When we think of outlines, we often think one of two things:
1) boring, linear Roman Numeraled points we want to make for an essay in school or
2) a brutal formula we are forced to shoe horn our brilliant creativity into to meet some external standard or narrative.
In today’s blog, I’m going to say pheh to that. We’re going to have fun putting together our outline and we’re going to do it fast.
Once you have something to edit, you can work toward or away from a standard narrative to your heart’s content, but you need to have those words on paper first. From your log line, you should have a general sense of what you’re looking at, where you’re going. If not, take five minutes right now and come up with the ending.
In my piece, I see the end being something different than the usual superhero goes mono a mono with the bad guy (villain). I don’t know exactly how my super folks get to where they are going just at this moment, but I do know that I want to say something about being part of something as being better than being super all alone (see my premise from the previous post).
Now I’m going to use that premise to brainstorm my ending… my premise was: A community of ordinary folks working together is stronger than “special” people working alone.
From that I know there has to be something that happens where my character has to make a choice between going it alone or working with others — the show down between special individuals and regular folks working together. If my character goes it alone, I’m writing a tragedy or in this case a dark comedy. How do I know? Because my premise tells me that those who go it alone have (negative) consequences. They aren’t as strong as those who work together. I think about tone, I think about meaning. I go with something along the lines of my character choosing not to go it alone. A happy ending with respect to my premise.
GREAT! Somewhere in the story, my character chooses to not go it alone and works with others to beat some bad situation. Hm. Not a lot to go on, but more than you’d think.
1. I have a premise, the “argument” of my story.
2. I have the arc, because I have an ending. I know where I have to begin because of where I’m headed, that is, where I will end the story. (More on this later in this post.)
3. I have a game that I just found out some person who used to work at Pixar uses, but which I found through improvisation… more on this later.
Didja hear what I just said? I have a game. Which makes me think about a book I’m reading right now on developing games. It talks about “fun” and what makes a game fun. According to the book, there are something crazy, like 50,000 things that make a game fun. As I was looking through the book I started to think hey, wait a minute, these things, the things that make a game worth playing look suspiciously like the things that make a book worth reading! Being a Hero — someone who sacrifices themselves or their desires in some way for the good of others. Being a Villain — someone who is not constrained by the expectations of society. Being part of a team — connecting with characters who struggle together to make something in their world better. All of these attributes are also what make your writing fun. So let’s get to the fun game.
For those who have taken my class, you’ve seen this exercise before. I learned it in an improv class and apparently someone from Pixar said they use it there. Here’s the form, and then I’ll tell you how to play.
Once upon a time there was ____________________________.
Everyday, this ________________ liked to _____________________.
Then, one day __________________________.
Because of that _________________________.
And because of that _____________________.
And then ______________________________.
And because of that ______________________.
Until finally, ____________________________.
That’s the form. Here are the rules:
1. Look at your log line, and any brainstorming you’ve done, and get as clear as you can about your ending. In my case, I have something vague about my characters working together to beat some kind of big bad villain. Let me rough that idea out even further.
I know I need her to have to choose between being one of the team or going it alone. So whatever gets her here has to be high stakes. I have to go to the core of who she is. Let’s say an asteroid is heading toward Earth. She’s the only one who can fly up and intercept it. Hmm, is an asteroid the best idea for the climax? It’s kind of unthinking and isn’t really pushing her in a new direction. Plus, if it does hit, how much can you really organize around it? Different bad guy.
She’s part of a community that has the last standing… screw it. The last standing McGuffin. In this case, I don’t know yet what it is, but it doesn’t really matter — so I’ll use the McGuffin to hold a place. It’s valuable. Everybody wants it and if our community doesn’t have it, they’ll lose their community. A big corporation will come in and raze their houses and tear up the Earth. Maybe the McGuffin is some kind of mineral rights — like in the Muppet movie. Maybe the McGuffin is an endangered tree that is culturally representative of the community. A rainbow tree say. This tree only bears fruit once every one hundred years, and if the corporation can stop the fruit from falling, they effectively kill the tree and get the land. Somehow.
