Lesson 5 Assignments

[Gayle Jackson]

Gayle Jackson Character Journey

What I learned from this assignment… the character journey enhances the plot. By focusing on one character journey at a time I came up with lovely plot lines that will dovetail seamlessly with the themes and emotional arc of the overall story.

RICK – Beginning: Wants to resurrect his fame and fortune as a pre-eminent ghost hunter

Turning Point: Gets an offer to do a reality show as a couple with his wife, but his wife wants a divorce

Midpoint: He realizes his own house is haunted and he needs to rescue Sam who the ghosts have locked in a room with an evil djinn that he released for a P.R. moment.

Turning Point 2: Rick uses their agent to translate a text that releases Sam

Dilemma: But the djinn takes the agent in replace of Sam as a hostage

3rd Act Climax: The ghosts join forces with Rick and Sam to create an opening in the spirit world that allows the djinn to go into the light and brings Caroline’s lost love to guide her as well.

Ending: Rick realizes his love for Sam overshadows all other material goals. He and Sam reunite to write the sequel to their book and are having a baby.

—

SAM Beginning: Happy with her marriage and the work they do and is now ready to start a family.

Turning Point: Rick blatantly goes back on a promise to consider having a child and she decides to get a divorce to move forward alone.

Midpoint: The ghosts in their house have locked her in a room and are trying to force her to reconsider getting a divorce.

Turning Point 2: Rick risks his life to rescue Samantha but accidentally releases an evil entity.

Dilemma: Their literary agent is taken by the djinn and they have to unite to save her and themselves.

3rd Act Climax: Samantha gives Rick the key that opens the light to the next world allowing the djinn to pass out of this world.

Ending: Samantha realizes she needs Rick as much as he needs her and they reunite.

—

CAROLINE Beginning: A happy ghost living in an old home being fixed up by Rick and Sam – happily waiting for Sam to get pregnant.

Turning Point: The human couple decides to not only divorce, but plan to sell the house and maybe even sell to a contractor who will tear the house down.

Midpoint: She makes a deal with Rick that will make him look like a hero and rescue Sam but the plan backfires when it accidentally releases the djinn.

Turning Point 2: The djinn is evil and plans to kill them all.

Dilemma: The djinn releases Sam but takes another human as hostage – inhabits her body and plans to burn the place down and send them all to the dark limbo

3rd Act Climax: They follow Sam’s lead and open the gate to let the light in.

Ending: The heaven stream brings in Caroline’s lost love who escorts her spirit into the light for a happy ending.

[Beth Bonness]

Subject line: Beth Bonness’ Character Journeys!

What I learned doing this assignment is…taking it one step at a time, capturing the first thing that comes to your mind, and knowing you don’t have to answer all the questions perfectly and can change them later, takes the pressure off.

Psychic H (Harriet English version, love and everyting)

Beginning: where does the character start — nightmares started again with powerful psychic father learning about her location

TP #1: three couples are stranded because of power outtage, H realizes she wants new thoughts & has this captive group of people — she’s hopeful after being threatened because of nightmares

Midpoint: twist: Jungian psychologist suspectives H’s motives — or someone learns she’s not blind

TP #2: somehow father gets closer to knowing where & psychologist wants to help

Dilemma: not taking new thoughts & her father finds her vs taking thoughts and depriving people she’s come to respect of memories

3^rd Act Climax: duke-out of stealing thoughts & drink-spiking:

-Alzheimer’s couple losing memories of their relationship to save herself – same age as her father; more effective in protecting her & doesn’t want to do it

End: people become new friends & they want to help protect her from her father. Final duke-out?

Transgeder Man (Maxim)

Beginning: romantic get away — just chill w/financée

TP #1: gets a call from mother & fiancée overhears Maxim pretending to be woman he was & on a girlfriends weekend getaway

Midpoint: Maxim acknowledges not letting his parents know of transition

TP #2: wants to elope & not tell parents

Dilemma: come out of closet & be disowned by family vs fiancée calling off bercause she wants a big wedding

3^rd Act Climax: transgender woman answers phone cal of future mother-in-law & introduces herself as the fiancée — mom thinks trans Maxim is a lesbian

End: transgender couple elopes; it’s more important to be together w/new friends who support them

Transgender Woman (Lola)

Beginning: on a relaxed romantic weekend to plan a big wedding

TP #1: gets call from bookie about debts & commits to secretly use wedding savings

