October Novel Prep Challenge

*rubs hands together* I'm a brainstormer, and I'm about to dump everything out of my head onto this screen, so when it's all over, take what you like, tweak what you like, scrap what you like, brainstorm back if you like, whatever, whatever. Also, you'll find I ask a lot of questions. They're not intended to say: "this idea sucks, why would you plot it like that!!?" Instead, they're intended to say: "how can you take your idea and build on it, develop it, grow it, combine it with other ideas and make them jive, make it all believable?" My questions are strictly meant to get your brain juices flowing, because I want to help you come up with more of your own ideas as much as possible. Enjoy.

Premise: Girl/Dragon born on Winter Solstice, girl breathes fire, dragon cannot. They're connected by birth and prophecy.
LOVE this. First, I'm a fantasy buff. Second, I see lots of opportunity for symbolism. Consider brainstorming some symbolism. If you don't already know the answers to these questions, make up the answers:
-- what's the significance of Girl's red hair?
-- why is Nor a silver dragon (instead of another breed)
-- why was this the coldest night in 10 years?
-- what happened 10 years ago when there was another cold night like this?

Regarding the prophecy you need - I propose brainstorming the following. If you don't know the answers, make them up:
-- are prophecies common in this world?
-- if they're common, what form do they normally take? are they voices that someone hears? words that someone reads? images that someone interprets? dreams that someone has?
-- who is capable of seeing/hearing/dreaming a prophecy? anyone, or special people? if special people, are they special BECAUSE of the prophecy, or is there a certain race, occupation, skill set that makes one prone to or capable of witnessing prophecies?
-- do the girl or her parents know about the prophecy? do Nor or his parents?
-- are there more dragons or humans (assuming this girl is human) in your world? (this is part of your cultural background)
-- who's in charge in your world? (more culture)

We can come back to the prophecy itself in a minute, but I propose that you start with this very important line of questioning before you plan the contents of the prophecy itself. I peeked at your NaNo folder to get more information about your plot and see that Roslyn, the girl, is your protagonist, presumably later in life. It also looks like you have a vague idea of your prophecy, and I like it:

Roslyn Rosewood is a young woman whose objective is to overcome her insecurities but she is confronted by an estranged sorceress who wants to kill her because the sorceress fears that she is the prophesied child who will defeat her with the help of a dragon.

Female Villain?
Why not? Anyone can have bad intentions. And actually, looking at your synopsis, it seems to me that your sorceress doesn't necessarily have to be a "bad guy" or even start out that way. A prophecy warns that some child and a dragon are going to defeat her. I'd be worried, too. But the question is... WHY? Is it some sort of poetic justice? Does she deserve defeat? Or is she just an everyday sorceress trying to do her job who hears a prophecy that says some little kid and her dragon are going to take her out?

Subplots:
* Nor. What's his story? How intelligent are dragons? How social are they with each other? With humans? What's going on in his life as a result of his deficiency? He makes me think of Rudolph, the reindeer with the red nose, but in reverse. Does his lack of fire get him in trouble? Picked on? Shunned? Here's an idea: If he's born with a lack of fire, he'll grow up learning to adapt and compensate for it. He'll grow other skills that make him superior to his peers in other ways. NOW: suppose dragons suddenly can't breathe fire anymore? Now, Nor has the upper hand.

From your outline, I'll add questions and ideas:

Roslyn discovers that her parents are not her real parents.
.........aaaaaand then what happens to her adoptive parents? Any reason they have to vanish at this point? Does she have a good relationship with them? Does she love them? Do they love her? Do they help her? Do they stay home while she goes off on a hunt for her mother? Do they even know about it, or does she learn from someone other than her parents and then run off without leaving a goodbye note? Would they come looking for her if she did? What if the bad guys did something to her adoptive parents later, to punish or coerce her? Would she care? What if they're actually bad guys who are tasked with keeping her hidden, keeping the truth away from her? Would they be punished for letting her escape? Would they try to come after her?

Roslyn discovers that Shadowtrackers have killed her father and kidnapped her mother.
You probably already know more about this - but do the Shadowtrackers work for someone? How did they kill her father? Did they leave a home behind? Any other children? where did they live? Are there other people in the lives of this couple who would come looking for them or help her? Do they have any cool stuff that she could now inherit, if she only knew about it and how to find it?

Roslyn must go with Damien and Tealeaf her two best friends and guardians to the Uncommon to learn how to harness her powers.
Ooh... she has powers? Is this because of the prophesy and her ability to breathe fire, or is there more to the story? Where is the Uncommon and who lives there? Why are Damien and Tealeaf her guardians? If they're best friends, I assume she's known them for awhile, so presumably her adoptive parents know them, too? Do they have any powers? If not, what makes them qualified to be her guardians?

Roslyn meets Philipe August, her mentor, who is not all who he seems to be.
Nice twist. It sounds like you want to wait to reveal his secrets until later, which means he's not subplot material... unless you want to throw some foreshadowing or a red herring in there.

Roslyn meets Emerald Dragonfly who makes fun of her and tries to get her to leave, which she succeeds.
Why? You seem to have lots of possible subplots going on already!! Who is Emerald Dragonfly, and why does she want her to leave?

Roslyn runs away from the Uncommon and just before she leaves the city she runs into a dragon named Nor, the Fireless Dragon.
What was Nor doing before Roslyn meets him? Can we get to know him a little before the meeting? What's his motivation?

Roslyn returns to the Uncommon with Nor. Philippe sets the consequences.
What made her return?

