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help me with a plot?

 
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this is not the first time I have thought about writing fiction. children's fiction to be exact. I have a good basic plot this time. a feral mother cat comes home from hunting to feed her babies. but they are gone! stolen probably by the weasel. she attracts followers. first a dog.
question number 1
what kind(breed) of dog?
what is his name?
what is our protagonist's name?
I'm thinking to add a squirrel and a bird, that would make it a novel.
since this will be a first time, I would prefer a short story.
don't bet on me doing this
 
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How does the story end, does she find her babies safe?
 
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Jeanne Boyarsky wrote:does she find her babies safe?


Unfortunately not.

Turns out that the weasel, who always was a bit of a prankster, had left out a large saucer of cream, laced with vodka, after consuming which the cat felt very peculiar indeed. After eating the several small furry dragons who had taken up residence in her liar, she fell asleep.

It took several days for the sequence of events to fall into place in her mind, although I don't think she ever fully understood it.

 
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As for the dog breed, I would make it a large one such as a Danish Dog or a Leonberger, so that the contrast with the cat appears larger. That way the two will seem unlikely friends, which I think adds to the story.
 
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Also the dog personality could be friendly and empathetic as a contrast to the feral cat who I assume would be abrasive and distrusting of others. Perhaps their friendship could come about from some scenario where the cat is more or less forced to put trust in the dog for help thus going against her natural instincts. The dog does not betray her trust, ergo an unlikely friendship is formed.
 
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My suggestions:
Breed : Husky
Dog's Name : Jim (or a similar single syllable)
Protagonist's name : (A two syllable name)  Layla, Clara, Dimpy ...

 
Randall Twede
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good ideas all! maybe I will try it after all. I have plenty of time. Jeanne, logically the weasel would just eat the kittens, but I don't think children would go for that
 
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Randall Twede wrote:good ideas all! maybe I will try it after all. I have plenty of time. Jeanne, logically the weasel would just eat the kittens, but I don't think children would go for that


Agreed. Eating kittens does not make a good children's book!
 
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Consider a different market if you are eating kittens
 
Richard Hayward
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Campbell Ritchie wrote:Consider a different market if you are eating kittens


that's exactly the peril faced by Tom Kitten who is captured and wrapped up in roly-poly pudding to be eaten by rats.

Although Tom is rescued,  this stylistic requirement for children's literature wasn't introduced in time to save Peter Rabbit's father who was baked in a pie and eaten by Mr McGregor.

The works of Beatrix Potter still sell well.
 
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But they had to use raisins to hide the smuts in the subsequent roly‑poly pudding.
 
Jeanne Boyarsky
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Richard Hayward wrote:Although Tom is rescued,  this stylistic requirement for children's literature wasn't introduced in time to save Peter Rabbit's father who was baked in a pie and eaten by Mr McGregor.


Difference between parents and the main character? In Disney movies, the parents often have something unfortunate happen to them.
 
Randall Twede
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I have come up with the basic plot. the main problem I ran into is that since all animals can talk to each other, carnivores seem atrocious. "please don't eat me" said the mouse to the cat. so I just skip that. the story only takes one day.

the mama cat goes out hunting but has no luck(there is a reason for that). when she gets home she finds her babies have been stolen. following the trail, not recognizing the scent of the kidnapper, she finds herself surrounded by 3 dogs. they want to kill her for sport. this big dog comes up and tells them where to go. maybe even kills one. she tells him about her babies and he sniffs the path and tells her it was Mr. weasel. he volunteers to help her. they find Mr. weasel. the dog goes in and asks what is going on? the weasel says he has kittens for dinner and offers to share. the dog introduces the mama cat who tears up the weasel. the dog says he knows a human who feeds him, so they go eat.

notice they didn't eat the dead weasel nor did the mama cat have success on her hunt.
 
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