special powers a special angel clan

[blankcanvas03]

so.....i've been trying to perfect the abilities of a clan i have made up for my manga story and i want it to be as original as possible. my story started out as a naruto fanfiction but then i learned that it's just much better to have the story as my own rather than making it like a naruto fanfiction. why not create an awesome story right? RIGHT! so i did. i'm very proud of my story but i still need to tweak some areas in it. one of the things i'm worried about is the abilities i have for my clan.

a little something about the two clans:

the ikataki clan
a prestigious clan that has been known as one of the longest living clans around. their the top ranking of the hierarchy. many believe their longevity comes from special powers they have that allows them to appear younger, some even believe the special power gives them eternal life (but it doesn't).    the ikataki clan has the ability to sprout angel like wings, black in color.

the hikari clan
distant relatives of the ikataki clan. it is said the hikari clan members all descended from the ikataki clan and it's often questioned on who is the strongest among the two. because of this unsure belief, the hikari and ikataki clan have been known to fight for the title of 'most powerful', wanting to prove that each are stronger than the other.  despite this age old battle, the two clans manage to put their differences aside and live under the same household as one united family. likewise, both clans harbor the same abilities, only their wings are white in color.

alright, now here's what i'm trying to work on:

i want the two clans to have a special ability that is different and at the same time unique. at first i had in mind of...how should i say it?....i wanted (say for instance the ikataki clan) to have the ability to control the elements of darkness while the hikari clan control the elements of light. the question is, in what shape or form should they control it? with their hands, with their minds, with hand signs (again trying to not be like naruto), with special spells they can chant and then cast? all of these were some of my first guesses but now i'm not so sure. what's your opinion?

[legomaestro]

Well it depends on how much you had already planned. From what i read it seems you just suddenly decided to turn it into an original fiction so you will need to think about it some more. Naruto defines its powers by having a deep history and setting. Develop the history and setting of your world some more and you can come up with a way to fit in the powers.

Look into chinese and japanese philosophy on the elements of the world and stuff. Those may give you some ideas. Try to look into other action manga and anime and see which ideas appeal to you more. I'm trying not to directly suggest something because that won't help in the long run: Really, you'll have to think of it yourself. I can give an example though.

Let's say i have a story set in the future and my people have a power called 'Devil Borrowing'. It's a flame type power. The history of this power is that there was an evil devil in the past who was made of a flame body and had an armoured shell with a blue fire sword.

Now, the people use the powers by concentrating on one part of this big devil. The main character let's say has the rare power to be able to create the blue fire sword, while others can grow big fire hands, shoot fireballs, grow fire horns, use a fire tail e.t.c

The best Devil Borrowers would be able to use more than one power.

Let's say later in the story there are 'Angel Borrowers' who use angel powers instead of the devil ones.

I hope this gives you an idea...

[blankcanvas03]

Well it depends on how much you had already planned. From what i read it seems you just suddenly decided to turn it into an original fiction so you will need to think about it some more. Naruto defines its powers by having a deep history and setting. Develop the history and setting of your world some more and you can come up with a way to fit in the powers.

Look into chinese and japanese philosophy on the elements of the world and stuff. Those may give you some ideas. Try to look into other action manga and anime and see which ideas appeal to you more. I'm trying not to directly suggest something because that won't help in the long run: Really, you'll have to think of it yourself. I can give an example though.

Let's say i have a story set in the future and my people have a power called 'Devil Borrowing'. It's a flame type power. The history of this power is that there was an evil devil in the past who was made of a flame body and had an armoured shell with a blue fire sword.

Now, the people use the powers by concentrating on one part of this big devil. The main character let's say has the rare power to be able to create the blue fire sword, while others can grow big fire hands, shoot fireballs, grow fire horns, use a fire tail e.t.c

The best Devil Borrowers would be able to use more than one power.

Let's say later in the story there are 'Angel Borrowers' who use angel powers instead of the devil ones.

I hope this gives you an idea...

well, sorta. the idea of wanting to make my story into an original fiction isn't recent at all. just i haven't had the chance to sit down and actually think of ideas as far as attacks go and the history of everything like you mentioned before. i think if i thought of that first, then the rest would fall into place. boy that's a lot of thinking and brainstorming!  ugh, idk, i want my story to be as original as possible. it seems as though whenever i give someone the visualization or run down of my story, they automatically think naruto. not that it's a bad thing, i just don't want anybody to say i'm copying or borrowing. yeah the story is going to be about ninjas and has ninjas in it (believe me that's not going to change), but i just don't want anybody to think it's another naruto story y'know?

[legomaestro]

Well they're many ways to protray ninja without looking naruto-like. Just recently i watched a great anime Katanagatari that had ninjas that were not so ninja like (quite colourful personalities...) and yet they were very unique, but as soon as you get to the organisational structure you'll have to make changes to keep away from naruto. You also have to have unique nin-pou that will set your ninja community apart from the others.

Brainstorming is a pain, i know, but if you get down to it piece by piece and note by note you'll build up a good story.

You don't even need to start thinking of setting first. Have you made all of your characters? Build your stories from the characters and their relations, it's the best way to go. Think of the main character, his closes friends, his mentor, his rivals, his enemies. Think of those enemies' connections.

[blawton]

Ya im sorry to tell you this, but no matter what you do someone will always compare yours to someone else's no matter how good or different it may be. Its not a bad thing and its not like you copied someone else's work you just took an element that is similar. Soo many people will say that its just like this or that, but honestly there is no way to escape that you can pretty much think of any idea and someone will compare that to something that is already out. As long as it isn't so similar in many details than its really not the same as someone else's story. As long as you stick to your own ideas(sure you can get inspiration from something) then you really can't go wrong. Only advice i could give is ignore people as long as its interesting and stuff isn't actually copied what would it matter. Originality rarely exists anymore nothing you can do about it soo many stories have been published already your story is bound to be compared to someone else's.