[Meg Stout]

1. Name: Meg Stout (aka Tzu-yun Chiu)
2. I agree to the terms of this release form.
3. As a member of this group, I agree to the following:
a. 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.
b. 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.
c. 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.
d. 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.
e. 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.
f. 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.
g. 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.

[Meg Stout]

1. Name – IRL, Meg Stout. As a Screenwriter, Tzu-Yun Chiu.
2. How many scripts you’ve written – several.
3. What you hope to get out of the class – I love using AI to accelerate the creative process and I want to stand on the shoulders of the giants who developed this course.
4. Something unique, special, strange or unusual about you – On my mother's side I'm descended from English royalty and 7 passengers on the Mayflower. On my father's side I'm descended from Bei-jing scholars and Generals. But it was illegal for my parents to marry where they lived in 1962. Their sort of interracial marriage was still considered null and void in the state where I was born when I was born.

• This reply was modified 7 months, 3 weeks ago by  Meg Stout. Reason: No page returns - oops!

[Meg Stout]

Assignment 1:

Character Circles for Wednesday (Addams)

A. Main Characters Circle: Wednesday Addams, roomie Enid, mother Morticia, townie Tyler, heartthrob Xavier

B. Connected Circle: father Gomez, brother Pugsley, Headmistress Weems, dorm mom Thornhill, Uncle Fester, Thing, Sheriff Galpin, deceased Rowan and his mother, queen bee Bianca, therapist, Pilgrim World townie thugs, Hyde monster

C. Environment Circle: Wednesday’s other schoolmates and teachers, Jericho townspeople, other family members, former schoolmates/tormentors

[Meg Stout]

Subject line: Wednesday (Addams) 5 Star Model

[Meg Stout watching with Annie Palmer 9and Bryan Stout)]

What we learned doing this assignment is what a blast it is to watch a show like this with others who are analyzing at the same level (Meg, Annie, Meg’s husband, Bryan). It is magical when you put a darkly creative genius like Tim Burton with powerful interacting archetypes: a) the young person in a magical world against everyone (e.g., Harry Potter, b) individuals who loathe one another only to begin moving toward friendship (e.g., Wicked, Pride and Prejudice), c) a boarding school or school of unique folk (e.g., Harry Potter, Winx (live action), Sabrina (live action), X-men: Xavier’s school for mutants, etc.) Annie loved the visuals of this show but hadn’t realized how much of the visual style can be suggested by the screenwriter.

Big Picture Hook: It’s Wednesday Addams as Harry Potter, with a Wicked vibe and done by Tim Burton

Wednesday Addams is the main Amazing and Intriguing Character. She is all things angst, the champion of the downtrodden, expelled for the violent revenge she wreaks on bullies. She is rebelling against her parents and is sent to a new school filled with outcasts: vampires (fangs), werewolves (furs), sirens (scales), and medusas (stoners). We are presented with multiple sets of conflict, including romantic options for Wednesday (mostly male but also female), and mystery about what really happened when her parents were at the school.<div>

We are distressed for Wednesday because all things are against her, but she is knowledgeable about many things (Italian, how to fix steam engines, kung fu, cello). She can be vulnerable beneath her black and hard exterior. The situations that emphasize this are being slashed in the fencing duel, learning she saved heartthrob Xavier when he was almost cremated years ago, seeing her try to save Rowan despite that conflicting with her plan to escape (then being attacked by Rowan, and having her witness the Hyde monster kill Rowan (the BIG mystery behind at least the deaths of hikers and other townies).

</div><div>

Questions from the first episode that can only be answered by watching the entire season:

1) Who will be her ultimate love interest? Xavier, Rowan (nope, dead)?, Tyler (most likely Hyde monster?), Bianca (the fencer who bested Wednesday), Enid (the white-haired roomie)?

2) What happened when Wednesday’s parents were at the school that provoked Sheriff Galpin and Rowan’s dead mother, hinted by Galpin’s accusation about Gomez killing and Rowan’s pre-death monologue? Headmistress Weems was the mother’s roomie and might know.

3) What’s up with the dorm mom, Thornhill, being played by Christina Ricci, who was the Wednesday in the movie version – must be an important character.

4) Wow, Catherine Zeta Jones does not look like she can be old enough to have starred in The Mask of Zorro in 1998 – must be an important character to have attracted CZJ to play her.

5) What is the monster who has killed so often, that Wednesday witnesses killing Rowan?

6) Answers to all the issues Wednesday thinks about during the final crystal ball call with her parents, when she merely says she thinks she’ll love it at Nevermore Academy.

How does this pilot create the need to see every single episode?

1) It is intriguing enough that you want to watch the next episode.

2) Then they show you a pre-view of the next episode that hooks you even more (must see Cousin It and Uncle Fester…)

3) Then they literally tell you to “Watch All Episodes Now”

Update after rewatching the first episode….

As with any well-wrought show, it is delicious to rewatch a compelling episode to pick up clues that were foreshadowing of events. I recognized more of the many instances where Wednesday’s mastery is shown, such as the way she pops all the balloons at the festival. I was also delighted that the stuffed animal she wins is a panda as a panda, like Wednesday, is primarily in black and white.<div>
</div><div>Rewatching, I noticed the importance of the dorm mother’s plants in the opening sequence. When the dorm mother comes to introduce herself, she mentions she was detained and she has mud on her boots. This increases the probability that the dorm mother is the Hyde monster we had just watched render a hiker to bits and that will attack Rowan.</div><div>
</div><div>I noticed additional visual clues. Part of this is strengthening the resonance between this work and prior works. For example, Rowan looks like Harry Potter and Xavier looks like Edward Cullen.</div><div>
</div><div>I was also delighted to note how the dorm window was used in the balcony scene to enhance the idea that the scene starts with Wednesday and her roomie firmly in front of their respective halves of the window (Wednesday in front of her stark B&W half and the roomie in front of her colorful half). After the revelations that the roomie can’t wolf out and that Wednesday cried when bullies killed her peet scorpion, we see the roomie partially in front of the B&W window and Wednesday partially in front of the colorful window.</div>

• This reply was modified 1 year, 6 months ago by  Meg Stout.

[Meg Stout]

I, Meg Stout, agree to the terms of the release form below:

GROUP 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 reply was modified 1 year, 7 months ago by  Meg Stout.

[Meg Stout]

1. I’m Meg Stout and I’m paying for my daughter, Annie Palmer, to also attend this course because she has awesome screenwriting instincts and I want to be able to collaborate with her. She’ll be here once she gets her login information.

2. How many scripts you’ve written? I’ve written several scripts – around ten?

3. What you hope to get out of the class? I’m so excited to explore how AI can be tasked to be an assistant and also excited to be reminded about elements of this course, which was one of the first ScreenwritingU courses I took.

4. Something unique, special, strange or unusual about you? I got into screenwriting in 2018 to help out a friend who wanted to get back into being a producer. Within a week I had written the first version of the script and after 15 days my script had been sent over to China in search of funding. I’ve spent about 40 years working for the Navy doing research related to submarines. I had at least one colleague who’d read my writing demand why I was working for the Navy instead of writing for a living.

5. What ProSeries, Writing Incredible Movies, or Binge Worthy TV class you were in. I did BWTV starting May 2021 and I was in the final ProSeries course [PS 81].

• This reply was modified 1 year, 7 months ago by  Meg Stout.

[Meg Stout]

1. I’m Annie Palmer.

2. I haven’t written scripts yet.

3. I want to know how to evolve my story ideas into compelling TV mini-series.

4. I only have one hitch hiker’s thumb.

5. Meg wants to be able to collaborate with me on projects. Processes and tools here are copyrighted, so me joining the class seemed the right way to proceed!

[Meg Stout]

Meg’s Writing Sample

I’m reminded what a rush it is to write.

Title: Gold Phish

Genre: Drama

FADE IN:<w:sdtpr></w:sdtpr>

EXT. ACCRA Cemetry — Day

BEEKU (17) and his younger brother, ADOM (15), mourn by their parents’ open grave. A worker shovels dirt into the hole. We hear the clumps of dirt impacting a wooden box.

ADOM

Mama! Papa!

BEEKU

Shh, shh, little one.

Beeku pulls Adom into a hug, hiding the grave from his brother.

ADOM

What will we do?

BEEKU

I will take care of you, little one. Don’t worry.

Beeku rocks Adom. We see the worry on Beeku’s face.

[Over the next few years, Beeku gets involved in a group of scammers to earn money. Adom goes to university for a degree in Artificial Intelligence.]

EXT. ACCRA cafe — Day

Beeku, well-dressed, sips an expresso. His phone rings.

BEEKU

John.

(beat)

Patch me in.

(in sad female lilt)

My dear husband! How I’ve missed you!

(beat)

It is true! I will lose everything if I cannot pay. I fear for my life!

Adom appears at the end of the block.

BEEKU (cont)

(hisses)

They are coming. I must go, my love!

Beeku ends the call as he stands, arms wide.

BEEKU (cont)

Adom!

The brothers embrace and sit.

ADOM

You look well, brother!

BEEKU

Sit!

ADOM

I got the position…

BEEKU

Helping the Dean?

ADOM

I’ll be working on a Chat AI.

Adom pulls pictures from his sack, spreading them on the small table.

ADOM (CONT)

We have a server room to run the NLP and generate optimal responses from the training data…

BEEKU

Slow down, little one!

ADOM

Brother, I’ll be making a big difference. The number of calls the health system can handle will increase by an order of magnitude. If only Mom…

The two fall silent.

BEEKU

Our parents would be so proud of you.

ADOM

In America only grad students, PhDs, would be able to do what they’re having me do.

BEEKU

Tell me more…

INT. John’s office, day

Beeku stands before JOHN, a threatening mass of a man with a scarred face.

BEEKU

…the AI can respond with the best answer. We would be able to handle far more… um…

JOHN

Clients.

BEEKU

More calls, more e-mails…

JOHN

More money?

Beeku swallows and nods.

JOHN (cont)

Your cut remains the same.

BEEKU

But we need the computers…

JOHN

(holds up a hand, rubbing his fingers together)

You bring in $1 million this month, I’ll get the computers.

BEEKU

(daunted)

A million…

John cackles and waves Beeku out of his office.

[Beeku reaches a million, largely from two of his clients, JENNIFER and MR. ZHANG. When Jennifer realizes she’s been scammed, she commits suicide. MR. Zhang’s children contact the FBI, who track the latest activities of the scam ring to Adom’s AI work.]

INT. UNIVERSITY OFFICE, Day

Adom enters the office, speaking to someone behind him.

ADOM

…what this is about?

The door shuts. Adom sits on the edge of a wooden chair. Special Agent JUAN RODRIGUEZ enters and sits at the Dean’s desk.

SA RODRIGUEZ

Show me your ID.

Adom digs out his wallet and hands over his license. SA RODRIGUEZ pushes his own credentials across the desk. Adom’s eyes widen.

ADOM

I haven’t done anything wrong.

SA RODRIGUEZ

Millions have been scammed in the last few months. A woman is dead.

(pause)

You wrote the code the scammers are using.

ADOM

The code?

SA RODRIGUEZ

AI. The scammers have increased the amount they’re siphoning by…

ADOM

(in a dead voice)

An order of magnitude.

SA RODRIGUEZ

More. Legitimate chat bots are hard to develop. But scam e-mails have never needed to be good. It’s actually a feature when they’re bad.

ADOM

I don’t understand.

SA RODRIGUEZ

If the e-mail or chat is obviously bad, then any answer is from someone who lacks judge…

ADOM

I don’t understand how scammers got my code. You’re sure …?

SA RODRIGUEZ

It’s same code Ghana’s health system uses.

The confusion on Adom’s face clears, replaced by horror.

ADOM

It wasn’t me.

SA RODRIGUEZ

Then who?

INT. SCAM HEADQUARTERS, NIGHT

In the hallway outside the door, Adom touches the location of the wire he’s wearing.

SA RODRIGUEZ (O.S.)

We hear you fine.

Adom swallows and raps on the door. The door opens a crack.

ADOM

I’m looking for Beeku Sai.

A hand pulls Adom through the doorway. The door shuts. Inside, we see that there is a large room of sound proofed cubicles, the chatter of voices coming through in a quiet hush. On the other side we hear the hum of computer servers. Adom walks toward the server room. John blocks Adom’s path.

JOHN

There is no Beeku here.

ADOM

(pushing toward the server room)

He said he’s in the server…

John pushes Adom to the side. Adom hits his head on the corner of a desk and goes down, dead. John nudges Adom with his shoe. He pulls of Adom’s shirt and sees the wire.

JOHN (CONT)

Please wait in my office.

John drags Adom to a closet, positions him and closes the door. Beeku enters.

JOHN (cont)

My friend!

John passes Beeku, pulling him to the outer hallway.

BEEKU

I got an alert about the servers.

JOHN

We need a new location. For more reliable power.

