Lesson 2

[Madeleind Gentinetta]

Subject line: Madeleine’s Great Hook!

What did you learn doing this assignment? It was an excellent exercise to double-check all my components and rethink the elements. I discovered that there were elements that could be improved, and that was very helpful.

A. How did this process work for you?

I already know which story I want to work with. It was a perfect exercise to double-check all the components and ensure they deliver on the various elements. I was able to elevate some aspects.

[Griffith Lambert]

Contained Lesson 2 – High Concept

Griff Lambert’s Great Hook

How did this process work for you? It was easy to generate ideas when there was no pressure to decide. After going through the process one idea stood out.

1. Taking your 5 ideas from the Pre-Lesson, use the techniques below to brainstorm possible major hooks.

IDEA #1

A. Intriguing Contained Setting: Maximum security federal
prison (Attica, NY)
B. Unique Device: The Opera Club w.ants to put in a
live performance.
C. Unique Monster/Villain: Rival Capo who wants to use
the performance as a cover for a jailbreak
D. Mystery: Who is the inmate on Death Row with the haunting
voice?
E. Impossible goal/Unsolvable problem: Escape from max
security prison.
F. Unique layers: The stratification and volatility of
the inmate population.

IDEA #2

A. Intriguing Contained Setting: Two suburban ranch
houses, backyards, street.
B. Unique Device: New homeowner moves in and the lowlife
neighbors are suspicious he’s “up to” something.
C. Unique Monster/Villain: Security guard bro-in-law eggs
them on.
D. Mystery: What’s the quiet neighbor really up to? Is
he “too quiet”?
E. Impossible goal/Unsolvable problem: Get inside his
house.
F. Unique layers: Wife is hot, lures the neighbor with
promise of sex.

IDEA #3

A. Intriguing Contained Setting: Bowling alley in a
small town.
B. Unique Device: Cash was stashed in the ceiling after
a bank robbery, ten years ago.
C. Unique Monster/Villain: The thief is back to recover
the money.
D. Mystery: What’s become of the stashed money?
E. Impossible goal/Unsolvable problem: How to find out
what became of the money without raising suspicion.
F. Unique layers: Crook falls in love with the bowling
alley owner.

IDEA #4

A. Intriguing Contained Setting: A lonely roadside
diner, close to closing time.
B. Unique Device: Pompous professor holds court and
doesn’t want to go home.
C. Unique Monster/Villain: Lone biker who is a PTSD-suffering
Vet.
D. Mystery: What triggers the biker to take everyone
hostage at gunpoint?
E. Impossible goal/Unsolvable problem: How to de-fuse
the situation without loss of life.
F. Unique layers: Professor’s young acolytes try to
defend him and themselves from the menacing biker.

IDEA #5

A. Intriguing Contained Setting:4-story Paris hotel
(residential building.)
B. Unique Device: Sylvie seems like a harmless,
eccentric cat lady who just wants to be left alone.
C. Unique Monster/Villain:The Finder – he’s a bounty
hunter specializing in missing secret agents.
D. Mystery: Why is The Finder after Sylvie?
E. Impossible goal/Unsolvable problem: How to get out
alive.
F. Unique layers: All the residents of the hotel are ex-operatives
hiding out from discovery.

2. Ask the High Concept Question.

Having to do with __IDEA #2_________, what haven’t we
seen before?

3. Pick one and do the Exchanging Components process.

<div>
List the components of your current concept.
Brainstorm many alternatives for each component.
Pick the most interesting and engaging.
</div><div>

</div><div>

HOOK: Nosey neighbors decide their reclusive new neighbor is up to something. Their paranoia shatters all their lives.

</div>

IDEA #2

A. Intriguing Contained Setting: Two suburban ranch
houses, backyards, street.

(Could be adjoining apartments or condos
Could also be a trailer or mobile home park with few
surrounding neighbors. )

B. Unique Device: The standoff-ish new homeowner keeps
to himself and the nosey lowlife neighbors are suspicious he’s “up to”
something.

(Maybe the new neighbor works nearby and is gone during the
day OR the new neighbor works at home and never leaves the
house.
The neighbor keeps getting deliveries, some in large
boxes.)

C. Unique Monster/Villain: Security guard bro-in-law eggs
them on.
(
The nosey couple doesn’t work, their racket is scamming
the disability and unemployment systems.
The nosey couple are paranoid they will be found out. )

D. Mystery: What’s the quiet neighbor really up to? Is
he “too quiet”?

Neighbor seems to work late at night, but on what?
Electronic communications can be heard late at night.

E. Impossible goal/Unsolvable problem: Get inside his
house.
( The neighbor catches the couple breaking in, and police get
involved. The neighbor has a security system and cameras installed.

F. Unique layers: The wife is hot, and lures the neighbor with
a promise of sex.

(Neighbor uses this ruse to plant cameras in the couple’s
house.)

</div>

• This reply was modified 2 years, 3 months ago by  Griffith Lambert.

[Leslie M]

Leslie McGriff – Lesson Two

I learned how to challenge myself and move out of the way I usually think and approach my scripts and stories. These are new ways of starting and developing an idea and it puts more tool in the tool box.

6. Answer the question “A. How did this process work for you?

It was great as it opened me up to a multitude of possibilities.

It wasn’t easy and I like that it was and is challenging as I’m still working on it.

[Dawn Johnston]

Dawn’s great hook

The process worked really well to pick apart my ideas and expose weaknesses. I particularly liked the exchanging components one but used them all to hammer at my concepts. They all tackle brainstorming in a different way, and forced me to see my concepts from multiple angles. From that, one or two are emerging as more intriguing to me and I’ll continue to work on them over the next few days.

[Adite Banerjie]

Adite’s Great Hook!
This lesson has been quite challenging and I’m still brainstorming the hooks for my ideas. Doesn’t help that I have come down with ‘flu! 🙄 But these are great exercises and I shall come back to them after working on the next lesson (right characters) to see if that generates more interesting hooks. After all, a great hook and right characters are interlinked.

[Cindi LeRoy]

LESSON 2 – ASSIGNMENT

Subject line: Cindi’s Great Hook!

Answer the question: How did this process work for you? It worked well. Interesting how ideas can spin off into new ideas if you keep an open mind. What did you learn doing this assignment? I followed the advice to assume you will find the solution now or at some point. I had an idea and overnight I let my mind mull it over. In the morning my idea was crystal clear. So my solution came quicker than I realized it would.