Cut off from home, likely forever

[korora]

Basically, a brother and sister are drawn through a one-way portal into a magical realm. They have no way of getting back, and it is only a few months since their gangster brother was killed fighting the police.

I'm not sure how to pull this off.

Eudyptula albosignata

[Jeff Gerke]

Sounds like the magical realm might be a land of their own grieving....

Jeff

[mongoose]

Myself, I'd come up with some kind of conflict into which they'd be inexorably drawn by steps. How would they respond? Are they like their brother, gangsters? Were they trying to get out of the lifestyle as a result of his death, or even before that?

Depending on what their general attitude toward life was, I'd just put myself in their shoes and ask myself how I would respond to their given situation (in the magical realm, faced with a conflict) I suspect they'd respond the same way in the magical realm as they would on the streets back home, whether it be fight or flight, mental, emotional, physical, spiritual and/or relational.

Then, there always has to be growth, or so I'm told. So maybe they go from retreating into themselves and not caring about the world, to finding something in the magical realm to care about. Or maybe they want to contribute, and be a hero, but were beaten down too much, and they find the opportunity they've been seeking, but it requires a whole new definition of courage. Or maybe they were the leader back home, and find that they have to humble themselves in the magical realm. It all depends on their personality when the story begins, vs. their personality as you want it to be when the story ends. There's the question: Are Hero's Made by their circumstances, or are they born, and then discovered as a result of their circumstances?

But that's way character driven, I now realize. Maybe you'll want to write something plot driven, in which case I hope someone else will advise you, because that's not my forte.

[Divides the Waters]

Bridge to Da Hood?

Actually, all kidding aside, this could be an interesting concept; a sort of Pan's Labyrinth meets Bridge to Terebithia on the streets. Why no way back? How does the grief over the lost gangster brother tie into the plot?

Something occurs to me: Is this a "generic" magical world, or one based in a specific ethnic mythology? It would be interesting if ethnicity and culture played into it, and the fantasy world was one that resonated with their specific idiom.

For example (being mostly Irish, this appeals to me):

I heard the cry of the bean sidhe the night my brother was gunned down.

You could do this with any number of fairy stories across the globe, obviously. The common theme is generally one of being taken from a world of trouble into another world (and this can be either nightmarish or dreamlike, depending on the type of story). You may not have an evil stepmother, but you do have a life of crime.

As a contemporary fairy tale, it could work. Study fairy tales intensely, and I think you'll have your answer.

[torainfor]

Pan's Labyrinth, Bridge to Terebithia--and Mirrormask. If for not other reason, I like the idea of it being more real than metaphor.

[mongoose]

I'm into psychological thrillers, where everything turns out to be in the person's head, but I've seen enough of those recently to be skeptical when going into another one. Will they do a good job with it?

One with a twist I really appreciated (reverse psychological thriller? Anti-psychological thriller?) was "Flight Plan" starring Jodi Foster. It got bad reviews, and I'm sure y'all could nit-pick it to death, but they did some very cool things with the plot and the premise. I won't give it away. *grins*

[Jeff Gerke]

I actually really liked Flight Plan.

[knightofhyn]

One easy way to force them into the conflict would be to show a family struck by violence.

They may be corny sometimes, but the whole idea of showing a family holding someone they've lost as they grieve can light a fire in some hearts.

Just an idea.

[Divides the Waters]

Have you ever read Randy Alcorn's DOMINION?