Lesson 3

[CJ Lyons]

CJ’s Hero’s Mission Track:

What I learned from this assignment is that although a story has many moving parts/subplots/B stories, focusing on the hero’s mission clarifies the emotional arc as well as the action.

1. Ask the Mission Track questions to discover your Hero’s mission.

A. What is it about this Hero that will have them go straight into the face of the overwhelming odds? The Bratva executed her husband just to send her a message, but now that it’s personal, Lucy will do anything to stop them—not just for justice for her husband, not just because it’s her job, but because it’s the best way to protect her daughter from ever becoming their target.

B. What is the mission that would be an impossible goal?

A lone FBI agent, cut off from backup other than a few locals she’s enlisted to help her, they’re outgunned, outmanned, and have no idea what the Bratva’s plan is.

C. What strong internal and external motivation could drive the hero?

External: saving lives as the Bratva terrorize Mardi Gras

Internal: revenge for her husband

D. Imagine that mission playing out across a story. What could naturally happen if this hero went on this mission against this villain?

The hero has to fight on multiple fronts: gain intel so they have some idea what they’re up against and where to intervene, recruit help and resources (transpo, comms, weapons), and when they take the fight to the bad guys they’re automatically severely disadvantaged because they won’t kill civilians and indeed, will protect them, which the Bratva will use against them. The entire mission seems doomed from the start, flat out cursed as more people die because the hero can’t save everyone, and then downright suicidal by the end when the hero goes up against the Bratva alone and unarmed, fighting for her daughter’s life.

2. Use the Mission Steps to outline the mission.

Clear Mission: locate and stop the Bratva from establishing a base in the American heartland

Motivation: Lucy discovers Bratva have arrived in Pittsburgh, when she and her team try to arrest them they walk into a trap and her second-in-command is killed, Lucy goes home to find her husband murdered—a message to her to back off or her daughter is next

Inciting Incident: Lucy and her daughter get an invite to Mardi Gras from old friend

First Action: arrives in NOLA only to get caught in one of many coordinated attacks, plunging the city into chaos: the Bratva is here in NOLA

Obstacle: the Bratva attack the 911 communications center, take civilians hostage, then blow up the building—Lucy’s not able to save them all

Escalation: the Bratva kidnap Lucy’s daughter and launch a missile at the FBI building, taking out the team assembling to protect the city

Overwhelming Odds: with the French Quarter in flames and cut off from help, Lucy must find a way to stop the Bratva, destroy their missile launcher, and save her daughter

New Plan: Lucy traces Bratva’s comms, deploys her small team to rescue her daughter while she’ll take on the leader herself to distract him from the rescue, as long as her daughter is safe, she doesn’t care what happens to her

Full out Attack: Lucy kills the Bratva leader’s son, but is captured and taken on board the Bratva’s barge where the leader has the next missile aimed at the French Quarter. Lucy fights free, is able to re-aim the missile as it’s fired, a fierce battle ensues and she kills the Bratva leader, saving the city

Success: Lucy’s reunited with her unharmed daughter

[Ron Berti]

Ron’s Mission Track

A. Our hero, Cuccinelli, is an undegreed Ensign in a squadron of achievers or at least prominence- all college graduates, even college quarterbacks, some rich kids. He particularly feels like he’s got to prove himself. His lack of pretense can be a plus, but it rubs the CO the wrong way.

B. Impossible goal: the mission for the entire squadron is to take out Japanese shipping in “the slot” of the Solomon Islands (an ideal, target-rich environment for the PTs). But not a lot of success has occurred yet, for some reason. It’s a tough task, the PTs’ targets are 4X longer and 10X heavier than the PTs themselves, they’re almost as fast, and they travel in the dark. Some of the PTs (1 in 4) have radar, a new invention, but our hero’s boat doesn’t have one. The CO (a secondary “villain” for his incompetence) has decreed radio silence during missions, which puts more obstacles in the way of our hero’s achieving his goals.