That’s kind of interesting. I’ll keep working the specifics. But each time I fill in an answer, I back up a little bit and ask questions. Okay, who would best challenge her to become more community minded? Is her nemesis someone who is Gandhi? Or more like Tony Robbins? In this case, I’m going to say (and no offense to Tony Robbins here, this is all really just about ideas), that the best villain for this situation is one who espouses individual responsibility, individual gain. Great. I have a pretty good villain, broad strokes, here, but still, beginnings. Then I have a pretty good situation. The last of something natural that represents the community from which my main character grew.
In a nutshell, what I’m doing is working that ending. I want it to matter. I need it to matter, so the choices at the end ultimately give the reader meaning. I am doing something very genre-y for this story, but you can still see in something completely realistic and more “literary” that the quiet death of the soul only moves us because the choices our character makes to get there matter.
2. Create your arc: determine the farthest distance from that ending that you can. There’s your beginning — your Once Upon a Time.
Some of this came to me while working on my ending. And it should for you, too. It shouldn’t be too hard to see the opposite of your ending. And at this stage, don’t worry about subtlty. Be big and obvious and bold. My character is probably at some kind of personal growth, “I’m rich because I focus positively on money” workshop, even though that’s not where she is in her life. She thinks by focusing on herself, and her wants, she’ll get what she needs. She’s a super hero who loves the adoration. She’s not ready for someone else to take up the lime light. She can eat it all up herself.
3. Brainstorm as quickly as you can the the rest of the blanks. I’m going to do it now, in about ten minutes:
Once upon a time there was ___a bored housewife ____. Everyday, this ____housewife_____ liked to ___study at personal development seminars___. Then, one day ____she discovered she has super powers____.
Because of that __she starts speaking up when people short change her at the market_________.
And because of that _____people start responding to her more positively, which she enjoys_______.
And then ___news of the rainbow tree’s fruiting spreads through town__________.
And because of that _she starts to feel jealous_____________________.
And because of that, she goes to her mentor, the expensive personal development guru, who tells her to pull the weeds when the garden is over grown.
She takes that to mean that she should kill the rainbow tree.
Because of that, she goes to the rainbow tree, but her friends are preparing it and celebrating it and inviting her to tend to the tree, as it become most vulnerable at this time.
Because of that, she feigns helping, but is confused.
Because of that she goes back to her mentor, who pushes her harder to take out the tree.
Because of that, she become wary of her mentor.
Because of that, she goes to him and tells him she’s not going to kill the tree.
Because of that, he airs an edited version of their conversation, where she now says that even her community thinks the tree should be cut down.
Because of that, the community turns against her. The larger town believes what they saw on TV and now view the tree as threat to their town.
Because of that, the judge grants the guru’s company the right to cut down the tree.
Because of that, a team of tree experts come to kill the tree.
Because of that, she uses her special powers to stop the chopping down of the rainbow tree.
Because of that, the town now really fears the community around the tree and the main character as well. They begin an active attack on their neighborhood.
Because of that, she defends the neighborhood, turning over police cars, being generally violent.
Because of that, the mayor sends in riot squads.
Because of that, the community comes to her and says don’t defend us. You suck at it.
Because of that, she returns to being her mousy housefrau self and feels very down.
Because of that, she doesn’t engage in the actions that have started, the passive resistance protests.
Because of that, she’s not there when her best friend gets hurt and arrested.
Because of that, she goes back to the mentor, to ask him to stop.
Because of that, she learns the difference between being special for yourself and being special for others and walking the line between them.
Because of that, she discovers a weakness in the guru and comes up with a plan.
Because of that, she goes back to her community leaders and explains how she can help, asking if they want it.
Because of that, they come up with a strategy that uses both her personal power and the skill of the community.
Until finally, ___the villain is run out of town and the main character is recognized for her contribution, getting what she wants sort of, because she also recognizes that her contribution is one of many that made the difference, and she has learned to be grateful for that, too.
