astrosmurf, I must admit that I have a "thing" for exchange student stories and am looking forward to reading your story. I know what you mean about the story meandering. That happens to all of us. In doing research for your story, I recommend you read Shono's Exchange Student Surprise. Here is an example of a very long, time sequence "exchange" story. One thing in particular you should note is the severe drop off in readership on these long "time sequential" stories. Another approach you might consider is to have a bunch of "standalone" stories with an introductory story that introduces the characters and scenario. This is harder to pull off, but in our modern world of "instant gratification" seems to be more in align with what folks want. My final comment has to due with story content. In exchange student stories my personal interests are in the shock students experience due to the difference in school discipline. If the story only concerns discipline at home, then to me anyhow, astrosmurf, it is just another "domestic discipline" story.
astrosmurf, hope I've given you some things to think about, Tired |