[Meg Stout]

Meg’s Key Business Decisions

Doing this assignment moved me much further into the arc of this story, a written script based on actual events which I’m amping up by adding a chat AI – think ChatGPT but not ethical at all:

Genre: Drama

Title: Gold Phish

<font face=”inherit”>Concept (mini summary): Abeeku is a Ghanaian man raising his younger brother, Adekorafo. Abeeko turns to running scams to earn enough money to put Adekorafo through university to learn engineering, which becomes a specialty in artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, Abeeku’s scam has taken in several Americans, who send Abeeku thousands of dollars. Abeeku uses an unwitting Adekorafo to develop an AI scam engine. As the thousands turn into millions, two impacted families reach out to the FBI. One woman kills herself when she learns she had been scammed out of her entire life savings. But one male victim insists his gold mine and offshore bank accounts are real. When Adekorafo discovers what Abeeku has done, he tries to destroy the AI. Abeeku’s seconds kill Adekorafo. Meanwhile, the FBI has tracked down Abeeku, who is convicted for his fraud. Abeeku gets out of jail and returns to Ghana, only to find his former seconds have continued the scams. Abeeku turns his former seconds over to the police, then disables the scam function of the AI. Instead he “trains” the AI on his brother’s letters. In the final scene, we see Abeeku interacting with the AI, which now responds as if it is his deceased brother.</font>

Audience: Men and women over 25

Budget: $20M (iirc)

Lead Characters:

Abeeku and Adekorafu have been adequately discribed in the mini summary for now.

Mr. Zhang is the man being scammed who insists the gold mine and offshore bank accounts are real. He enters the film as a devoted patriarch who wants to provide for his children and grandchildren. As he is sucked into the scam, he turns against his children, only caring for the AI lover. When the seconds are arrested and Abeeku destroys the AI’s scam functions, Mr. Zhang is terribly distressed. But over time, he begins to allow his family back into his life.

Sue, Trish, and Anne are Mr. Zhang’s daughters. Together they work to try to protect their father. He disowns them, but they work with the FBI and are able to get information about the scammers.

Shelby is a woman being scammed who is a successful executive who was never lucky in love. She falls for the AI lover, sending the AI a large deposit that involves taking out a large loan. When she goes to meet her imagined lover, no one shows up. Shelby realizes she has been duped. Devastated and deeply in debt, Shelby commits suicide.

Juan Rodriguez is the FBI agent who sees the damage of the Ghanaian scam explode after the AI is implemented. He works to uncover the identities of the scammers and persuade Ghana to give up the scammers. Juan’s investigation leads Adekorafo to confront Abeeku.

<font face=”inherit”>Opening: Abeeku and a much younger Adekorafo mourn at the caskets of their parents, killed in an accident. Abeeku (means “born on Wednesday”) teases Adekorafo (means “treasurer”) that Ade needs to go to school and achieve his dreams. Meanwhile, Mr. Zhang dines with his daughters and tells them how proud he is of them. Shelby is on a date that ends badly.</font>

<font face=”inherit”>Ending: Covered in the summary and character sketches.</font>

2. Tell us which of those decisions you could improve to make your script more marketable.

I can simplify the Mr. Zhang/daughter(s) dynamic.

[Meg Stout]

Meg’s Key Business Decisions

What I learned doing this assignment is that I really need to hone the script to amp up the business end of things, since my drama isn’t necessarily building off resonant priors. I’m covering the first of my films here:

Genre: Drama

Title: The Scapegoats

<font face=”inherit”>Concept: Dorian, abused as a child, finds his pain </font>dissipates<font face=”inherit”> as he interacts with the children in his neighborhood, including the children of his wife’s sister. In Dorian’s mind, the children are like the scapegoats of the Old Testament, who take his sin upon themselves and free him. When his niece attempts suicide, Dorian realizes he must somehow take back the “sins” he had spread to the innocents in his neighborhood. </font>

Audience: Men and women over 25

Budget: $10M (iirc)

Lead Characters:

<font face=”inherit”>Dorian is a man with deep insecurities arising from sexual abuse he suffered as a child. He has vowed he will never bring a child into the world. At the beginning of our story, he finds that his torment </font>dissipates<font face=”inherit”> as he touches children in his neighborhood. He becomes confident and successful as his interactions with the children salve his pain. But when he realizes the damage he is doing, Dorian loses all he had gained and more. Dorian is on the brink of suicide, but instead confesses to his wife and the authorities.</font>

Dorian’s wife had never understood why Dorian was so insecure and why he was unwilling to have children. Living near her widowed sister and her sister’s children has been a way for Dorian’s wife to enjoy children despite being unable to have any of her own. As Dorian reaches out to the children around them, his wife is glad, hoping that they might yet have a child of their own. When disaster strikes and then Dorian’s secrets come out, Dorian’s wife must choose whether to separate from him or stay with him.

Dorian’s niece is initially glad to have Dorian around, as he is able to do a lot of things her father would have done. But when Dorian hugs her, Dorian’s niece becomes confused, feeling there is something not quite right about the embrace. Just before a Daddy Daughter event where Dorian has offered to be her date, Dorian’s niece attempts suicide. She is saved, but her mother is certain that Dorian has violated the niece. When Dorian confesses, the niece is able to sort her prior confusion. She works to stem the paranoid rumors in the neighborhood, knowing how much it will hurt her mother to lose her sister.

<font face=”inherit”>Opening: Dorian and his preacher </font>brother-in-law<font face=”inherit”> bond while waiting for the niece to be born. The brother-in-law assures Dorian and his wife that they won’t have to wait long. We see that Dorian and his wife have some reason to know they will not have children. Montage showing the one family having great times and more kids, while Dorian and his wife remain childless. Then an accident and funeral. Dorian and his wife move in next to her widowed sister.</font>

<font face=”inherit”>Ending: After someone set fire to Dorian’s home, a meeting is held to address the rumors that have arisen in the wake of the niece’s suicide attempt. Dorian explains in oblique terms (kids are present) what happened to him when he was a child, explaining that he had never been able to trust that he wouldn’t do something similar. He says he knows they will never be able to trust him. Dorian’s </font>sister-in-law<font face=”inherit”> comes forward and explains the symbolism of the scapegoat, which was an Old Testament symbol of Christ. She asks Dorian to put his hand on her head and lay his pain upon her. Dorian begins to cry, then sobs as other parents in the neighborhood come forward to allow his to lay his pain on them, demonstrating their belief in him.</font>

2. Tell us which of those decisions you could improve to make your script more marketable.

I need to come up with names and flesh out the story more.

[Meg Stout]

Meg’s Speciality — Drama

What I learned doing this assignment is that drama is more likely to make lots of money when it builds on a strong base, whether the extensive Marvel Cinematic Universe, a century’s old obsession with the sinking of a ship, a Disney re-telling of one of Shakespeare’s masterpieces, or the fanbase of the pre-quel. Drama is also uniquely versatile, allowing for incorporation of other “genres” as long as it deepens the drama of the core story.

Top grossing dramas as of March 2023:

1. Avengers: Endgame (2019) PG-13 | 181 min | Action, Adventure, Drama. …

2. Top Gun: Maverick (2022) PG-13 | 130 min | Action, Drama. …

3. Titanic (1997) …

4. The Lion King (2019) …

7. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) …

For each movie, tell us the following:

Avengers: Endgame. This was hardly grounded in reality, though the Marvel Cinematic Universe has become almost a “real” multiverse. This film dumps us into a post-apocalyptic world where half of all living creatures throughout the universe have been ended or blipped. Antman was in the Quantum Realm when Thanos snapped half of life into nothingness and was not ended but was assumed missing. When Antman returns from the Quantum Realm, the extraordinary nature of his stay in the Quantum Realm hints that time travel and reversing the Blip is possible. Though this world is fantastical, the drama arises from the well-established events and motivations of the numerous individual characters in what was the penultimate offering in the first three phases of the MCU (The Infinity Saga). Because Endgame had been preceded by 21 other films, this movie only had to briefly revisit items of significance for each character. Perhaps the most important drama involved Iron Man, who fathered a child in the aftermath of the Blip and sacrifices himself to save everyone, but particularly his daughter.<div>

<div>

Top Gun: Maverick. Sequel to the highly popular 1986 Top Gun, Top Gun: Maverick presents us with an aging Naval aviator, Pete Mitchell, still pushing the envelope and doomed for extinction to be replaced by unmanned air vehicles. But there is one more mission that requires the best of the best and Pete “Maverick” Mitchell is to be their instructor on the recommendation/order of Pete’s Top Gun rival, dying Admiral Tom “Iceman” Kazansky. On returning to San Diego, Maverick reunites with Penny Benjamin, who we come to understand was the Admiral’s daughter Maverick had been with prior to the events of Top Gun. The school resents Maverick and one of the ace pilots is Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw, son of Maverick’s deceased Radar Intercept Officer, Goose. Maverick had attempted to “save” Goose’s son by keeping him out of the Naval Academy, interference for which Rooster has never forgiven Maverick. Maverick leads his students through the dangerous training and ultimately leads the mission. As Maverick and Rooster are gunned down after destroying the target, they each strive to save the other. When all seems lost, they are able to steal an enemy F-14, the vintage plane Maverick and Goose had flown in the original movie. Mission complete, Iceman now dead, Maverick and Rooster are reconciled. Maverick sails into the San Diego sunset with Penny Benjamin. All Maverick’s demons have been exorcised and the characters live happily ever after. Military films allow stories to be “real” but also increase external tensions, against which backdrop the individual character stories take on elevated meaning. As this film doesn’t have the convenient Soviets to serve as obligatory baddies, the details of where the mission takes place is obscured, though resonant with Afghanistan. Top Gun: Marverick resonates because there are any number of military touch points (the original Top Gun, An Officer and a Gentleman, 20 seasons of NCIS and its spin-offs, naval aviators in other action movies or series, Aero Dark Thirty, etc.). And Tom Cruise has given audiences dozens of performances as an action hero with dramatic backstories.

Titanic (1997). The sinking of the HMS Titanic in 1914 has fascinated the world for over a century. This movie came out a little more than ten years after explorer Robert Ballard discovered the ruins of the Titanic, fueling additional interest and giving details that confirmed exactly how the ship had foundered after hitting an iceberg. James Cameron used this real-world background to set a story of intrigue regarding a “famous” diamond and a tale of love between Jack, an impoverished runaway, and Rose, a rich man’s abused fiancee. The drama involving the lovers carries the story as Titanic races toward its doom. Once the Titanic is ripped by the iceberg, we see the famous details of the sinking wrapped around the drama of Jack escaping from being trapped by Rose’s fiance. The lovers reunite but too late to board any of the life rafts. Rose and Jack survive Titanic’s sinking but are only able to find enough debris to support one of them. Jack dies, sliding into the cold depths. Rose is barely able to make herself known when rescue boats arrive. Aboard the Carpathia among the survivors, Rose hides from her fiance, only then discovering that the diamond necklace is in her coat pocket. Rose goes on to create a rich life for herself, implied tribute to the adventure and freedom Jack had offered.

The Lion King (1994 – animated, 2019 – live action). The Lion King gives us the bones of Shakespeare’s Hamlet set in Africa among lions. Mufasa is King of the Lions, a role coveted by his brother, Scar. Young Simba is being groomed to follow in his father’s footsteps and is arrogant and silly. Scar arranges for Mufasa and Simba to die in a stampede. When Simba survives, Scar tells the young cub Mufasa’s death is his fault. Simba flees. Comic relief ensues as Simba learns to thrive eating grubs with a meerkat (Timon) and a warthog (Pumbaa). As the kingdom declines under Scar, the lionesses have to hunt further and further afield. Nala, Simba’s childhood friend, tumbles across Simba and begs him to return. Simba refuses, but a dream of his father (shades of Hamlet again) prompts Simba to return to challenge Scar. Battle ensues and Simba is able to best Scar. Simba offers to banish Scar rather than kill him, echo of the false mercy Scar had offered to cub Simba. But Scar attacks and Simba is forced to fight to the death. The movie ends in the triumphant “crowning” of the newborn cub born to Simba and Nala, echo of how Simba was crowned at the beginning of the movie. Unlike Shakespeare’s Hamlet, which ends with all dead, Disney’s Lion King gives us more intense drama (in my opinion), better humor (apologies to Pollonios, Rosencraz and Gildenstern), and ends in a positive note for all. Though not realistic, per se, Lion King resonates with the modern desire to open important stories to a global audience and particularly those of African descent.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022). Like Avengers: End Game, Black Panther benefits from the extensive nature of the MCU in which it exists. Chad Boseman’s Black Panther had been exceptionally powerful as a symbol for those of African descent. When Chad died, it was unclear how the Black Panther portion of the MCU would continue. The deep mourning for Chad Boseman is answered in the opening scenes of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as the Black Panther’s sister, Shuri, seeks to save his life using technology. She fails and all mourn the death of the Black Panther, who was the last who was able to benefit from the Heart Shaped Herb that had granted extraordinary power to the generations of Black Panthers (all of the plants having been destroyed in the original Black Panther movie). With the death of the Black Panther, the rest of the world attempts to access the power of vibranium, a metal that was unique to Wakanda, the land of the Black Panthers and their people. A young woman invents a device that can detect vibranium, which the US uses to find vibranium on the floor of the ocean. But a previously unknown race of people living under the ocean benefits from this benthic vibranium. Led by Namor, the ocean race rises up to destroy all who attack. As the action mounts, the benthic race kills Queen Ramonda, Shuri’s mother. Shuri is able to recreate the DNA of the Heart Shaped Herb using technology. She ingests the liquid of the herb, taking on the power of the Black Panther. Shuri and her Wakandan forces battle Namor and his people. But rather than kill Namor, Shuri offers Namor alliance if he will surrender. The rest of the movie involves various secondary (if rich) plots and lots of opportunities for dramatic situations to fuel future movies. Though the MCU and vibranium and benthic humanoids are not realistic, the dynamics of regime change in light of sometimes treacherous actions by “allies” is all too realistic. Shuri changes from a geeky and happy child to an orphaned and bereaved warrior who then moves beyond a need to be Queen in order to serve the world at large. Where the first Black Panther movie offered powerful representation to those of African descent, Namor and his people appear to represent the indigenous and non-white residents of South and Central America, expanding the global appeal of the MCU.

