Over the past seven years I've thought up, dismissed, reworked, reconsidered, and rebuilt from the foundations completely, almost a dozen story ideas. some are very recent, others are still in development since 2003. I'm going to post 1-2 ideas every three to four or so posts. These story ideas range from pleasant and fun to gory and serious. With that lets move on to the fist story idea.

Stray Some adult situations and minor violence
(working title)

Story
Stray is story about a homeless girl named Alice and her life in an unnamed city. This isn't the story of a happy-go-lucky hobo who is carefree and fine with life as it is. She eats, wears and uses anything she can find in a dumpster or trash bin, sometimes resulting in becoming very ill. What ever money she does obtain from finding it on the street in loose change, donations received in tin can she carries with her, or gathering cans, goes towards fresh food and drinks, usually only one or the other. She sleeps in a cardboard box covered in news paper and rags, vulnerable to the elements, rats, and people with less then virtuous intent. If she needs to go to the bathroom, she can either go to a library, grocery store or in a dumpster she may go rummaging through the next day. As each day passes she is subject to the best and worst of society from the kindness of a concerned stranger to being harassed by thugs in one of the many alleys she walks through on a daily basis. The story goes from bad to worse but things get better towards then end.

Characters
There is only one character to focus on, most are unnamed and/or only seen for short while

Name: Alice
Age: about 22
About: Alice has been homeless for a substantial amount of time, the exact time is unknown. The reason for her homelessness is not clear, when she is under extreme stress she reminisces about a happy family playing in their backyard. She is very timid and responds with very short replies, usually one word responses if possible. She also runs away from people who try to help her if she appears to be at risk of dying or being very ill. She seems indifferent towards dying, but not enough to let herself be killed by someone else or to commit suicide.

story progression
At first Alice lives somewhat peacefully if not happily in an area conveniently near a grocery store and an alright walking distance away from a library. After a while things go down hill starting with the grocery store going under new ownership that doesn't welcome homeless people to maintain an image. She is then forced from her home after an increase in crime due to the outcome of trial combined with growing hostility towards the homeless.

The main problem I have with writing this story is keeping it interesting. This story is relatively new, I only started doing written work on it a few weeks ago. Before that it was just an idea note in my notepad.

A very...different story. The problem, as you've already stated with this type of story is keeping it interesting.

I'm...terrible with this sort of thing... >.>;

But I'm quite interested in this.

You should make a list of some unusual circumstances she would find herself in. There needs to be an overarching problem, and Alice needs to try to overcome this problem. Along the way, place obstacles in the way and have her solve (or fail to solve) these smaller problems on the way to her final goal. If this is supposed to be a commentary on society than the content can be strait-up realistic. Focus on the reader's attachment to Alice in this case; should she be pitied or scorned? If this is a fiction novel for entertainment you can move away ever so slightly from realism and work on an exciting storyline. Fiction usually has more than one notable character; even if they only last for one scene they should have deep personalities.

The story is mainly entertainment but has some social commentary. In the story Alice herself is something of a medium for people to show their true colors. Of course this doesn't mean she meets only bad people, she comes into contact with good people, people only doing good to look good, people who do something for her in exchange for something and of course the people who just want something without any thought of the damage it will cause. Despite the other characters having little screen time, they are pretty much the means by which the story progresses. Alice's problems can be put into four categories; people, health, sustenance and monetary, so I got a good amount of base issues to work with if I think of problems that are based in at least two of the categories. Like if I base a problem on people and money, she may have to do something humiliating for someone in exchange for money she desperately needs.

Excellent. The next step is to create some of these supporting characters. Then you want to figure out the sequence of events; when does she meet each person, are there any overlaps or transitions, how will the story open, and how will it end (don't tell me that part though).

One thing that might help you to look into is the story telling style of Police Dramas. in particular the way they use individual unrelated cases from episode to episode while they maintain a longer term narrative/continuity. pulling something similar could make keeping the reader interest high throughout the story by bringing them back with the larger continuity while using good story telling to keep them reading.

also, having one character as the only stable reoccurring role in the story could be hard to pull off. Not sure how you could make the work easier for yourself though as the tone of the story seems like it would lean heavily on the idea of one person versus a soul crushing world. Having a regular supporting cast could do some heavy damage to that idea. only thing i can think of would be an irregular supporting cast, kind of the idea of friends/allies (regular) vs acquaintances that Alice would occasionally cross paths with in her struggles.

well that's my two cents, or whatever the exchange rate for words adds up to, hope it helps.

also hope to see this thread succeed, so keep the ideas coming lest this gets lost to the tides of the forum

Recently I decided to add another character to Stray who only appears in the beginning and once again at the end. I don't have a name for her yet, the only info on her I can currently give is that she is a police officer and maybe married to a doctor. Her main purpose is something of a guardian angel. However her help is rejected by Alice because of her somewhat self destructive nature. I also have yet to figure out why Alice is somewhat self destructive, either because of some pride related issue or guilt over something she did when she was younger.
I like the idea of telling it like a police drama, right now I have a small number of events planned that I try to work in at the most appropriate times.
I'd also like to take this post to mention another story that I posted about here long ago but has long since changed. This story is several years old and has gone and will probably undergo many more changes. The story may be part of a sort of series of stories but I'm not certain if I want to do that.
I should also mention that many of the idea involved in this story are unknowingly borrowed from some animes/mangas. The first being the main character "Angel", who is created in a lab and escapes, much like characters in Chobits (not sure on this one) and Elfen Lied. The second being the secondary main character Ark, who has a right arm that can change shape, size and length like Ed of Full Metal Alchemist. However Ark's arm is not a prosthetic of any sort, it is limited by items within his reach which he may assimilate temporarily into his arm. His arm is also not metallic, but is somewhat similar to that of a crustacean in terms of construction, but still has and elbow, wrist and hand with four fingers and thumb.