Okay, that was about 15 minutes, not ten. But I can go back and do this again tomorrow. And the day after. The point is, I used as many “because of that’s” as I needed to get to the end of my story and it’s a rough draft. I’ve got something down that was fun to do and at the same time, something I can edit. Did I hit the heart of my story? No. There’s something missing. A character I can feel who just showed up at the end — maybe you noticed her. That best friend that gets hurt and arrested. Alright. I’ll do this again — not today, I don’t have an extra 15 minutes, but I will tomorrow, and when I do it, I’ll toss that friend in earlier. Maybe I’ll try to make tomorrow’s outline take 13 minutes. Push for a personal best on the time.
The point is, play. Have fun. Fill in the gaps. Review and discover more.
Your assignment:
1. Using your premise and logline, get clear on your arc:
A) Hone your ending. Play with it a little.Try bits on. Don’t be perfect, just get something out there.
B) Define your character’s beginning. What is the farthest that character can be from the ending?
2. Play the “because of that” game until you get to your ending.
3. Review your outline. What do stands out to you? Where do you have questions? WALK AWAY.
4. Tomorrow, do the “because of that” game again, this time for time.
5. Repeat.
What to put in the comments section? Post your “because of that” outline. Or, if you haven’t settled that, post your ending, beginning. Whatever you have. The point is to get it out there and let it breathe in the light of day. Or, if you need a little walking through it, drop a line with your questions. This, again, is fast and fun.
I showed you mine, let’s see yours.
Once upon a time, there was a mom, and every day she gathered up all of her love and strength and courage and started over. She set out down the same worn path, stepping in the same familiar footsteps that she had trod the day before and the day before that.
And because of that, each day she found herself struggling to get by the same roadblocks. She found herself beset by the same gremlins: anger, guilt and fear. She found herself stuck in the same arguments with her children.
Then, one day, she found a map, but it was an odd map. It didn’t show her where to go; it showed her where she was.
And because of that, she looked down at her own feet instead of into the distance.
And because of that, she saw what had been right there in front of her all the time.
And because of that, she was able to see that there were other paths to take.
And then she took one step onto a different path.
And because of that, when she looked at the same familiar landscape, it was with a wholly different perspective, and she saw that there were all sorts of possibilities.
And because of that, she tried another step.
And then she got stuck,
And because of that, she checked her map to get her bearings, to figure out where she was
And because of that, she was able to see the lay of the land around her, and she was able to take another step.
And because of that, she learned to trust the map.
And because of that, she took more steps
And because of that, she got used to movement, so when she hit roadblocks, she checked the map, got her bearings, and set out again.
And because of that, she didn’t have to start over every morning, but could pick up where she had left off.
ANd because of that, she no longer felt stuck.
Until finally, she realized that the map had shown her how to begin. It had uncovered her own inner compass. Her way was clear.
Once upon a time there was a pair of twins, a boy and girl named Hamnet & Judeth.
Everyday, the twins like to make up and act out plays with their father and friends.
Then, one day their father left to live in London to act and write plays.
Because of that their mother and older sister made them do more and harder chores, especially Judeth because Hamnet was in school.
And because of that they couldn’t play with their friends as much and they missed their father terribly. And then one day Father came back with his acting troupe because of the dreadful plague.
Because of that they decided to run away back to London with him.
And then, they were caught and punished severely.
Because of that their father secreted them tea and biscuits.
And then he went away again.
Because of that their mother scolded and hit them even more.
And then Hamnet drowned and died after a severe fever (not the plague).
And because of that Judeth felt lonely, afraid, ugly, and was forced to work even harder.
Until finally, her father sent her a secret letter from London thanking her and Hamnet for helping him to write two of his most brilliant plays, “Hamlet,” and “Midsummer’s Night’s Dream.”
Lea- great to see you here.