C. Internally, our hero feels like he has to prove himself among a squadron of real achievers, a sort of inferiority complex. Externally, he sees an elite group within the squadron (the only guys who have had any success, really) into which he longs for an invitation. Cooch knows if he’s accepted into the group it will be based on superior performance sinking IJN vessels, probably by finagling around the self-imposed constraints of the CO.

D. Cuccinelli must innovate to make up for the poor weapon quality (torpedoes) and the stifling orders of the CO. He learns that the insiders have developed a short Morse code to alert each other as to status while out in the dark – it’s not “quite” radio silence, but it’s only moments in the middle of significant battle chaos and it appears to work.

Clear Mission:

Motivation: Cuccinelli wants to be respected for his bravery and his success at sinking Japanese destroyers because he doesn’t have the background of the other boat captains, especially the college graduates, athletes and rich kids in the squadron. He wants to be recognized as a warrior by the most successful warriors in the squadron.

Inciting incident: OPENING SCENE Cooch is the XO on the 129 when its captain is disabled by shrapnel to the eyes. He steps up, continues the attack, releases 3 torpedoes in an exhilarating battle, but one of the torpedoes is evaded by the destroyer “combing” the torpedo (changing course abruptly), a second torpedo seems to disappear without any damage to the destroyer, and the third one hits the hull of the destroyer, perpendicular to the target, and fails to detonate. The destroyer continues on its way, Cuccinelli is pissed! This is dangerous work, how can command send us out here with torpedoes that don’t work? Further, in the process of trying to give his torpedoes the best chance of destroying the target, Cooch gets in within 500 yards of the target. He ends up “hiding” right next to the destroyer, where the gunners can’t lower their guns enough to shoot. They’re so desperate they’re shooting at the 129, pretty much straight down, with small arms.

First Action: Cooch speaks up in a mission review meeting – “Why do our torpedoes suck so bad?”. Chastised by the CO and the other boat captains, Cooch feels criticized. On the next night’s outing, while out in the middle of the channel, Cooch’s radioman hears a brief burst of Morse code – XM, and a reply: XS. What does it mean? A minute later, Cooch can see, a long distance away, some artifacts of battle – tracers, noises, action! He throttles up and goes to the scene. It takes him 18 minutes and when he arrives there’s already 2 PTs attacking a destroyer in a battle royal. Clearly the PTs are getting exhausted, getting the worst of it, being the smaller, less resourced vessels. Cooch lays to north of the fight, figuring he’ll wait for the destroyer to come to him – and it does. Soon there are three PTs in a largely uncoordinated attack (no doctrine for this) shooting everything they’ve got at the destroyer. Eventually, everybody’s out of ammo and the destroyer proceeds on its way, apparently unharmed. When the PTs get back to Rendova, Cooch counts the number of torpedoes expended – 9 out of 12 fired, zero results.

Obstacle: Cooch tries to bring up the poor torpedo performance in the day brief, but Lt. Astor shoots him a look and a “no” nod, and Cooch decides not to mention it in front of the CO again. Afterwards, Astor tells Cooch “we all know the torpedoes suck but the CO insists we’re doing it wrong, it’s not the torpdoes, it’s the crews”. Sinking destroyers will require some adjustments, for example, aiming the torpedo to not hit on the perpendicular, but on a angled hit, “we’ve found that helps improve your odds, although even that’s not perfect”.

Escalation: JFK’s 109 is taken out in a massive fireball that all the other boat captains see. The next morning, Cooch tries to organize a search party for the 109’s crew, but the CO won’t allow one during daytime and it’d be useless at night. Cooch is assigned to dog duty, rescuing an Australian coast watcher from Kolombaranga. He sees it as punishment, and it is, and he does well to execute it, but there is a Japanese shore patrol that sets up an ambush and the coastwatcher is killed. Cooch’s stock with the CO takes another hit.

