[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn Profiles People – I learned that no one is perfect and I need to keep track of my own traits because I line up with the villians.

Person 1 –
1. Overly Thoughtful
2. Organized
3. Spendthrift
4. Deceitful

Person 2 –
1. Self-Absorbed
2. Insightful
3. Intelligent
4. Manipulative

Person 3 –
1. Motivated
2. Competitive
3. Observant
4. Critical

Person 1 prepares for your visit to her home with lovely gifts and reservations at the best restaurants, but the gifts are paid for with a credit card, you will be expected to pick up the tab at the restaurant, and if you say anything about it she will sic her husband on you.

Person 2 is a lot of fun when things are going well. He is super insightful with your motivations and decisions. With dreams and plans. You instinctively know you can’t best him because he’s too smart for you but with practice you can discern the manipulation during the heart-to-heart conversation.

Person 3 is a joy because she gets the job done, a real helper. She catches all the little details and can correct, but with a vengeance. Perfection is her guide and as we all know, no one is perfect.

• This reply was modified 2 days, 21 hours ago by  Dawn C Crouch.

[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn Puts Essence to Work—I learned to search for clues in the setting, context,
characters, and sequence of the scene.

1. Location – Ruins of post-pandemic Atlanta

Logline—Vegetation and vandalism have left their mark on roadways and buildings in
downtown Atlanta after the pandemic. Children have carved a place to play in the ruins.

Essence – Children symbolize the hope of the future.

New logline – The vegetation and vandalism marking the downtown post-pandemic landscape
are used as playgrounds for the children left living there.

2. Location – Posthuman Biology Medical Conference

Logline – Is there a way forward to repopulation or is everyone a dead man walking?

Essence – Does a future for mankind exist?

New logline – The conference holds onto the hope of a future for humanity amid the ruins of the
pandemic.

3. Location – Rural medical clinic

Logline – Life goes on in areas less dependent on modern technology.

Essence – Survival is based less on technology than grit and know-how.

New logline – An over-reliance on the interaction and support of technology in the modern world
makes it less able to survive after a disaster.

4. Location – Remote farm

Logline – Life is virtually untouched on a remote rural farm.

Essence – Living simply and close to the environment sustains a subsistent lifestyle.

New logline – A simple way of life is easier to maintain and support in the aftermath of plague.

5. Location – Ruins of old Homeplace

Logline – Catastrophe can happen at any time.

Essence – Mortality remains no matter the technology, know-how, or preparation.

New logline – Man is mortal and cannot outrun the grim reaper.

• This reply was modified 2 days, 21 hours ago by  Dawn C Crouch.

[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn Finds the Essence
I’ve learned that looking for the essence leads to what you like best about the movie.

Movie—Before Sunset with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, Part two of the Before Trilogy. I honestly looked for the scripts but could not find them, so I watched the movie again.

Location – Paris
The essence of every scene in the movie is that they love each other. As the two main characters move through Paris, walking, having coffee, etc, they search for the spark they felt when they first met. met. Each has their own life and job now, but in the last scene. Julie Delpy comments that Ethan Hawke is going to miss his plane. He replied, “I know.” which is a beautiful way to cut to the essence of his searching. He was already home.

• This reply was modified 3 weeks ago by  Dawn C Crouch.

[Dawn C Crouch]

Hey!! I’m Dawn C. Crouch, and I’ve written over a dozen scripts, including feature films, TV shows, and one short. I wanted to take the class to learn the latest of Hal’s best techniques and strategies. It’s all about the breakthrough. I like to lap swim; it’s a great time to think.

[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn C Crouch Completed Act 2

My vision is to honor my husband with this script and write better.

What I learned from doing this assignment is to keep the tempo going, keep moving forward, and finish my outline, then I can go back and fix what I need to fix. I do give myself 5 minutes at the beginning of my writing session to put in any notes so that I don’t forget an idea or improvement as I write. Moving on!!

• This reply was modified 9 months, 1 week ago by  Dawn C Crouch.

[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn C Crouch Continuing Act 2

My vision is to write a script that a producer can’t put down and an audience can’t forget.

What I learned from doing this assignment is that wordsmithing in an early draft is a subtle or maybe not so subtle form of procrastination. Wordsmithing at this stage blocks brainstorming and slows you down even further. There is a more and more natural flow to my writing when I move at speed.

• This reply was modified 9 months, 1 week ago by  Dawn C Crouch.

[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn C Crouch Began Act 2!!

My vision is becoming reality. I’m learning to write better, more marketable scripts.

What I learned from doing this assignment is that I thought of the timer several lessons ago, and in fact, I used a timer on a ghostwriter project several years ago. The subject was not one that I was familiar with or comfortable with, but the timer helped me focus and keep on task!! Glad to see it!!

• This reply was modified 9 months, 1 week ago by  Dawn C Crouch.

[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn C Crouch Finished Act 1

I am learning to write three-dimensional stories that intrigue producers and connect with audiences.

What I learned from doing this assignment is to take it to the finish line. The high speed writing process enables getting the outline down and feeling that sense of accomplishment that motivates you to keep going!!

• This reply was modified 9 months, 2 weeks ago by  Dawn C Crouch.

[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn C Crouch Next Act 1 Scenes

I am learning to write three-dimensional stories that connect with producers and resonate with my audience.

What I learned from doing this assignment is that writing to the outline and pitch keeps you grounded in this first draft. I’ve been a pantser all my life and yet I can work within this outline during this early draft without going off on tangents. Refreshing!!

• This reply was modified 9 months, 2 weeks ago by  Dawn C Crouch.

[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn C Crouch Act 1 First Draft Part 1

I will learn to write three-dimensional stories that connect with producers and resonate with my audience.

What I learned from doing this assignment is that the sprint timer in Final Draft is a helpful tool in the speed writing process especially since my writing is often done in “down time” or in “small chunks.” The sprint timer helps me stay focused and keep writing.

• This reply was modified 9 months, 2 weeks ago by  Dawn C Crouch.

[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn Crouch’s High-Speed Writing Rules

My vision is that I want to learn to write better, more marketable scripts.

What I learned from doing this assignment is to write out the outline as quickly and efficiently as possible, almost as if a stopwatch was clicking or perhaps I am talking about something I passionately enjoy with a good friend I haven’t seen in a while. I want to convey my enthusiasm and excitement over my idea and my plan for executing my idea!!

• This reply was modified 9 months, 2 weeks ago by  Dawn C Crouch.

[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn C Crouch First Scene

To achieve success, I will write three-dimensional stories that connect with producers and resonate with audiences.

What I learned from doing this assignment is the importance of taking the first step.

• This reply was modified 9 months, 3 weeks ago by  Dawn C Crouch.

[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn C Crouch – Supporting Characters

I want to write better, marketable scripts.

What I learned from this assignment is to plan the supporting characters with care and purpose in mind. Don’t just let them appear because they are interesting.

Support 1:

Name: Mark Nguyen

• Role: Wildlife and Fisheries official

• Hidden agendas: To give Vietnamese fishermen an advantage.

• Competition: Competes with Odette for James’ attention

• Conspiracies: Mark is part of a local, informal network conspiring to resist the oil company’s encroachment. This network shares information, resources, and strategies to protect their community and environment.

• Secrets: Personal connection with the Fontenot Family.
• Unspoken Wound: Mark carries the unspoken wound of losing her family’s heritage in Hurricane Katrina. This loss fuels his resolve and shapes his actions in the present struggle.
• Main purpose: Brings out a side of the theme that is missing.
• Value: a possible red herring

Support 2:

• Name: Lila Huynh
• Role: James’ personal assistant
• Main purpose: Sounding Board
• Value: Also a childhood friend that knows James very well

• This reply was modified 11 months, 1 week ago by  Dawn C Crouch.

[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn Crouch – Character Profiles Part 2

I want to write better, more marketable scripts.

What I learned from this assignment is to keep delving deeper into the characters, mine for the gold.

James Fontenot Character Profile

1. Role in the Story:
• Protagonist

2. Age Range and Description:
• Late 30s to early 40s: Sharp, professional appearance—short dark hair with some graying, penetrating hazel eyes, and a lean, athletic build. James’s physical transformation mirrors his internal journey as his professional polish gives way to the ruggedness of the Bayou.

3. Core Traits:
• Ambitious
• Detached (Emotionally Guarded)
• Inquisitive (Curious)
• Courageous and Loyal

4. Motivation; Want/Need:
• Want: Professional success and external validation.
• Need: Authenticity and acceptance.

5. Wound:
• Early Life Chaos: The chaos and loss of control in his early life, especially around the collapse of his father's career, drive James to seek control in his professional life. This wound is the source of his drive for success, his estrangement from his father, and his eventual transformation.

6. Likability, Relatability, and Empathy:
• Likability: Takes courageous stands against injustices, supportive friend and ally.
• Relatability: Struggles with identity, unresolved dreams.
• Empathy: Past trauma, moral dilemmas, facing rejection.

7. Character Subtext:
• Hiding Painful Secrets: James is hiding the deep pain and guilt he feels about leaving his father and home during a time of crisis. He also harbors resentment towards his father for the perceived abandonment and the collapse of their family life.
• Professional Facade: He conceals his vulnerability and emotional struggles behind a professional facade, fearing that showing his true self will undermine his success and control.

8. Character Intrigue:
• Hidden Agenda: While James initially returns to the Bayou to help his father as a professional obligation, he secretly hopes to find closure and perhaps rekindle a sense of belonging he lost years ago.
• Deception: He deceives himself and others about his motivations, initially framing his return as purely professional while deep down, he is driven by a need to reconnect and find personal redemption.

9. Flaw:
• Perfectionism and Control:
• Emotional Detachment:

10. Values:
• Integrity: James values honesty and integrity deeply. He believes in doing what’s right, even when it’s difficult.
• Justice: Drives him to fight against the oil company’s encroachment on his father’s land.
• Family and Heritage:

11. Character Dilemma:
• Professional Success vs. Personal Fulfillment:
• Control vs. Vulnerability:

Odette Carvel Character Profile

1. Role in the Story:
• Antagonist

2. Age Range and Description:
• Early 30s: A chameleon. While Odette’s appearance is polished and professional, there’s an underlying complexity to her. She adapts her look to fit the situation—whether charming potential allies at a social event or presenting a formidable front in a legal confrontation. She is strikingly attractive, with a polished and sophisticated demeanor that matches her high-powered corporate role.

