama: he is her stepdad-has no kids- to her he was just her mom's husband-even though her real father died when she was 3 and her mom remarried when she was 5ish-he usually was distant from her (mentally)-and usually treated her not as his step child but as some random person just living with him and his wife.............at the end he adopts her as his own kid) OK OK.............I KNOW I GOT CARRIED AWAY AND TRIED TO TAKE OVER........SORRY..........I ABSOLUTLY LOVE YOUR CONCEPT........SETTING.......AND THEME OF THE STORY.......(i know i add a little too much romance and maybe too much drama) but it kinda sounded good............maybe one day I will be in the book store and incidentaly pick up your book..................... :) BUT ANYWAYS I LOVE YOUR CONCEPT...............I NEVER WOULD HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT CREATING A BOOK LIKE THIS.......... as a 16 year old this book sounds really good, but the only problem I may see in is the age.......it's easier to relate to a book if the person is your age or you will be that age ...............out of curiosity...how old are you anyway.........

Answer 2

Using the bombing as a background isnt a bad idea at all. You would have to do a lot of character studies and a very good outline. You may also have to simplify it a little. The main issue is that you are going to have to do massive research and become a total expert on the bombings. This is a well known event and you cannot cheat your readers. Your information must be accurate. That would mean not only becoming an expert on the bombings themselves, but also on the type of injuries the mother and the friend have and how the girl takes care of them.

It sounds like a very large undertaking. I also feel there is something missing. I dont see a boyfriend just taking off because the girl's mother requires care. As a NYer, I know that after 9/11 the people in NY pulled together - not apart.. If anything, I would see him becoming closer to her. Your character studies would have to justify why he feels the need to pull away.

I see that you would need about 4 - 5 months of research before you would be ready to do any writing. Read as much as you can - including accounts from the time. Keep copious notes and references so you can go back to anything you need to read again.

It's a lot of work, but go for it. Pax - C

Answer 3

That's an incredibly intriguing idea. I think a wide audience would definitely find that kind of story gripping. Best wishes!

Answer 4

I know this may not be but this sounds a little like 'Goodnight, Mr Tom' by Michelle Magorian. Good. It sounds good.

Answer 5

It sounds great! I know this is old advice but write what you know and are passionate about! I think you meet the criteria..