Lesson 6

[Adite Banerjie]

Adite’s Delivering Multiple Layers

What I learned: This is an amazing process that helps me build multiple layers on the plot, characters and location levels.

Layers I have chosen

Characters:
Surface Level: Protag (Wife) is an ordinary woman who is scared of supernatural elements.
Beneath that: She is the daughter of an ostracized Tantric priest and she knows the dark arts.
How Revealed: she knows the rituals and practices that need to be performed / uses her knowledge to trap and kill the Killer.

Location:
Surface Layer: the isolated house on the edge of the lake
Beneath that: It is built on the ruins of an ancient temple
How Revealed: During the new moon night Protag experiences a supernatural moment.

[Madeleind Gentinetta]

Madeleine Delivering Multiple Layers!

What did you learn doing this assignment?

This is an amazing process that helped me to elevate the entire story. Based on this process step I will have to readjust the story.

Chosen layers

Plot

Surface layer: The family troubles take place at Christmas.

Beneath that: The entire story is a nativity play.

How Revealed: Not 100% sure yet, but the family kids play with the actual crib at the beginning, and at the end, other kids play their nativity play. The audience realizes that everybody from the story is a figure in the kids’ nativity play.

Characters

Surface layer: Everybody is just part of a normal family.

Beneath that: Every person has a role in the nativity play.

How Revealed: Not 100% sure yet, but the family kids play with the actual crib at the beginning, and at the end, other kids play their nativity play. The audience realizes that everybody from the story is a figure in the kids’ nativity play.

Location

Surface layer: The drama takes place in the pied à terre of the family.

Beneath that: The pied à terre is a crib.

How Revealed: Not 100% sure yet, but the family kids play with the actual crib at the beginning, and at the end, other kids play their nativity play. The audience realizes that everybody from the story is a figure in the kids’ nativity play.

[Griffith Lambert]

Lesson 6

Griff’s Developing Multiple Layers

What I learned doing this assignment: A story about some pesky neighbors smacks of comedy, but with layers it can turn into a deeper drama, a horror story, even science fiction. “The Hunt” could have been a simple story about hunting humans for sport, but its layers turned it into a deeper social satire.

1. Brainstorm potential plot layers.

Major scheme revealed: Rami has a not-so-innocent
agenda.
Mystery revealed: Rami is Kim’s long-time nemesis but
Kim can’t reveal that.

Thought it was one thing, but it is another: Just seems
like Kim and Jo are curious/suspicious of the new neighbor, but it’s more
complicated than that. Major shift in Meaning: What if everybody is a spy? Hidden history: Did Jo and Rami already know each
other? Hidden plan: Rami is there to upset Kim’s master plan.

2. Brainstorm potential character layers.

<div>Secret identity: Who is Rami, really? Who is Jo really?
Are they a sleeper-cell of some kind? Are Kim and Jo the sleeper cell and
Rami is there to expose them?

</div><div>

Intrigue layers: How are Kim and Byron able to get past
Rami’s security system? Hidden relationships and conspiracies: Rami and Jo: how
do they know each other? Hidden Character history: Jo met Rami in London.

</div>

3. Brainstorm potential location layers.

<div>Hidden operation: Rami has uncovered a long-disused
tunnel between houses. Deeper meaning: Did Rami know this before buying the house? Trap to draw prey: Is this all part of a plot by Rami? Unique sub-world: Rami’s high-tech build-out. The two houses
are connected by a tunnel.</div><div>

Surface Layer: Kim and Byron are just a couple of nosey
losers and Jo is an unwitting accomplice. Beneath That: Rami had a reason for buying the house
next door. How Revealed: Rami “discovers” the tunnel between the houses, but did he know it was there all along? Have Kim and Jo known about it, too?

</div>

• This reply was modified 2 years, 2 months ago by  Griffith Lambert. Reason: Format out-of-sync

[Cindi LeRoy]

Lesson 6 – Cindi’s Delivering Multiple Layers!

What I learned doing this assignment: using layers is a great process to use to show something that appears a certain way, but under the surface it can have a whole different meaning.

ASSIGNMENT

1. Brainstorm potential plot layers.

Major scheme revealed: Pysch hosp director bribes patients so he can do
experiments on them.

2. Brainstorm potential character layers.

NURSE – Secret identity: She’s an undercover investigator to reveal a shady scheme going on at the psych hosp. (maybe too many ‘missing’ patients)

2. Brainstorm potential character layers.

PSYCHO JANITOR – Hidden Character history: He’s a serial killer.

3. Brainstorm potential location layers.

Hidden operation: Some patients are allowed to ‘work’ in the hospital. They
believe they are in a legit on-the-job training program. But the program is
fake, the patients are part of an experiment.

4. Tell us about the layers you’ve chosen. Use this format with each of them:

NURSE:

Surface Layer: She’s the nurse on the overnight shift at the psych hospital. <div>

Beneath That: She’s
an undercover investigator.

How Revealed: Toward the end when she has
enough info, she calls in authorities to arrest the hospital director.

PSYCHO JANITOR

Surface Layer: He’s a janitor on the overnight shift at the psych
hospital. </div><div>

Beneath That: He’s a serial killer. Instead of going to prison, he
was admitted to this psych hospital.

How Revealed: The nurse discovers his records by searching through
files.

PSYCH HOSPITAL

Surface Layer: Psych hospital. </div>

Beneath That: Patient Experimental Station.

How Revealed: Undercover nurse finds a hidden room/lab with
incriminating evidence/info.