3. Core Traits:
• Charismatic
• Intelligent, Sharp
• Calculating

4. Motivation; Want/Need:
• Want: To be on top of her game and achieve professional success.
• Need: A sense of belonging and true connection.

5. Wound:
• Moral Awakening: Realizing the impact of her actions on the Bayou and its people.

6. Likability, Relatability, and Empathy:
• Likability: Charming interactions and unexpected acts of kindness.
• Relatability: Balancing act between ambition and morality.
• Empathy: Personal losses and moments of isolation.

7. Character Subtext:
• Hiding Painful Secrets: Odette is hiding a painful past related to her family. Perhaps she lost a close family member or experienced a significant personal failure that she never talks about. This pain drives her relentless ambition as she tries to prove herself and avoid facing her unresolved grief.
• Professional Facade: She hides her growing doubts about the ethical implications of her work. Despite her polished exterior, she grapples with guilt and a moral crisis, fearing that revealing her true feelings will undermine her career.

8. Character Intrigue:
• Hidden Agenda: While Odette appears to be fully committed to the oil company's goals, she secretly harbors doubts about their practices and is covertly gathering information that could expose their wrongdoings. Her hidden agenda is to find a way to reconcile her career with her growing conscience.
• Deception: She deceives both her corporate superiors and the people of the Bayou, playing both sides to gather information and protect her interests. This dual role creates constant tension and intrigue around her character.

9. Flaw:
• Perfectionism and Control: Odette’s need for control and perfectionism causes her to micromanage and take on too much responsibility, leading to burnout and strained relationships. She struggles to delegate and trust others, which often sabotages her success.
• Emotional Detachment: Her reluctance to form genuine emotional connections prevents her from truly integrating into any community, leaving her feeling isolated despite her professional success.

10. Values:
• Integrity: Deep down, Odette values honesty and doing the right thing, even though her actions sometimes contradict this. Her journey involves reconciling her actions with her true values.
• Ambition: Her drive is both a strength and a weakness, pushing her to succeed but also leading her to moral compromises.
• Justice: As she becomes more aware of the consequences of her actions, Odette’s sense of justice grows, driving her to find a way to make things right.

11. Character Dilemma:
• Career Success vs. Personal Integrity: Odette is torn between her desire for career success and her growing awareness of the ethical implications of her work.
• Control vs. Vulnerability: Her internal conflict between maintaining control over her life and career and allowing herself to be vulnerable and honest about her doubts and fears.

Enes Xavier Fontenot Character Profile

1. Role in the Story:
• Protagonist’s Father

2. Age Range and Description:
• Late 50s to Early 70s: A life rich with experience and wisdom. Ruggedly handsome with a weathered face, mostly grey hair with streaks of its original darker color, piercing blue or deep brown eyes, solid, sturdy build. Practical and comfortable clothing, deep resonant voice with a hint of the Bayou’s dialect, distinctive features like a prominent scar, a tattoo, or sentimental jewelry.

3. Core Traits:
• Passionate
• Stubborn
• Protective, Principled
• Nostalgic

4. Motivation; Want/Need:
• Want: To protect his oyster bed and preserve his livelihood against the encroachment of the oil company.
• Need: To reconcile with his son, James, and come to terms with his past, accepting vulnerability and forgiveness as strengths rather than weaknesses.

5. Wound:
• Past Trauma: The chaos and loss of control in his early life, especially around the collapse of his culinary career and the deaths associated with it, leading to a strained relationship with his son.

6. Likability, Relatability, and Empathy:
• Likability: Takes courageous stands against injustices, supportive friend and ally.
• Relatability: Struggles with identity, unresolved dreams.
• Empathy: Past trauma, moral dilemmas, facing rejection.

7. Character Subtext:
• Hiding Painful Secrets: Enes is hiding his profound guilt and responsibility for the deaths caused by the contaminated oysters. This guilt is not just a personal burden but also affects his relationship with his son, as he feels he let down his family by not preventing the tragedy.
• Professional Facade: He conceals the ongoing emotional toll of these events, maintaining a strong front to protect his son and his legacy.

8. Character Intrigue:
• Hidden Agenda: Enes has been secretly investigating the circumstances of the contaminated oysters, suspecting foul play or sabotage.
• Deception: He pretends to be solely focused on the oyster bed to conceal his deeper investigation and his fears that revealing the truth might further harm his relationship with James and his standing in the community.

9. Flaw:
• Pride and Stubbornness: Enes’s pride often leads him to refuse help, believing he must handle everything on his own to atone for his past mistakes.
• Emotional Detachment: His difficulty in expressing emotions and vulnerability leads to miscommunications and strained relationships, especially with James.

10. Values:
• Integrity: This value guides his actions and decisions, driving his fight against the oil company.
• Family and Heritage: Enes cares profoundly about his family and preserving the cultural heritage of the Bayou.
• Justice: He seeks justice for the wrongs done to him and his community, particularly the sabotage that ruined his culinary career and the threats to his oyster bed.

11. Character Dilemma:
• Pride vs. Vulnerability: Enes is torn between his pride, which drives him to handle his problems alone, and his need to open up and seek support from others, especially his son. This internal conflict prevents him from healing and moving forward.
• Past vs. Future: He is caught between holding onto the past, with its memories and regrets, and embracing the future, which requires him to adapt and change.

• This reply was modified 11 months, 1 week ago by  Dawn C Crouch.

[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn Crouch’s Character Profiles Part 1

My vision is that I just want to learn and write better, more marketable scripts.

What I learned from this assignment is that if I write better than most, then I have a chance in the industry to be seen and heard.

Protagonist – James Fontenot

• A. The High Concept. – Hot shot corporate lawyer returns to boyhood home on the bayou to defend his father’s oyster beds from an aggressive oil company.

• B. This character’s journey. – Initially, James’s compassion is buried under his professional exterior. However, glimpses of his compassionate nature emerge as he begins to reconnect with his family and community. As he evolves, his compassion becomes a driving force, guiding his actions to not only fight for justice but also to support and uplift those around him

• C. The Actor Attractors for this character. – An actor would be attracted to this role for the depth of James’s journey—from a disconnected corporate lawyer to a passionate defender of his heritage.

1. Role in the Story: Protagonist

2. Age range and Description: Late 30s to early 40s, with a sharp, professional appearance— short dark hair with some graying, penetrating hazel eyes, and a lean, athletic build. James’ physical transformation mirrors his internal journey as his profession polish gives way to the ruggedness of the Bayou.

3. Core Traits:
Ambitious
Detached (Emotionally Guarded)
Inquisitive (Curious)
Courageous and Loyal

4. Motivation; Want/Need: Want – Professionalism and External Validation/ Need – Authenticity and Acceptance

5. Wound: This wound can be the source of his drive for success, his estrangement from his father, and his eventual transformation. The chaos and loss of control in his early life, especially around the collapse of his father's career, drive James to seek control in his professional life.

6. Likability – James takes courageous stands against injustices, both in his corporate world and in the bayou. He is a supportive friend and ally

Relatability – Struggles with Identity; Unresolved dreams

Empathy: – Past Trauma, Moral dilemmas, facing rejection

Antagonist – Odette Carvel

• A. The High Concept. Explore Odette’s struggle to balance her ambitious career goals with her personal moral compass. This conflict between what she wants to achieve and what she believes in.

• B. This character’s journey. – Odette is under significant professional pressure, especially when her corporate duties clash with her personal ethics. She struggles to maintain her integrity in a demanding environment.

• C. The Actor Attractors for this character.- Odette’s ability to navigate high-stakes corporate worlds while hiding her true intentions makes her a unique character. Her dual nature as both a seductive ally and a ruthless adversary sets her apart.

1. Role in the Story: Antagonist

2. Age range and Description: Early 30s. A Chameleon. While Odette’s appearance is polished and professional, there’s an underlying complexity to her. She has a way of adapting her look to fit the situation—whether she’s charming potential allies at a social event or presenting a formidable front in a legal confrontation.•

3. Core Traits:
Charismatic
Intelligent, sharp
Calculating

4. Motivation; Want/Need: Want – to be on top of her game/ Need – Sense of belonging

5. Wound: Moral awakening, realizing the impact of her actions on the bayou and its people.

6. Likability – Charming interactions and unexpected acts of kindness
Relatability – Balancing act between ambition and morality
Empathy – Personal losses and moments of isolation,

Triangle: Key player who connects the Protag and Antagonist – Enes Xavier Fontenot

• A. The High Concept. Playing a seemingly simple oyster fisherman Enes Xavier hides the soul of a renowned chef.

• B. This character’s journey. – Enes’s transforms from stoic resilience, deep-seated regret and shame over his past, to pride of his culinary achievements, and acknowledging the tender love he still holds for his estranged son.

• C. The Actor Attractors for this character. – Enes’s unique blend of culinary artistry and bayou resilience makes him a distinctive and unforgettable character.

1. Role in the Story: Triangle Character connecting Protagonist and Antagonist

2. Age range and Description: Late 50s to Early 70s – His hair is mostly grey, possibly with streaks of its original darker color, adding to his distinguished yet approachable look. It’s often tousled or windswept, indicative of someone who spends a lot of time outdoors. His weathered face is marked by deep lines and creases, but despite his age, there’s a vitality in his bearing.

3. Core Traits:
Passionate
Principled
Stubborn
Protective

4. Motivation; Want/Need: Ene’s want is to protect and preserve the oyster beds. His need is to reconcile with his son, James, and come to terms with his past, accepting vulnerability and forgiveness as strengths rather than weaknesses.

5. Wound: – His inability to save his wife, combined with the failure of his career, creates a profound sense of personal failure.

6. Likability – Generosity: Passionate about His Craft:

Relatability – Economic Challenges, Reluctance to Accept Help:

Empathy – Facing Injustice, Dealing with Guilt

• This reply was modified 11 months, 2 weeks ago by  Dawn C Crouch.

[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn Crouch’s Likability/Relatability/Empathy

My vision is that I just want to learn and write better, more marketable scripts.

What I learned from this assignment is to keep it real, to make the characters human.