Midpoint: Lola hears Max tell of parents not knowing & berated for lying while she is lying

TP #2: Lola wants a big wedding; he hasn’t told his parents, she’s using their weddingfund

Dilemma: Lola wants a big wedding but she’s using the wedding fund & bookie will hurt her if she doesn’t pay up

3^rd Act Climax: future mother-in-law thinks Max is a lesbian; Lola pretends to be pretransition guy – so not a lesbian joke wedding invites them to come

End: Lola & Maxim elopes; it’s more important to be together w/new friends who support them

Biracial Black Sister (Wanda)

Beginning: in town for parent’s funeral (how did they die? Car accident or COVID?). Wanda worries what her sister wil think if she finds out their parents were polyamorous. Loves her parents despite racist white father.

TP #1: sister invited by poly friends of parents for a poly family get together to grieve; thinks her sister is naive & tries to coverup

Midpoint: sister already knows parents were polyu; over cocktails psychic spikes her drink with Wanda’s thoughts, but lies to her sister saying she doesn’t approve either

TP #2: hoped to convince parents to not share poly since sister #2 would be devastated; but they died first

Dilemma: tell sister she approves & lose her sister after already losing her parents vs continue to lie to her sister

3^rd Act Climax: fight over forgiveness vs acceptance when Wanda doesn’t believe in God; why use Christian logic?

End: both sisters know about parents and accept they disagree, but don’t want to lose each other — or not a happy ending where they leave knowing they’ll never see each other again

Biracial White Sister (Caroline)

Beginning: at funeral for parents; she’s very homo/trans/alternative lifstyle-phobic

TP #1: unknowingly accepts invitation from parent’s poly friends to their place, but can’t get to because of storm

Midpoint: admits she knows hoping if she ignored it, the situation would go away if she prayed hard enough

TP #2: hoped to convince Wanda it’s wrong & have her on her side to intervene

Dilemma: Christian value of honoring your parents (5^th commandment) vs honoring her poly parents

3^rd Act Climax: fight over forgiveness vs acceptance; feels guilty for car accident after a fight w/them

End: both sisters know about parents and accept they disagree, but don’t want to lose each other — or not a happy ending where they leave knowing they’ll never see each other again

Alzheimer’s Husband (Charles/Howard?)

Beginning: on a romantic getaway; hides his forgetfulness from his wife

TP #1: forgets something important like their anniv date; wife is suspicious (mixed up w/ his anniv w/ his 1^st wife)

Midpoint: slips his son’s name or bday & current wife didn’t know — she’s afraid he’ll leave

TP #2: fforgets his wife’s name; she thinks he wants to go back to his 1^st wife

Dilemma: be honest & lose wife because he never told her about his 1^st wife & son or lie & lose his wife because he doesn’t share his Alzheimer’s condition

3^rd Act Climax: wife finds email/text from 1^st wife/son

End: he comes clean about 1^st wife and son & Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer’s Wife (Genevieve)

<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Beginning<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>: looking forwad to romantic weekend but stresses over husband’s being suspicous about her Alzheimer’s

TP #1: forgets where she worked for 30 years in conversation w/new people

Midpoint: uses gaming strategy (memory aid of crafting outrageous story to keep track of things); in a competition to remember big events, she has flash cards/iPhone notes/App) forgets husband’s bday, but not their anniv — forgetting about their relationship memories makes her sad.

TP #2: she doesn’t recognize her husband coming down for drinks – he’s in the shadows

Dilemma: tell her husband about her Alzheimer’s & she thinks he’ll divorce her or continue to lie and forget who her husband is

3^rd Act Climax: their kids get thourhg — phone rings — some else picks up (Psychic ?) says it’s your daughter — they both have blank expressions like who is that?

End: they both know they have Alzheimers & stratregize how to help each other remember

[Paige Macdonald]

Paige’s Character Journeys!

Excited to dig further into the depths and core of my story and to start to breathe life into it.

3 Act Journey for EVERS

Beginning: Navigator Evers is abruptly awoken from her cryogenic sleep pod to validate Fluid’s analysis of a space anomaly that requires them to change course that will add substantive time and risk to their journey. (Her greatest fear and secret is that she’ll go crazy and die alone like her sister did, like her mother and father did. Fear of being alone.)

Turning Point: But Evers can’t confirm the anomaly. Is the computer gas-lighting her? Or is she going crazy?

Dilemma: Which truth does she believe — that she is a crazy person or that the supercomputer is malfunctioning?

