I can't decide something.

[SirDogeTheFirst]

Context: In the current story I am writing, mc and fmc are subjects from an experiment to create an artificially evolved human species called Angels. The world they live in already has super-powered people who gained their powers through natural evolution, but Angels are overloaded with the substance that gives powers to humans so much, any subject who manages to survive the overdose gains extreme power. But, there have been only three survivors, or at least mc and fmc thinks so.
Now, my question. Which idea do you find more interesting, trio (mc, fmc, and third one) being the only survivors, or more survivors hiding in the shadows, showing themselves as story progresses.

 

[KoyukiMegumi]

I like the mystery that can occur if there are hidden survivors. Like, how did they survive? Why were they hiding? What impact will it have on the story?

 

[HelloHound]

I'm not a particular fan of the adam and eve story beat

 

[BigBadBoi]

More survivors would seem more interesting. Either as a plot progression tool with the duo searching for more survivors or as antagonists either sue to differing beliefs/ideals or due to them falling from grace and being corrupted.

 

[Y2N1]

We want more power struggle.

 

[Rhaps]

Leave it ambiguous. Have the mcs think they are the only survivors but with the thought of there might be more.

 

[TheEldritchGod]

Your first chapter must have a question.
That question can only be answered by your book. When it is answered, your story is over.
As the story goes on, there should be 5 other questions.
One question per act, one question that spans from Act 1 to Act 2 and the last one is from Act 2 to Act 3.

What I find interesting is an interesting question/answer, but not too many questions.

How many questions do you have already?

This sounds like a new question. If there are more survivors, that is a new question. HOW DID THEY SURVIVE?

Do you have room for another question, and is the question/answer interesting?

 

[SirDogeTheFirst]

Your first chapter must have a question.
That question can only be answered by your book. When it is answered, your story is over.
As the story goes on, there should be 5 other questions.
One question per act, one question that spans from Act 1 to Act 2 and the last one is from Act 2 to Act 3.

What I find interesting is an interesting question/answer, but not too many questions.

How many questions do you have already?

This sounds like a new question. If there are more survivors, that is a new question. HOW DID THEY SURVIVE?

Do you have room for another question, and is the question/answer interesting?

Yeah, it being a new question is sort of what I want, because I have no questions in the hand as of now. There is a question for a major side characters story, but then again, its of a side character.

 

[TheKillingAlice]

I like the mystery that can occur if there are hidden survivors. Like, how did they survive? Why were they hiding? What impact will it have on the story?

Agree on this one. But only if you actually manage to come up with an idea for it, otherwise it will just feel contrived. If it has to be an ass pull, leave it, otherwise it might prove interesting.

 

[Peter3135566]

Context: In the current story I am writing, mc and fmc are subjects from an experiment to create an artificially evolved human species called Angels. The world they live in already has super-powered people who gained their powers through natural evolution, but Angels are overloaded with the substance that gives powers to humans so much, any subject who manages to survive the overdose gains extreme power. But, there have been only three survivors, or at least mc and fmc thinks so.
Now, my question. Which idea do you find more interesting, trio (mc, fmc, and third one) being the only survivors, or more survivors hiding in the shadows, showing themselves as story progresses.

Anather possability, three survivors are known, while other survivors ether have powers like teleportation, notice-me-not, illusions, and such, or some other survivors have somewhat more power then the natural powers but with bigger drawbacks or weakness cousing em to hide and pretend to be normal ppl hidden in plain sight

 

[Tsuru]

Context: In the current story I am writing, mc and fmc are subjects from an experiment to create an artificially evolved human species called Angels. The world they live in already has super-powered people who gained their powers through natural evolution, but Angels are overloaded with the substance that gives powers to humans so much, any subject who manages to survive the overdose gains extreme power. But, there have been only three survivors, or at least mc and fmc thinks so.
Now, my question. Which idea do you find more interesting, trio (mc, fmc, and third one) being the only survivors, or more survivors hiding in the shadows, showing themselves as story progresses.

The 2nd seems more attractive
but its a trap. That expose its flaws only later. Can only be known by experience or comparisons.