Protagonist – James Fontenot

• Likability: show small acts of genuine kindness, sense of humor and ability to laugh at himself, bravery in the face of adversity,

• Relatability: Conflict between corporate life and his bayou roots, have him marvel at the oystermen balancing family and work, reflecting on unfulfilled dreams or aspirations, his fight to overcome personal flaws, romantic struggles

• Empathy: facing rejection or harsh criticism, especially from his father or the bayou community, financial sacrifices to support his legal battle, situations where he has to make difficult moral choices, especially when they involve significant personal sacrifice, journey to find a sense of belonging

Antagonist – Odette Carvel

• Likability: charming and charismatic personality that makes her interactions with others engaging and enjoyable, working long hours, dedication to her job, a sense of humor and quick wit, especially in situations where she uses it to defuse tension or connect with others.

• Relatability: struggle to balance her ambitious career goals with her personal moral compass, need for validation, regrets about past decisions

• Empathy: under significant professional pressure, especially when her corporate duties clash with her personal ethics, personal losses and moments of isolation.

• This reply was modified 11 months, 3 weeks ago by  Dawn C Crouch.

[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn Crouch’s Character Intrigue

My vision is that I learn to write better, more marketable scripts.

What I learned from this assignment is to give it a twist.

Character Name: James Fontenot

• Role: hot-shot lawyer; estranged son of Enes Xavier

• Hidden agendas: to ruin his father, take revenge on him for abandonment

• Competition: James is in an unspoken competition with his father’s legacy, striving to prove that his corporate success is more valuable than his father’s achievements in the bayou. This drives him to push himself harder in both his legal battles and personal growth.

• Conspiracies: As James investigates the oil company’s encroachment, he uncovers a conspiracy involving local officials and rival businesses that he initially dismisses but eventually realizes he is indirectly tied to through his previous corporate cases.

Secrets: James keeps secret a past failed relationship that fell apart due to his workaholic tendencies and inability to balance his personal and professional life.

• Deception: James portrays himself as completely in control and confident, but he is internally conflicted and unsure about his career path and personal choices. He deceives others (and sometimes himself) into believing he’s got everything figured out.

• Unspoken Wound: traumatic experience of his parents’ divorce and mother’s suicide

Character Name: Enes Xavier Fontenot

• Role: Rough Oyster Fisherman

• Hidden Agendas: Enes’s hidden agenda is to redeem himself through preserving the oyster bed and the culinary legacy he once abandoned. He hopes to leave something meaningful for James, even if he never articulates this goal.

• Competition: Enes is in a constant, unspoken competition with the encroaching modern world.

• Conspiracies: There’s a deeper conspiracy that Enes was once the target of sabotage in his culinary career, possibly involving competitors or disgruntled employees, which led to his departure from that world.

• Secrets: Enes keeps his past identity as a renowned chef a secret from most people, fearing that it will bring back painful memories and possibly jeopardize his current fight if revealed at the wrong time. – Contaminated Oysters kill two of his patrons and ruins his restaurant business

• Deception: Enes often deceives others into believing he’s just a simple oyster fisherman, hiding his sophisticated understanding of culinary arts.

• Unspoken Wound: Enes carries the unspoken wound of losing his passion and career in the culinary world due to the scandal.

• Secret Identity: He was a famous chef

Character Name: Odette Carvel

• Role: Oil Company Attorney

• Hidden agendas: Odette’s hidden agenda is to use the legal battle over the oyster bed as a steppingstone to advance her career within the oil company.

• Competition: Rivalry with James

• Conspiracies: She knows of a secret plan to contaminate the oyster beds

• Secrets: Odette harbors a secret conflict of interest—she is emotionally and ideologically torn between her corporate obligations and a personal connection to the bayou, possibly through a family member or past experience that she keeps hidden.She blackmails Enes to prevent James from learning the truth about his father

• Deception: Odette uses her charm and intelligence to deceive others, presenting a friendly and cooperative front while covertly undermining their efforts and advancing her agenda.

Character Name: Lila Boudreaux

• Role: Wildlife and Fisheries official

• Hidden agendas: Lila’s hidden agenda is to protect the bayou at all costs.

• Competition: She competes with Odette for James’ affection

• Conspiracies: Lila is part of a local, informal network conspiring to resist the oil company’s encroachment. This network shares information, resources, and strategies to protect their community and environment.

• Secrets: Personal connection with the Fontenot Family.

• Deception: Lila often deceives others with her appearance of being merely a passionate, idealistic young woman. In reality, she is a shrewd and resourceful strategist, capable of outmaneuvering her opponents in unexpected ways.

• Unspoken Wound: Lila carries the unspoken wound of losing her family’s heritage in Hurricane Katrina. This loss fuels her resolve and shapes her actions in the present struggle.

• This reply was modified 11 months, 3 weeks ago by  Dawn C Crouch.

[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn Crouch’s Subtext Characters

My vision is that I learn to write better, more marketable scripts.

What I learned from this assignment is something I already know… Anyone from the South speaks only in subtext.

With your example movie, give us the following answers for the character with the most subtext:

• Movie Title: The Count de Monte Cristo

• Character Name: Edmund Dantes

• Subtext Identity: Escaped from imprisonment at the Chateau d’if for crimes he did not commit

• Subtext Trait: Conspiring

• Subtext Logline: Edmund is out for revenge on those who wrongfully imprisoned him and will be gracious, self-depreciating, scheming, and ruthless to exact his revenge

• Possible Areas of Subtext: Secretive, Scheming, Vengeful

For your two leads, brainstorm these answers:

• Character Name: James Fontenot

• Subtext Identity: The Leader, always in control

• Subtext Trait: Guarded; Suspicious

• Subtext Logline: James projects aggressive confidence to cover his feelings of inadequacy and worthlessness brought on by his abandonment when his mother died

• Possible Areas of Subtext: Reluctance to trust anyone; wary and skeptical

• Character Name: Enes Xavier Fontenot

• Subtext Identity: A famed award winning chef

• Subtext Trait: Secretive,

• Subtext Logline: Enes Xavier is a rough boss of an oyster fisherman and covers his expertise in fine dining

• Possible Areas of Subtext: Enes Xavier carries the weight of his mistakes, his wife’s death, and his abandonment of his only child but he hides his true feelings and can’t let his real emotion show.

James Fontenot

Subtext Identity:

• Corporate Warrior: James’s identity as a successful corporate lawyer defines him, making him appear invulnerable and confident. However, beneath this exterior lies a man conflicted about his roots and seeking validation from a father he feels never appreciated him.

Subtext Trait:
• Mask of Professionalism: James hides his insecurities and emotional pain behind a veneer of professionalism. He is adept at masking his true feelings, presenting a facade of control and competence while internally grappling with feelings of inadequacy and unresolved anger towards his father.

Subtext Logline:
• James is a corporate warrior who hides his need for his father’s approval behind his professional success.
Possible Areas of Subtext:

• Hiding Something:

o James is hiding his deep-seated resentment and hurt from Enes, pretending that his return to the bayou is purely for legal reasons rather than a subconscious desire to reconnect and prove his worth.

• Afraid to Say:

o He fears admitting that he is unsure of his path and questions if his relentless pursuit of corporate success was worth the sacrifice of his personal happiness and familial connections.

• Secret:

o James harbors a secret longing to be seen and valued for who he is, not just for his achievements. This desire influences his actions and interactions, though he seldom voices it.

• Withholding:

o He often withholds his true feelings and softer side, fearing that showing vulnerability will be seen as a weakness and undermine his hard-won image of success.

• Being Polite:

o James uses politeness as a shield to maintain distance in personal interactions, especially with his father, as a way to avoid confronting painful truths and unresolved issues.

• Plotting:

o Internally, James is constantly strategizing on how to navigate his father's stubbornness and uncover the truth behind the sabotage while balancing his growing attraction to Lila
and wariness of Odette.

Enes Xavier Fontenot

Subtext Identity:

• Wounded Protector: Enes’s identity is that of a rugged and stubborn protector of his heritage and family’s legacy. However, his stoic exterior hides deep-seated regrets and a sense of failure as both a father and a chef.
Subtext Trait:
• Veiled Regret: Enes covers his regrets and past failures with a brusque and gruff demeanor, often pushing people away to avoid showing his vulnerability and to protect himself from further emotional pain.

Subtext Logline:

• Enes is a wounded protector who hides his past regrets and his deep love for his son behind a façade of gruff independence.
Possible Areas of Subtext:

• Hiding Something:

o Enes hides the depth of his past success as a chef and the profound impact the scandal had on him, choosing to let others believe he’s merely a simple oyster fisherman to avoid reopening old wounds.

• Afraid to Say:

o He is afraid to express his deep love and pride for James, fearing that doing so will make him vulnerable or seem weak, and that it might not be reciprocated after so many years of estrangement.

• Secret:

o Enes secretly believes that his past culinary failure was not entirely his fault, but he keeps this suspicion to himself, partially out of fear that pursuing it might lead to more pain and partially out of a sense of guilt and responsibility.

• Withholding:

o He withholds his true feelings and the full extent of his culinary talent from James, thinking that it’s too late to bridge the gap between them and that his son won’t understand or appreciate his past.

• Being Polite:

o Enes often uses politeness and formalities to maintain a safe emotional distance, especially with outsiders and James, as a way to protect himself from potential rejection or disappointment.

• Plotting:

o Enes is quietly plotting ways to defend his oyster bed and uncover the truth behind the sabotage while wrestling with the dilemma of whether to reveal the full story of his past to James.

• This reply was modified 11 months, 3 weeks ago by  Dawn C Crouch.

[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn Crouch Actor Attractors!

My vision is that I learn to write better, more marketable scripts.

What I learned from this assignment is to take it over the top.

James Fontenot

1. Known for Role:

• Complex Transformation: An actor would be attracted to this role for the depth of James’s journey—from a disconnected corporate lawyer to a passionate defender of his heritage.

2. Most Interesting Character:

• Internal Conflict: James embodies a curious blend of ambition and vulnerability. His struggle to reconcile his high-powered, emotionless corporate life with his rediscovered love for his cultural roots and family legacy makes him one of the most compelling characters in the story.

3. Interesting Actions:

• Legal Battles and Personal Investigations: James’s actions range from engaging in high-stakes legal battles to the hands-on investigation of sabotage in the bayou, offering a dynamic mix of intellectual and physical challenges.

• Community Mobilization: Organizing a community dinner to showcase his father’s culinary legacy provides a unique and emotionally rich action sequence.