Heaven on Earth Adult situations and Intense violence

Story (only going to give a small amount of info to keep this post from getting too big, I'll elaborate some more in further posts)
Heaven on Earth is a sort of sci-fi/fantasy but becomes more fantasy towards the end. The story starts with the creation of the main charcter Angel, who is created from genetic material of an angel along with material from from an albino cat in the lab (reason for this is because an angel can only be born from death, and using material from an earthly entity that is not guilty of the original sin and I also wanted to seperate Angel from humanity by giving her non human features and needed an excuse to do so). She escapes and meets Ark; a human like creature from the land of Mu who suffers from partial amnesia and only knows his first name, how to use his arm's abilities and how to change form (something I'll go into detail in a later post).
After a failed retrieval attempt of Angel, the lab sends out a failed Angel creation named Kumori, who was created using the "old fasioned" method of cloning that required the organism to be carried and birthed by a similar organsim; a human (who is a scientist at the lab). Kumori was failed due to her dark grey skin, and inability to produce what is known as "angel's glow". She does however poses the ability to move and shape metal as if it were a part of her body as long as she is touching it. She fails to bring Angel back but is welcomed by Ark and Angel to join them as they find some place to hide. Together along with a young Huldra girl named Esther and a Russian agent named Sashura(working name), they work to keep an over zealous group of angels from throwing the worlds balance into dissaray (again, more detail later).

Characters

Name: Angel
Age: 12-14 (progresses with story)
Created by humans, commissioned by an angel for use for war. her human creator intended to harness and use "angel's glow" for weaponry. The one who commissioned her had a completely different idea, Angels true purpose was to be the first among many brood mothers, who would bear children by angels who were as close to angelic as possible (children of angel and human birth [nephilim] are far from angelic).
Angel herself is curious, outgoing and not afraid to express herself. Her angelic heredity does go to her head a bit and make her somewhat arrogant and on occasion she does say things that are very hurtful. However her creation bothers her, making her feel artificial. a Her angel's glow allows her to defend herself by producing balls of light that can be used as projectiles or shields and heal wounds to a degree (she can't heal missing limbs without the limb in question or a wound that has scarred over).

Name: Ark
Age: 12-14
A creature of somewhat unnatural lineage, the fourth child of a succubus mother and a beast who's lineage is also somewhat unnatural as well as emperor/god (emperor and god are interchangeable terms on Mu) of a large portion of Mu. Ark was next in line to be emperor until the boat he was on was attacked by the sea monster Leviathan and he somehow ended up in human society. As heir to the throne Ark was to take on numerous brides who would bear him genetically superior heirs, one of which would be chosen to do the same.
Ark as a person is rather odd and somewhat disturbing. For starters, his main weapon against people is his mouth. He eats people who threaten him and his friends. He may eat them alive, or rip them apart first. He may offer a friend an arm to eat, however this offer has only been taken up by Kumori. He is easily blinded by rage and can only think something out so far before resorting to brute force. Because of his ordeal that lead him into human society, he is frightened of large fish and eels, even dead ones. His fear is also evident with small fish, exhibited by a fixated stare into the creatures eyes.

Name: Kumori
Age:12-14
Kumori, named so for her dark gray skin, was the first attempt of creating an angel, her creation involved the use of a human to carry her as she developed. Her mother a scientist working to create a means to harness "angel's glow" along with another scientist (who is the main scientist who I have yet to name). However Kumori was deemed a failure and was only kept as a research subject and an assassin who didn't officially exist. Her mother however only agreed to let this be so Kumori wouldn't be destroyed. Kumori's body is covered with scars from punishment for failure and wounds from fleeing scenes of assassinations.
Kumori's personality is the exact opposite of Angel. She is very timid and shy and is ashamed of what she is. She does have the same feelings about her creation as Angel. She is prone to sudden mood changes from depressed to angry, but usually depressed. After joining Ark and Angel she often forgets she doesn't have to refer to people as master, doesn't eat unless told to and will work herself to exhaustion even if injured unless told not to. She doesn't ask for very much and is happy with very little. Her self esteem is very low because of the numerous scars on her body, her pronounced lower canine teeth, burn scars on her right wrist from a shock cuff and her glass eye that she keeps a secret from everyone else.

I'll go into detail about the other characters in a later post because I don't want to make this post too long.

The story itself is still deep in development, events being thought up, rearranged, and tossed out, but this is how it is so far.