Loved your outline. It was light-hearted and enjoyable to read just as is. My main note is to go back through this and get a little more clear on what she needs to change earlier. Use the opportunity in the character description to think about this character (I know it’s not exactly a character, but you might have an avatar you are using when you think of the person for whom your are writing this book, or an aspect of yourself that this work reflects) and what the most specific challenge. It’s implied there, but excavating it to make it more clear might be helpful. What do I mean? Well, let’s say that in non-fiction what we’re doing is selling a solution to a problem. In real life we often think that the problem is outside of ourselves, but in reality it is actually within (as you describe in this piece). In a story, our main character doesn’t feel any different than we do, but as the author, getting clear about why she kept doing the same thing over and over to begin with will make the new choices more resonant for the reader. Why does this character do the same thing over and over before the story (book) starts? Is she afraid of taking her own path? Is she afraid of asking for help? Is she too proud to admit she doesn’t know the answers? I hope this makes sense, in the context of your project. Another way of looking at it – Another book assumes that parents are afraid to discipline their children – afraid not to be liked by them. That book works, then, from character flaw that many parents these days are too selfish – they want their kids to like them more than they want their children to grow up in to productive, self-reliant individuals. I’m not saying that’s your approach, but consider what is the underlying flaw or wound that needs to be repaired?
Judith – This is such a fun and wonderful concept! It’s really engaging. I love the historic details about the plague and England at the time.
For me, I’d suggest you consider rewriting it as Judeth’s story. She lives longer than Hamnet and has the “resolution) part of the story as well.
In that rewrite, consider, like I mentioned to Lea, figuring out what she needs to change in herself and then how this story pushes her to do it. What do I mean? for example, She and her twin brother love their father – but he does some crappy stuff to the mom, yet in this story, the mom is sort of a monster. Why? Is she really or is this something Judeth needs to deal with to grow up in the face of her brother’s death? The because of that right after his death should reflect her reaction more – what does she choose to do that she wouldn’t have considered before because of this excruciating loss? Her father sends a nice note, but what does SHE do? The answers to all of the questions come from the answer to what does she need to learn? This seems to be a coming of age story. What is the value and what does she gain from contributing to her father’s plays?
I hope that makes sense. In most cases, we’re always looking at what makes the character tick to find the answers for the climax.
Let me know if that makes sense…
Makes total sense. I am going to whip off an answer, try to sidestep the over-thinking (which didn’t plague me while I wrote the book, but now, trying to sum it up— holy cannoli. I can never just be normal.) OK, so.
What is the most specific challenge? Why does she do the same thing over and over? Why is she stuck?
Because she is always thinking about/living in/responding related to what she wishes, but not to reality, to what IS.
She wants her kids to listen to her, but the reality is that she will have to get up and act. She wants her child to do well in school, and maybe he will, but right now he can’t spell his way out of a paper bag, and he needs some help. She wants to believe that by giving her kids choices, they will be free– and will appreciate her on top of that– and she is baffled and frustrated when this doesn’t happen. Yes, she wants her child to like her, but the reality is that her child needs to trust her. She wants to enjoy a nice family meal at a restaurant, but today, at least, her tween is rolling her eyes and treating her like she hasn’t the brains to find the front door, and it is time to go home.
And when the reality doesn’t match her desire, she assumes that there is something wrong: with her kids, with the world or with herself. She is bombarded with anger, disappointment, fear and guilt.
What she needs is ho hum: acceptance of what is, a willingness to attend to it, and an understanding of what the situation calls for.
This is for the frame story:
Once upon a time there was Cassidy, a 56 year-old angry daughter as well as a content 56 year-old mother who saw her mother, Nancy, as infrequently as possible.
Every chance she got Nancy found a reason to argue.
And because of that, Cassidy liked to keep her mother, Nancy, at arms’ distance.
And because of that the two became more and more estranged.
Then, one day Nancy apologized to Cassidy for her neglect.
Because of that Cassidy was thankful as well as vindicated in this proof of her mother’s strength.
And because of that she told her mother as much of the full depth of her anger as she could that day.
And because of that they parted both angry and talking with each other and they planned another “limited” coffee shop date in two weeks.
And then Nancy did not show up for the date because earlier in the week she’d been admitted as a “Jane Doe” to the emergency room at NYU Tisch and on the day of the date was being taken care of in the critical care unit.