</div></div>

[Meg Stout]

Meg’s Credibility is Going Up!

What I learned doing this assignment is that there are numerous concrete steps I can take to improve my credibility. Steps I’ll take in the next 30 days to increase my credibility:

1) Work on my screenwriting LinkedIn profile (Tzu-yun Chiu)

2) Come up with a list of contests to enter to focus scheduling for my spec scripts

3) Resume connecting with producers on LinkedIn

<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>CREDIBILITY CHECKLIST

1. Your Writing Sample: Room for improvement here

‘Recommend’ from Coverage<div>

Delivers on the genre in a strong way

Delivers on the business decisions

2. Screenwriting Accomplishments: Prioritize getting contest wins

Contest wins</div><div>

Smaller deals (options, sales, writing assignments)

Larger deals

Movies produced

3. The Google factor: I reverted to my middle/maiden names precisely to keep my screenwriting separate from my “other” life, so there aren’t many items, but they show me as a screenwriter.

Google your name. How many items on the first page show you as a professional screenwriter?

Buzz posts, interviews, news reports, etc..

4. Your Network: This is in pretty good shape from the work I did during the Fearless Writers class.

How many producers are in your network?</div><div>

How many Connections do you have who are connected to producers?

5. Education specific to screenwriting: A few courses related to writing and screenwriting.

Degree in film or screenwriting</div><div>

Master Screenwriter Certificate program at ScreenwritingU

6. Borrowed Credibility: This could use work – will focus on contests, my producer network and seeking writing assignments.

Represented by an agent or manager</div><div>

Working with a producer

Connected to a star

Connected to a funding source

7. IMDB CREDITS: this can use work, but I do have an IMDB profile.

Go to [url=”http://imdb.com/”]http://IMDB.com[/url] and search your name. What credits show up there for you?

8. Other forms of credibility that is related to screenwriting: I’ve written books as Meg Stout (and Margaret C. Stout). I also have real life experience that lends credibility for certain projects.

Novels published</div><div>

Producer or director experience

Experience working with agencies, production companies, film festivals, etc..

</div>

[Meg Stout]

Meg Stout’s Projects and Insights

1. Go to the forums and sign the Group Confidentiality Agreement. DONE!

2. Introduce yourself to the group while you are there. DONE!

3. Tell us the two projects you’re bringing into this class and give us a budget range for each; each project must be:

a. An idea that you would like to create. The Scapegoats $10,000,000

b. A finished script. Gold Phish $30,000,000

4. Tell us what you learned from the opening teleconference. I learned that I really should have taken this course before Fearless Marketing, so I could have told all those producers that I do writing assignments… 🙂

[Meg Stout]

1. I’m Meg Stout

2. How many scripts? I’ve written a few scripts, not exactly sure how many at this point.

3. Why this class? I’m looking to master this business of doing writing assignments, because I see that as an easier way to enter the market than pitching my spec scripts.

<font face=”inherit”>4. Something unique: I retook 318R from Dave Wolverton (Dave Farland) right before his untimely death. Dave Farland is famous for his own books but perhaps more famous for teaching writers such as Stephanie Meyer (Twilight) and Brandon Sanderson (most recently of the $40M </font>Kickstarter<font face=”inherit”> campaign). Dave Wolverton let me submit my writing assignment as script. I </font>treasure the multiple pages largely without comment aside from the occasional “Still reading!”

[Meg Stout]

Meg Stout

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.

[Meg Stout]

Meg [Tzu-yun Chiu] Stout’s World and Characters!

What I learned doing this assignment is that I need to hide who is the actual bad guy until later in the feature.

Log Line: Two young fathers become involved in historical secrets that threaten to destroy their church and everything they have been taught to hold dear. Based on actual events.

Big Mystery: What is the main mystery of your story that will keep us wondering throughout the story? Who set the bombs and will they evade detection?

Big Intrigue: What is the covert, clandestine, underhanded plot that will live under the surface for most of the movie? What is the truth the Mormon Church is trying so hard to hide?

Big Suspense: What is the main danger to your Hero that will continue to escalate throughout the script? Will Steve and Mark lose the faith which means so much to their families? Will Steve or Mark be among those we know at the outset have been targeted by the bomber?

Tell us the Intriguing World you have selected for this story. Mormonism is a relatively new religion (founded in the 19th century). As the action begins, professional historians have only recently begun serious research regarding early Church history. The Church is attempting to limit the new faith-destroying narratives. Steve is covertly tasked to help the Church get ahead of the damning findings. Meanwhile, Mark is involved in locating previously unknown historical documents.

<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;”>Hero: Steve Christiansen

A. Mystery: Could Steve be the bomber?

B. Suspense: Will Steve lose faith in Mormonism, which is so important to Steve’s father and the bedrock of his own marriage?

C. Intrigue: In order to defend the Church, Steve must become enmeshed in the very narrative that is tearing so many from their faith.

Red Herring: Apostle Packer

A. Mystery: Could Packer have ordered (or committed) the bombings?

B. Suspense: We see Packer suppressing research and making threats. How far will he go to protect the faith?

C. Intrigue: Packer claims to believe in the faithful narrative of the Church’s origins, but he won’t allow historians to publish their findings or even access the Church archives.

Villain: Mark Hofmann

A. Mystery: Could Mark be the bomber?

B. Suspense: We see Mark become ever more aggressive at ensuring publication of the documents he is uncovering. What is Mark willing to lose to thwart the Church’s attempts to suppress his finds?

C. Intrigue: Mark and his family seem so faithful to the Church, yet Mark’s finds have been damning.

[Meg Stout]

Meg [Tzu-yun Chiu] Stout’s Big M.I.S.

What I learned doing this assignment is the draft of this screenplay I wrote this summer wasn’t honoring the thriller genre and therefore would have been dead on arrival had I tried to take it to market.

Log Line: A young father becomes involved in historical secrets that threaten to destroy his church and everything he holds dear. Based on actual events.

1. What are the conventions of your story?

Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: Steve Christensen, young Mormon businessman and father

Dangerous Villain: Mark Hofmann, antiquities dealer focused on American documents, particularly regarding early Mormon history

High stakes: New historical findings call the validity of the Mormon faith into question, with devastating consequences for the family-focused religion. Someone is willing to kill to protect themself, and it’s unclear who that might be.

Life and death situations: The film opens with a woman approaching a package which explodes, followed by news of two bombings and fears that dozens of bombs may be hidden in the city.

This story is thrilling because we know someone will die, creating a dread that drives us to watch as our unwitting hero tries to uncover the man he comes to believe is a fraud, with fatal consequences.

2. Tell us the Big M.I.S. of your story?

Big Mystery: What is the main mystery of your story that will keep us wondering throughout the story? Will Hofmann get away with his fraud? Who set the bombs and will they evade detection?

Big Intrigue: What is the covert, clandestine, underhanded plot that will live under the surface for most of the movie? What is the truth the Mormon Church is trying so hard to hide?

Big Suspense: What is the main danger to your Hero that will continue to escalate throughout the script? As Steve learns more, will he also lose the faith which means so much to his family? Will Steve be one of those we know at the outset has died in the bombings?

[Meg Stout]

Meg [Tzu-yun Chiu] Stout

I agree to the terms of the following release form.

GROUP 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.

[Meg Stout]

Woman in the Window (2021) is not one of the example movies, matches the model, and is available on Netflix

Watching WitW, here is how it fulfills the Thriller conventions:

The Unwitting but Resourceful Hero is the Amy Adams character, Dr. Anna Fox, who observes the murder of the woman she knows as Jane Russell.

The Dangerous Villain is eventually shown to be Ethan Russell, the son of the new couple who has moved in. For most of the movie, we believe the villain is Mr. Russell, the husband in the new couple.

The High stakes are not just discovering who committed the murder Anna witnessed, but finding out who has invaded Anna’s home and proving that Anna is not crazy (despite her culpability in the death of her own husband and daughter).

The Life and death situations are the death of Anna’s neighbor, the death of the Anna’s renter, the death of the Anna’s husband and daughter, and the final conflict between Anna and the young killer, Ethan, which ultimately leads to Ethan’s death.

This movie [should have been] thrilling because it was based on a novel that skillfully laid out a thrilling plot. But the execution sucked, in part because the film was shot in an overly artistic manner.

The BIG Mystery, Intrigue, and Suspense of this story are:

The Big Mystery is why Anna is home-bound and how she can afford this large house as it appears her husband and daughter live elsewhere.

The Big Intrigue is the situation with the family across the green, the Russells, where the father is so intense and negative, the mother, Jane, is friendly, but then appears to have died, and the wife, who introduces herself as Jane Russell, but is not the woman Anna met as the mother.

The Big Suspense is how the mystery of the Russells will impact Anna, who starts facing severe psychological demons and increasingly is drawn into the life-threatening events in the Russell home.

The Woman in the Window (the movie) wasn’t a great thriller, despite nominally fulfilling the model. The book masterfully layered mystery, intrigue, and suspense. But the movie rendition was overly artsy and muddled.

What I learned doing this assignment is that it isn’t always easy to translate a thrilling novel into a thrilling movie. And I have a lot to learn about this thriller genre so I can write a thrilling plot!

[Meg Stout]

I’m Meg [Tzu-yun Chiu] Stout. I’ve written several scripts and apparently all my best ideas really need to be limited mini-series rather than features…

As thrillers and horror movies are two genres that are particularly in demand, I am looking to master the thriller genre!

Years ago a counter-espionage agent was obsessed with me. When I wouldn’t sleep with him, he threatened suicide then, unable to do the deed, asked that I strike the fatal blow.

[Meg Stout]

So is this the thread where we can offer to exchange screenplays? Or is this the thread for doing the chronological edit? 🙂

[Meg Stout]

Meg Stout’s Beat Sheet Draft 2 for Sundered

What I learned doing this assignment is the challenge of building in the antagonist’s journey when it’s a mystery and you don’t want people to know who the antagonist is up front.

Theme: Sanitizing history is fraught with peril.

Antagonist’s Journey: While we will eventually know the antagonist’s journey in Act 4, all we know at the beginning is that someone was willing to kill.

[Meg Stout]

Meg Stout’s High Speed Beat Sheet for Sundered

What I learned doing this assignment is that it’s OK to just flesh out the story and call it a script.

I’ve actually done something like this for a couple of novels and screenplay drafts before. It’s great to have a 20,000 foot view of the story, rather than be stuck in the trenches trying to get each line “right.”

[Meg Stout]

Meg Stout’s Transformational Events for Sundered (Mormon bombings of 1985)

What I learned doing this assignment is some additional twists to put into my screenplay… 🙂

0) Steve Christensen starts as a mid-twenties new husband, wet behind the ears

1) Married and with a child on the way, Steve accepts an unofficial assignment to help the Church by acquiring emerging historical documents

2) Steve and his wife, Terri, become friends with a range of people associated with the New Mormon History movement

3) Though Steve is not directly involved, he sees his new friends come into conflict with the Church

4) Steve experiences Terri’s growing distress as the Church’s truth claims are challenged

5) Steve’s own finances are severely tapped, contributing to the failure of an investment business he is involved with

6) Steve is pushed to the brink by a pending document acquisition, which will require everything he has to pull off, the reported contents of which distresses Terri greatly

7) Steve threatens the person promising to sell (Hofmann) with exposure, as many damning documents have passed through Hofmann’s hands

8) Steve promises Terri that he will withdraw from involvement in the New Mormon History movement after this last deal is complete

0) Hofmann learns as a pre-teen he has a talent for conning gullible friends and even experts

1) Hofmann’s ability to con others leads him to consider religion to be a fraud

2) The conflict between the Mormon Church and the New Mormon History movement provides a ripe environment for selling historical documents related to the Mormon movement

3) Hofmann’s forgery of rare coins gives him confidence to forge historical documents

4) Hofmann’s “aw shucks” approach allows him to evade suspicion as early forgeries are discovered to be fraudulent

5) Hofmann begins to create documents that are considered genuine by experts, both experts in history and experts in historical documents

6) Hofmann creates forgeries that align with Hofmann’s view that the Mormon religion is fraudulent

7) Hofmann, pressured to produce a promised cache of damaging documents, decides he must kill to take the pressure and focus off himself

8) Hofmann begins by setting bombs for two rich men who have been acquiring Hofmann’s forgeries

9) Hofmann’s planned string of bombings is interrupted when one of his bombs goes off, nearly killing Hofmann

[Meg Stout]

Meg Stout’s 4 Act Transformational Structure for Sundered (about the 1985 Mormon bombings)

What I learned doing this assignment is that sometimes you have to leap on an opportunity.

Act 1:

Opening: Terri Christensen drops her husband, Steve, off at his downtown office in 1985.

Inciting Incident: A bomb explodes. Steve dies in Terri’s arms.