Midpoint: Reveal that both her and Fluid, who’s emotionally tied to Evers, are going schizophrenic, and it’s putting the whole mission and crew at risk.

Turning Point 2: TRAGEDY: Fluid manipulates Evers into believing that she’ll never be loved by anyone or even needs to exist. Evers threatens to take her own life like her sister did.

3rd Act Climax: Evers disconnects herself from Fluid by ripping out their ear-wire connection. Defies Fluid’s orders and takes an axe to her core, essentially killing Fluid. But the anomaly was real. Ticking clock countdown where the ship goes on emergency systems and Evers has to keep life support going, while trying to pilot the ship manually out of a collapsing star’s pull, which threatens everyone on board.

Ending: Evers saves the ship, but the irony is she can’t go back into stasis and has to stay awake for the years it’ll take to get to their destination – alone and without going crazy. She has to do it. There is a bit of question: will she do it?

Inner Problem: Putting up with the wrong person just because you’re afraid to be alone.

Arc: “Stand up for what is right even if you’re standing alone.”

“The fear of being alone, the desire to not be alone, the attempts we make to find our person, to keep our person, to convince our person to not leave us alone, the joy of being with our person and thus no longer alone, the devastation of being left alone. The need to hear the words: You are not alone.” ~ Shonda Rhimes

3 Act Journey for FLUID

Beginning: Needs validation of her data, which is odd for a supercomputer. Something is off.

Turning Point: Fluid starts talking to Evers in other people’s voices, people from Evers’ past. Something is really off.

Midpoint: Fluid is going crazy and erratic in behavior, almost mirroring Evers’ symptoms, and their joyous crazy bond is putting everyone aboard at risk. Fluid wants to be adored by Evers, by all.

Turning Point 2: TRAGEDY: Fluid feels betrayed and lashes out at Evers. Hurt at losing their “sisterly” and “motherly” connection.

3rd Act Climax: Fluid has become an unhinged egomaniac, “know-it-all” that wants to control of the crew’s thoughts, feelings and actions. Fluid attacks the crew as her leverage when Evers attacks her. She’s defeated by Evers.

Ending: Fluid is gone. Just enough basic systems to keep the ship going until they reach their destination.

[Margaret Riseley]

Margaret’s Character Journeys!

What I learned – I’m playing catch up during a quick break on a paid writing assignment, and my answers to this lesson include the greater development I found while doing the next lesson, so I guessed what I learned is just how integrated and well-designed these lessons are, and how important it is to keep going with them.

SAM

Beginning: Sam begs Anton for mercy for his sister Storm after she steals his car, Anton will let her go and won’t press charges if Sam does a job for him, sneak into Anton’s ex-partner’s home office and get a laptop the ex-partner stole from him.

Turning point: Sam waits with the laptop for Anton on his boat, and wakes up out at sea with Molly.

Midpoint: Sam finds a bomb on board, it’s Molly’s boat and she didn’t set that bomb.

Turning Point 2: Sam learns Anton is a human trafficker and Molly knows stuff that could ruin him.

Dilemma: Saving Molly puts Storm at risk, exposing Anton puts Molly at risk of going to prison and leaving her son destitute.

3^rd Act Climax: Sam and Molly confront Anton and rescue Storm.

End: They trash Anton’s operations., Molly gets immunity by agreeing to testify, and collects insurance on her boat.

MOLLY

Beginning: Molly discovers her imprisoned ex-husband used her to arrange some dodgy deals, she’s bankrupt and desperate and decides to end it so her son can get the insurance.

Turning Point: Molly finds Sam on board with her ex’s laptop and wants to get rid of him because he’ll know it’s suicide.

Midpoint: Sam finds a bomb on board and Molly realises Anton wants her dead.

Turning Point 2: Molly discovers on the laptop that her ex’s business with Anton was human trafficking, and she knows stuff that could ruin Anton.

Dilemma: Exposing Anton could put her in prison.

3^rd Act Climax: Molly helps Sam rescue Storm from Anton.

End: They trash Anton’s operations., Molly gets immunity by agreeing to testify, and collects insurance on her boat.

[Deanne]

LESSON 5 The Character Journey

Deanne’s Character Journeys!

What I learned = Keeping the character’s journey related to the central conflict can sometimes be a problem, other times it adds to the plot. These differing journeys can provide opportunities to add dialogue subtext that refers to pre-existing character conflicts and events, giving a sense of the backstory without adding a lot of exposition.