Day 8 Assignments

[Andre]

Andre Writes Great Hope/Fear!

What I learned doing this assignment is…

Hope and Fear are opposite emotions. Main difference being Emotional Engagement. Going back and forth between the two is superb way to give audience an emotional roller-coaster ride.

Hope: The feeling that events will turn out for the best. That feeling could be caused by a new plan, resource, solution, success, etc.

Fear: A distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, or confrontation, whether real or imagined. That feeling could be caused by attack, loss, being out of control, trapped, etc.

[Dalisia Coppersmith]

Subject: Dalisia Writes Great Hope/Fear!

What I learned from this assignment was that mining for all the places where we can ramp up the Hope and Fear really takes the reader for a loop! It’s so easy to forget that we’re not just plodding along, getting the story out there to set up a few big moments. Every scene can have big (emotional) moments! I was able to find 5-6 Hope/Fear moments per act very easily!

[Connie Hood]

What I learned is that critical events are not enough. The situations need to engage the audience in a character’s decision making – her hopes, her fears.

I actually posted my take on this on the Lesson 7 page.

[Mary Spiers]

Mary Writes Great Hope/Fear

I learned that hopes and fears really add to the story line. However I listened to Hal’s audio after I did this. I think I will go back and make another “creative pass” and see how I can make this more engaging.

Act 1:

Opening/Inciting: When Rachel’s car breaks down after getting away from pursuers, Ashley is the only one around to help<div>

Alone and Panic: Rachel’s car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. She’s on the phone to someone and phone charge is low. She’s nearly panicked about what to do.

Hope: Ashley shows up and offers to help.

Afraid: They can’t fix the car and Rachel is nervous about leaving it in plain sight.

Hope: Rachel is relieved when Ashley offers to tow it to her place and let Rachel stay for the night.

Incompatible Environment and threat: City girl Rachel realizes Ashley lives off grid and sees Ashley’s gun. She is worried about what she’s getting into.

Rachel discovers Ashley blends natural scents and is intrigued. Ashley recognizes her hero Rachel from TV.

Hope: Rachel discovers Ashley distills essential oils that could be used in the perfume industry. Ashley recognizes Rachel from TV and says how much she admires her super smell detection ability.

Anxiety: Rachel sees a challenge to her claims of a super smell ability

Turning Point: Rachel is desperate for a place to stay and tells Ashley she’s lost her sense of smell through Covid. She hints she needs a place to stay until she recovers. Ashley is happy to oblige.

Hope: Rachel is ready to call for car assistance

Loss of resources: Rachel realizes she had no cash (garage takes cash only), her phone is so low she has to turn it off and her car needs major engine repairs.

Hope: Ashley is sympathetic when Rachel tells her she’s lost her sense of smell through Covid. Trapped: A major incident knocks out the power grid. Ashley has her own power. Ashley says there’s nothing around and insists Rachel stay with her while they figure things out. She also says she has a method to help her recover her sense of smell.

Act 2:

Reaction: High society Rachel is a fish out of water in an off-the-grid lifestyleNew plan: Rachel will try to contact her confidant from work to get her out of there.</div><div>

Hope: Rachel will call or text her confidant to get her out of there.

Lost resource: Cell service isn’t working.

First plans in action: Rachel tries to steal Ashley’s perfuming secrets

Hope: Rachel is intrigued by Ashley’s knowledge of plants and distilling. She secretly smells some blends. They’re wonderful. She’s going to learn more.

Trigger/ opposing approaches: Rachel tries to impress Ashley with science while Ashley says she blends intuitively. Doesn’t write down her recipes.

Hope: Ashley makes a wonderful meal for them.

Danger of being found out: Rachel can taste the food and Ashley calls her on it – she does seem to have a sense of smell to enjoy the food.

Hope: Rachel redirects and asks Ashley to show her some of her distilling/blending techniques and to let her smell some things to test her recovering sense of smell. Ashley does have Rachel smell some different scents.

Mind games: Ashley tricks Rachel with the scent game…Rachel’s smell acuity is very inconsistent.

Hope: Rachel recovers her balance and tries to butter up Ashley regarding her knowledge and makes a suggestion that Rachel could help her if she shares more.

Midpoint Turning Point: stealing perfumery secrets through the methods she has used in the past is not working.Act 2 TP/Midpoint: Rachel realizes Ashley is intuitive and smart. The methods Rachel is using to steal her perfume secrets are not working.

Act 3:

Rethink everything-after stealing by her usual means doesn’t work, Rachel decides to work with Ashley to learn her methods.</div><div>

New plan: Rachel learns natural blending methods as her sense of smell “recovers”.

Danger of not livable: Ashley is injured and Rachel has to take over some of the critical aspects of off-grid living and blending perfumes.

Hope: Rachel learns quickly and gains admiration of AshleyThe people who are out to expose Rachel as a thief close in

Hope: Rachel is in the middle of nowhere, her pursuers won’t find her hideaway

Fear: She discovers they’ve found where she is through her phone and they’re closing in

Hope: Ashley will help protect her…has a gun

More going wrong: Rachel tests positive for Covid and actually loses her sense of smell.