Overwhelming Odds: the destroyers start coming less frequently, the Tokyo Express is more of a Tokyo Local. How are the Japanese providing troops and food and ammo to their Solomon Islands holdings? They’ve converted to flat-bottom barges, heavily armored and heavily gunned up. But slow. These vessels don’t come down “the slot” at speed any more, they follow the edges of the islands and go slowly. It’s an entirely different ball of wax for the PTs because now the torpedoes are totally useless against shallow-draft barges. Also, JFK is found and brought back to Rendova.

New Plan: Remove the torpedoes from the boats to reduce weight. Use the guns on the PT (twin 50 cals in turrets, a 40mm Oerlikon cannon and a 37mm rapid fire cannon) to take out the barges. Now the PTs are fast gunboats, although still not armored, up against slow-but-armored barges.

Full Out Attack: Now the PTs sit off the coastlines in the wee hours, knowing that any barges will be coming by will be hugging the coastlines and that that presents an opportunity for attack, with the barges hard up against the coastlines, with few places to turn. The PTs still have a speed advantage so they can take advantage of multiple sweeps from various angles. Also, Cooch has now been let into the two-letter Morse code secret by the In Group, so he knows the PTs can gang up on any group of barges should that occur. Well, one night, it does. There are 4 barges in a line coming down the coastline of the islands in the dark. Cooch is the first to see them, but knowing he can’t take on 4 barges all by himself, he issues a short two-letter code to the other boats so he can bring his squadron mates to where the barges are. All hell breaks loose, gunfire and explosions abound. Oh, and somehow our hero has picked up a mortar with a dozen rounds, and the crew figures out how to use it on the barges. All four barges are sunk, all PTs come home.

Success: The four PTs come back in the wee hours, triumphant at taking out 4 barges and convinced they can do it over and over again, especially with radar getting more common. Maybe they’ve taken out an aircraft or two as well? On the way home, the 129 encounters an Avenger in trouble with a Zero on its tail, both aircraft are downed, 129 picks up the rear gunner on the Avenger, then the Japanese pilot, encounter, Japanese interchange, pilot left floating in water minus his inflatable boat.

Cuccinelli is accepted into the inner circle of boat captains, but the CO remains. A bittersweet ending.

What I learned about doing this assignment: the hero’s mission is the “foundation” of the entire movie. the “bones” of the story, that which propels action. It can be adjusted massively to conform to the conventions and “beats” of action movies, and is best accomplished at an outline level because if it hangs together there, it can be fleshed out with more color and detail, and the “architecture” of the story will remain.

[Pamela Rice]

Pam’s Hero’s Mission Track

What I learned: It takes a lot of idea-generating to keep the story constantly-moving and exciting.

A. What is it about this Hero that will have them go straight into the face of the overwhelming odds? Hero is a veteran and highly-skilled hit man.

B. What is the mission that would be an impossible goal? Hero must outrun and outsmart a team of younger hitmen while saving the surgeon’s wife

C. What strong internal and external motivation could drive the hero?
Internal: He has feelings for the intended target.
External: He knows he (and the surgeon’s wife) now have targets on their back.

D. Imagine that mission playing out across a story. What could naturally happen if this hero went on this mission against this villain? An escape on foot with surgeon’s wife, then in a car. Being tailed and then fighting with first assassin(s). Threats/Phone calls with Villain. Going back into the city to expose Villain. More fights with assassin(s). Villain has scheme of own to get Hero arrested. Villain finds out wife’s hiding place, and is en route. Hero escapes from jail just in time to save her.