Will try to make it short. (never succeed)

You pick (2)
You risk to become like this shitty writters of Hollywood, that add whatever, because "why the f not"
Hey let's add this one, hey add this one, oh new enemy ! OH BIG VILLAIN ! Oh he survived ! Oh he revived !
And even if not for this reason,
for readers, (if they can ignore their past PTSD of hollywood/disney/etc)
will feel unconsciously the feeling of : "Author gonna always write a new survivor sooner or later"
and likely tired by this trope.

Meanwhile
if (1)
It's FCKING SET IN STONE. Nyet. Done. Nada. No BULLSHIT TWIST. No BS "hey i am too !"

Its like a chinese story where MC is only transmigrator VS this shitty stories of "There is a bunch of heroes/bunch of reincarnators or transmigrators/villains/time-traveler/soul-possessors/etc"
Chinese Readers prefer the first one. unless (2) is very well done or very original.
Not all twists are good.
Biggest one among old novels was the : HEY ALIENS APPEAR !
,bs method when no more strong enemy for the growing MC.
So yeah. Sometimes returning to the source is best. Because the twist of the twist is back to normality.
Sometimes readers, or humans in general, want stuff that is anchored, and not stuff that can change left and right. So they can feel a sense of security. Its like knowing there is a safe haven back home.
Meanwhile the "unknown" is scary. And not knowing "will there be a future survivor later?" is both scary frustrating but also annoying (for veteran readers).

Also to cite another example.
Its like among old urban-cultivation novels, it was always, ALWAYS, shit to see : cultivator MC
5chaps later : THERE IS A CULTIVATION HIDDEN WORLD !

Or Onepunch-Man
It wouldnt be as popular, if there was 10+ "Onepunchers" later on.
Same for DBZ
It turned to shit worsened when everyone could Super Sayan.




TLDR :
Would you swear on your soul that you wont abuse it or be lazy or do it badly, if you pick (2) ? Your answer, after 5min of reflection, is the answer you want.

 

[ACertainPassingUser]

Well, why not both ?

Your story remind me of Toaru Majutsu no Index where in the Academy city there's hundreds of dozen experiment that result in many "survivor".

The city is filled my many magical shit resulted from past hundred dozens experiemnts that nearly 10/10 of every rumor are actually true, no matter how nonsensical and fantasical they are

 

[Nolff]

The 2nd seems more attractive
but its a trap. That expose its flaws only later. Can only be known by experience or comparisons.



Will try to make it short. (never succeed)

You pick (2)
You risk to become like this shitty writters of Hollywood, that add whatever, because "why the f not"
Hey let's add this one, hey add this one, oh new enemy ! OH BIG VILLAIN ! Oh he survived ! Oh he revived !
And even if not for this reason,
for readers, (if they can ignore their past PTSD of hollywood/disney/etc)
will feel unconsciously the feeling of : "Author gonna always write a new survivor sooner or later"
and likely tired by this trope.

Meanwhile
if (1)
It's FCKING SET IN STONE. Nyet. Done. Nada. No BULLSHIT TWIST. No BS "hey i am too !"

Its like a chinese story where MC is only transmigrator VS this shitty stories of "There is a bunch of heroes/bunch of reincarnators or transmigrators/villains/time-traveler/soul-possessors/etc"
Chinese Readers prefer the first one. unless (2) is very well done or very original.
Not all twists are good.
Biggest one among old novels was the : HEY ALIENS APPEAR !
,bs method when no more strong enemy for the growing MC.
So yeah. Sometimes returning to the source is best. Because the twist of the twist is back to normality.
Sometimes readers, or humans in general, want stuff that is anchored, and not stuff that can change left and right. So they can feel a sense of security. Its like knowing there is a safe haven back home.
Meanwhile the "unknown" is scary. And not knowing "will there be a future survivor later?" is both scary frustrating but also annoying (for veteran readers).

Also to cite another example.
Its like among old urban-cultivation novels, it was always, ALWAYS, shit to see : cultivator MC
5chaps later : THERE IS A CULTIVATION HIDDEN WORLD !