4. Introduction:

• Powerful Contrasts: Introduce James as he steps off a sleek private jet into the rustic, humid bayou. This stark visual contrast immediately sets up his fish-out-of-water status and foreshadows his journey towards embracing his roots.

5. Emotional Range:

• Broad Spectrum: James’s emotional range includes the cold confidence of a corporate lawyer, the shock and betrayal upon uncovering family secrets, the warmth of reconnecting with his father, and the passion of fighting for his community.

6. Subtext:

• Hidden Vulnerabilities: Beneath his polished exterior, James grapples with insecurities about his identity and worthiness. His interactions, especially with Lila and Enes, are layered with subtext about belonging, acceptance, and redemption.

7. Interesting Relationships:

• Father-Son Dynamic: His strained but ultimately redemptive relationship with Enes provides deep emotional stakes.

• Romantic Tension: The evolving dynamic with Lila, from initial suspicion to respect and budding attraction, adds romantic and emotional complexity.

8. Unique Voice:

• Corporate Eloquence Meets Local Authenticity: James’s dialogue transitions from the precise, detached language of a corporate lawyer to a more relaxed and authentic tone as he reconnects with his roots. This shift in his voice mirrors his internal transformation.

9. Special:

• Cultural Reawakening: James’s journey is not just about winning a legal battle but rediscovering and embracing a part of himself he had buried. This deep, personal reawakening makes his character unique and special.

Enes Xavier Fontenot

1.Known for Role: Hidden Depths:

• An actor would want to be known for portraying Enes because he is a character with a profound and unexpected backstory. Playing a seemingly simple oyster fisherman who hides the soul of a renowned chef offers a rich and surprising narrative.

2. Most Interesting Character:

• Dual Identity: Enes’s dual identity as both a rugged bayou fisherman and a former celebrated chef makes him fascinating. His struggle to protect his livelihood while dealing with past traumas adds layers to his character.

3. Interesting Actions:

• Culinary Revelation: Revealing his culinary skills during the community dinner serves as a poignant and powerful action, showcasing his hidden talents and deep connection to his past.

• Defensive Maneuvers: Enes’s actions to protect his oyster bed from sabotage, including using his intimate knowledge of the bayou, highlight his resourcefulness and determination.

4. Introduction:

• Mysterious and Weathered: Introduce Enes working on his oyster bed at dawn, the light revealing the weathered lines on his face and the strength in his hands. This introduction hints at his hard life and unspoken depths.

5. Emotional Range:

• Stoic Exterior with Deep Feelings: Enes’s range includes stoic resilience, deep-seated regret and shame over his past, the pride of his culinary achievements, and the tender love he still holds for his estranged son.

6. Subtext:

• Unspoken Regrets: Much of Enes’s communication is layered with unspoken regrets and hidden pain about his past decisions and the impact they had on his family. His interactions with James are filled with these undercurrents.

7. Interesting Relationships:

• Father-Son Healing: The evolving relationship with James, from estrangement to mutual understanding and reconciliation, is central to his character arc.

• Mentor to Community: His role as a mentor and a respected figure in the local community highlights his hidden strengths and influence.

8. Unique Voice:

• Authentic Bayou Wisdom: Enes speaks with the wisdom and cadence of someone deeply rooted in the bayou. His dialogue is rich with local idioms and understated yet profound insights.

•

9. Special:

• Culinary Artist in Disguise: Enes’s unique blend of culinary artistry and bayou resilience makes him a distinctive and unforgettable character. His hidden talent and passion for cooking serve as a metaphor for his hidden depths and unacknowledged emotions.

Odette

1. Known for Role:

• Charismatic Antagonist: An actor would be drawn to Odette for her role as a charismatic and complex antagonist. Playing a character who balances charm and manipulation offers a rich and nuanced portrayal.

2. Most Interesting Character:

• Multi-Faceted Manipulator: Odette is interesting because she operates with multiple layers of intentions. Her ability to charm, manipulate, and maintain a façade of professionalism while pursuing her hidden agendas makes her a compelling and unpredictable character.

3. Interesting Actions:

• Seduction and Betrayal: Odette’s seductive influence over James and her eventual betrayal are key dramatic actions that drive the plot forward.

• Strategic Moves: Her strategic maneuvering within the legal and social realms to undermine James and Enes showcases her cunning and ambition.

4. Introduction:

• Elegant and Calculated: Introduce Odette in a high-stakes, tense negotiation scene where she effortlessly exerts control and charm, establishing her as a formidable and alluring presence.

5. Emotional Range:

• Surface Charm to Deep Calculation: Odette’s emotional range includes superficial charm and warmth, deep-seated ambition, manipulative deceit, and moments of vulnerability that reveal her underlying motivations and fears.

6. Subtext:

• Hidden Desperation: Beneath her composed exterior, Odette’s actions are driven by a hidden desperation to prove herself and secure her own future. This subtext can be played subtly in her interactions and decisions.

7. Interesting Relationships:

• Dangerous Attraction: The initially magnetic and later destructive relationship with James provides a rich ground for emotional and dramatic exploration.

• Rivalry with Lila: Her interactions with Lila are charged with tension and competitiveness, highlighting her fear of being undermined by someone she considers inferior.

8. Unique Voice:

• Elegant and Persuasive: Odette’s dialogue is polished and persuasive, reflecting her background as a skilled attorney. Her speech is laced with subtle manipulation and calculated
charm.

9. Special:

• Dual Nature: Odette’s ability to navigate high-stakes corporate worlds while hiding her true intentions makes her a unique character. Her dual nature as both a seductive ally and a ruthless adversary sets her apart.

Lila Boudreaux

1. Known for Role:

• Resilient Advocate: An actor would be attracted to Lila’s role for her portrayal of a strong, resilient woman who stands up for her community and environment. Lila’s blend of vulnerability and strength provides a rich character arc.

2. Most Interesting Character:

• Natural Guardian: Lila’s deep connection to the bayou and her role as a passionate defender of its ecosystem make her an incredibly compelling character. Her journey from suspicion to collaboration with James adds layers to her narrative.

3. Interesting Actions:

• Field Investigations: Lila’s hands-on approach to investigating the bayou and gathering evidence of sabotage showcases her determination and expertise.

• Rallying the Community: Her efforts to mobilize the local community against the oil company and her pivotal role in the community dinner highlight her leadership and commitment.

4. Introduction:

• Passionate Advocate: Introduce Lila during a heated town meeting, passionately defending the bayou and challenging the oil company’s representatives. This establishes her as a fiery and dedicated protector.

5. Emotional Range:

• Tough Exterior to Deep Empathy: Lila’s emotional range includes her tough, defensive exterior, the quiet moments of vulnerability, her deep-seated empathy for the community and environment, and her growing affection for James.

6. Subtext:

• Hidden Longings: Beneath her professional dedication, Lila’s interactions are layered with her hidden longings for deeper connections and her fears of being undervalued or dismissed
because of her background.

7. Interesting Relationships:

• Evolving Bond with James: The development of her relationship with James, from initial suspicion to mutual respect and potential romance, is a central and interesting dynamic.

• Community Leader: Her role as a respected figure in the local community and her interactions with its members highlight her influence and connection to the bayou.

8. Unique Voice:

• Grounded and Poetic: Lila’s dialogue reflects her deep connection to the bayou. She speaks with a blend of practical wisdom and poetic reverence for nature, making her voice unique and memorable.

9. Special:

• Bayou’s Heartbeat: Lila’s character embodies the spirit and resilience of the bayou. Her unwavering dedication to protecting her home and heritage makes her special and integral to the story’s emotional core.

• This reply was modified 11 months, 3 weeks ago by  Dawn C Crouch.

[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn Crouch’s Actor Attractors for To Kill a Mockingbird.

My vision is that I want to learn and write better, more marketable scripts.

What I learned from this assignment is to watch for the details.

ACTOR ATTRACTORS Template

Movie Title: To Kill a Mockingbird

Lead Character Name: Atticus Finch

1. Why would an actor WANT to be known for this role? – This is a heroic yet understated role. Atticus is a single father, a lawyer in a 1930s southern Alabama town, and the judge taps him to defend a black man on a charge of rape. At that time, rape was a capital offense. Taking the case will expose his family and himself to ridicule within the community. So this is a character who is self-deprecating yet has an iron will and an unbreakable moral compass. Who wouldn’t want to play that??

2. What makes this character one of the most interesting characters in the movie? – Throughout the film, the audience keeps finding out new things about Atticus. His children are raised to be independent. He is a crack shot with a rifle when he kills the rabid dog threatening the neighborhood. And he must stand up to defend his client and his children numerous times from a lynch mob and the father of the girl who allegedly was raped.

3. What are the most interesting actions the Lead takes in the movie? – His knowledge of the neighbors and their pasts is extensive. He nails the rabid dog with one shot and faces down a lynch mob alone, then with the help of his children.

4. How is this character introduced that could sell it to an actor? He is introduced as a slump-shouldered father returning from a hard day at the office. He is a widower, and that is never explored, but the fact that he was married and his wife died is never far from the audience’s mind.

5. What is this character’s emotional range? Atticus is calm and collected through much of the movie but does come undone, not knowing what to do and meeting with a situation that is beyond his understanding at the end when his children are attacked.

6. What subtext can the actor play? Grief at the loss of his wife. Grief and frustration at the outcome of the trial and the subsequent killing of the defendant. Confusion when he realizes that Boo Radley saved his children by killing a man.

7. What’s the most interesting relationships this character has? With his daughter Scout and son Jem

8. How is this character’s unique voice presented? Atticus is self-deprecating, precise in his speech, and always presenting both sides of the story. He is calming in the face of chaos.

9. What makes this character special and unique? He is the everyman of Fatherhood. Who wouldn’t want a dad like Atticus? His patience, love, and understanding shine.

10. During the film, Atticus is spit upon several times and accused of being a traitor to his race for defending Tom Robinson. Each time, he stands his ground but does not react. Throughout the film, Gregory Peck, who plays Atticus, shows how it becomes increasingly difficult not to respond and retaliate. He doesn’t say a thing, yet the scenes are so strong, showing his bravery and integrity as he takes the abuse.

• This reply was modified 11 months, 3 weeks ago by  Dawn C Crouch.

[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn Crouch’s Genre Conventions

My vision is that I want to learn and write better, more marketable scripts.

