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/lit/ - Literature

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873556 No.873556 [Reply] [Original]

I have an idea for a short story, and I'd like to know what you think, /lit/.

>University professor becomes fed up with students disrespecting him, the way the education system allows the stupidest students to graduate, and how few people understand science and critical thought.
>*Somehow* (haven't gotten to that part yet) decides it's best to wipe out the human race all together.
>Creates some kind of WMD using materials he steals from the university labratories.
>One of his graduate students gradually catches on to what the professor is doing and tries to stop him.

>> No.873568

>world destruction plot
>short story

lolwat

>> No.873589

>University professor becomes fed up with students disrespecting him, the way the education system allows the stupidest students to graduate, and how few people understand science and critical thought.

I appreciate that he has to be a scientist so he can make the WMD, but there's a pretty implicit "Science is the sole bastion of intelligence and critical thinking" premise in there that's pretty iffy.

>> No.873596

>>873589

OP here.

That's what he thinks... that's not what I think.

>> No.873603

>>873568
there's nothing wrong with that. you haven't read enough short stories, i guess.

>> No.873612

>>873556
This sounds like it would work better as a Novella.

>> No.873642

I don't get what you're asking of us?

The premise itself doesn't matter too much but what you do with it does

>> No.873723

>>873603
No, I'm pretty sure it would be terrible if you tried to make it work in less than 25,000 words.

First, you need to characterize this professor well enough so that something as ridiculous as him wanting to destroy the world is seen as reasonable and not lolrandum. You need to characterize the students so that they don't come across as cardboard "lazy slob" props that only serve to validate your main character's ideology. You need to research if the materials necessary for wiping out the human race would even be able to be obtained or manufactured by a single upper-middle class individual in a well-off country, and convince the reader as well that this could actually happen. All this, plus you can't let it turn into a Scooby-Doo plot with "uh oh, let's stop the bad guys!" being the only motivation of the grad student.

I'm not convinced anyone could do this, and I'm even less convinced people would want to read it.

I wouldn't go so far as the "destroying the world" plot. That's the main issue I have with this. The teacher vs. student struggle is an interesting archetype to work with, but wanting to wipe out the human race just seems like the motivations of a juvenile self-diagnosed sociopath and not of a college professor. I had a bio teacher who I was sure, if his character was pushed a bit father, would attempt to somehow sabotage a wind farm. This is much more in the realm of believability. He also read a lot of Ed Abbey's work, which I think might help you in writing this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Abbey