Left over Plot Idea

[shawninmon]

Somebody else mentioned that we should start a thread that has story ideas in it that we come up with but don't really intend to write, so here it is!

I'll start, although as I mentioned elsewhere, I tend to come up with settings and situations more than actual plot:

How about a story set in a world where no one believes in the afterlife? 99% of the population believes that when you die, that's it - nothingness. Of course, there would have to be a small cult or two that believed in a religion of some sort, but to the population at large, they would be nutters. I'm interested in what changes that would mean in the world. Would dangerous jobs like soldier, cop, firefighter, etc., become more rewarded and prestigious because they believe that they are truly risking the long dirt nap? As usual, I have no plot to go with this idea, just the setting.

Anyone else want to play? Maybe we could come up with rejected plots, characters, and worlds and one of us could end up with an actual story or book!

[vrabinec]

Or maybe it would end war because nobody believed that as long as they were a "believer" they went to the heaven of their choosing. They just died and got eaten by worms. Wanting to survive and live as many days as possible grew in importance on the list of life's goals. People's pettiness and dislike of each other was laid bare and the thought of the "greater good" vanished. There would be a circling of the wagons around family and friends. People live more like the old American Indian tribes, only without the medicine men.

[shawninmon]

Mar 4, 2014 15:01:20 GMT -5 vrabinec said:

Or maybe it would end war because nobody believed that as long as they were a "believer" they went to the heaven of their choosing. They just died and got eaten by worms. Wanting to survive and live as many days as possible grew in importance on the list of life's goals. People's pettiness and dislike of each other was laid bare and the thought of the "greater good" vanished. There would be a circling of the wagons around family and friends. People live more like the old American Indian tribes, only without the medicine men.

These are very much my thoughts as well. Very nice. 

It's a world in search of a plot, but you could use it as a backdrop for any kind of a story - a Romeo and Juliet romance between a normal person and a believer, a high tech thriller, etc.