What I learned from this assignment is to keep moving forward.

Title – On The Half Shell – 4-Act Structure – Version 1:

Genre – Drama

Concept – A hot-shot corporate lawyer, James Fontenot, returns to the Louisiana Bayou to defend his estranged father, Enes Xavier’s oyster bed from an oil company’s encroachment and uncovers secrets about his father’s past life as a renowned chef and sabotage that threatens the future of his father’s legacy.

1. Act 1:

Opening: James returns to Louisiana to defend his father’s oyster bed.

Inciting Incident: Discovery of sabotage and bribery; meets Odette.

Act I Turning Point: Enes’s revelation of his past as a renowned chef.

Act 2:

New Plan: Investigates sabotage and corporate conspiracy.

Plan in Action: Finds evidence and allies among the local fishermen.

Act II Midpoint Turning Point: Learns about Odette’s manipulation and blackmail regarding Enes’s past.

Act 3:

Rethink Everything: James reevaluates his relationships and beliefs.

New Plan: James organizes a community dinner to showcase Enes’s culinary heritage.

Act III Turning Point: Major Shift: Partial success at the dinner; discovers Enes’s hidden culinary achievements.

Act 4:

Climax: Courtroom showdown against the oil company.

Resolution: Victory in court, community support, and family reconciliation.

Denouement: James stays in the bayou, combining his legal skills with his new passion for his cultural heritage.

Version 2: With Genre Improvements:

Act 1:

• Opening:
Setting the Scene: James Fontenot, a high-powered corporate lawyer in New York, is introduced through scenes emphasizing his detachment and material success.

He receives a call about the legal threat to his father’s oyster bed.

Return to Bayou: James’s return to Louisiana is depicted as a stark contrast to his New York life—lush, untamed bayou scenery versus the concrete jungle. His discomfort is palpable, both with the setting and the people, highlighting his emotional and cultural disconnect.

Estranged Father: James’s awkward reunion with Enes is laced with unspoken tension and unresolved issues. Enes is as reluctant to accept James’s help as James is to give it.

• Inciting Incident:

Discovery of Sabotage: James stumbles upon evidence of tampering with the oyster beds—dead oysters, oily residues, and subtle signs of intrusion.

Meeting Odette: Enter Odette, the charming yet tough lawyer for the oil company. Sparks fly, but they are clearly on opposite sides of the fight. Their initial encounters are tense and filled with professional posturing but underlying personal intrigue.

• Act 1 Turning Point:

Enes’s Revelation: During a heated argument, Enes accidentally reveals his past as a renowned chef. This is a shock to James, who only knew his father as a rough oyster fisherman.

• Act 2:

New Plan:
Investigating Sabotage: James investigates the sabotage, working through layers of local resistance and mistrust.

Building Bridges: James starts interacting more with the local fishermen and community members, slowly earning their trust.

• Plan in Action:
Collecting Evidence: Scenes of James out on the water, gathering samples, and visiting local businesses to piece together evidence… in a vulnerable and unfamiliar environment.

Allies Among Locals: James finds unexpected allies in the local fishermen who have suspicions about the oil company and corrupt local officials who want to control the bayou.

• Midpoint Turning Point:
Odette's Manipulation: James learns that Odette is blackmailing Enes with the knowledge of the tragic incident where two people died from paralytic shellfish toxin, which drove him from his culinary career.

Act 3:
• Rethink Everything:
Emotional Confrontation: James and Enes have a cathartic confrontation about their past, Enes’s shame, and the reasons behind their estrangement.

Odette’s Role: James also confronts his feelings for Odette, torn between their growing personal connection and her role in the oil company’s plans.

• New Plan:

Community Dinner: Inspired by Enes’s culinary legacy, James organizes a community dinner using oysters from the threatened beds.

Preparation Scenes: The scenes of James and Enes working together in the kitchen highlight their emotional bonding and James’s discovery of his latent passion for his father’s craft.

• Turning Point: Major Shift:

Partial Success: The community dinner draws a large crowd, including local media and supporters. However, when the oil company representatives learn oysters are on the menu, they refuse to eat, casting doubt on the safety and quality of the oysters. Despite this, the event successfully rallies the community, spotlighting Enes’s culinary talents.

Hidden Achievements: James discovers old awards and recipes among Enes’s belongings, revealing the depth of his father’s culinary excellence and the pride he once took in his work.

Act 4: Resolution and Rebirth

• Climax:

Courtroom Showdown: James, fully committed to his father and the community, uses his legal prowess and the evidence gathered to challenge the oil company’s encroachment.

Personal and Public Victory: The judge rules in favor of Enes and the local community, acknowledging their rights and the evidence of foul play.

• Resolution:

Community Support: The courtroom victory galvanizes the community, which rallies around Enes and James. The oil company is forced to back down, and plans are made to restore and protect the oyster beds.

Family Reconciliation: James and Enes share a heartfelt moment. James’s transformation is complete; he’s no longer a detached corporate lawyer but a man who understands and values his roots and community.

• Denouement:

James’s New Path: James stays in the bayou, integrating his legal skills with his newfound passion for his cultural heritage. He works with the community on future projects and opens a small restaurant that honors his father’s culinary legacy and the bayou’s traditions.

Symbolic Closure: The film closes with a scene of James, Enes, and the community enjoying a meal together, signifying unity, renewal, and the enduring spirit of the bayou.

• This reply was modified 11 months, 3 weeks ago by  Dawn C Crouch.

[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn Crouch’s 4-Act Transformational Structure

To achieve success, I will write three-dimensional stories that connect and resonate with audiences.

What I learned from this assignment is that when writing structure, it helps to stay fluid and be open to new ideas, twists, and turns.

• Concept – A hot-shot corporate lawyer returns to Bayou country to defend his estranged father’s oyster bed from an oil company’s encroachment.

• Main Conflict—As James digs deeper in his investigation, he discovers that his father, Enes Xavier, is not only fighting to keep his livelihood but also trying to cover up a long-hidden secret about his past as a renowned chef, mutually exclusive goals.

• Old Ways – Facts and Figures only
• Emotions locked away
• Doesn’t acknowledge his preferences, visions, dreams
• Accepts the domination of corporate interests

• Old Ways At the beginning of the story, James is a man consumed by the pursuit of success at any cost. His worldview is limited to facts and figures, his emotions buried beneath a facade of professionalism. He denies himself the luxury of dreams and visions, resigned to a life dictated by the demands of corporate interests. His acceptance of this status quo leaves him blind to the wonders of the world around him, a prisoner of his own making.

• New Ways – Eyes open to the beauty and wonder of nature
• Champions the environment and lifestyle of the oyster fishermen
• Courageous.
• Open to his dreams and visions.

New Ways – James realizes that true strength lies in vulnerability and empathy. He learns to unlock his emotions, embracing them as a source of strength rather than weakness. Through this emotional awakening, he becomes more supportive of those around him, fostering genuine connections rooted in authenticity.

Act 1:
• Opening – James Fontenot, a corporate lawyer, returns to his home in the Louisiana Bayou Country when an oil company threatens to contest the ownership of his family’s oyster beds.

• Inciting Incident – James meets Odette, the attorney for the oil company, and sparks fly just as he discovers evidence of sabotage and bribery of local Wildlife and Fishery officials, hinting at a deeper conspiracy.

• Turning Point – When James discovers that Odette has evidence that his father was not just a rough oyster fisherman but a renowned chef, he confronts his father and uncovers a family secret, deepening the mystery and intensifying the conflict between the oyster fishermen and the oil company.

Act 2:
• New plan – James's investigation uncovers a covert plot by rival oyster fishermen and the oil company to control the bayou’s resources.

• Plan in action – James takes to the bayou to find evidence of sabotage in the oyster beds.

• Midpoint Turning Point – James discovers that Odette is manipulating him and blackmailing his father, threatening to expose the reason he left his culinary life behind – two people died from paralytic shellfish toxin found in the contaminated oysters.

Act 3:
• Rethink everything—With their relationship in turmoil, James is forced to confront his feelings toward Odette and his father and examine his beliefs about love and loyalty.

• New plan – James repairs his relationship with his father, Enes, who expresses his belief that his cuisine was sabotaged just like the current oyster beds. James embraces his newfound identity. He realizes that Enes’s passion for haute cuisine and the bayou’s culinary traditions is the key to saving their business. This revelation allows them to use Enes’s culinary skills to gain public support and challenge the oil company more effectively. James organizes a community dinner and includes the oil company representatives.

• Turning Point: Huge failure / Major shift – The oil company representatives will not eat the dinner, but the locals do. The oysters were not contaminated as originally believed. The oyster bed's history reveals Enes's culinary mastery and the pride he took in creating exquisite dishes, which James inherits as a latent passion. James stumbles upon old culinary awards and recipes hidden in Enes's belongings, piecing together the depth of his father’s hidden talents and legacy.

Act 4:
• Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict – James’s fight for the oyster bed transitions from a mere legal battle to preserving a cultural and familial legacy.

• Resolution – The final confrontation with the oil company reveals not just the legal right to the oyster bed, but also the depth of Enes’s love for his craft and the bayou. This understanding brings James and Enes closer, reconciling their strained relationship through their shared appreciation of culinary heritage.

• This reply was modified 12 months ago by  Dawn C Crouch.

[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn Crouch’s Subtext Plot

To achieve success, I will write three-dimensional stories that connect and resonate.

What I learned from doing this assignment is to move quickly when you’re so far behind. No excuses.

Concept – Amidst a feud over the legal ownership of a lucrative oyster bed, a hot-shot corporate lawyer returns to help his estranged father.

James Fontenot, the proverbial Fish Out of Water, returns to his bayou roots and lands in the middle of a hotbed of scheme and investigation. Competitive agendas and A Major Cover Up complicate what should be a relatively easy legal case.

Secrets are revealed. The young man learns of his father’s past as a renowned chef whose culinary expertise could save the struggling oyster business and reveal his hidden love and talent for haute cuisine.

1. Scheme and Investigation
Subtext Plot: Hidden Motives in the Oyster Bed Dispute

2. Layering
Subtext Plot: Uncovering Deep-Rooted Family Secrets

3. Someone Hides Who They Are
Subtext Plot: Enes’s Hidden Identity as a Chef

4. The Fish Out of Water
Subtext Plot: James’s Struggle to Adapt to the Bayou

• This reply was modified 12 months ago by  Dawn C Crouch.