Turning Point: Return to the day Steve and Terri were married by Terri’s great-uncle, a member of the First Presidency of the Church (Marion G. Romney).

Act 2:

New plan: President Romney asks Steve to begin acquiring documents related to the founding of the Church.

Plan in action: Steve immerses himself and Terri in the New Mormon History movement, which is radically re-thinking the foundations of the Church claims to authority. The movement goes outside Church imprimatur as the Church clamps down on research.

Midpoint: Steve is able to acquire a document that fundamentally challenges the Church’s truth claims but is unable to keep the document from being published.

Turning Point: Terri tells Steve her faith is undergoing crisis both because of the new finds and her knowledge of how hard the Church is working to suppress the historians.

Act 3:

Rethink everything: Steve plans to get out of the document business, but is offered the chance to acquire a cache of early documents that are reported to be very damning relative to the Church.

New plan: Steve agrees to purchase the cache of documents, planning to end his activities after this acquisition. Meanwhile the seller, Mark Hofmann, delays.

Turning Point: Huge failure / Major shift: Steve threatens to destroy Hofmann’s credibility if the documents are not produced. Steve sees this as a way to restore Terri’s confidence in the Church, as the documents that have bothered Terri have predominantly come through Hofmann.

Act 4:

Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict: The bomb goes off, killing Steve. Another bomb kills the wife of Steve’s business partner an hour later. The next day a bomb maims Mark Hofmann. The initial pool of potential victims is almost the same as the initial pool of suspects. But the investigation focuses on Hofmann, whose account of the bombing conflicts with physical evidence and accounts from other witnesses. Ultimately the investigators uncover evidence Hofmann’s “finds” included forgeries he had created. Hofmann agrees to confess what he did and how he did it in exchange for taking the death penalty off the table. Meanwhile, the documents Hofmann was claiming to be selling are located in the Church archives, having been purchased decades before for only $50.

Resolution: Terri goes to Steve’s grave to tell him about Hofmann and the McLellin journals, which had been purchased for only $50 decades before. While she promises to raise Steve’s children in the faith, she has lost her faith. She removes her wedding ring and places it on Steve’s headstone, walking away.

[Meg Stout]

I, Margaret (Meg) Stout, agree to the terms of this release form.

GROUP RELEASE FORM FOR “THE 30 DAY SCREENPLAY”

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

1. That I will keep the processes, strategies, communications, lessons, and models of the 30 Day Screenplay 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, communications, lessons, and models of the 30 Day Screenplay 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 30 Day Screenplay class.

[Meg Stout]

Meg Stout’s Norman Queen Character Profiles Part 1

Emma is Victim/Dreamer – destined to a political marriage, she is “captured” by Aethelred, who wishes to defeat Denmark, then becomes an object of Aethelred’s lust and envy.

Knutr is Fighter/Hero – After Emma is captured by Aethelred and the slaughter of Danes at St. Brice’s Day, Knutr accepts his father’s challenge to lead the Danish conquest of the English, secretly hoping to free Emma from the hell he believes her to be living.

Aethelred is Authority/Villain – Frightened of a prophecy that his rule and legacy are doomed, Aethelred is ruthless in trying to eliminate the obvious threat, from Danish Vikings. He is relentless in doing whatever he perceives will weaken Denmark and any English collaborators with the Danes.

(will edit the rest later – off to vacation with the family)

Pick the type of role your Protagonist will play and give us a few sentences on how they will fulfill that role.

HeroExplorerRunnerFighterVictimDreamer

3. Pick the type of role your Antagonist will play and give us a few sentences on how they will fulfill that role.

VillainChange AgentAuthorityPredator

4. What other characters might be necessary?

Supporting characters:Minor roles:Background characters:

5. Pick your genre.

Rom-Com or Buddy MovieThrillerHorrorActionDramaSci-FiComedy

6. Fill in whatever answers come to you about your lead character profiles.

Role in the story:Age range and Description:Internal Journey:External Journey:Motivation:Wound:Mission/Agenda:Secret:What makes them special?

7. Answer the question “What I learned doing this assignment is…?” and put it at the top of your work.

8. Post your assignment in the forums at http://ScreenwritingU.com/forums

Subject line:

[Meg Stout]

Meg Stout’s Transformational Journey

What I learned doing this assignment is a quick way of getting an overarching view of what the “point” of the story will be.

For the 30 day screenplay, I’ll be working on a feature film adaptation of The Norman Queen.

My heroes are Emma of Normandy and Knutr of Denmark (aka Canute the Great).

Arc: Emma and Knutr start as pre-teens whose youthful attraction seems doomed by Emma’s betrothal to Prince Harald, a dynastic marriage intended to unite Normandy and Denmark.

By the end, Emma and Knutr have overcome intense opposition and unite to bring peace to the English kingdoms (of which Emma had become queen).

Internal Journey: Each has an internal journey taking them from marginalized young people to mature political operators.

External Journey: They start as young people whose lives are dictated by others and end as the royal person able to command their respective forces and negotiate a peaceful end to an extended war.

Old Ways

– Doing what they are told they must do

– Shy of expressing their feelings about the other, knowing it cannot be

– Naive about the international politics that govern their futures

New Ways

– Doing whatever it takes to secure peace for their families and peoples

– Bold, finding ways to unite despite serious complications

– Extremely knowledgeable about how to achieve the peace they both yearn for, both through their union, targeted mercy, and necessary killings
PS – I’m on vacation this week, so I might lag a bit here and there.

[Meg Stout]

Hi, I’m Meg Stout. I’ve written a feature film and drafted a few others.

I’m really looking forward to learning Hal’s method for churning out a screenplay in 30 days!

Something unique about me is that I think I’m the only person who has attended Orson Scott Card’s Writer’s Bootcamp who has vomited on Mr. Card. I was laughing so hard at a joke he’d told about Piers Anthony that I choked on my drink. Though, in truth, I’m not sure I actually got Scott, since he leapt across the room pretty fast, once he saw what was happening.

[Meg Stout]

Meg Stout’s Creating Irony!

What I learned doing this assignment is why Hollywood so often depicts “good” people as evil and “bad” people as good. It’s an easy way to achieve irony. For this assignment, my core material is already rife with irony. I will be working my other two works to ferret out irony.

ASSIGNMENT 1

Thirteen Reasons Why

The students of Liberty High make a big fuss about how beautiful Hannah was and how much they loved her when these same students tormented her and denied her their friendship.

As we learn who the other people on the tapes were, we realize these are the folks who reached out to Clay in the first episode, whether just acknowledging his existence (Justin) or trying to be actively friendly (Courtney).

Though Hannah is dead, she is the person who is most alive to Clay, frequently having to remind Clay that she is dead.

Though jocks are the bad guys in the show, Clay’s friend, Jeff, is one of the jocks. At the same time Hannah’s account makes us revile most jocks, it is her role in Jeff’s death that Hannah arguably regrets most.

Clay, as the one who loved Hannah the most, is the person most destroyed to learn his “role” in Hannah’s final suicidal ideation.

Tony, who we learn in season 2 owes Hannah for her help hiding him from justice, puts himself sideways of the law to fulfill his debt to Hannah.

Fully half of those who hurt Hannah the most are people who cared for her.

Bryce Walker is capable of horrific evil, but he is also the one who reached out to Justin as a kid, extending unquestioning friendship despite the fact Justin was a poor kid with a junkie for a mother.

Minor irony that Hannah, who had only moved to town 2 months earlier, ends up being Clay’s trainer at the Crestmont movie theater.

As revealed in the second season, it is ironic that Hannah moved to Liberty High (where she was bullied) because she had been one of the bullies tormenting a girl at her old school.

It is ironic that Clay’s mother becomes part of the legal team protecting the school just as Clay is listening to the tapes and learning of the responsibility students and a counselor at the school bore for Hannah’s suicidal ideation.

ASSIGNMENT 2

Children of Heaven (or maybe Children of a Loving God, to deconflict with the Oscar-winning work named Children of Heaven)

Bennett comes to Nauvoo to protect the Mormons, then two years later is campaigning nationally to attack the Mormons.

Bennett is someone trained to treat female medical issues, but ends up creating a vast number of issues for women.

The secretly-married Bennett is denied the chance to marry Annie at the same time Joseph is under commandment to restore biblical marriage and its allowance for plural marriage.

Bennett, who has only recently embraced the Mormon faith, is elected Mayor of the Mormon city.

Annie struggles to be willing to accept love at the same time Bennett desires to marry Annie despite being technically married to his estranged wife.

Joseph elevates Bennett to the position of Assistant President of the Church, but Bennett sees it as a meaningless sinecure, the public adulation hollow given Joseph’s insistence that Bennett break with Annie.

It is also ironic that Bennett, as Assistant President of the Church, then commits adultery with the wife of one of the absent Apostles.

It is deeply ironic that Bennett, ostensibly protector of the Mormons, proceeds to pressure a victim of Missouri atrocities (husband killed, herself raped) to yield so he can achieve sexual release.

It is ironic that Annie, herself a spinster, is charged with caring for so many children.

It is ironic that the greatest sin weighing on Joseph and Emma Smith is their combined hesitation to restore biblical marriage, including allowance for plurality of wives.

It is ironic that Joseph, who has worked to protect women from the seducers, is accused of being the agent who victimized the women by seducing them.

In future, it will be ironic that William Law, the new Assistant President of the Church, calls for Joseph’s death after he is removed from office.

It is ironic that Annie’s father will be the most persuasive contributor to the paper (the Nauvoo Expositor) that leads to Joseph Smith’s death (at a time when Annie is one of the women who have covenanted in secret with Joseph).

It is ironic that those who were involved with spreading and yielding to the illicit intercourse heresy (e.g., Brigham Young, Eliza Snow) become the most staunch opponents of Bennett and supporters of Joseph Smith.

It will be ironic that Bennett is nearly killed when he tries to tell the truth and take back his lies (true fact – his attempt to rescind his slanders in a lecture in Boston). In the fictional treatment, the actions to suppress Bennett’s attempt to set the record straight will be initiated by local Mormons.

It will be ironic that Joseph’s own brothers become instruments in the illicit intercourse heresy because they don’t think they need to ask Joseph, presuming that because they are his flesh and blood they are exempt from needing to consult with Joseph.

It is ironic that Joseph and Emma move forward with instituting biblical marriage in large part because of the illicit intercourse heresy.

Not in the screenplay, per se, but I find it ironic that the Smith’s attempts to allow folks to repent without being exposed has allowed Bennett’s slanders from 1842-1843 to stand for over 175 years, even though Bennett himself attempted to take back the slanders in 1843.

[Meg Stout]

Meg Stout’s Plot and Character Layers

What I learned doing this assignment is that I’m happy not seeking perfection (for this, yet). I like to look up where things come from, and once tried to find the origin of the saying, “A job worth doing is worth doing well.” Except that isn’t the saying. The original saying comes from G. K. Chesterton and goes “If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly.”

I will be doing this assignment with the others for my other two series over the next month, then will loop back to this and see if I want to revise anything.

ASSIGNMENT 1

Thirteen Reasons Why

The show starts off at a high school where a girl, Hannah Baker, has recently committed suicide. The POV character, Clay Jensen, is thinking about the girl a lot and the school is trying to be sensitive to the impact the suicide could be having on the students.

Ten minutes in we learn that Hannah made a series of tapes in anticipation of her suicide. Clay has received the tapes because he is one of the thirteen reasons Hannah decided to end her life.

Each of the thirteen sides of the tapes Hannah recorded contain new information about the factors that contributed to her decision to kill herself.

As each episode unfolds, we learn more about the chronological features Hannah identifies as contributing to her alienation from life:

– Justin Foley, a jock, takes Hannah out and kissed her, but the next day a picture Justin took starts circulating around school with the rumor that she is a slut.

– Jessica Davis was assigned to be Hannah’s friend, but their friendship cooled as Jessica became romantic with the third musketeer of their group, Alex. Jessica finally ends the friendship with Hannah, slapping her for supposedly causing Jessica’s breakup with Alex. Hannah now feels she has no friend.

– Alex Standell created a list of Best and Worse, listing Hannah as the best ass at their high school. Friendless, Hannah now finds herself objectified by male classmates, including random groping.

– Tyler Down is outed for stalking Hannah and taking pictures of her through her bedroom window.

– Courtney Crimson had been friendly with Hannah and agreed to help her uncover the identity of her stalker. But as they waited for the shutter-clicks to reveal the stalker, they end up kissing, which means a lot to Courtney. The stalker is discovered to have been Tyler Down. When Hannah refuses to go out with Tyler, he circulates a picture of Hannah and Courtney kissing. Courtney lies to protect herself, claiming the picture is of Hannah with a different female classmate.

– Marcus Cooley asks Hannah out to the diner based on a supposed Valentine’s Day match based on questionnaires sold by the cheerleaders. Marcus shows up an hour late with his jock friends. He sits next to Hannah and puts his hand up her skirt.

– Zach Dempsey, another jock, asks Hannah out. Scarred by the date with Marcus, Hannah refuses. Zach proceeds to steal notes from Hannah’s “compliments” bag, denying Hannah the small amount of shy support (bunny drawings and short notes from Clay) that had become Hannah’s sole friendly connection with peers.

– Ryan Shaver and Hannah started hanging out when Hannah decided she wanted to learn to write poetry. Hannah shares a poem expressing her pain and isolation at the poetry group. Ryan takes the poem and publishes it in the lit magazine he publishes and distributes on the high school campus. Hannah is further destroyed as classmates mock the poem when a teacher reads it aloud in class.

