Things are really exciting at Creo Somnium right now because I had a new story idea, and I’m also working on it in a different way than I have in the past. I’m doing more planning than I used to do, when I would just sit down and write and end of with a splintered story.
The theme or moral of the story is to trust your instincts – your brain and intuition.
The broad story is about group think: how an idea unfolds and becomes and captures people, and how to get out of it.
The storyline will be as follows:
Conflict: My protagonist’s brother is gone but she’s not sure why. Is he hurt? Was it voluntary? She wants to find out about it. She finally gets old enough to start looking.
Rising action: When she enters the work force, she takes a job in groupthink, since she can get a job anywhere and she enjoys working on projects. She thinks she’ll be moving around a lot looking for bro.
(groupthink is a public/private partnership that is contracted to make decisions or design things, both for private and public consumption.) She works in a building with several teams. Her team includes her, another guy who is a jerk, and then remotely connected people. There’s another group in the building that has more people in the building. She is envious and wants to be on that group – it seems like they do good things. She doesn’t like the jerk, but is okay working with him. It could be worse.
Climax: She realized her teammates are robots, which means she and the jerk are the only independently thinking people on her team, which means she can push their decisions in ways she wants them to go. She also engages the other team to help her find her brother. One of the people on the team she feels weird about, though she doesn’t know why. Also, the rest of the group thinks they’re alright, so she goes along with it.
Falling action: She and the other team find her brother, but they don’t tell her or they mislead her (or something). The jerk on her group finds out about the other team misleading her, and tells her. Helps her get out of it.
Resolution: She finds her brother on another team. His group mind told him not to go home. She is able to get to him in a way similar to how the jerk got to her. Once she gets her brother, they both leave groupthink altogether.
The end.
That’s the broad outline. Do any of you have any feedback or thoughts? Does this sound like a story you have read already? That’s probably my biggest concern. While I will stand on the shoulders of giants, as we all do, I don’t want to plagiarize.
I Didn't Just Wake Up This Morning With A Craving 
Sounds original! Have you checked out James Scott Bell’s Plot & Structure book? It has a lot of great tips and delves into the use of acts and doorways of no return. Best!