[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn Crouch’s Transformational Journey

To achieve success, I will write three-dimensional stories that connect and resonate.

What I learned from doing this assignment is that exploring the transformational journey ahead of time really helps the plotting and corrects possible missteps before you make them.

JAMES FONTENOT

Arc Beginning: Dead Man Walking – Successful corporate lawyer who deals with environmental issues from the confines of his air-conditioned office

Arc Beginning: James Fontenot strides through the polished halls of corporate law, a man of logic and calculation. His world is defined by facts and figures, his emotions locked away behind the polished veneer of professionalism. He is successful, yes, but his success comes at the cost of his authenticity. He is blind to the beauty around him, both in nature and in human connections, lost in the shadow of corporate interests that dictate his every move.

Arc Ending: He learns to live – Rebirth and new appreciation of life, love, and environment

Arc Ending: He learns to live By the story’s end, James undergoes a profound transformation. No longer confined by the walls of his office, he embraces life with open arms. His journey is one of rebirth, as he sheds the skin of his old life to reveal a man awakened to the wonders of the world. He not only fights for the environment but becomes its champion, recognizing the interconnectedness of all living things. His newfound courage propels him forward, no longer shackled by the expectations of others but guided by his own dreams and visions.

Internal Journey: From controlling and manipulative to sensient and supportive.

Internal Journey James’s internal journey is a tumultuous one, marked by the upheaval of his deeply ingrained beliefs and behaviors. At the outset, he is controlling and manipulative, using his skills to nvigate the corporate landscape with ease. But as the story unfolds, he confronts the limitations of this approach, realizing that true strength lies in vulnerability and empathy. He learns to unlock his emotions, embracing them as a source of strength rather than weakness. Through this emotional awakening, he becomes more supportive of those around him, fostering genuine connections rooted in authenticity.

External Journey: From confined corporate lawyer to making a real difference for the environment and oyster industry by finding his true love and true profession.

External Journey Externally, James's journey mirrors his internal evolution. He transitions from the confines of the corporate world to the untamed beauty of the Louisiana Bayou. Here, he discovers a new purpose, one intertwined with the fate of the oyster fishermen who call the bayou home. As he immerses himself in their way of life, he finds himself transformed, his actions driven not by profit margins but by a genuine desire to make a difference. He trades in his tailored suits for waders and mud-streaked boots, embracing the challenges of life on the water with courage and determination.

Old Ways:
• Facts and Figures only
• Emotions locked away
• Doesn’t acknowledge his preferences, visions, dreams
• Accepts the domination of corporate interests

Old Ways At the beginning of the story, James is a man consumed by the pursuit of success at any cost. His worldview is limited to facts and figures, his emotions buried beneath a facade of professionalism. He denies himself the luxury of dreams and visions, resigned to a life dictated by the demands of corporate interests. His acceptance of this status quo leaves him blind to the wonders of the world around him, a prisoner of his own making.

New Ways:
• Eyes open to the beauty and wonder of nature
• Champions the environment and lifestyle of the oyster fishermen
• Courageous.
• Open to his dreams and visions.

New Ways By the story’s end, James emerges reborn, a testament to the power of transformation. His eyes are open to the beauty and wonder of nature, and he embraces his role as a steward of the environment. No longer content to stand on the sidelines, he becomes a courageous advocate for change, challenging the status quo and championing the rights of the oyster fishermen. His newfound openness allows him to connect with others on a deeper level, fostering relationships built on mutual respect and understanding. And as he embraces his dreams and visions, he discovers a sense of purpose that transcends the confines of the corporate world, forging a new path guided by his own inner compass.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by  Dawn C Crouch.

[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn C Crouch’s Intentional Lead Characters
I will write three-dimensional stories that connect and resonate with many people.
What I learned from this assignment is to choose interrelated yet believable characters.
Title: Grit in the Oyster
Genre: Drama
Concept – • When an oil spill in the Gulf threatens to destroy a family’s seafood livelihood, a rough oyster fisherman approaches his estranged son for help.
1. Character: Protagonist – James Fontenot
Logline: After his family supported his higher education, college, and law school, James is called upon to return to the bayou and represent the community when an oil spill threatens the oyster industry.
Unique: James never wanted to become a lawyer but harbors a love of haute cuisine.
2. Character: Enes Xavier Fontenot
Logline: Enes Xavier is a hardworking, hard-drinking oyster fisherman who regards his son James with disapproval and disdain. He harbors intense grief for James’ mother, who passed many years before, and he resents the young man’s education and resemblance to his mother.
Unique: A Secret exists between Enes Xavier and his son –
3. Character: Antagonist – Odette Carvel
Logline: Odette, the lead attorney for the oil company, believes money can solve everything.
Unique: She is a hard-shell crab who softens in the environs of the bayou.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by  Dawn C Crouch.
• This reply was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by  Dawn C Crouch.

[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn C Crouch’s Title, Concept, and Character Structure!
I want my writing to create three-dimensional stories that connect and resonate so deeply that people want to see the movie or read the book more than once.
What I learned from the assignment is to focus on the pitch!!

Title: Grit in the Oyster
Genre: Drama with Comedy Elements
High Concept: An educated young man clashes with his estranged father over family secrets amid environmental threats to the Louisiana Bayou.
Character Structure: Buddy Movie with Two Characters Owning the Story

• This reply was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by  Dawn C Crouch.

[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn C Crouch’s Subtext Characters

Vision – In WIM, I will write a screenplay that will be optioned and produced.

What I learned from doing this assignment is to explore, experiment, and design the characters before I write a single word.

Nursing A Grudge – Suspense Thriller

Character Name: Kingsley Wells

Subtext Identity: The Victim – getting revenge

Subtext Trait: Scheming, secretive

Subtext Logline: Nurse practitioner Kingsley is a young widow who considers herself a victim of corrupt hospital administrators and wants to exact revenge.

Possible Areas of Subtext: Plays off her role as a young widow to elicit sympathy and concern; Lives her life as if she is already dead; Constant distraction of thoughts of revenge; Hate/Love relationship with Tallis develops because Tallis doesn’t buy her story or her motivations

Character Name: Tallis Porter

Subtext Identity: The spy; the advocate

Subtext Trait: Secretive- concealing

Subtext Logline: Tallis is a biomedical engineer who is secretive about his skills and is on a mission to discover who or what is behind the “accidental” deaths in the new hospital.

Possible Areas of Subtext: Tallis is self-contained; unwilling to share his time, feelings, and life with another human being; drawn into the hospital goings on but intensely uncomfortable with interactions; then he falls in love

Character Name: Carling Hearne, MD

Subtext Identity: The con; the competitor

Subtext Trait: Conniving, Unethical

Subtext Logline: Carling is a highly competitive con who connives in an unethical environment to rule the hospital.

Possible Areas of Subtext: Carling’s dad was the former administrator of the hospital. His dad was caring and devoted to his patients, yet he was blamed for the problems resulting from a natural disaster. Carling wants the money and Kingsley. He plays the part of the caring physician but is nothing like…

[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn C Crouch’s Subtext Characters

Vision – In WIM, I will write a screenplay that will be optioned and produced.

What I learned from doing this assignment is to explore, experiment, and design the characters before I write a single word.

Nursing A Grudge – Suspense Thriller

Character Name: Kingsley Wells

Subtext Identity: The Victim – getting revenge

Subtext Trait: Scheming, secretive

Subtext Logline: Nurse practitioner Kingsley is a young widow who considers herself a victim of corrupt hospital administrators and wants to exact revenge.

Possible Areas of Subtext: Plays off her role as a young widow to elicit sympathy and concern; Lives her life as if she is already dead; Constant distraction of thoughts of revenge; Hate/Love relationship with Tallis develops because Tallis doesn’t buy her story or her motivations

Character Name: Tallis Porter

Subtext Identity: The spy; the advocate

Subtext Trait: Secretive- concealing

Subtext Logline: Tallis is a biomedical engineer who is secretive about his skills and is on a mission to discover who or what is behind the “accidental” deaths in the new hospital.

Possible Areas of Subtext: Tallis is self-contained; unwilling to share his time, feelings, and life with another human being; drawn into the hospital goings on but intensely uncomfortable with interactions; then he falls in love

Character Name: Carling Hearne, MD

Subtext Identity: The con; the competitor

Subtext Trait: Conniving, Unethical

Subtext Logline: Carling is a highly competitive con who connives in an unethical environment to rule the hospital.

Possible Areas of Subtext: Carling’s dad was the former administrator of the hospital. His dad was caring and devoted to his patients, yet he was blamed for the problems resulting from a natural disaster. Carling wants the money and Kingsley. He plays the part of the caring physician but is nothing like…

[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn C Crouch’s Actor Attractors

Vision – In WIM, I will write a screenplay that will be optioned and produced.

What I learned from doing this assignment is character traits determine organic character actions.

Lead Character Name: Kingsley Welles

Role: Antagonist

What about this role would cause an actor to want to be known for it?

· A nurse practitioner who is also a grieving widow. She is seen as virtuous and kind, a credit to her profession but believes revenge is best served cold.

What makes this character one of the most interesting characters in your story?

· Playing one character while having hidden motives

· Her transformational journey revolves around the reclusive bioengineer Tallis. She planned her life as a model of revenge and did not expect to fall in love again.

What are the most interesting actions the Lead could take in the script?

· A chilling scene in the OR where just before she puts one of her targets to sleep, she explains in detail how he will die

· The final scene where she thinks she is about to accomplish her revenge but then realizes that Tallis will be in danger, so she rushes to save him only to find out that he has ruined her plan.

How can you introduce this role in a way that could sell it to an actor?

· A young widow who is known for her compassion and care continues her vocation so she will be in the best position to act as an executioner of those responsible for her husband’s death.

What could be this character’s emotional range

· Caring, competent, and empathetic to judge and jury executioner who wants to explain why, when, and how.

What subtext can the actor play?

· Her outward concern and ability, her interest in new medical technology belie her real intentions, so everything she says and does is subtext.

What are the most interesting relationships this character can have?

· Carling was her husband’s best friend and wants to be more than a friend to Kingsley.

· Tallis is difficult and reclusive but sparks Kingsley’s interest in living again, something she never thought would happen.

How will this character’s unique voice be presented?