– Hannah describes a start of year party where she watches, petrified, as an unconscious Jessica is raped by the Football team captain, Bryce Walker. Later, Hannah gets a ride home from Sheri Holland, a cheerleader. Though Sheri isn’t drunk, Sheri runs over a stop sign and flees the scene after kicking Hannah out of the car. Hannah’s phone is dead, so she runs to a nearby store to call 911 and report the downed sign, only to learn there has been an accident, which resulted in the death of popular jock and really nice guy, Jeff. This is particularly impactful for Clay, as Jeff was his particular friend.

– Clay Jensen then hears his tape, where Hannah describes their brief attempt at intimacy at the party (which explains why she was in the room when Jessica passed out and was later raped). Though Clay himself isn’t blamed, Hannah describes how she was unable to be intimate with Clay because of the harassment she had received from others. The experience leaves Hannah feeling utterly broken. Meanwhile, Clay feels he is to blame for Hannah’s death.

– Hannah loses the entire bankroll fo her parents’ business. Other bad things happen, and Hannah goes out walking that evening. Happening on a party, Hannah walks in, hoping the chance to have fun with classmates will lift her spirits. Instead, Bryce Walker (the jock who raped Jessica), gets Hannah alone in the hot tub and rapes her.

– After recording the prior twelve tapes, Hannah decides to reach out for help. Mr. Porter, the school counselor, tries to get Hannah to tell him what happened and how she feels, but Hannah does not use the word rape or explicitly explain that she is contemplating suicide. Thinking it isn’t serious enough to warrant the response either rape or suicidal it’s would require, Mr. Porter tells Hannah the best thing is to “move on.” Hannah leaves, having recorded the interview with Mr. Porter. She delivers the set of tapes to Tony, who “owes her.” By the time Tony realizes the import of the tapes and runs to Hannah’s home, Hannah is already dead.

– In a final scene, Clay confronts Bryce Walker, secretly recording as Bryce admits that Hannah didn’t consent, that “if that was rape, I’ve raped a lot of girls.” Clay has Tony make a copy of this 14th side, then delivers the tapes to Mr. Porter. This ends Season 1. Additional seasons of this series did not receive good reviews. Though the additional seasons tried to maintain mystery, open loops, and layers, the second season, at least, was only able to do so by concocting implausible events (e.g., multiple threatening notes which aren’t reported to police) which lacked the useful conceit of the individual tapes that structured the first season.

Assignment #2

Children of Heaven

1. Possible PLOT layers.

Opening – Bennett promises to explain the depravity of the Mormons at a series of lectures in Boston (Sep 1842) that previews his forthcoming book, History of the Saints (pub Oct 1842)

– First episode will reveal that Bennett came to the Mormon city of Nauvoo saying he wanted to win strong protections for the Mormons, who had been persecuted and forced to flee Missouri, a slave state. We see the effects of this brutality through one of the women Bennett meets, who had been gang-raped during the persecutions

– From the Annie Cowles POV, we learn that Joseph Smith believes he has been under commandment to restore biblical marriage, including plurality of wives. But Annie is told the time is not yet right.

– Bennett lobbies for a strong charter. Upon his return, Bennett is elected Mayor of Nauvoo, made a General in the city’s militia, and asked to act on behalf of a high-ranking Church official who is ill.

– We learn that Bennett’s desire for sexual release leads Bennett to attempt to explain away his behavior as a new and secret doctrine.

– By the time Joseph Smith learns of the sexual heresy, it has become so widespread that Bennett is seen as one of many high-ranking people caught unawares in heresy. He is allowed to repent.

– Bennett learns that Joseph plans to take a secret second wife. Bennett presumes this is to be a fully-sexual liaison. From Annie’s POV, we see that the time is still not yet right for full restoration of plurality, so Joseph’s secret second wife will not be a conjugal wife.

– Meanwhile, the sexual heresy goes underground and Bennett is asked to continue his participation. He does so for his own purpose, which is to impregnate Annie to bind her to him, expecting Joseph will forgive them and allow Bennett to retain Annie as a secret second wife.

– Joseph, analyzing the confessions of those involved in the continued heresy, determines that Bennett was the originator of the heresy. Blame for all the wrongs is laid at Bennett’s feet and Bennett is ejected from office, the militia, and the church.

2. Possible CHARACTER layers (focus on Bennett)

Bennett is introduced as a loyal American, decrying a corrupt religious group

– Secret identity – Bennett is seeking to make a name and fame, seeking public office for that aim rather than out of patriotism

– New role for Bennett, who we see act as a medical doctor, practicing genital massage to relieve female hysteria, a practice related to past scandals

– Reveal Bennett is still married to his estranged wife, who then refuses to grant Bennett a divorce

– Unbeknownst to Bennett, Smith has sent one of his Bishops to investigate a letter claiming Bennett is a mean man who has abandoned his wife.

– Unbeknownst to Smith, Bennett has secretly continued courting the Smith governess

When Joseph learns of Bennett’s wife and the continued courtship with the Smith governess, Joseph evicts Bennett.

– Bennett commits rebound adultery, then presses an indigent widow to become his mistress. As Bennett’s secret liaison with the widow is discovered, he first attempts suicide, then lies to pretend he is engaged in secret righteousness.

– When Bennett is discovered and the blame for all wrongs is laid at his feet, he vows revenge on Smith. We realize that what we initially took at face value is an attempt at revenge.

Since this is close historical fiction, the order of events is relatively fixed, so I haven’t rearranged the layers.

[Meg Stout]

Meg Stout’s Big Picture Open Loops

What I learned doing this assignment is to always do the assignment in a document editor rather than the forum website… so sad when all the work I’d done disappeared when something reset.

Seriously, though, I learned that it’s hard for me to initially discriminate between mysteries about the past and true open loops about the future, particularly when we won’t know about the past until some point in the future.

Also, since my work is close historical fiction with which I am unusually well-versed, it was easier for me to rattle off the big picture open loops than to brainstorm them.

Assignment #1

Thirteen Reasons Why

Big Picture Open Loops (Questions about the future)

? What will Clay do when he hears his own tape?

? Will Clay pass the tapes on to the next person?

? Will Clay attempt to get justice for Hannah?

? How will the information on the tapes affect Clay’s relationships with others?

? What will Tony (cool Mustang fellow) do if Clay doesn’t do what Hannah requested?

? Will the Bakers get enough evidence to pursue their lawsuit against the school?

Assignment #2

Children of Heaven (1840-May 1842)

*? Will Dr. Bennett be able to win his estranged wife back? [Or, once it is clear his wife won’t return to him] Will Dr. Bennett be able to marry Annie (and all questions that arise during the stages of courtship leading to his proposal)?

*? Will Annie find overcome her fears and find love?

*? Will Dr. Bennett be able to make his name and fame by becoming protector of the Mormons in Illinois?

*? Will Missourians continue to attack the Mormons (aka religious minority group) in Illinois or, related, will Bennett be able to establish legal protections for Mormons in Illinois?

*? Once we learn Joseph Smith believes he has a responsibility to restore biblical marriage practices (including plural marriage), How will Joseph Smith proceed to restore the practice of plural marriage?

*? Once we learn Dr. Bennett treats women’s hysteria using the ancient practice of genital massage, will this come to the attention of Joseph Smith, and what will happen?

Open loops that will open up later in the series

? Once we learn Dr. Bennett’s wife won’t grant him a divorce, what will happen when Annie finds out Bennett is married?

? After Bennett engages in rebound sex with his married landlady, what will be the consequences?

? After Bennett has been punished for his affair with his married landlady, will he give in to his sexual drives?

?When Bennett’s arrangement with the Widow Fuller (sex for food/money) is discovered, how will Bennett react?

?How will Annie react when she learns about the plan to restore plural marriage?

[Meg Stout]

Meg Stout’s Show Mysteries

Assignment #1

Thirteen Reasons Why (Episode 4)

A. Shocking Event: Tyler was stalking Hannah and taking pictures of her through her bedroom window

B. Secret: How did this affect Hannah, and why is there a picture of Hannah passionately kissing another girl, clearly taken by Tyler?

C. Investigation: Clay and the audience will discover what happened over the course of the episode

Who: Hannah tells us it was Tyler

What: Taking pictures of Hannah

How: As a peeping Tom at night

Where: Through Hannah’s bedroom window

When: At night

Part Withheld:

Why: Because Tyler loved Hannah and how natural she was for the camera and hoped she would date him someday.

How did this affect Hannah: Hannah makes it clear how threatened she felt, which Tyler doesn’t truly internalize until Clay takes a picture of a naked Tyler changing into his PJs and then texts the image to Tyler and others who have been named on the tapes so far.

A. Cover up: Kids tell their parents they are meeting with fellow students to work on homework, the parents believe their children are innocent and studious

B. Secret: The students are typically not working on homework – even the “good” ones aren’t pure

C. Reveals: Over time we see the students doing drugs, forcing one another to drink, engaging in masturbation, achieving various “bases”, both in heterosexual and at least one same gender situation. In addition we see the various sex-oriented hazing, represented by the bathroom walls and “the list.”

Who: Clay and Hannah and their friends, others by implication

What: Drugs, alcohol, masturbation, non-coital sex (so far)

Where: Mostly bedrooms and homes

When: Nights for sex, anytime for drugs and booze, when parents aren’t around

How: Situation dependent, varied to retain element of surprise

Part Withheld:

Why: Each transgression has its own reason, rarely because the kids feel empowered and confident

<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;”>Assignment #2

Children of Heaven, Pilot

A. Shocking Event: John Bennett exposes seamy underbelly of Mormon polygamy to rapt Boston audience in 1842, but someone asks…

B. Secret: How did Bennett became privy to the stories he tells?

C. Investigation: Audience will investigate through watching Bennett’s trajectory from Ohio doctor to Illinois defender of the Mormons to a man from whom the Mormons have withdrawn the hand of fellowship

Who: Mormons, and possibly Bennett

What: Engaged in salacious, harem-style polygamy

When: 1840-1842 (Bennett is vague about some of these details to his Boston audience)

Where: In Mormon city of Nauvoo, Illinois

Part Withheld: Is Bennett a reliable narrator?

Why: Implication is that the sex is for male gratification, but why can Bennett provide first-hand reports?

How: How were members of a religious group convinced to so grossly violate Western marital norms?

A. Cover up: Both the fact of an illicit intercourse heresy and the fact of a perceived mandate to restore biblical marriage practices

B. Secret: Who is doing whom in Nauvoo and why?

C. Reveals: We see Bennett came to Nauvoo to become important, initially fighting to win them protections from past persecution. We’ll see that Joseph Smith does believe he has a mandate to restore biblical marriage, but the time is not yet right. When Bennett is disappointed in love, we see him rebound and set in motion the illicit intercourse heresy. Joseph uses the biblical marriage paradigm, including to protect women who have been abused or impregnated. Bennett learns of some of Joseph’s attempts to protect innocents and the fallen.

Who: Lots of people

What: Having sex outside of marriage or “marriage” when already married

When: Revealed over time who is doing what between 1840 and 1842

Where:

Part Withheld:

Why: Bennett for sexual gratification, others from being able to fit exchanging food and money for sexual access to the needy women, and the third group entering into covenants to protect women from the illicit intercourse heresy and its effects, plus restore biblical marriage.

How: The nature of the sexual relations (or lack thereof) is revealed over the course of the series.

[Meg Stout]

Meg Stout’s Show Empathy/Distress

What I learned doing this assignment is that I am drawn to historical settings where all kinds of terrible and undeserved things happen. It’s great to be a person who writes Historical Fiction!

Assignment #1

Thirteen Reasons Why

A. Undeserved misfortune

Hannah loses her friend Kat, then Justin goes on a date with her only to trash her reputation. Alex creates a list claiming Hannah has the best ass, opening Hannah up for various predators to check it out for themselves.

B. External Character conflicts

Intentional (post death) is Hannah’s tapes and the structure of forcing everyone to listen lest something worse happen.

Unintentional is the harm that comes to some of the people because of the tapes.

C. Plot intruding on life.

I haven’t watched enough of the show to see a serious plot intruding on Hannah’s life. But for the other characters, we have Hannah’s parents suing the school, though by the third episode, it isn’t clear what the complaint is or what evidence the complaint is based on.

D. Moral dilemmas.

A relatively minor moral dilemma Clay faces is whether or not to drink the 40 oz beer. He decides to drink to avoid the threat that the other boys will beat him up if he doesn’t. This is his first beer and it’s clear his parents aren’t happy with him coming home drunk on a week night.

E. Forced decisions they’d never make.

At the end of episode three, Hannah tells her listener they will have to be quiet, and Clay sneaks out of the house, headed to the next spot on the map. But I haven’t really seen any forced decisions, per se.

Assignment #2

Children of Heaven

A. Undeserved misfortune.

Bennett was sexually abused as a child. Bennett’s wife left him for bigamy because of a clipping referring to a different Dr. J. Bennett. Jonathan’s wife is gang-raped and all the Mormons have been “exterminated” from Missouri, a fate few (if any) deserved. Annie is denied marriage to Bennett because his estranged wife won’t grant Bennett a divorce (and Bennett never told Annie he was still married). And it goes on and on.

