[Missy Cohen-Fyffe]

Missy’s Rom-Com/Murder Mystery Project

What I learned doing this assignment is that I didn’t have a good handle on my characters’ personalities and why they would REALLY be attracted to one another. This assignment helped me pinpoint aspects of my characters that needed work.

Who is She?

Lilith Lockheart: A defiantly independent and untrusting goth girl with no money and no interest in being beholden to anyone except maybe her loveable grandfather. She needs to trust that someone will accept her for everything she is. Unfortunately, her arrival in this small New Hampshire lakeside community coincides with a string of murders. And now she’s the prime suspect.

In the first Act, we see her nomadic and untrusting nature when she catches her quasi-boyfriend in bed with a coffee clerk and splits faster than a toupee in a hurricane. Screw the guy. She’s not looking back.

But where can she go? With no money and clearly no friends, she calls her grandfather, Ted, and asks if she can stay with him in his lakeside home. She is visibly relieved when he says, “Yes.”

Who is He?

Victor Nolan: An honest but determined detective with a chip on his shoulder who would have been made Sargent had he not mistaken the First Lady for a terrorist and tackled her to the ground during a recent Presidential visit.

In his opening scene, Victor is being reprimanded by the Chief of Police in a big NH city and told that the Mayor wants him on traffic duty. The Chief decides to send Victor to a small lakeside community where he’ll be far away from the President and safely out of the Mayor’s cross-hairs for the foreseeable future. The Chief guzzles Mylanta like it’s a milkshake.

Both Lillith and Victor arrive in the lakeside community of Wolfesville, NH, at the same time.

What makes them lovable?

There is something about this character that endears us to them. It doesn’t mean they are “nice,” but instead, they have a way of being that causes us to care about them.

What makes Lillith lovable?

• Her unexpected vulnerability.
• She’s surprisingly sharp and funny.
• She’s not what you expect a goth person to be. She likes ballads, adores her grandfather, and saves injured animals.

What makes Victor lovable?

• He’s just trying to do the right thing.
• He’s self-deprecating.
• He doesn’t jump to conclusions like everyone else.
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What attracts them to each other?

This is more than just looks. While that may be part of an initial attraction, we need to go deeper.

What causes Lillith to be attracted to Victor?

• His appreciation of her humor.
• His wit.
• He listens.
What causes Victor to be attracted to Lillith?

• She’s unlike anyone he’s known or met
• She’s clever.
• She needs him.
What needs do they fulfill for each other?

A big part of what makes a relationship work is the deeper needs that each fulfills for the other. These may not be obvious at the beginning, but over time, they are critically important for the relationship to continue developing.

What needs does Victor fulfill for Lillith?

• He doesn’t judge her, but rather appreciates her individuality and perspective
• He believes her.
• He makes her feel like she belongs.

What needs does Lillith fulfill for Victor?

• She appreciates his dedication.
• She respects his judgment.
• He doesn’t feel alone with her

[Missy Cohen-Fyffe]

Missy’s Rom-com murder-mystery project, THE SLIP-UP
What I learned doing this assignment is that I need to become more familiar with the murder mystery conventions. And I need to work on my comedy.
1. Two people who belong together? Ronnie’s creativity and skeptical worldview complement Brad’s by-the-book mentality and black-and-white perspective on right and wrong.
How are they separated? – Ronnie’s the prime suspect in a murder investigation and Brad is the detective assigned to the case.
What forces them together? – Ronnie needs his help to uncover the real killer and Brad needs to get this one right or he’ll be demoted, again.
Issues to be resolved – They both have trust issues. Ronnie doesn’t trust anyone. Brad’s got a chip on his shoulder from trying to live up to his father’s expectations, and after making a disastrous judgment in the line of duty and getting demoted to the small town of Wolfesville, he might not ever trust his own judgment again.
On their journey of love – they are forced to set aside their preconceived notions of one another if they have any chance of getting what they want. In the process, they learn to trust their instincts and each other.

Experience of Falling In Love – Most people don’t fall in love at first sight. Ronnie and Brad are no exception. She’s goth (like totally from head to toe), and Brad’s a determined, by-the-book, detective who’s pretty sure Ronnie’s guilty of something. But when they are forced to deal with each other – he’s pretty sure she murdered her grandfather, and she’s determined to find the real killer – they reluctantly realize they are each intrigued by the other.
The Journey of Love – When other people in the idyllic community start showing up dead, and Ronnie’s fingerprints are on most of the murders, it’s clear that Ronnie is going to need Brad’s help if she has any chance of staying out of jail, so she shows him why and how she’s not the murderer. In so doing, they encounter neighbors and events that lead them into awkward and, although they are both loath to admit it, fun and interesting situations.
Issues Each Must Resolve – because they both have trust issues (Ronnie’s mother left her to become a Nun in Poland, and Brad’s father was a revered detective who was always very hard on Brad, and died in the line of duty), they need to overcome their preconceived notions and accept that life is messy and not always just.
Separation – After the 3rd murder, and Ronnie’s obvious guilt, Brad has no choice but to arrest her. After all, the evidence is pretty airtight. She might be fun, interesting, and witty, but she’s also a killer. So he arrests a stunned and pissed-off Ronnie, who knows a thing or two about breaking in and out of places, so she does.
How will comedy be expressed? Through their dialogue, actions, and escapades.

[Missy Cohen-Fyffe]

I agree to the terms of this release form.
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.
This completes the Group Release Form for the class.
Missy Cohen-Fyffe

[Missy Cohen-Fyffe]

Hi All!
1. I’m Missy Cohen-Fyffe
2. I’ve written 13 scripts. Two have been produced, four have been optioned, and one garnered me representation (a manager), but she is taking a step back from the biz this year to focus on caring for her husband.
3. I’m taking this class because I love rom-coms and need a bit of a kick in the pants to get this particular one written. I can always count on Hal to motivate me.
4. I have naturally curly hair. And a dozen patents and trademarks for baby products I produced many moons ago.

[Missy Cohen-Fyffe]

Thanks!

[Missy Cohen-Fyffe]

I love how pineapples grow!

[Missy Cohen-Fyffe]

Forty-two!?! I never knew that! And all this time, I thought you were “just” a fabulous writer and a talented graphic designer!

[Missy Cohen-Fyffe]

Whoa! I’m so unbelievably impressed with all that you’re going through, and all that you’ve accomplished! Launching a channel, all of your options, your features, and TV shows! Your rom-com will be next! About the health care issue, does Indiana participate in the ACA exchange? If so, you can go on an ACA-approved plan. Just a thought. LOVE your passion for writing and your fabulous outlook.