After Angel escapes the lab she meets Ark who is living with a young human woman (no name yet) who knows more then normal humans do about whats going on. Angel and Ark leave the woman's house escaping capture by the lab that created Angel and meet Kumori who was sent to capture Angel but instead tries to kill her to prove her worth but fails. Ark removes a restraint from Kumori that tracks her movement and shocks her when deemed necessary by her creator. After the trio escapes they decide they must stop the "heaven on earth project" (the name of the project to create angels). However they are met by a Russian agent of sorts who was sent to observe what, if anything, America was up too named Sashura. After finding what Angel and Kumori are he decides to help them. He helps them escape to china where they are met by a woman who asks the group to take her adoptive huldra daughter Esther with them. The group excepts the request and carries on their journey. They end up in Mu (still working how this happens exactly) where they meet an angel who tries to bring Angel back to the lab (also no name). Ark is reunited with his family and the group settles down until once again the angel attacks. Thanks to some assistance from Ark's eldest brother, they return to human society where they attack the lab successfully. However this victory is short lived as now the angel tries even harder to get angel since she is only candidate for being a brood mother. From this point on the group does battle with the rogue forces of light and earthly beings who have gotten hold of unearthly power.

Nice story. I especially like the character of Kumori; given the setting she is very believable.

Keep in mind that if this is in fact Earth, you may want to do some research into the settings and locales your characters will be traveling to. Of coure being fantasy, you have almost limitless creative leeway.

A couple things I feel I should elaborate on from the last post.

Ark's right arm: Because Ark's family tree has roots in silly goose his family has been gifted with odd abilities or attributes. This is also cause for some genetic instability in some members of his family like his second oldest brother who is kept alive and functioning by a life support machine. Ark's arm is able to assimilate objects and manipulate them as an addition to his body or alter them to suit his needs. While he can technically assimilate "complex" objects like guns and power tools, he has to figure out how to link muscles and configure his exoskeleton to accommodate the objects mechanical workings. With guns he has to consider the recoil of the weapon and the heat it produces by firing, as the recoil can cause is exoskeleton to crack and break and the heat can literally cook his muscles.
His arm also has other, more peaceful uses. His arm can regenerate after being removed, but it takes up to two fully regenerate. Because of this he can use it as an emergency food ration. The flavor of his arm has been described to be similar to crab or lobster. If he need be his arm could be used to replace another persons arm with Angel's assistance. His arm also can also aid him or others in escaping restraints.

Ark's forms: Ark is able to change between two forms, neither of which can be called a true form, nor can they be considered false. In each form he retains a part from the other form that acts as an anchoring point. Without that part he would be stuck in whatever his current form is until it grew back. In his human form, his arm acts as the anchoring point for his Behemoth form, in his Behemoth form his tongue is the anchoring point.

And some of the other characters that should be mentioned.

Name: Sashura
Age: 29-31
A professional sniper for a Russian organization that keeps tabs on other nations military projects. Initially sent to observe the lab angel was created to check for biological weapon research along with his partner. Somehow Sashura and his partner were found and Kumori was dispatched to kill them. However Kumori tried to scare them away as she hates the idea of killing things, her plan failed when Sashura and his partner fired upon her. One of the shots fired shattered one her shin bones causing her to panic and return fire, fatally wounding Sashura's partner. Sashura took his partner and fled. He returned a few years later to learn something had escaped and decided to investigate. His search led him to the house of a young woman who told him where to go. He followed the young woman's advice which led him to Angel and Kumori. upon seeing that the supposed weapon he was sent to observe was a child, he decided to protect her and aid her in her journey.
Sashura is very caring person, his top priority is keeping everyone safe and healthy. He also has an understandable fear of Ark and is very wary of him since his human eating habit didn't stop after meeting him. He also likes to tell somewhat exaggerated hunting stories but rarely ever talks about his sniping career and changes the subject when asked about it.

Name: Esther
Age: 7
Esther is a huldra, a creature similar to a human that has the tail and ears of a fox and hole in their back like those found on trees. They also have the ability to use magic. Esther only knows a little bit of magic that was taught to her by her mother. Her magic allows her to grow plants at a greatly accelerated rate. Esther was born thousands of years ago to a runaway huldra slave and a warlord. She was kept inside the hole in her mothers back after a her mother used her magic to become a giant tree after Esther's father tried to kill them.
She was found years later by a woman who's boat got lost and came ashore a strange land, when she found Esther a voice gave her instructions that the child was to be entrusted to the angel and Behemoth. When Angel and Ark found their way into her presence, she gave them Esther just as instructed.
Esther is for the most part a normal child, She likes to draw with crayons, play games and watch animals. While she does remember her parents, she never talks about them and get depressed thinking about them. She has a tendency to slip some details when seeing certain things like violence or certain objects. Ark and Angel act as surrogate parents to her and even have arguments as to how to raise her. Esther sometimes seems to be aware of certain things that everyone else either aren't aware of or have yet to understand.

Sometime soon I should be able to show some sketches of some of the characters and such and maybe some rough work on Stray.

interesting story. What sort of powers do the bad guys have?