And because of that Cassidy found out she and her mother could not talk in the same old way, that her mother was fragile and very sick and mortal.
And because of that Cassidy agreed when the palliative care team came to tell her that taking her mother off life support when the time came was the right decision to make.
Until finally, Cassidy was singing to her mother when she died, leaving mountains of things unaddressed.
Once upon a time, there was a misguided 56-year-old woman named Cassidy who believed she had problems with her mother because her mother was controlling, as evidenced by Nancy’s belief that she would stay youthful forever, would never be so sick she couldn’t treat herself and Nancy’s refusal to accept responsibility for the neglect, hurt and abuse Cassidy suffered during childhood. Cassidy liked to think she could make her mother see the light, and would either be relaxed and expect the best possible conversation ever when they met, or cautious, expecting her mother start a fight which she usually did.
Then, one day, at a “limited, no politics” date at a coffee shop, Nancy said two things: she complained that she had pains and the doctor who’d operated on her years before had done a terrible job and that doctors were idiots and that she was going to die. Because of that, Cassidy felt it was useless to tell her mother to go to a doctor.
The other thing that Nancy did was apologize: “I’m sorry I never came home.”
Because of that Cassidy was thankful as well as feeling vindicated in this proof of her mother’s underlying strength and told her mother so.
And because of that, her mother went on to talk about serious problems she was having with her brother, Bob.
And because of that, Cassidy realized she had much more to tell her mother about how she’d felt as a child and she told her mother as much of the full depth of her anger as she could that day.
And because of that they parted both angry and planning another “limited” coffee shop date in two weeks, on Saturday.
Because of that, on Wednesday, Cassidy e-mailed her mother to confirm the date and her mother did not reply.
Because of that, Cassidy tried again and again her mother did not reply.
Because of that, Cassidy tried again and again her mother did not reply.
Because of that, on the appointed Saturday, Cassidy went to her mother’s doorman building to see if she was there, and got no answer when she rang the doorbell.
Because of that, she went to the doorman and asked if they had seen her. The doorman said no.
Because of that, Cassidy got the super of the building to enter the apartment (something he was not supposed to do) and Nancy was not there.
Because of that, Nancy called the police, ignoring the doorman’s suggestion that she try the hospitals.
Because of that, the police told Cassidy that an ambulance had taken an old woman from the building on Thursday night, something a handyman from the building confirmed.
Because of that, Cassidy started calling the three closest hospitals and found her mother on the third try, in NYU Tish in the critical care unit where the staff reported she was doing well.
Because of that, Cassidy went to the hospital and walked in to find her mother strong enough to say lots of nasty things to Cassidy.
And because of that, Cassidy eventually threatened to leave and because of that, the nurses prevailed upon Nancy to stop and then looked after her.
And because of that, a nurse told Cassidy, her mother was worse and that Cassidy should not come close to her mother.
And because of that Cassidy talked to the doctor who told her, “You’re the one she’s comfortable with.”
And then her mother got better.
And because of that, Cassidy was more careful to treat her mother like the fragile person she had become.
Because of that, she believed the doctors when they told her that her mother might survive surgery but that without surgery, Nancy would surely suffocate to death.
Because of that, Cassidy agreed to surgery and Nancy underwent surgery.
Because of that, Nancy did better for a couple of days.
And then Nancy started declining and kept declining.
And because of that Cassidy agreed to allow the palliative care team to take her off life support while making her comfortable with pain medication.
And because of that, she was singing to her mother when the palliative care team arrived to turn everything but the monitor off.
And then her mother kept on breathing for a long time, over an hour.
And because of that, Cassidy kept singing to her mother until she died.
And because of that, Cassidy had plenty of time to look at Nancy, and felt there was a secret, a question she wished she could ask her mother.
And because of that, Cassidy started writing about the end of her mother’s life and kept writing.
Until, finally, she realized that from before the beginning of her hospital stay, her mother had not left any instructions for Cassidy to contact her should there ever be an emergency, no contact information at all.