Help me with my story plot

[Misty Avich]

Okay, I want to write a story about a pregnant woman stranded on a tiny island in the middle of a tropical sea, and she gives birth there and brings her child up, all the while trying to make a boat and figure out a way to get off the island. I've worked that bit out, but what I'm struggling with is how a pregnant woman would end up marooned on an isolated island in the first place. Could we do some brainstorming?

Thanks.

 

[AGXStarseed]

How far into the pregnancy is she?
You can still get on planes up to a certain point if you're pregnant; maybe have her on a plane and it later crash due to engine trouble or some other issue, with her been one of the survivors.
If a plane crash is too dramatic (or due to it been a bit too similar to the film Cast Away), maybe have her on a cruise and the cruise liner sinks for one reason or another?

 

[Forest Cat]

Maybe she was on a cruise ship and fell off it? That happens surprisingly often.

 

[Gerontius]

Skilled scuba diver off the reefs, not such a skilled support team on the boat (leaving her behind.)

A crew of a husband-and-wife live aboard sailboat which went down off the coast in a bad storm, with her husband lost in the wreck. (If the boat itself is in shallow water some supplies may get washed ashore. Even sacks of flour count as supplies, though the outer layer of flour will be sodden in seawater and go hard like a crust it will protect the inner core. My granddad used to pick up flotsam from sinking Liberty ships during WWII off the islands, because he was very poor and needed to survive. Bags of flour were always a well liked commodity.)

A 36' sailboat is going to be stocked with quite a few things of potential value, especially a modern Fiberglas boat with diesel engines. Diesel floats. A spare fuel supply could easily be washed ashore but it wouldn't last for long. Sails however can be used for other things. If an accurate clock could be salvaged (quartz or a high grade waterproof wristwatch) that allows for celestial navigation if she has good charts and whatnot. She could be off that island sooner than it would seem, kid and all.

 

[kriss72]

She was with her husband on their sailing boat, they were on the journey of their life (honeymoon?). One dark night a storm hit, next morning she woke up, alone on the beach... Alternative something with pirates?

Edit: sorry, can see @Gerontius came up with the sailboat idea first. I'll stick with the pirates idea

 

[DrBadStrings]

She could have been some solo navigator trying to set a cross atlantic sailing record and got caught up in a storm that shunted her off to one of the more remote lesser known islands in around the tropics.

 

[Misty Avich]

Pirates sound like a good one. Could pirates kidnap someone then leave them stranded? If so, that could work.

She'd have to be captured while on vacation somewhere near the Mediterranean sea, as she will be originated from the UK, just for simplicity sake lol. All my fictional characters are British.

 

[kriss72]

I'll stick with the pirates idea

Like she is/was a pirate captain and there was a mutiny on her ship, the sailors left her to rot on the deserted island...

 

[kriss72]

Pirates sound like a good one. Could pirates kidnap someone then leave them stranded? If so, that could work.

kidnapping would work too - so she is put there while they try to get money from her family to set her free - so they leave her with some food so she can survive initially

 

[Misty Avich]

kidnapping would work too - so she is put there while they try to get money from her family to set her free - so they leave her with some food so she can survive initially

Yes, although she and the child would survive on fruit and coconuts and other natural tropical food on the island. She obviously breastfeeds her child when she's a baby (the child will be a girl). They'd make fires to cook fish and other creatures that get washed up.

 

[kriss72]

Yes, although she and the child would survive on fruit and coconuts and other natural tropical food on the island. She obviously breastfeeds her child when she's a baby (the child will be a girl). They'd make fires to cook fish and other creatures that get washed up.

Maybe she was traveling as a guest on the pirate ship and did something the pirates didn't like, so they took her stuff and abandoned her without anything on the island.... depending on the humor or seriousness of the story the reason could be more or less absurd

 

[Neonatal RRT]

I am thinking it could start out as a sailing adventure with a husband and wife. She is only a month or so pregnant at the beginning of the trip, and didn't know she was pregnant until they were well on their way (she probably wouldn't have left if she was significantly pregnant). Both with good sailing and survival skills (part of the character development). Let's say they are sailing around the world and will take several months with known stops along the way for supplies (a well-planned trip). Family and friends expecting them to be gone for a long while. A storm kicks up suddenly, the husband is struggling with the sails in the wind, rain, and huge waves, gets knocked overboard. She is left alone on the damaged sailboat, devastated that her husband is gone, and eventually makes it to an island.