I have an idea for a story, but i've hit a snag as I'm not sure where to go with it.
Inspired by multiple tales of witches transforming men who have wronged them, (real or perceived), this tale begins with a man somehow upsetting a witch or her coven. They decide that since he's so offensive he will be made into something that makes the world 'a better place' and transforms him into a flower. As with other transformees, they quickly forget about him, and the flower wilts as winter sets in. However with spring, the witches notice a massive plant has taken over their herb garden, with ten foot long leaves and a massive bulb at the top. It opens up on the first day of may and reveals an alraune inside: a plant girl.
She is VERY angry at being transformed (understandably) and chases the witches away with pollen and vines (acting on instinct rather than actively choosing her powers, she's not entirely aware of what she is as of yet).
But this is where I hit my problem...I'm not really sure where to go from here. I know I want one witch to serve as a kind of antagonist who wants to just destroy the creature, while the other witches are hesitant: since shapeshifting someone is one thing but murdering them outright is quite another...and it's hard to find any justification since their original punishment is still intact: the man was turned into a flower. The fact that it's a sentient flower doesn't change that it's still a flower.
I'm also going back and forth on whether or not I want the new alraune to be able to speak english or if they would speak some kind of chirping/singing language that humans can't easily translate.
I do want our victim/heroine to have genuinely done something wrong; I don't want to cop out and pretend that he is innocent. But whether or not that is deserving of such a harsh punishment is a different matter entirely.
So if i can get any ideas at all, any input, suggestions or any ideas where to take this, characters or anything really: please respond!
Warning: I'm a bit drunk
But at least I'm at my most blunt.
I'm on record as feeling that magic can feel cheap if not used correctly within a story. To that effect I believe magic must exist to some extent as metaphor for some relatable human condition and if possible as the source of conflict rather than the source of resolution. In this instance it seems to create enough conflict to be interesting. Was he cursed for being male? He is no longer male, does this cause a change in how any of the witches react? Is this hypocrisy? Do the witches feel that a physical manifestation of femininity means nothing as long as he identifies as male? What was the significance of transforming him into a plant and how much of that still matters to them now that he/she expresses sentience once more? Did he possess sentience while not being able to express it? Did his self-perception change while he/she changed?
I'm sorry for answering with a number of questions but if I was writing this story these are the questions I would want to answer before I began writing. It seems you'll have to establish a set of principles held by the coven regarding sentience before writing. Also consider how the experience might change the man and whether you want a redemption arc. There are punishments worse than death if you feel he should continue to be punished after his transformation.
And the most important question to answer (in my opinion): What is the relevance of the gender change? The fact that many plants are hermaphroditic might throw a wrench into the story if it isn't addressed. On the other hand it might be a chance to explore what it means to be a hermaphrodite beyond ambiguous genitalia.
Good luck with your story and as always it is your story and your choices matter the most!
Ideas and Questions
So as I understand it, a man wronged one of the witches, but was subject to disproportionate retribution? He, she, it is now a giant flower? Probably best to use she. She wants revenge or her own reputation, and the witches view her as a danger? She is stuck where she grew, correct?
Probably most people wouldn't recognize that the flower was sentient, unless she could communicate with them. Can she shape vines into words like, "Hello"? If it can't communicate with people, a person would probably just chop it down with no more consideration than a tree.
How about friends and relatives of the changed person? Do they ever get a clue that he is now the flower?
Is the flower the viewpoint character? The protagonist? (Not always the same.) What did she experience during the winter? Is it possible that the man is now dead, and the flower is a new creature with the man's memories and thoughts? Is the flower now living a very boring life? Unable to read, work, play, play on computers, watch videos, and the like?
-- Daphne Xu