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Lesson 5
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Madeleine’s Character Journeys!
What did you learn doing this assignment?
Creating a character journey for everybody and interweaving the different journeys gives more plot and strengthens the story. Because every turning point needs an event, I discovered some essential missing beats that make the story better.
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Adite’s Character Journeys
What I learned: Working out the broad strokes of the characters’ journey makes it easier to figure out how the plot and characters’ actions will intersect to form a compelling storyline.
Here’s the basic journey for my Protagonist:
Forest Officer’s Wife
Beginning: She and her baby have just joined her husband at the remote location where he’s posted on a new work assignment. Discovers that their house is located on sacred land and according to local people whoever lives there, dies. Can’t leave the place as the husband is called away on urgent work and the incessant rain doesn’t help as she is virtually marooned.
Midpoint: A series of bizarre incidents happen making it obvious that there is a supernatural force at work.
Turning point 2: A Poacher is on the prowl. The Husband arrives at the house to rescue her but is shot at by the poacher who wants to kill him.
Dilemma: Can they escape before the Killer strikes again or will the supernatural force get to them first?
3rd Act Climax: A gun fight takes place, the husband is grievously injured and is bleeding out, the natural and supernatural elements overwhelm her but she finds the courage to go on or else her baby will die.
Ending: She survives the ordeal, kills the Poacher, the Curse of the Goddess is broken and her Husband survives.-
This reply was modified 2 years, 4 months ago by Adite Banerjie.
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This reply was modified 2 years, 4 months ago by
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Dawn’s Character Journeys
What I learned… I don’t have everything worked out but this gave me a good start and also made me think about both main characters and where they are and how they’re reacting and taking action. It helps to actually map it out for smaller characters too, and makes it easier to remember that everyone can have a journey, even if it’s just three beats.
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SU CONTAINED
Lesson 5
Griff’s Character Journey!
What I learned doing this assignment: Character is plot!
Rami: A talented tech engineer from Afghanistan, educated in London, so he has an international aspect on living in the United States.
Beginning: Rami moves in next door to Kim and Jo. He tends to keep to himself.
Turning Point: Rami soon realizes that his neighbors are suspicious of him.
Midpoint: Rami catches Kim and Byron in the act of spying on him.
Turning Point 2: Jo has taken an interest in Rami
Dilemma: Rami’s interest in Jo has led him to want to help her leave Kim.
3rd Act Climax: All-out war between Rami, Kim, and Byron.
Ending: Rami’s house burns to the ground and he and Jo are presumed to have died in the fire.
Kim: A bright but ultimately lazy American with vague notions of patriotism. He prefers to game the unemployment and disability system rather than work a job.
Beginning: Kim stays at home playing video games and watching porn.
Turning Point: Rami moves in next door. Kim is suspicious: Why the security system?
Midpoint: Kim lets Byron fuel his paranoia and they are caught breaking in to Rami’s house.
Turning Point 2: Jo has taken an interest in Rami.
Dilemma: Kim is afraid that Jo will leave him for Rami.
3rd Act Climax: The situation blows out of control as Kim tries to prevent Jo from leaving, blaming Rami for the whole thing.
Ending: Byron rigs the house to blow up, but it ignites with Kim, Jo, and Rami inside.
Jo: The Homecoming Queen who never grew up. A promising marriage with Kim devolved into her participation in Kim’s schemes and conspiracy theories.
Beginning: Jo has lost interest in pretty much everything. She has learned to work the disability system from Kim.
Turning Point: Rami moves in next door. Jo is intrigued.
Midpoint: Fueled by Kim and Byron’s racism and paranoia, Jo participates in spying on Rami.
Turning Point 2: Jo begins to find Rami far more interesting than Kim.
Dilemma: To leave Kim for Rami or…?
3rd Act Climax: The battle of the next-door neighbors escalates.
Ending: Byron blows up Rami’s house with Jo, Kim, and Rami inside.
Byron: A wannabe cop who couldn’t hack the police academy and has focused instead on “security” fueled by a feverish imagination.
Beginning: Byron offers his casual take on new neighbor Rami, and it isn’t good.
Turning Point: Byron convinces Kim that Rami is “up to something” and they hatch a plan to break into the house.
Midpoint: Rami’s security system catches them in the act (Duh!)
Turning Point 2: Byron doesn’t know what to make of Jo’s visits to Rami’s house.
Dilemma: Rat out Jo to Kim?
3rd Act Climax: Byron has convinced Kim that the situation needs to be “dealt with.”
Ending: Byron’s paranoid plan puts Kim in the hospital with serious burns and Jo and Rami are presumed dead in the fire.
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Lesson 5 – Cindi’s Character Journeys!
What I learned doing this assignment: turning points cause the character to experience change and raises the stakes.
For each of your main characters, create a 3-Act Structure of their journey.
1. NURSE
Beginning: Her first day on the job, working alone on the overnight shift at a run down psych hospital at the edge of a desolate town. It’s strange, there’s no one around. Outside there is a storm brewing.
Turning Point: The storm gets worse, the power goes out. She walks through the corridors and tries the door handles, they are all locked. She is locked inside the building. The backup generator comes on but the lights are dim. She turns to get back to the nurses station and bumps into the psycho janitor.
Midpoint: She has a difficult time trying to communicate with the psycho janitor because he is paranoid and has explosive anger outbursts. She needs to get his keys to unlock the doors and escape from the building.
Turning Point 2: She sits at the nurses station trying to look busy but watches as the psycho janitor keeps an eye on her. She is struggling to open a wrapped up/ taped up box of supplies. The psycho janitor approaches her, flicks open a switchblade knife slashes and stabs at the box to open the box.
Dilemma: She needs to get the janitor’s keys. Should she figure out a way to drug him? Or should she bribe him?
3rd Act Climax: The storm made something in the building/maybe electrical wires, short out and burn. This sends noxious fumes coming through the vents. She desperately needs to escape from the building. The psycho janitor tries to persuade her to follow him through the building because he knows a secret way to get out.
Ending: Reluctantly, she goes with the psycho janitor, but first she secretly makes a call to the police/authorities describing her situation. The phone reception is bad and she doesn’t know for sure if her call went through.
2. PSYCHO JANITOR
Beginning: The janitor makes himself a sandwich in his makeshift living quarters in the psych hospital storage room. Then he takes his ring of keys and his electronic security badge and goes into the hallway to start his janitor duties on the overnight shift.
Turning Point: He thinks he’s alone in this wing of the hospital, but he runs into the nurse. He doesn’t like or trust nurses because they ‘hurt’ him with needles.
Midpoint: He uses his knife to fix something near the nurses station. He likes the quiet atmosphere of the hospital at night but the nurse keeps talking to him/asking questions. That annoys him, he can’t control his anger and rages at her to be quiet.
Turning Point 2: The noxious fumes come through the vents. (Maybe he somehow caused this)
Dilemma: They both need to get out due to the fumes. He doesn’t want the nosey nurse asking too many questions, but he can get them both out of the building. He doesn’t trust her.
3rd Act Climax: ???
Ending: The hospital director shows up. Maybe psycho janitor has a shady deal with him.
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