B. External Character conflicts.

Intentional – Bennett is trying to make Nauvoo an important city

Unintentional – the newspaper editor in Warsaw decides to attack Bennett and later all in Nauvoo, hoping to win/retain Warsaw’s importance, including plans for the future railroad to pass through Warsaw.

C. Plot intruding on life.

For Annie, her dreams become impossible to achieve once she learns Bennett is still married. For Bennett, his hope of rebuilding an honorable life with a loving wife at his side are scuttled when Joseph learns about Bennett’s wife in Ohio. For Joseph, his intent to restore biblical marriage is horribly endangered when he learns Nauvoo is infested with people participating in an illicit intercourse heresy (which arose from Bennett trying to cover his adulteries).

D. Moral dilemmas.

When Bennett finds others are having sex with Widow Fuller, Bennett can either continue his pretense to Widow Fuller that illicit intercourse is being taught by the Church or admit he was a base seducer. In this case, he avoids choosing between these two options and tries to kill himself.

E. Forced decisions they’d never make.

When Eliza Snow is impregnated by Bennett, she agrees to marry Jonathan Holmes so her baby will have a legal father.

Bennett’s lack of sexual control was caused by the sexual abuse he suffered in childhood, pushing Bennett towards infidelities he would not have otherwise made.

When Bennett tries to treat Marietta for “hysteria” and ends up triggering an extreme PTSD response to being raped, Bennett is forced to choose between admitting what he has done or attempting to use laudanum to calm her, knowing the medicine could kill her in her weakened state (and she does die).

[Meg Stout]

Meg Stout’s Relationship Maps

What I learned doing this assignment is that it sucks that the forums don’t have a way to paste in tables or pictures, as this makes this particular assignment take up a huge amount of vertical space. For my piece, I explored the relationships between the core characters, to cut down on having to do three unique relationships for each of three main people. But I love the power of this tool for any relationship we see two people enter into – great exploration for finding the things on which people do have conflict, as it is conflict and its resolution our brains are wired to crave.

Assignment #1

Thirteen Reasons Why

Hannah and Clay

Surface: Co-workers

Common Ground: Work at movie theater, go to the same high school

Conflict: she needs him, he doesn’t know how to reach out to her

Relationship History: They grew to be close but he did nothing as she spiraled into fatal depression

Subtext: Clay truly loved Hannah but did believe the rumors that she was a slut

Relationship Arc: casual friends to lovers

Hannah and Justin

Surface: Boyfriend

Common Ground: Same high school, friends with Hannah’s “only friend” Kat

Conflict: romance – she was infatuated, he used her to enhance his reputation for getting any girl he wants

Relationship History: They kissed then he shares a picture of suggesting she is a slut that goes viral

Subtext: Didn’t care about hurting Hannah if it made him seem cool

Relationship Arc: meet at the party Kat throws, goes through one date, ends in Justin slandering Hannah

Hannah and Jessica

Surface: Best friend

Common Ground: new students at Liberty High, put together as friends by guidance counselor

Conflict: friendship with Alex Jessica blames Hannah for sabotaging her and Alex

Relationship History: They were put together and became friends, but Jessica and Hannah grew apart and fought over mutual friend, Alex

Subtext: Thought Hannah was lying but comes to learn content of tapes were true

Relationship Arc: meet at school, become close friends, end in fight over Alex, who has dumped Jessica, then Jessica becomes aligned with Justin

Assignment #2

Children of Heaven

Bennett and Annie

Surface: Lovers

Common Ground: Living in home of Joseph Smith

Conflict: Bennett wants to marry Annie, but Annie learns Bennett is still married

History: Meet at Smith household, Bennett will persist in attempting to possess Annie, first through marriage, then through a secret sexual union

Subtext: Bennett sees Annie as the only woman who can make him whole following his wife’s abandonment

Relationship Arc: Living in Smith household. Bennett admires Annie but admiration turns to love when Bennett learns his wife refuses to reconcile and continues to obsession even after Bennett learns his wife refuses to divorce him. His final depraved acts in Nauvoo are motivated by a desire to bed and impregnate Annie to bind her to him.

Bennett and Joseph Smith

Surface: Partners

Common Ground: Desire to defend Saints from mob violence

Conflict: Joseph wants to trust and forgive Bennett but Bennett can’t keep away from the women he “loves”

History: Bennett comes to Nauvoo as a politically connected protector. When outsiders attack Bennett, Joseph defends him. But when Joseph learns the depths of Bennett’s depravity, he ejects him from the community

Subtext: Bennett sees Joseph and the Mormons as the key to his future political dominance

Relationship Arc: Come together because of the Missouri extermination order and subsequent kidnappings of Mormons from Illinois. Wins a strong city charter and advocates for concentration at Nauvoo for political reasons. Joseph initially forgives when Bennett commits adultery, but eventually ejects Bennett. Bennett turns on Joseph, conducting a national slander campaign.

Surface:

Lovers

Common Ground:

Living in home of Joseph Smith

Conflict:

Bennett wants to marry Annie, but Annie learns Bennett is still married

History:

Meet at Smith household, Bennett will persist in attempting to possess Annie, first through marriage, then through a secret sexual union

Subtext:

Bennett sees Annie as the only woman who can make him whole following his wife’s abandonment

Relationship Arc:

Living in Smith household. Bennett admires Annie but admiration turns to love when Bennett learns his wife refuses to reconcile and continues to obsession even after Bennett learns his wife refuses to divorce him. His final depraved acts in Nauvoo are motivated by a desire to bed and impregnate Annie to bind her to himBennett and Sarah Pratt

Surface: Patron/patient

Common Ground: Laundry and mending, medical treatment

Conflict: Sarah is lonely and craves the hysteria treatments Bennett provides, tempts him when he is weak

History: Introduced so Sarah can help Bennett with laundry and mending and Bennett can provide Sarah funds for these services. Bennett treats her hysteria. They have a brief affair and are punished. When Bennett is ejected, he claims he had protected Sarah from Joseph’s advances

Subtext: Sarah represents Bennett’s hunger for sex, the beginning of his descent into depravity

Relationship Arc: Introduced so Bennett can get help with laundry and mending and provide Sarah some income. Bennett begins to treat Sarah for hysteria over her husband’s absence. When Annie leaves Nauvoo, Sarah tries to comfort Bennett by touching him as he’s touched her. Bennett, aroused, takes a willing Sarah. Bennett tries to protect Sarah from their sin, but this twists to threaten her marriage.

Annie and Joseph Smith

Surface: Governess and Employer

Common Ground: Belief in the restored gospel, concern for Emma, the Smith children, and other Saints

Conflict: Annie’s hopes to marry

History: Annie hired as governess, then is introduced to Joseph’s mandate to restore biblical marriage. When Bennett attacks Joseph, Joseph protects Annie from Bennett.

Subtext: Joseph and Annie will covenant to be together for eternity

Relationship Arc: Annie starts as a believer in the restored gospel Joseph preaches. She becomes the Smith governess, then is embroiled in the conflict between Joseph and Bennett. She will covenant with Joseph Smith and agree to marry Jonathan Holmes as a public husband.

Annie and Jonathan Holmes

Surface: husband and wife

Common Ground: desire to enter into an eternal covenant with those they respectively love

Conflict: Once publicly married, Jonathan refuses to consummate their union, feeling it would constitute infidelity to his deceased wife

History: Annie saved Jonathan’s daughter from the attack where Jonathan’s wife was gang-raped. They care for Jonathan’s wife together until her death, after which Annie becomes the de facto mother for Jonathan’s surviving daughter. After Jonathan’s hope for being eternally bound to his deceased wife is scuttled, Annie agrees to accept Jonathan as public husband, though both know she will enter into covenant with Joseph Smith

Subtext: A marriage of convenience becomes a lifelong devotion

Relationship Arc: From friends to mourners to religious co-conspirators to devoted spouses

Joseph Smith and Jonathan Holmes

Surface: Religious leader and convert

Common Ground: Devotion to the restored gospel and to the Smith family

Conflict: When Joseph has disagreements with his wife, Emma, Jonathan sides with Emma. Emma’s main disagreements arise from her fear that Joseph is endangering his life, which aligns with Jonathan’s concerns as one of Joseph’s bodyguards.

History: Jonathan and his cousins converted to Joseph’s restored gospel and gathered to Ohio. Jonathan lived in the Smith home for two years, until marrying Marietta Carter. After Marietta’s death, Jonathan and his daughter join the Smith household, where Jonathan will help serve as bodyguard. Jonathan becomes involved in helping “fix” the damage caused by Bennett’s illicit intercourse heresy.

Subtext: Devotion can break your heart. Love is complicated.

Relationship Arc: Jonathan goes from convert to Joseph’s doctrine to protector of Joseph’s legal wife and Joseph’s covenant wife after Joseph’s death.

[Meg Stout]

Meg Stout’s Depth of Character Emotion

What I learned from this assignment is to dig deep to find all of these aspects of the character’s emotional response, to assume that they are there and dig, dig, dig until I find it for them. I really found the list of coping mechanisms in the lesson to be excellent, as my understanding of the coping mechanisms for each character had been too specific and yet inchoate. For example, my character, Mr. Bennet, who is based on a real person who really did attempt suicide and launch a national counter-attack, etc., I now see as coping by always trying to alter his state. Very cool.

PS – I am working these assignments at an accelerated pace because I want to have taken at least an initial pass through each lesson before I start the 30 Day screenplay class on June 7th. Also, the Children of Heaven story is one I am serializing on Vella, and I want to get at least a first pass on my 50 design choices and update my episodes accordingly before Vella goes live (whenever that might be).

Assignment #1

Thirteen Reasons Why

Hannah

A. Situational: Hopes for love and friendship / Fears rejection and betrayal

B. Motivation: Wants friendship / Needs to be believed

C. Mask: Base Negative Emotion is depression / Public Mask is not caring

D. Weaknesses: Low self-esteem, hopeless, rarely confronts her tormentors

E. Triggers: Whenever people spread and believe lies about her

F. Coping Mechanism: Withdrawing from those who are causing her pain, plotting how to get revenge on those who have caused her pain.

Assignment #2

Children of God

John Bennett

A. Situational: Hopes for importance and love / Fears exposure and loss

B. Motivation: Wants political power and devotion / Needs respect

C. Mask: Base Negative Emotion is negative self esteem / Public Mask is unwarranted bravado and impatience

D. Weaknesses: lying, impatient, sexual desire, lack of empathy

E. Triggers: rejection, loss of reputation, criticism, sexual temptation

F. Coping Mechanism: counter-attacks when he is rejected, suicide attempt when sudden exposure seems inevitable, hides behind written proofs that he is an outstanding individual, lies when the facts won’t get him what he wants and needs. Alters state

Annie Cowles

A. Situational: Hopes for peace and love / Fears abuse and separation/betrayal

B. Motivation: Wants traditional marriage / Needs to trust before she can truly commit

C. Mask: Base Negative Emotion is fear / Public Mask is helper

D. Weaknesses: low self esteem, lack of trust/faith, taking responsibility for bad things they didn’t cause

E. Triggers: being deceived, loved ones choosing a different faith journey

F. Coping Mechanism: Calls for help, analyzes

[Meg Stout]

Meg Stout’s Intriguing Character Layers

What I learned doing this assignment is the need to explore the layers for my “good” characters. My morally suspect characters already have many layers… 🙂

Assignment #1 for Thirteen Reasons Why (focusing on Hannah because I don’t know enough about Clay yet)

Hannah

Role: High School friend who committed suicide

Hidden agendas: Wants those who drove her to suicide to know their guilt

Competition: Telling her truth to combat the lies that were told about her in life

Conspiracies: In cahoots with Mustang guy, who is enforcing her will after her death

Secrets: The rest of what is on the tapes and what would happen if the listeners don’t do as she requests.

Deception: Not yet clear if she is a trustworthy narrator – certainly some think she isn’t

Wound: Abuse she has suffered at the hands of her peers

Secret Identity: Seeking vengeance from the grave?

Assignment #2 for Children of Heaven for just the first season/novel (Bennett and Annie)

Dr. John C. Bennett

Role: Savvy political operator come to protect the Mormons from mob violence

Hidden agendas: Gain fame and a name in Illinois and the nation

Competition: Competes against Joseph Smith, who is the Mormon leader. Also competes against the editor of the Warsaw newspaper, who wants Warsaw to best Nauvoo. Also competes against his baser nature

Conspiracies: Conspires to make himself important in the Mormon city of Nauvoo and help Nauvoo become the largest city in Illinois, and build on that to become Governor of the state or even President of the Nation

Secrets: He is still married and his wife won’t grant him a divorce. And a lot of people from his past feel he has played fast and loose with his university schemes

Deception: He practices deception in every situation where truth doesn’t suit his agenda

Wound: He was sexually abused as a child. He is wounded by all instances where people have not supported his image of himself, such as his wife leaving him, former university partners backing out, Annie (eventually) leaving him, Joseph Smith “withdrawing the hand of fellowship”

Secret Identity: President Bennett, possessor of Annie Cowles, and filthy rich

Annie Cowles

Role: Governess to the Smith children, Treasurer of the Church’s Women’s Organization, friend to Emma Smith

Hidden agendas: Overcome her fears and become a loving wife and good mother

Competition: Once she begins opening herself to being loved, she feels herself in competition with both the living single women who surround her and even the dead

Conspiracies: Once exposed to the secret that Joseph Smith will be restoring biblical marriage practices, she is conspiring to keep that secret. She is also conspiring with her victimized friend to minimize the nature of the gang rape, though it traumatizes them both

Secrets: She is the keeper of many other people’s secrets, as well as her own trauma

Deception: In order to keep the secrets of others, she is at times required to deceive, though she rarely deceives except to protect secrets or deny her fears

Wound: She was deeply traumatized by the violence that occurred in Missouri, wounded by the way her stepmother treated her, and frightened by the way families were torn apart by the apostasies that occurred in the wake of the 1837 financial panic and the violent way the Mormons were “exterminated” from Missouri

Secret Identity: Early on Annie feels prompted that she “will become Joseph’s wife.” Later she does enter into covenant with Joseph Smith.