Turning Point: Huge failure / Major shift: Ashley discovers Rachel is a fraud as a “nose” and as a business partner. Rachel was all about stealing her secrets.

Hope: Ashley tries to protect RachelF

ound out: Ashley and the whole world finds out Rachel is a perfume thief.

Hope: Rachel thinks at least she has her job: after all everyone does reverse engineering of perfume.

Loss of resources: Rachel hears she has lost her job and high profile life.

Act 4:

Final plan: Rachel has no way out except to admit the truth about herselfHope: Rachel tries to cover up as bad guys close in.</div>

Worst fear: Rachel has to admit she’s a fraud. She never had a super sense of smell and has stolen perfume recipes.

Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict: Rachel starts to tell the truth but now Ashley doesn’t believe her. Rachel has to prove she is genuine

Hope: Rachel tries to negotiate with Ashley

Rejection: Ashley is livid that she’s been taken advantage of and she plans to kick Rachel out.

Hope: Ashley does protect Rachel as bad guys close in.

Resolution: Rachel decides to leave her high profile job and start a new more authentic life for herself.

[Michele Le Blanc]

M.M. Writes Great Hope/Fear

What I learned in this assignment is to alternate between hope and fear, to modulate the emotions of the audience/reader up, down, up, down and create a stronger emotional journey.

In Act 1, Jill’s hope of getting engaged changes to the fear of the murder of her father, then the hope of an elopement and hearing noises in her office the fear is that that the murderer is out to get her, too.

In Act 2, Jill and her fiancé reconnect with hope, and she hopes she will be able to help investigate her father’s death, but fear arises when her fiancé becomes angry and refuses to allow her to investigate but she hopes she can do so surreptitiously.

In Act 3, Jill’s hope level of finding the killer is strong as she works through an outside consultant secretly, but the threat that her fiancé can find out makes her fearful

In Act 4, Jill’s hope is that she can forget her ex fiancé who killed her father, and he is killed in the cemetery saying his last goodbye before making a run for it. The end gives hope and a satisfying resolution to all the players involved.

[Erin Ziccarelli]

Lesson 8: Infinite Possibilities

What I learned from doing this assignment is: categories to represent hope and fear for the protagonist. The hope and fear questions will help create an emotional roller coaster for the characters and keep the audience engaged.

2. Using the list of Infinite Possibilities above, brainstorm 5 or more Hope/Fear moments that can occur in each Act.

Environment:

Trapped / Prisoner: Claire is
trapped in her lighthouse. Prisoner to her mindset.
Claustrophobic: Wants out of the
lighthouse but can’t go.
Dangerous: Storm, Gabe, structurally
unsound lighthouse.
Restricting: Claire’s monetary
problems
Not livable: Lighthouse is broken down,
leaking. Claire’s grief is unbearable.
Hiding out: Claire hiding from life.
Afraid to go out.

Incompatibility:

Forced to deal with each other: Gabe
stumbles into her life. Can’t leave because of the storm. Captain Marris
is forced to accept her help.
Opposing needs/desires: Claire wants
Gabe out. Gabe wants to stay, wants to help her. Captain Marris needs her
help. Claire wants nothing to do with either of them.
Mind games: Gabe’s mind games on
Claire. Trying to trap her into admitting the truth about her husband.
Psychological issues: Claire’s
grief. Anxiety, depression, seeing things, overactive imagination, being
depressed.
Triggering each other: Claire’s
wound/guilt gets triggered over and over.

Unpredictability:

Not sure who or what the real threat
is: what is Gabe’s threat to her?
Person on the edge! Claire on edge
as Gabe is in her home, dealing with the Captain, the storm, and the
banker.
Could attack at any moment: Gabe is
dangerous. She doesn’t know if he’ll harm her.
Out of control situation: the storm,
the ship, her emotions, her imagination.

Isolation:

Psychological Issues: Claire’s
grief. Anxiety, depression, seeing things, overactive imagination, being
depressed.
Loss of a companion: Her husband’s
untimely death.
Left Alone: Alone in the lighthouse,
isolated for nearly a year.
Helpless: Financially struggling,
unable to cope with her hardships.

Increasing tension:

Ticking clock: Clock in the radio
room, alarm set every half hour to ensure the light stays lit.
Impending doom: Gabe discovering her
secret. Gabe finding out that she knows.
What’s the worst that could happen?
The light goes out. The ship sinks. Gabe harms her. Never being able to
set foot outside the house. Losing her lighthouse.
What is this character afraid of?
Repeating her same mistake. The ship sinking. Gabe’s presence. Going
broke. Losing the last memory of her husband.
How many things could go wrong?
Many, many things.

Danger:

Threat: Captain Marris’ threats.
Gabe’s threats, requiring her to stay silent.
Attack: The storm attacking the
lighthouse.
Injury: Gabe’s injuries (on the
outside), Claire’s injuries (on the inside).
Destruction: Destruction of her
lighthouse. Destruction of the ship.
Death: Her husband’s death. Gabe’s
potential death.

3. Sequence those Hope/Fear moments to fit the emotional journey you want your audience to have.