· Kingsley lost her husband and the life they had created due to negligence on the part of the hospital administration. She believes that everything she does is totally justified, that she is retribution.

What could make this character special and unique?

· Kingsley’s reawakening to love. Her outward persona as caring and kind becomes what she wants to be but is it too late?

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Lead Character Name: Tallis Porter, Biomedical engineer.

Role: Protagonist

What about this role would cause an actor to want to be known for it?

· Quirky and brilliant, Tallis invents medical devices that help mankind; he just has trouble with individual people.

What makes this character one of the most interesting characters in your story?

· Tallis is concerned with the equipment but repulsed by the sight of blood, human suffering, rehabilitation, etc.

· His transformational journey involves stepping out of his comfort zone and learning to love only to realize that many people’s lives are at stake and he is the only one who can stop the impending disaster.

What are the most interesting actions the Lead could take in the script?

· His efforts to avoid interaction with those on his team.

· He is willing to put himself at risk to save others in the final scenes.

How can you introduce this role in a way that could sell it to an actor?

· Tallis has an interest in saving lives but no ability to live one.

· Brilliant but within his narrow niche, like a virgin in everything else.

What could be this character’s emotional range?

· From fear and disgust to wonder and full emotion. Imagine a person coming out of his shell and discovering the best in the world then being confronted with the worst.

What subtext can the actor play?

· Authoritative, commanding personality that hides insecurity and ignorance of certain situations.

What’s the most interesting relationships this character can have?

· The relationship with Kingsley and friendship with Carling.

How will this character’s unique voice be presented?

· Through the investigation of the accidents at the hospital and the forced interactions with fellow human beings.

What could make this character special and unique?

· Tallis will go full circle – from reclusive genius to sacrificing his newfound love for his fellow men.

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[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn Crouch’s Actor Attractors –

Vision – In WIM, I will listen and learn to write my best screenplay, which will be optioned and produced.

What I learned from doing this assignment is to design the attractors, purposefully adding them to the script… and also don’t let another character steal the show!

Movie Title: Swing Kids

Lead Character Name: Peter – Robert Sean Leonard

1. Why would an actor WANT to be known for this role? Great role for a young actor. His love of jazz and swing music is in direct opposition with rise of Nazis in pre-war Germany.

2. What makes this character one of the most interesting characters in the movie? His emotional conflict and complications within his family, his group of friends, and himself.

3. What are the most interesting actions the Lead takes in the movie? Steals the radio and gets caught. Forced to join Hitler Youth. Opens the delivery box and sees what he is delivering to families.

4. How is this character introduced that could sell it to an actor? Shy, reticent but still asks the girl to dance then really goes all out with his dancing.

5. What is this character’s emotional range? Innocent to Aware

6. What subtext can the actor play? That he knows what is really going on underneath all the propaganda and noise

7. What’s the most interesting relationships this character has? With Thomas and his other friends; his mother and brother, the gestapo leader

8. How is this character’s unique voice presented? In his actions. He is obedient to a point.

9. What makes this character special and unique? I had trouble with this one because Peter is so reactive. Things happen to him or he participates in an action, like stealing the radio, because it is suggested to him by Thomas. I think that is a problem with this character.

10. Peter delivers books. That’s his after school job and when he is forced to join Hitler Youth, he is still used as a delivery boy although he is not sure what he is delivering. Peter is obedient but one day decides to see what is in the package and discovers cremated remains and a wedding ring. He has been used to be a messenger of death.

Lead Character Name: Thomas – Christian Bale

1. Why would an actor WANT to be known for this role? Flamboyant role, risky, carefree, but in the end the role with the greatest range of emotion.

2. What makes this character one of the most interesting characters in the movie? His arc is the greatest change although it is a change for the worse.

3. What are the most interesting actions the Lead takes in the movie? Scratching the record – never quite know if he did this on purpose. Suggest stealing the radio. Embracing Hitler Youth.

4. How is this character introduced that could sell it to an actor? He is the first to dance and does so with abandon and style.

5. What is this character’s emotional range? Happy and innocent to cruel.

6. What subtext can the actor play? He plays the confident sure footed person who is really abused and insecure.

7. What’s the most interesting relationships this character has? With Peter and Arvid among the friends, his father’s overbearing and dismissive opinion of him.

8. How is this character’s unique voice presented? He acts then thinks and finally doesn’t think at all

9. What makes this character special and unique? He should be a leader but in the end is the ultimate follower, looking to others for an opinion of himself.

10. The scene where he really does wholeheartedly join Hitler Youth.

[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn C Crouch Genre Conventions

Vision – In WIM, I will listen and learn to write my best screenplay, which will be optioned and produced.

What I learned from this assignment is to consider and build the genre conventions into the script before I start writing. Have to say, I’ve never done so much “prep” work in anticipation of writing the script. Nice!!

NURSING A GRUDGE – Concept – After a series of unexplained “accidents” occur at a newly renovated hospital, the new administrator, a nurse practitioner, and a reclusive medical researcher are reluctantly assembled to conduct an internal investigation of the medical misadventures.

Thriller

Act 1: 25 to 30 pages — Set up and see Old Ways.

Opening: The gala opening of the newly renovated hospital. All the movers and shakers are present. As the new administrator, Dr. Carling Hearne is the man of the hour, with Kingsley Welles, nurse practitioner and Carling’s hoped-for love interest, at his side. Dr. Tallis Porter stands alone at the entrance. Tallis rolls his ticket like a cigarette between his fingers. When Kingsley encourages Tallis to join them, he refuses to enter the room.

Inciting Incident: An accident in one of the surgical suites causes the death of a patient on the table.

Turning Point: Carling and Kingsley go to Tallis and essentially force him to join in the investigation of the incident. The three do not get along, are openly derisive and combative then Tallis determines that the incident was not equipment failure but intentional sabotage.

Act 2: 20 to 30 pages — Challenge the Old Ways.

Reaction: Carling sees the accident as a direct attack on his authority within the hospital. Kingsley distrusts her fellow surgical team members and Tallis was tapped because he is invisible, discreet, and a total expert in medical equipment. While investigating, Kingsley alerts Tallis about a misplaced machine and Tallis realizes that the child of an administrator is in possible danger from faulty equipment.

He changes out the equipment, and the child is safe. Then Tallis believes someone is following him as he returns to his lab. He escapes his pursuer and then questions whether his reaction was a panic attack or real.

The Plan: Tallis uncovers numerous problems within the hospital and the software used to run the equipment. He alerts Carling, but Carling is too preoccupied with political schemes within the hospital that he misses meeting with Tallis who has trouble explaining his suspicions. He is unknown within the hospital with little or no credibility. He tries to warn Carling that another big calamity is on the horizon. Because Kingsley is in danger, he decides to handle it himself.

Turning Point 2: MIDPOINT: A problem in the surgical suite escalates and Tallis rushes into the sterile area to save Kingsley as the suite explodes. Tallis is injured in the explosion.

Act 3: 20 to 30 pages — With Midpoint change, Profound moments that give us new ways.

This Midpoint changes everything. The hero must rethink and create a new plan.

Rethink: This is an important part of the Hero’s transformation.

As Tallis recovers from injuries in the explosion, he realizes that he must produce hard evidence, not just suspicions and thoughts about what is happening. He is also near panic about being a patient in the hospital where the problems are happening. Carling is apologetic and tries to assuage Tallis. Kingsley ignores Tallis although he saved her life.

Tallis is highly allergic to an antibiotic, and when the antibiotic is unwittingly given to him, Kingsley is barely able to resuscitate him in time. Tallis checks out of the hospital AMA and Kingsley takes him to her home.

The police step in to investigate the explosion as a crime scene. Carling points the finger at the families of the previous victims who are out for revenge.

Turning Point: The “All is lost” or “lowest of the lows” moment where everything has failed. Tallis returns to his “cave” but finds his inventions and carefully restored antiquated medical equipment in ruins. He has no “cave” to return to.

Act 4: 25 pages — Test the change in this character! Prove New Ways!

New Plan – Tallis, Carling, and Kingsley decide to bait the murderer who they believe is the former Chief of Staff who was not exteded privileges at the new hospital.

Climax – The suspected murderer is injured and must go to surgery but to the surgery suite that has been set up for the next “accident.”

Resolution – Tallis, Carling, and Kingsley are the best of friends and a secret that is apparent throughout the script reveals a twist.

Still working on this but had to get something down!!

• This reply was modified 2 years, 9 months ago by  Dawn C Crouch.

[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn C Crouch’s 4 Act Transformational Structure

Vision – In WIM, I will listen and learn to write my best screenplay, which will be optioned and produced.

What I learned from this assignment is to build the story by filling in the blanks along the way; it’s okay not to know all the details of the story. I don’t, but I will…

Concept: After a series of unexplained “accidents” occur at a newly renovated hospital, a reclusive niche medical researcher suspects intentional acts of sabotage and investigates to solve the murders and expose the coverup of the current administration.

Main Conflict: Dr. Carling Hearne wants the accidents at the new hospital to remain a secret. He sends Kingsley Wells to Tallis Porter as a go-between to get his help in the quick repair of the apparatus, but when Tallis discovers intentional sabotage, Carling schemes to eliminate Tallis.

<strong style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Tallis Porter Old Ways:

Distrustful of all medical technology. Afraid of human interaction. Hiding out with the outdated medical devices in the basement of the old Charity. Believes in himself but doesn’t believe that anyone else will. Constantly trying to put off/evade interaction with other people.

New Ways:

Can see the logic and purpose of the new technology and the possible problems. Can interact with others meaningfully. Courageous. Willing to put his life on the line to find the murderer.

External Journey: From the Hermit Medical Researcher that everyone sees as quirky and out of touch to the hero of the hospital who saves Kingsley’s life.

Internal Journey: From solitary recluse to confident man in love, a leader capable of decision and action.

Act 1: 25 to 30 pages — Set up and see Old Ways.

Opening: The gala opening of the newly renovated hospital. All the movers and shakers are present. Dr. Carling Hearne is the man of the hour, fielding questions and showing mockups of the new campus and state-of-the-art surgery suites. Kingsley Welles, a nurse practitioner and Carling’s hoped-for love interest sees Tallis Porter standing alone at the entrance. Tallis rolls his ticket like a cigarette between his fingers. Kingsley encourages Tallis to join them, but he refuses to enter the room.