[Meg Stout]

I learned it is good to wait to binge-watch until you know you’re not supposed to actually binge-watch all of several seasons in a single week… And it reminded me of the power of leading with a mystery that contributes to both the hook and a sense of dread.

Five Star Points

Show: Thirteen Reasons Why (because I binge-watched all of The Americans last month, so I’m doing Thirteen Reasons so I can properly watch only one episode per assignment, as instructed)

Big Picture Hooks

Big hook is that we know Hannah kills herself and Clay finds out she recorded her suicide note and the fact that he’s got the tapes means he’s one of the thirteen reasons.

Amazing and Intriguing Character

The most intriguing character is Hannah, who was young and beautiful and new in town. We want to solve the mystery of why she committed suicide and why Clay (a super-nice nerd) is being asked to listen to the tapes, since the tape says only those who contributed to her thirteen reasons for killing herself are being forced to listen to the tapes.

Empathy / Distress

We are feeling empathy and distress for Hannah, but of the survivors, we feel the most sympathy for Clay, who of all the students seems the one most troubled by Hannah’s death.

Layers / Open Loops

What are the 13 reasons Hannah cites for her suicide? What did Clay do to be named as part of those reasons? Who has listened to the tapes (and is therefore part of the reasons)? If the kid with the cool Mustang didn’t know about the suicide, why is he apparently the one enforcing Hannah’s dying wish as expressed in the introduction to the tapes?

Inviting Obsession

We want to know the rest of the contents of the tapes and what will happen as a result of this unique method of leaving a suicide note. Noting there are four seasons, so it goes beyond just the discovery of what all the tapes contain.

[Meg Stout]

Meg Stout Engaging Characters (TLDR)

Assignment #1

The Americans

Elizabeth Jennings

A. Role in the show: Soviet “Illegal,” wife, and mother posing as a travel agent

B. Unique Purpose / Expertise: Expert at espionage and seduction, suspicious of “husband” for wanting to defect.

C. Intrigue: What is secret beneath the surface? During pilot and early in the show, her secret was how she was raped (anal sex) by one of her trainers.

D. Moral Issue: What moral boundaries are they crossing? Elizabeth uses sex and participates in lethal violence in pursuit of the goals of the Soviet Union.

E. Unpredictable: What will they do next? We just don’t know if Elizabeth will betray Phil to their handlers, if she will kill the defector who raped her, or what naked scene we will see her in next.

F. Empathetic: Why do we care? The more we learn about how Elizabeth sees America and the Soviet Union, we come to have sympathy for her point of view. Also, the way she was brutalized by her trainer shows us the pain she has endured for many years.

Phil Jennings

A. Role in the show: Soviet “Illegal,” husband, and father posing as a travel agent

B. Unique Purpose / Expertise: Expert at espionage and spy muscle, concerned about danger to his family.

C. Intrigue: What is secret beneath the surface? Phil’s secret is the lover he left behind.

D. Moral Issue: What moral boundaries are they crossing? Phil is seducing and killing and otherwise deceiving for assignments from their handler, though he is not as dedicated to the Soviet Union as Elizabeth.

E. Unpredictable: What will they do next? We are not certain of Phil’s devotion to the Soviet cause, but he is willing to do anything in pursuit of whatever his goals happen to be.

F. Empathetic: Why do we care? Phil truly loves Elizabeth and his children. For Americans watching, we like the fact that Phil is attracted by “the American dream,” even while actively working to thwart America. Later, we realize how lonely he is, and we realize the importance of the friendship with Stan Beeman, despite the danger of being close to a spy-hunting FBI agent.

Stan Beeman

A. Role in the show: FBI agent in the Soviet division, father, husband, and new neighbor to the Jennings family.

B. Unique Purpose / Expertise: Expert at hunting spies and turning operatives.

C. Intrigue: What is secret beneath the surface? Stan is in love with a Soviet operative he has turned, allowing his marriage to disintegrate.

D. Moral Issue: What moral boundaries are they crossing? Stan is breaking FBI protocol and being unfaithful in pursuit of trying to find the illegals or their handler.

E. Unpredictable: What will they do next? We see Stan use coercion to turn the Soviet embassy worker, then sleep with her. He is not bounded by the rules that are supposed to govern federal workers.

F. Empathetic: Why do we care? Stan makes us care because he is ostensibly protecting America. His flaws, while making him less sympathetic, makes us empathize with him, because he is imperfect.

Assignment #2

The Norman Queen

Knútr

A. Role in the show: He is a prince who, because he has been exiled, is free to risk his life. He is the secret beloved of Emma, who he adores.

B. Unique Purpose / Expertise: Knútr’s love for Emma fundamentally puts him at odds with his older brother and future king, as well as causing his extreme hatred for King Æthelred. Knútr is a skilled merchant and warrior.

C. Intrigue: What is secret beneath the surface? Knútr’s love for Emma is something to which he can never admit.

D. Moral Issue: What moral boundaries are they crossing? He loves his brother’s fiancée but ‘transgresses’ that love when his father requires him to marry one of the women of the Danelaw in pursuit of conquering the English lands. Knútr kills, but he actually pulls back from being as brutal as might have been expected, because he anticipates needing to rule this land once it is conquered.

E. Unpredictable: What will they do next? Knútr is willing to die to protect Emma. THroughout, he is driven by doing that which will free Emma from danger and her oppressive marriage to Ethelred.

F. Empathetic: Why do we care? Knútr is an outcast who loves a woman he believes can never be his. His culture forces him into exile.

Emma

A. Role in the show: Emma was supposed to be the bride of the Prince of Denmark. Her marriage to King Æthelred prevents the dynastic linkage between Denmark and Normandy. She is used as harmed by Æthelred to destroy others to gain his ends.

B. Unique Purpose / Expertise: Emma is talented at language and constantly works to protect the ones she loves, no matter what that requires.

C. Intrigue: What is secret beneath the surface? Once among the English, Emma hides her knowledge of Norse and Danish ways. And of course there is the secret that she loves Knútr.

D. Moral Issue: What moral boundaries are they crossing? She is not emotionally faithful to her husband and king. When Knútr is confirmed King of the English, Emma negotiates to become his queen, even though that makes Knútr a bigamist and goes against the former engagement to Knútr’s brother.

E. Unpredictable: What will they do next? When Æthelred’s paranoia becomes unbearable, Emma threatens to become an Anchorite (“buried” in the walls of the Church) if he ever touches her again.

F. Empathetic: Why do we care? Emma is forced into political marriages that are not her choice. She maintains her dignity despite terrible treatment at the hands of those around her, particularly her husband, King Æthelred.

King Æthelred

A. Role in the show: He is King of England, dedicated to preventing foreigners from conquering and fulfilling the curse.

B. Unique Purpose / Expertise: Ethelred is a ruthless king, willing to kill an entire ethnic minority to retain power. But he is widely known as the Unrede or Ill-advised

C. Intrigue: What is secret beneath the surface? Æthelred knows the curse against which he fights. He entrusts knowledge of the curse to some of his trusted thegns who are now his sons-in-law, hoping that if the curse is realized, one of these loyal and ruthless men will be strong enough to win the throne for their son.

D. Moral Issue: What moral boundaries are they crossing? Ethelred betrays his immediate family members in his quest to retain the English throne for his future grandchild.

E. Unpredictable: What will they do next? We see his willingness to wage war and kill his own wife, if it serves his dynastic vision.

F. Empathetic: Why do we care? He has denied even himself in his quest to retain the English throne for the House of Wessex. Once discovering Emma had not cuckolded him, Æthelred becomes almost pitiably infatuated with her. His worst offenses are because of his love and hope to maintain the honor of Wessex.

Mr. Riley

Riley Zhang

A. Role in the show: Riley is the intelligent patriarch of a large family who becomes entangled with African scammers.

B. Unique Purpose / Expertise: Riley has been very successful in real estate and trusts his own judgement without question.

C. Intrigue: What is secret beneath the surface? His secret is that he has found love with a good woman who needs his assistance to secure her inheritance of a gold mine and hundreds of millions of dollars.

D. Moral Issue: What moral boundaries are they crossing? Riley is willing to turn against everyone to protect his new “wife” from harm.

E. Unpredictable: What will they do next? As Riley’s cognitive processes slip, he becomes ever more impulsive.

F. Empathetic: Why do we care? We watch as Riley suffers decline many will suffer, defending his pride as his children inexplicably turn against him, after all he is doing for their future.

Sue (Zhang) Hill

A. Role in the show: Sue is a devoted daughter to her father, the only child who still lives nearby. She is the first to detect the scam, and warns her father.

B. Unique Purpose / Expertise: Sue is intensely rational, able to track all the details of Riley’s descent into willful delusion. Sue is willing to do whatever is required to protect Riley from himself.

C. Intrigue: What is secret beneath the surface? Riley’s abuse of Sue when she was a child has toughened Sue to pursue protection for Riley despite the consequences.

D. Moral Issue: What moral boundaries are they crossing? Sue fails to honor her father in the manner in which he demands to be honored. Her pursuit of protection for Riley puts her own family and financial security at risk. In pursuit of her goals, Sue reads Riley’s e-mail and helps cut him off from his former phone number and e-mail address.

E. Unpredictable: What will they do next? Strategized with other family members to protect Riley, involving them in ways that turns Riley against them as well.

F. Empathetic: Why do we care? Sue is fighting to defend Riley, sacrificing herself to that end. We see that she is not doing this to “increase her inheritance,” as Riley claims, but to protect Riley from himself and try to turn his affection back to his own children and grandchildren.

Hunkin

A. Role in the show: Hunkin is Riley’s favorite daughter, warmer and less analytical than Sue.

B. Unique Purpose / Expertise: Hunkin is the daughter who, from the beginning, everyone agreed would be the best person to life with Riley, if he needed live-in assistance. She has a way of getting Riley to go along with what she says.

C. Intrigue: What is secret beneath the surface? Hunkin is not able to say no to caring for her father, even if the best thing for Riley and her family were to be placement elsewhere.

D. Moral Issue: What moral boundaries are they crossing? In order to help Riley, Hunkin must betray his confidences and “spy” on his interactions with scammers.

E. Unpredictable: What will they do next? Can become very angry and cutting, threatening to break off contact with Sue and others. She often keeps Riley’s secrets unless they rise to a level where legal action is required.

F. Empathetic: Why do we care? She is suffering a range of challenges, a husband with a heart transplant, miscarriage, small children, and has given up her job and home to care for Riley, who now turns on her, claiming she is greedy.

Children of Heaven

Dr. John C. Bennett

A. Role in the show: Political operator who helps write and pass a strong city charter to protect the Mormons in Illinois. Mayor.

B. Unique Purpose / Expertise: Medical doctor specializing in the treatment of women’s illnesses (treating hysteria). Well-connected with important people in Springfield, such as Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln.

C. Intrigue: What is secret beneath the surface? He is still married and his wife won’t grant him a divorce. He was sexually abused as a child, causing problems with self-regulation.

D. Moral Issue: What moral boundaries are they crossing? Bennett continues to court a young woman even after learning his wife won’t grant a divorce. His medical treatments are sometimes harmful. When he loses hope of marrying his beloved, he commits rebound adultery, then sets out to pressure a widow into becoming his mistress. As his fornications are discovered, he lies to protect himself, spreading the notion that extramarital sexual contact is both permissible and even required.

E. Unpredictable: What will they do next? Tries to kill himself in response to initial discovery of his fornication. Participates in attempts to get rid of Joseph Smith as the adulteries are uncovered, either through extradition to Missouri where Joseph would be killed or through direct killing.

F. Empathetic: Why do we care? Bennett’s wife left because of a misunderstanding. We feel the pain and struggle he suffers because of the childhood sexual abuse. He honestly loves the woman he hoped to marry. The woman he presses into providing him sexual relief really is in need of the food and cash assistance he provides to her. When he is ultimately cast out of the Mormon community, he is assigned all blame for what has occurred, and not everything was actually directly his fault. We understand his rage at not seeing other culpable parties punished and his suspicion that there are secrets that are at least as bad as his sin.

Annie Cowles

A. Role in the show: Governess for the Smith children, friend to Emma Smith.

B. Unique Purpose / Expertise: She becomes Bennett’s love interest and is worthy of being loved by someone with statewide and even national political aspirations.

C. Intrigue: What is secret beneath the surface? She feels guilty for the gang-rape of a friend during the Missouri troubles. She becomes aware of the commandment Joseph and Emma believe Joseph is under to restore biblical marriage, specifically allowing for plurality of wives.