Clear Mission: To save the Plastic Surgeon’s wife, who he was hired to kill.
Motivation: He falls for her while doing reconnaissance.
Inciting Incident: When he’s supposed to do the hit, he can’t go through with it.
First Action: For her safety, he kidnaps her — only a matter of time before Villain learns that Hero did not perform the hit.
Obstacle: She doesn’t want to go with him. Doesn’t believe and/or trust him. Puts up a fight.
Escape: Hero and Surgeon’s Wife hurriedly leave her home They are tailed.
Escalation: An encounter with an assassin at restaurant on the road. Hero kills assassin.
Escape: They continue on the run to a remote location.
Hideout: Once safely-established in rural location, Surgeon’s Wife begins to trust Hero.
Overwhelming Odds: Villain send more assassins out to track them down.
New Plan: Hero plots how to take down and expose the Surgeon’s shady surgical practice (he works for the mob, changing identities of wanted criminals).
Twist: Villain has been working on a plot of his own to take the Hero down. He uses Hero’s face on one of his thug patients, who shoots a cop.
Discovery: Hero sees his face on news. Law enforcement is on the hunt for him.
Apparent defeat: Hero defends himself, but ultimately apprehended by a SWAT team.
Search: Villain finds out where his wife is hiding
Twist: Hero breaks out of jail.
Success: Hero gets there just in time to save her and kill Villain.

[Deb Johnson]

Deb’s Hero’s Mission Track

What I learned doing this assignment. I got hung up on the “impossible mission” because everything I brainstormed had already been done. Though, I haven’t seen too much with drones and train derailment is pretty common – this is what I’m sitting with right now. This is a perfect opportunity for me to “Keep the Question Open.” Which I will happily do.

BASIC MISSION STEPS

Clear Mission: To leave his foreign agency and stop a terrorist attack he was meant to initiate.

Motivation: He has secretly hidden his wife and newborn son (unwittingly) in the very location of the attack zone.

Inciting Incident: He receives a mission to assemble a team and carry out a terrorist attack.

First Action: He “goes dark” setting off a storm in his agency to bring him back.

Obstacle: He decides to hide in plain sight by taking over for an action hero on a movie set (He’s his doppelganger). To do so, he incapacitates the actor. (Causes him some sort of injury that will lay him up for six weeks or so).

Escalation: The actor is complicit until he is not anymore – returns to the set – and demands the Hero step aside. Meanwhile, the Hero’s associates suspect his location and go after him.

Overwhelming Odds: He films an action sequence – of his real escape from his enemy. They capture the actor instead and secure him back to their HQ. Meanwhile, Hero works to dismantle the terrorist attack.

New Plan: He can’t dismantle the drone – so he goes directly to the train – to protect it.

Full-out Attack: He manages to shoot down the drone and save the town. Kills his boss and fakes his own death.

Success: He saves the actor and brings him back to the movie set. The actor admits he’s not even the real actor and asks if Hero wants to take his place. He does. The Hero returns home to his family with a new career.

[ray Moore]

Ray’s Hero Mission Track

What I learned doing this assignment: I learned how to understand each character’s mission ahd how they overlap

Clear Mission: Close the alien portal and stop the Hit Squad from killing bounty hunters

Motivation: internal: loss of father and mentor external: protect the portal device

Inciting Incident: The Hero’s mentor is killed

First Action: Villain kidnaps his wife and son

Obstacle: Alien inhabits the villain

Escalation: Other bounty hunters are killed

Overwhelming Odds: Law Enforcement Agencies being attacked

New Plan: Blow up the Police HQ

Full out Attack: Alien army fights the enhanced humans

Success: The enhanced humans overpower the alien army

[Courtney Hill]

Courtney’s Mission Track

What I learned during this assignment is to just brainstorm. I am way late on this assignment because I think I have to write the perfect answers. It’s not going to happen in my head, and I need to write it out. While reading the examples, I realized how much ACTION moved the story forward. Most of the plot points were action drive versus a conversation. People want to see more action, less talking.

A. The betrayal of her husband’s willingness to have her killed for his own gain. She wants revenge and she is literally fighting to live.

B. She has to get through his experienced gang members to get to him.

C. Internal Motivation: She gave her heart and should to the marriage, and his willingness to kill her is the catalyst of her spite and anger. External Motivation: She will die if she doesn’t kill.

