Lesson 9

[Robert Smith]

ROBERT R. SMITH’s PLOT TWISTS

WHAT I LEARNED IS…?

The continued organic develooment of a story.

GENRE: CRIME THRILLER

TITLE: THE GOLEM IN GANGLAND

NOTE: Here are the plot twists in the body of the story map

OPENING: In Heaven, the souls of Rabbi Solomon Levitsky and his companion Lou Tasca are called on a time-travel mission back to 1939 to save the life and soul of Rabbi Solomon’s gangster uncle, Max who is in trouble.

INCITING INCIDENT: Uncle Max has obtained a clay statue which is a “blood antiquity” he obtained from Arab terrorists which turns out to be a genuine golem, a Frankenstein-like mass of clay with the capability of horrible destruction when activated. Max sees a corrupt Rabbi in the city of Sefad who activates the golem by inserting a scroll with a secret name of God written on it. Max returns to NYC with the animated but sleeping golem crated. Lepke, Max’s boss in Murder Incorporated wants to possess the golem as an enforcer to consolidate his deadly grip on the city of New York, but Max will not part with his prize.

TURNING POINT: Max drives away from Lepke’s hideout in a truck that holds the crated golem. Lepke deploys his most ruthless hitman Abe “Kid Twist” Reles, to chase down Max, kill him, and seize the golem. A harrowing chase by Reles follows through the street canyons of Manhattan ending in a crash that Max, Reles, and the golem survive but some pedestrians civare killed in the crash and by stray bullets fired by Reles.

MIDPOINT: Rabbi Solomon and Lou Tasca, at last catch up to Max. Rabbi Solomon conceals the fact that he is Max’s nephew visiting from decades in the future. They settle down for lunch in what they believe is a safe haven, Rose’s Midnight Candy Store. In a drive-by tommy gun shooting, Reles chops and shatters the candy store, but Max, R. Solomon, and Lou survive.

TWIST: (Reles mistake of the car chase returns to haunt him.) Crime-buster Thomas E. Dewey turns his forces against Murder Incorporated by a dragnet to locate and arrest Reles.

TWIST: (It just got more dangerous with higher stakes.) Reles plans to assassinate Dewey – instantly, forbidden by the Syndicate’s commission who now take out a contract on Reles with the intent to kill him before he could assassinate Dewey.

TWIST: To escape murder from a mob hitman, Reles surrenders to the police, vowing to

turn canary and sing,” meaning, snitch on Lepke and Murder Incorporated and the wider Syndicate.

TWIST: Max learns that a contract has also been taken out against him by the commission for his insubordination to Lepke. Encouraged by Rabbi Solomon.

TWIST: Encouraged by Rabbi Solomon, Max also surrenders to the police with his promise to flip and also testify against Lepke and the Syndicate. R. Solomon and Lou Tasca have now accompolished their mission of saving the life and soul of R. Solomon’s Uncle Max. .

TWIST: (The worst thing happens to Reles.) The mysterious death of Abe Reles. Reles is held in police protective custody until trial While oreoaring to testify against Leoke and the Syndicate, Reles is mysteriously thrown from his 6^th floor hotel room to his death in what looks like a mob hit done through his corruot police.

TWIST: (A new problem occurs.) What really happened, The golem, seeking revenge, scaled the wall of the hotel, climbed into Reles hotel room and tossed him to his death without any noise that would have alerted the police. The golem climbs down the wall of the hotel and escapes.

The reaction of the police to Reles’ death: “The canary could sing but he couldn’t fly.

TWIST/CLIMAX: Rabbi Solomon deactivates the golem by removing the scroll with the divine name from his mouth. The golem crumbles into a pile of clay.

RESOLUTION: Rabbi Solomon explains that by his ritual deactivation of the golem he has spared Max from any of the growing danger to him by the increasingly destructive golem and leaves Max safely in police custody, ready to testify against Lepke and the Syndicate and return to a devout Jewish life Mission accomplished totally unaware that Rabbi Solomon is his future nephew.