Inciting Incident: After an accident in one of the surgical suites, Carling approaches Tallis and charges him with looking over the equipment and investigating the failure.

Turning Point: Tallis investigates and determines that the incident was not equipment failure but intentional sabotage.

Act 2: 20 to 30 pages — Challenge the Old Ways.

Reaction: While investigating the hospital, Tallis realizes that an administrator’s child is in danger from faulty equipment. He changes the equipment, and the child is safe, but Tallis realizes someone is after him. He escapes and then questions whether his reaction is a panic attack or real.

The Plan: Tallis tries to alert Carling about the faults in the renovation but Carling is too busy, and Tallis is too inept at explaining his suspicions to anyone, no credibility.

Turning Point 2: MIDPOINT: A problem in the surgical suite escalates, and Tallis rushes into the sterile area to save Kingsley as the suite explodes.

Act 3: 20 to 30 pages —

Rethink: As Tallis recovers from injuries in the explosion, he realizes that he must produce hard evidence, not just suspicions and thoughts about what is happening. He also realizes he was a suspect in the police investigation but is now exonerated by his heroic actions.

The police step in to investigate the explosion as a crime scene. Carling points the finger at the previous victims’ families, who are out for revenge.

Turning Point: The “All is lost” or “lowest of the lows” moment where everything has failed. Tallis returns to his “cave” but finds his inventions and carefully restored antiquated medical equipment in ruins. He has no “cave” to return to. His friend and confidant murdered in the process.

Act 4: 25 pages — Test the change in this character! Prove New Ways!

New Plan – Tallis decides to bait the murderer.

Climax – The suspected murderer somehow is injured and must go to surgery but to the surgery suite that the murderer has set up for the next “accident.”

Resolution – Tallis becomes the new administrator of the hospital

[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn C Crouch’s Subtext Plot

Vision – In WIM, I will listen and learn to write my best screenplay, which will be optioned and produced.

What I learned from doing this assignment is to consider and craft the subtext before actually writing the script. In the past, I’ve often had to go back and layer in scenes/information but this is a better roadmap on how to proceed.

Title – Nursing a Grudge. Genre – Suspense Thriller or possibly Horror

Concept – The Art of Medicine becomes the Tort of Medicine when a hospital, infamous for abandoning patients during a natural disaster, reopens as a state of the art facility with revenge in the renovation.

Subtext Plots –

1. Someone Hides Who They Are – Each of the characters in the Dramatic Triangle have something that they keep hidden.

Carling hides that he is the son of the previous administrator who took the fall for mishandling the hospital’s response to the natural disaster.

Tallis generally deflects and evades any and all people and questioning he encounters.

Kingsley hides that fact that her husband was a patient at the hospital during the natural disaster and died because of the actions of the administrators.

2. A Major Cover Up – The renovated hospital seems to be exceeding standards of care unless the patient is or is a relative of a former admin/board of trustees. Strange incidents start to point to intentional instead of accidents.

[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn C Crouch’s Transformational Journey

Vision – In WIM, I will listen and learn to write my best screenplay, which will be optioned and produced.

What I learned from this assignment is to use what I know about the character’s journey to find out what I don’t know.

Tallis Porter, PhD

Arc Beginning: Reclusive Niche Medical Researcher.

Arc Ending: He becomes the critical investigator that solves the hospital murders

Internal Journey: From solitary and unable to connect socially to becoming a confident leader capable of decisions and action.

External Journey: From hermit researcher of antiquated medical devices to mastering the technology in the renovated hospital.

Old Ways:

Ignorant of newer medical technology. Afraid of human interaction. Hiding out with the outdated medical devices in the basement of the old Charity. Believes in himself but doesn’t believe that anyone else will. Constantly trying to put off/evade interaction with other people.

New Ways:

Can see the logic and purpose of the new technology and the possible problems. Can interact with others meaningfully. Courageous. Willing to put his life on the line to find the murderer.

[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn’s Intentional Lead Characters

Vision – In WIM, I will listen and learn to write my best screenplay, which will be optioned and produced.

What I learned in this assignment was that I should focus on characters that will move the story forward in a unique, compelling way. Don’t sweat the details. In the past, I’ve often started with the character and I can see how this has the potential to lead to plotting/story problems.

<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Character Loglines –

Character 1: Carling Hearne, MD

Logline: Carling is the administrator of a newly renovated state of the art hospital that was formerly notorious for abandoning their patients during a natural disaster.

Unique:<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;”> He is the son of the former administrator who presided over the hospital during the previous debacle and tries to coverup any issues with the technology in the new hospital.

Character 2: Tallis Porter, Phd.

Logline: Tallis manages the basement graveyard of obsolete and damaged medical equipment and is called in to examine the faults with the equipment in the new hospital. .

Unique::He is a biomedical engineering wizard and has invented or adapted equipment for medical use and is the first to suspect tampering/sabotage.<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;”>

Character 3: Kingsley Welles

Logline: Kingsley is a young nurse practitioner who works in the surgery suite of the new hospital and is an eye witness of equipment failures in the new hospital.

Unique: She is a young widow of one of the patients who was abandoned during the natural disaster.

Character 4: Father Pierre Dagobert

Logline: Father Dagobert is the administrative oversight for the previously religious hospital.

Unique: He is considered the hero of the natural disaster and is credited with helping any patients that did survive but believes that the equipment malfunctions may be God’s retribution and judgement on the hospital.

Okay, the Dynamic, Dramatic Triangle is formed along with a Supporting Character!!

[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn’s Title, Concept, and Character Structure

Vision – In WIM, I will listen and learn to write my best screenplay, one that will be optioned and produced.

What I learned in this assignment is to embrace the outline as a time saving and planning activity… Essential to success!

Title – Nursing a Grudge. Genre – Suspense Thriller or perhaps Horror

Concept – The Art of Medicine becomes the Tort of Medicine.

Major Story Hook – A hospital infamous for abandoning patients during a natural disaster, reopens with revenge in the renovation.

Character Structure – Dynamic Triangle

• This reply was modified 2 years, 9 months ago by  Dawn C Crouch.

[Dawn C Crouch]

I, Dawn C Crouch, agree to the terms of this release:

As a member of this group, I agree to the following:

1. That I will keep the processes, strategies, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the class confidential, and that I will NOT share any of this program either privately, with a group, posting online, writing articles, through video or computer programming, or in any other way that would make those processes, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the class available to anyone who is not a member of this class.

2. That each writer’s work here is copyrighted and that writer is the sole owner of that work. That includes this program which is copyrighted by Hal Croasmun. I acknowledge that submission of an idea to this group constitutes a claim of and the recognition of ownership of that idea.

I will keep the other writer’s ideas and writing confidential and will not share this information with anyone without the express written permission of the writer/owner. I will not market or even discuss this information with anyone outside this group.

3. I also understand that many stories and ideas are similar and/or have common themes and from time to time, two or more people can independently and simultaneously generate the same concept or movie idea.

4. If I have an idea that is the same as or very similar to another group member’s idea, I’ll immediately contact Hal and present proof that I had this idea prior to the beginning of the class. If Hal deems them to be the same idea or close enough to cause harm to either party, he’ll request both parties to present another concept for the class.

5. If you don’t present proof to Hal that you have the same idea as another person, you agree that all ideas presented to this group are the sole ownership of the person who presented them and you will not write or market another group member’s ideas.

6. Finally, I agree not to bring suit against anyone in this group for any reason, unless they use a substantial portion of my copyrighted work in a manner that is public and/or that prevents me from marketing my script by shopping it to production companies, agents, managers, actors, networks, studios or any other entertainment industry organizations or people.

[Dawn C Crouch]

Hi! I’m Dawn Crouch. I’ve written 10 scripts and optioned 2. I’d like to learn how to approach and succeed in getting my work out there. I danced with Houston Ballet and now write a series of nonfiction instructional booklets – Garage Ballet!

[Dawn C Crouch]

I think what I heard was that we are our own worst enemies sometimes and that the course will teach us to recognize self-sabotage and nip it so that we can move forward and concentrate on writing our best!! Also, to be open to brainstorming and growth. The tendency to fall on past processes and be rigid is an adult trait that we need to lose. The idea of fun is childlike, in the present, and fosters the creative process. I also appreciated the parameters for feedback, focused, specific, and presented in a way that can help the writer.

[Dawn C Crouch]

Just do the next thing… Keep moving and writing and working… By envisioning your success, you create it!!

[Dawn C Crouch]

1. Dawn C Crouch

2. 10 features, 1 TV – 2 options

3. PS 31, MSC4, BingeWorthy TV and others.

4. Always looking to improve Pitching and writing skills

5. I am a former dancer with Houston Ballet and now write a series of nonfiction instructional books – the Garage Ballet Series.

[Dawn C Crouch]

Dawn C Crouch – As a member of this group, I agree to the following:

1. That I will keep the processes, strategies, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the class confidential, and that I will NOT share any of this program either privately, with a group, posting online, writing articles, through video or computer programming, or in any other way that would make those processes, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the class available to anyone who is not a member of this class.

2. That each writer’s work here is copyrighted and that writer is the sole owner of that work. That includes this program which is copyrighted by Hal Croasmun. I acknowledge that submission of an idea to this group constitutes a claim of and the recognition of ownership of that idea.

I will keep the other writer’s ideas and writing confidential and will not share this information with anyone without the express written permission of the writer/owner. I will not market or even discuss this information with anyone outside this group.

3. I also understand that many stories and ideas are similar and/or have common themes and from time to time, two or more people can independently and simultaneously generate the same concept or movie idea.

4. If I have an idea that is the same as or very similar to another group member’s idea, I’ll immediately contact Hal and present proof that I had this idea prior to the beginning of the class. If Hal deems them to be the same idea or close enough to cause harm to either party, he’ll request both parties to present another concept for the class.

5. If you don’t present proof to Hal that you have the same idea as another person, you agree that all ideas presented to this group are the sole ownership of the person who presented them and you will not write or market another group member’s ideas.

6. Finally, I agree not to bring suit against anyone in this group for any reason, unless they use a substantial portion of my copyrighted work in a manner that is public and/or that prevents me from marketing my script by shopping it to production companies, agents, managers, actors, networks, studios or any other entertainment industry organizations or people.

I wish everyone in the group all the best in their writing and film projects!!