The Uncommon's Head-quarter’s are discovered by Sorcha's soldiers and Roslyn, Damien, Tealeaf, the dragon, and Emeral must flee from the chaos. Philippe is captured, several are killed.
How did Sorcha's soldiers find Headquarters? Is there a sub plot that could have been going on all along in which Sorcha sends soldiers and spies out to find information? Perhaps she follows a few false trails? Perhaps a couple of her lackeys are punished? Maybe somebody under her gets a big promotion for this find. But... she's also a villain, and people don't like villains, even the people who work for them. Therefore, things should not go too easily for Sorcha. She probably gets mad and strings people up by their toes on occasion. She's probably learned to be cunning and do things like hold the families of her soldiers hostage until they do her bidding. Or maybe she offers big, big rewards - wealth and prestige are good motivators.

Emerald blames Roslyn for the onslaught. Roslyn becomes angry enough to nearly kill her.
IS it Roslyn's fault? If so, possibly character moment: Is Roslyn the kind of person to realize she was wrong? When she becomes so angry that she almost kills Emerald, is she truly mad at Emerald, or is she mad at herself or her fate or her parents and just taking it out on Emerald? Would she apologize to Emerald? If not, would someone call her on it and point it out to her, like one of her two besties? Would she get mad at them too? Would she alienate herself from them? What kind of relationship does she have with Nor? Do they talk to each other? Since Nor is new in her life, would he have to courage to point out her flaws? Would she take it better from him? What does Emerald do when Roslyn nearly kills her? Does she stay or leave? If she stays, what's her motivation? Why is she even with Roslyn, when she wanted her to leave the Uncommon in the first place?

I'm very interested in Emerald. I think she's got a story going on.

The group sets out to find Sorcha's lair and runs into a pixie named Wyn.
Who's Wyn? Is this one of Sorcha's lackeys or a good guy? What's Wyn's motivation?

Roslyns runs into a forest girl who takes her to the hidden city where they find Sorcha's sister Abigail
LOVE, okay, question... Sorcha could never please her mother (I read that in your notes somewhere.) Was Abigail able to? If so, why? What did Abigail have the Sorcha didn't have? Why did Sorcha end up the evil sister, and was Abigail immune to it, or is there some possible evil in her? Or does Sorcha hate Abigail for having their mother's favor? If so, what would Sorcha do if she found out that Abigail even allowed Roslyn into her home, even though she didn't help them? Would Sorcha be angry? Would there be punishment for Abigail? If something happened to Abigail, and Roslyn found out, how would she react?

Abigail refuses to help them, afraid of her sister's wrath.
Yeah, so, I kind of read ahead, there LOL

When they find Sorcha, they discover that she has an evil dragon named Gregon and that Abigail is the one who commands her sister.
...but I didn't read ahead THAT much!! Great twist. So is Abigail your true antagonist? Why? Fun subplot idea: What if you gave hints throughout the book in the form of discussions between Sorcha and some anonymous figure - like maybe Sorcha pulls up her likeness in a mirror or water or out of thin air, or Abigail just pops up and commands Sorcha - and the reader gets to see it, so we all know that SOMEONE is pulling Sorcha's puppet strings. But we don't know who, and we would NEVER guess it to be Abigail because she seems so meek. That would be an awesome red herring. Your readers would be going through the entire book going - who could it be? who could it be? And every character they meet, they're thinking, is it them? But if you start it early enough, by the time you get to meet Abigail, you might already have some ideas in your head as to who it might be and probably wouldn't even consider Abigail.

The dragon and Roslyn fight to save the kingdom and the king from destruction, but it turns out that she is too late to save the king from the poison coursing through his veins.
There's a King? Now we're talking... another subplot. What's this "destruction" you speak of - is Sorcha systematically destroying his kingdom? If so, how? What if, back in the beginning, Roslyn's (adoptive) parents are murdered? What if entire towns are being decimated? If that were going on, the King would be taking action. He would be holding council with his advisers. He would be forming armies and dispatching them. How are the town/people/whatever aspects of the kingdom you're referring to being destroyed? Who is destroying them? Sorcha herself, through brute magic? Or does she have armies of her own? If by magic, what does that look like? Is magic common? Is Sorcha uncommonly powerful? Are there other magic-wielders in the King's employ who might try to counteract her magic? I imagine all this is going on while Roslyn is doing her thing, and we, the readers, through Roslyn's eyes, would be seeing the evidence of it.

Roslyn discovers where her mother is and that the king is her father and that she must take him to her real mother to be saved.
Ooooh awesome. Ideas:
* is her royal blood related to her fire breathing ability or the fact that there's a prophecy about her?
* did both the king AND Sorcha know about the prophecy? If so, how? Did Sorcha ever work for the King? Did one of her lackeys?
* does she take out Sorcha in the end???
* if Abigail is the true bad guy, but the prophecy says Roslyn will take out Sorcha, where does that leave the kingdom? Does Abigail get away?

GENERAL NOTES:
* Roslyn's primary quest is to find and rescue her mother. Is her time spent at the Uncommon supposed to help her with that quest? If so, why does she leave when she meets Nor? If not, why does she stay so long and return after leaving?

* I didn't see any reference at all to Roslyn's ability to breathe fire in your plot. Does she use this ability as a weapon? Who's your audience, by the way? If you're shooting for YA, it might be cute if she used it for random miscellaneous things, like starting the camp fire when they're stopping for dinner or bed during their travels.

* Did Sorcha make that Winter Solstice the coldest night in 10 years? Was it the start of her reign of terror? Is that one of her weapons?

....aaaand, I'm spent (for now.) We can brainstorm more if you want.

Hormones:
I can't help you with that one!!! I can offer hugs??


Regards,
Michelle