Or Onepunch-Man
It wouldnt be as popular, if there was 10+ "Onepunchers" later on.
Same for DBZ
It turned to shit worsened when everyone could Super Sayan.




TLDR :
Would you swear on your soul that you wont abuse it or be lazy or do it badly, if you pick (2) ? Your answer, after 5min of reflection, is the answer you want.

I am having a stroke just by reading your statement.

 

[SirDogeTheFirst]

Well, why not both ?

Your story remind me of Toaru Majutsu no Index where in the Academy city there's hundreds of dozen experiment that result in many "survivor".

The city is filled my many magical shit resulted from past hundred dozens experiemnts that nearly 10/10 of every rumor are actually true, no matter how nonsensical and fantasical they are

I can't lie, going full Index route and cranking bs to a million sounds very appealing. It's not like I am writing hard sci-fi anyways, its borderline fantasy.

The 2nd seems more attractive
but its a trap. That expose its flaws only later. Can only be known by experience or comparisons.



Will try to make it short. (never succeed)

You pick (2)
You risk to become like this shitty writters of Hollywood, that add whatever, because "why the f not"
Hey let's add this one, hey add this one, oh new enemy ! OH BIG VILLAIN ! Oh he survived ! Oh he revived !
And even if not for this reason,
for readers, (if they can ignore their past PTSD of hollywood/disney/etc)
will feel unconsciously the feeling of : "Author gonna always write a new survivor sooner or later"
and likely tired by this trope.

Meanwhile
if (1)
It's FCKING SET IN STONE. Nyet. Done. Nada. No BULLSHIT TWIST. No BS "hey i am too !"

Its like a chinese story where MC is only transmigrator VS this shitty stories of "There is a bunch of heroes/bunch of reincarnators or transmigrators/villains/time-traveler/soul-possessors/etc"
Chinese Readers prefer the first one. unless (2) is very well done or very original.
Not all twists are good.
Biggest one among old novels was the : HEY ALIENS APPEAR !
,bs method when no more strong enemy for the growing MC.
So yeah. Sometimes returning to the source is best. Because the twist of the twist is back to normality.
Sometimes readers, or humans in general, want stuff that is anchored, and not stuff that can change left and right. So they can feel a sense of security. Its like knowing there is a safe haven back home.
Meanwhile the "unknown" is scary. And not knowing "will there be a future survivor later?" is both scary frustrating but also annoying (for veteran readers).

Also to cite another example.
Its like among old urban-cultivation novels, it was always, ALWAYS, shit to see : cultivator MC
5chaps later : THERE IS A CULTIVATION HIDDEN WORLD !

Or Onepunch-Man
It wouldnt be as popular, if there was 10+ "Onepunchers" later on.
Same for DBZ
It turned to shit worsened when everyone could Super Sayan.




TLDR :
Would you swear on your soul that you wont abuse it or be lazy or do it badly, if you pick (2) ? Your answer, after 5min of reflection, is the answer you want.

I won't. I'll probably use it once to add some characters I designed in my head but failed to integrate into the story. So my soul is safe from Abused Common Writing Tropes devil (until I add a big boba elf and a catgirl to the story/s.)

 

[Representing_Tromba]

I feel like saying they are the only survivor and then having more appear is super common as no sole survivor ever stays the sole survivor for long.

 

[ACertainPassingUser]

I feel like saying they are the only survivor and then having more appear is super common as no sole survivor ever stays the sole survivor for long.

Even if "The sole survivor" is kept, usually it get forgotten pretty quickly as its hard to make redundant fact relevant.

The best example i can think of is Avatar : The Last Airbender.

The story has to keep reminding us about Aang's "Last survivor" status via creative ways including the plot, before we forgot that Aang is the last survivor due to his interactions and how he lives that makes us unconciously frogets and ignore.

But, Avatar is a sucessful example of keeping the "Sole Survivor" status until the end. even if there's still one friend of Aang from bygones era, which is forgivable, because he's an earthbender, not airbender.