D. She would have to find her husband. Study the gang and their patterns. Learn skills that will help her defeat them. Find Allies that are willing to help her. Fighting a lot of gang people. Running from the police. She might not be able to go through with it when she is actually face to face with her husband.

Clear Mission: To save her life and get revenge on her husband by killing him and destroying his gang.

Motivation for Mission: Michelle lives an ideal life with her husband. She also teaches self- defense due to a past incident.

1. Inciting Incident. She finishes teaching a night class when she is attacked. She fends the attacker off and finds out that he was hired to kill her.

3. First Action: She goes to the police station to make a report, and they aren’t taking her seriously. Her mission is to find out who the guy was and why he did it.

4. Escalation: She goes home to find her husband yelling at the man for not succeeding. An altercation occurs and she barely escapes.

5. Overwhelming Odds: Michelle is saved by a policeman from the station. Together they fight off the gang members that were trying to kill her. Turns out he is a “good” dirty cop and several others are against her husband. They warn her there is more to come.

6. TWIST: She finds out why her husband was going to have her killed. She has family in her husband’s gang and they wanted her to take over.

7. Apparent Defeat: Michelle and her new friends are set up by a her husband’s gang when they try to recruit.

8.Apparent Success: Michelle and her friends end up kidnapping one of the members.

9. Twist: The guy that is kidnapped turns out to be her cousin and is willing to help her take the gang over.

10. The final assault of Michelle’s gang vs her husbands.

11. Success: Michelle gets her husband’s gang to turn on him and lets them kill him.

[karl gromelski]

Hero’s Mission Track

A. What is it about this Hero that will have them go straight into the face of the overwhelming odds?

1. he’s a fighter – never backs down from a fight.

2. his back is against the wall – he’s forced to fight or flight. If he doesn’t fight, he’ll be on the run the rest of his life and always in danger.

B. What is the mission that would be an impossible goal?

go against the full resources of the US government and their allies.

C. What strong internal and external motivation could drive the hero?

1. Internal: the need for justice. the need to clear his name. the need to be right.

2. external: law enforcement closing in on him – freezing assets, tarnishing name, manhunt and media propaganda.

D. Imagine that mission playing out across a story. What could naturally happen if this hero went on this mission against this villain?

Hero fails – put in jail where they throw away the key.

Hero runs – lives life looking over his shoulder – has to change name & identity

Hero uses his cyber security knowledge to uncover those out to get him.

MISSION TRACK

Clear Mission: Hero must figure out who set him up and why.

Motivation: Hero gets revenge for uncle’s suicide by creating a scam revealing YT channel.
Inciting Incident: Hero exposes a scam center who more sophisticated than most. They close down. Hero’s personal life upended.

First Action: Life endangered. Hero’s bank frozen. Social media channel blocked. Hero flees and avoids contact with “knowns” Hero goes to turn self in. AnonGirl prevents.

Obstacle: FBI & DHS pursue. Camera/ “eyes” everywhere. Media puts his photo everywhere. He’s a wanted man.

Twist: Hero & AG hack Fed data base to see what they’ve got on Hero. They pretend they’re an outside cyberagency to get low-down on Hero – it reads like bogus.

Apparent defeat: They find liason to Indian call center – dead.

Apparent Success: Liason tied to large corp that’s heavy into politics. They break into company get records – but busted. Hero gets away.

Overwhelming Odds: AG caught – sent to secret detainment. Accused of Hero’s crimes.

Twist: Worm activated – old scam center is operational again – but at new location in India. And more sophisticated.

New Plan: Hero tags Crypto currency. follows the money. discovers PAC behind the money scamming. Hero implicates self with scam center to make them target of investigation.

Full out Attack: Hero uses PAC autobots to jam scam call center. Forces PAC to stretch themselves – make mistakes – and CoS to show self (use power to reduce enforcement policing)

Success: Hero gets AG out, record expunged. Media report on crooked PAC money. CoS resigns and abuse of power revealed.