Thread: help needed

My story is about a woman who suffer's from D.I.D. When her estrange mother come's back into her life it elict's memories of a traumatic childhood and she's unable to cope, so her alter take's over. Leaving Stephanie's family behind, alter, Sage takes off to seek a life of her own and falls in love with another man. Later Stephanie will find she is in love and has to make a choice between two men and to top it off she's pregnante by the one who isn't her husband.

I've spent a very long time trying to come up with a better summery and a first chapter that will hook a reader. The story is a romance, but it seems it's about everthing else, but that, like her history and the D.I.D. I don't have any experience in writng novels, so, I don't know where to begin and I think there's too much backstory for it to be a short story. Is it possible this story is too complicated? if feels that way right now.

I do not think it is too complicated for a full length novel. Have you considered having the character waking up at the beginning of chapter one not knowing where she is because an alternate personality brought her there?

Maybe set chapter 1 in the middle of the story then go back in chap 2 to the beginning?

The thing about complex back stories is that you want to fill in those details little by little. There is no need to dump them all at once at the beginning, and you probably should not do that.

And it never hurts to read books (or watch movies) that deal with similar subject matter. You might tend to shy away from, it, feeling like you don't want it to influence your project, but creativity is all about cross pollination of ideas. Look for other stories or documentaries where someone is suffering from memory loss or a multiple personality disorder or dissociation. A movie that comes to mind (while it doesn't sound much like your story, don't worry! ...meh, nor is it one of my favorites, but it does come to mind) is The Long Kiss Goodnight, about a housewife who discovered she used to be a spy. I read a book (... I'm so sorry. I can't remember the title!) about a woman who had been kidnapped, and escapes but has to go back and puzzle out what happened to her in order to help catch the man- as well as why her life changed so dramatically the week leading up to her trauma.

Documentaries are good because if you have no personal experience dealing with a mental illness (I don't know you so I don't know) it gives you a pretty up close in depth look. I know there are a few on DID floating around, I'd google Dissociative Disorder Documentary or something.

I think your idea sounds like a great read. Absolutely the sort of book I'd pick up. Yes, I would say it's too complicated to be a short story though- I wouldn't be satisfied with anything less than a novel out of that plot line.

I'd stretch the back story out to build a sense of mystery, but only until about your 3/4 mark. Because you also need to deal with the issues of her old life and what she's going to do about what's happened, whether Stephanie or Sage need to strike a balance or one remains dominant or even one gets squashed aside completely, if you want to even go there.

And, in my opinion at least, the best romances aren't focused on the romance itself, but the people involved and who they are and how they deal with each other and the world around them, coming together as a unit to deal with events. But I'm a bit odd about romance so you'll be wanting a second opinion on that.