D. Moral Issue: What moral boundaries are they crossing? Annie is the keeper of secrets, which increase steadily as the illicit intercourse scandal is uncovered. She continues to love Bennett even after learning he is married. At the end, she is willing to believe Joseph has approved a secret marriage between herself and Bennett, though ultimately asking for a chance to hear of this directly from Joseph.

E. Unpredictable: What will they do next? Annie has so many people to care for that it isn’t predictable who she will prioritize. When she learns Bennett is married, she leaves the community, abandoning all her charges to ostensibly care for a sister.

F. Empathetic: Why do we care? Annie is made of her love and concern for others. We see that her guilt for the gang-rape wasn’t her fault, that anything she thinks she could have done differently would have made her a victim and resulted in the death of her friend’s child. We want Annie to be happy in love, but this is denied to her through no fault of her own.

Jonathan Holmes

A. Role in the show: Cobbler. Trusted friend of the Smiths. Friend to Annie. Widower once his wife dies of illness and trauma because of the gang-rape.

B. Unique Purpose / Expertise: He is one others, particularly Emma Smith, know they can rely on.

C. Intrigue: What is secret beneath the surface? Jonathan becomes a main character when he is asked to become secret husband to one of Bennett’s pregnant victims. He knows this service will allow him to be reunited with his dead wife in eternity, at the time a solemn secret.

D. Moral Issue: What moral boundaries are they crossing? He is marrying a woman he doesn’t love to provide for the child of a man he despises. When Eliza miscarries, Jonathan marries Annie to end Bennett’s enduring hopes of winning her back, but won’t consummate the marriage because he feels it would constitute infidelity to his dead wife.

E. Unpredictable: What will they do next? In times of crisis, it is unclear which “good” will win his support.

F. Empathetic: Why do we care? Jonathan is a thoroughly good man in extreme circumstances. He is one who protects. We respect his integrity, although the situation is so complex we don’t always know how his integrity will manifest.

Eliza Snow

A. Role in the show: Secretary in the Church’s women’s organization. Next door neighbor to Bennett. A spinster whose intellect has dissuaded suitors.

B. Unique Purpose / Expertise: Eliza Snow is a poetess and sees the world through a lens of epic drama. She is willing to believe Bennett’s claim that she has been given to him as a secret wife.

C. Intrigue: What is secret beneath the surface? When we first see her, her secret is about being Bennett’s secret wife. Once she learns of his perfidy, her secret is that she has become pregnant by a man she now regards as a vile wretch. Later still, she is keeping the secret of the eternal marriage covenants being taught by Joseph Smith.

D. Moral Issue: What moral boundaries are they crossing? She is willing to go against legal norms because she believes Bennett’s claim of secret marriage being valid. When Eliza’s father leaves in protest over Bennett’s ouster, she chooses church over filial piety. When she suffers a miscarriage, she chooses to break with Jonathan rather than be trapped in a loveless marriage, even knowing the benefit Jonathan was promised for this marriage of service.

E. Unpredictable: What will they do next? She throws herself whole-heartedly into whatever she believes in. Her great error and regret is yielding to Bennett, which fuels a subsequent frigid righteousness.

F. Empathetic: Why do we care? Eliza tries to do good in every choice. She epitomizes those who erred but sought forgiveness. We feel sorry for her for the loss of her father and then the loss of the baby she wanted so badly, despite the illicit nature of the conception.

[Meg Stout]

We were supposed to post our pre-work somewhere, so I figure here is as good a place as any. I’ve got three plot lines I’m working on during this course. I’m happy to post even more detail about each of these three stories, but this seems enough for me to “mark my territory” with respect to the group. I have filled out the pre-course work for each of these three stories elsewhere.

I) The Norman Queen is the first novel of likely a twelve novel arc tracing a fictive “curse” on the House of Wessex because of the regicide/fratricide committed to place Æthelred II on the throne. The land and his blood are to be cursed until “Alfred’s daughter’s son shall reign.” This happens when the two Matildas battle during the Anarchy, resulting in Henry II ascending to the throne. The Norman Queen describes the beginning of that curse, as Æthelred kills and terrorizes in an attempt to secure his throne, only to be defeated by King Sweyn of Denmark. Æthelred’s heir is defeated by Sweyn’s son, Knútr of Denmark. I was named Margaret because of Saint Margaret, my ancestor and the “Alfred’s daughter” of the fictive curse. My first screenplay, Pearl of Alba, was a feature film treatment of Margaret of Scotland. But when pitching to an industry person, it was suggested this would work better as a limited TV series. But to understand what I put forward as happening to Margaret, you need to understand why her father and uncle were murdered and why Harold Godwinson thought he could use Margaret to put an heir on the throne that had the blood of Wessex. It turns out Emma of Normandy has a possible history that is potentially even more engaging than what I assert happened to Margaret.

II) Children of Heaven is a series of stories I am writing for initial publication on Vella, giving a close historical fiction treatment of actual people involved in the 1840s events leading to and following from the death of Mormon founder, Joseph Smith. The first story is titled The Doctor’s Governess, which covers Dr. John Bennett’s arrival in the Mormon community, his rise to power, and his desire to marry a young woman (the Smith governess, Annie Cowles) even though Bennett’s estranged wife won’t divorce him. Doctor’s Governess ends when Annie learns Bennett is married and leaves to spend time with family, spiraling Bennett into an affair with Sarah Pratt, wife of a Mormon apostle (circa May 1841). In subsequent stories/series, we see the rise of a heresy where many believe it is appropriate to have sex outside marriage, then the conflict as Bennett is evicted from the community and attacks via the press while the community deals with the pregnancies resulting from the heresy. The great irony is that Joseph, after discovery of the illicit intercourse heresy, finally begins to restore the plural marriage aspect of biblical marriage, as he alleges he was commanded to do ten years earlier. This is what I referred to as my “passion project,” as this history is something I have researched heavily, including self-publishing a history (Reluctant Polygamist) addressing the huge body of evidence suggesting all popular interpretations of this history are in error. Aside from the drama of the story, there is a delicious amount of reviling and rejection of my position both on the part of those who hate Joseph Smith and those who defend “the Saints.” Annie Cowles is another ancestor.

III) Mr. Riley is a fictive but close treatment of the actual battle between myself and my father when I had to petition for guardianship and conservatorship because of his victimization by Ghanaian scammers. In real life, my siblings and I were finally able to get him under protective orders. But Dad is wicked smart and has been able to continue sending thousands of dollars of court ordered “discretionary funds” to the scammers, on top of the $1.2M he sent them before he was put under protection (not to mention upwards of $500K in fines and legal fees associated with his victimization and continued battle to evacuate protection). Meanwhile, he has disinherited most of us children, which is irritating since we have an evaluation stating he lacks testamentary capacity (but the Judge wouldn’t make a ruling to that effect while my father lives) and Dad has accumulated real estate holdings worth roughly $50M.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by  Meg Stout. Reason: Because I could. Between autocorrupt and my own errors, there were things that were bugging me

[Meg Stout]

Meg Stout’s Three Circles of Characters for Mr. Riley

What I learned doing this assignment is how easy it is to fill up a world with enough people to get the “job” done. And rinse and repeat for another screenplay for which I’ve created a first draft.

A. Main Characters Circle:

Mr. Riley Zhang is a brilliant man who has achieved massive financial success through canny investment. When Riley’s long-time girlfriend breaks off their relationship, Riley is thrilled to meet a woman online who needs his help to secure her inheritance.

Sue (Zhang) Hill is Mr. Riley’s oldest daughter, a professional who is horrified to learn her father believes he will obtain a gold mine and hundreds of millions of dollars from contacts in Africa. Ms. Hill petitions for guardianship and conservatorship of her father.

Jane (Zhang) Hunkin is Mr. Riley’s favorite daughter. Jane initially objects to Sue’s plan to petition, believing it is possible to persuade their father without resorting to the courts. But when Jane learns Riley has sent the scammers over $1M and can no longer pay his mortgages or taxes, she works with Sue. When Riley flees the state where he and Ms. Hill live, Jane is able to become her father’s guardian, only to find that Riley plans to litigate his way to emancipation.

B. Connected Circle:

There is the extended family to which all the main characters are related, together with the scammers and the lawyers and court officials with whom each of the litigants interact. There are also Riley’s former wives and his former girlfriend. Riley has several renters, many Salvadoran, who he pressures for advance funds while neglecting maintenance needed on the properties. There are also the expert evaluators, who struggle to help the court protect Riley while allowing as much autonomy as appropriate, each coming to the evaluation with different expertise and beliefs about what protection is needed.

C. Environment Circle:

A cast of dozens to flesh out the legal and familial interactions affecting the family.

[Meg Stout]

Meg Stout’s Three Circles of Characters for Children of Heaven

What I learned doing this assignment is how easy it is to fill up a world with enough people to get the “job” done. And rinse and repeat for the story I am creating and publishing on Vella.

A. Main Characters Circle:

Dr. John C. Bennett is an 1840s medical doctor specializing in women’s medicine whose wife kicks him out because she mistakenly believes he is a bigamist. Bennett goes to Illinois to make a name and fame for himself, hoping to win his wife back to his side.

Annie Cowles is an unmarried woman in her mid-twenties who becomes governess to the children of Mormon founder, Joseph Smith. Traumatized by the brutality and schism the Mormons experienced in Missouri, Annie strives to overcome her fear and accept the courtship of newcomer, Dr. Bennett. [Bennett begins to court Annie when he learns there is no hope of reconciling with his estranged wife, only to learn the estranged wife refuses to grant him a divorce.]

Jonathan Holmes becomes a widower. Annie, who was a friend to Jonathan’s dead wife, becomes effective mother to Jonathan’s surviving daughter.

Eliza Snow is an unmarried woman in her late thirties and next-door neighbor to Dr. Bennett. As the rogue “doctrine” of illicit intercourse spreads among the Mormons, Eliza Snow believes Bennett’s pitch that Eliza is to be Bennett’s secret wife, unaware she is practice for Bennett’s plan to impregnate Annie. Eliza becomes pregnant. When Bennett is expelled from the Mormon community, it is arranged that Eliza will become wife to widower Jonathan Holmes.

B. Connected Circle:

Bennett has a range of familial and professional contacts, including Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln. Later Bennett will have a string of women and his friends and colleagues as he is elected Mayor of Nauvoo, the main Illinois city founded by the Mormons. Annie has family contacts, the family she works for, other women working in the Smith home. Jonathan has his wife and daughters. Eliza has her family and, later, her fellow officers in the Church’s women’s organization, a small group that includes Annie Cowles.

C. Environment Circle:

A cast of thousands as needed to populate the world of the American frontier, particularly along the Mississippi River.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by  Meg Stout. Reason: Add detail about publishing to Vella

[Meg Stout]

Meg Stout’s Three Circles of Characters for The Norman Queen.

What I learned doing this assignment is how easy it is to fill up a world with enough people to get the “job” done.

A. Main Characters Circle:

Knútr is the second son of King Sweyn of Denmark, exiled because only the eldest son can inherit. He learns his father thinks he would have been the better king, but plans to conquer England and make Knútr heir to the English throne.

Emma is second daughter of the deceased Duke Rikard of Normandy. When her older sister marries the Duke of Brittany, King Sweyn asks Emma to become betrothed to Prince Harald of Denmark, with young Knútr acting as intermediary. Emma and Knútr come to secretly love one another.

King Æthelred is King of England because his brothers were murdered. He was cursed in his youth by the mother of his dead half-brother. Now a widower and desperate to forestall the curse, he attacks Normandy and demands Emma become his Queen.

B. Connected Circle:

Each character has immediate family. Emma and Æthelred have royal retainers and Emma has the friendship of Ædgyth, her oldest step-daughter. Knútr has his mentor, Thorkell, the Danes killed during the English attack on Normandy, and others he will meet during the course of his quest, such as his brother-in-law Eilaf. Emma’s confessor is part of the connected circle.

C. Environment Circle:

The environment circle consists of anyone in Denmark, Normandy, or England that needs to be there to support the story, such as guards, ladies in waiting, or the various combatants, for example the un-named Danes who are murdered while defending Knútr’s aunt during the massacre of St. Brice’s Day (the public incitement for King Sweyn’s attacks on England).

• This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by  Meg Stout. Reason: Removing weird html
• This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by  Meg Stout. Reason: Making parallel to other posts

[Meg Stout]

Assignment #1

Show: The Americans

Three Circles of Characters

A. Main Characters Circle:

The main characters are the FBI agent, Stan Beeman, and his neighbors, the two Soviet agents posing as an American couple, Elizabeth Jennings and Phillip Jennings.

B. Connected Circle:

For each of the main characters, there are family members (Beeman’s wife and son; the Jennings kids), coworkers (Beeman’s partner and boss; the other Soviet agents and handlers; the travel agency workers for the Jennings’s cover), and people any of the three characters are actively working, whether as informants or targets.

C. Environment Circle:

There is anyone associated with the Soviet embassy, the FBI, the neighborhood, random strangers.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by  Meg Stout. Reason: Adding “Assignment #1”

[Meg Stout]

In preparation for this course, I watched the first episode of The Americans (then proceeded to watch all the episodes and seasons, in true binge fashion). Loved it, since I was romantically involved for a time with a fellow who had gone up against a Soviet GRU agent. Also, I’ve worked for government, so get the whole pre-internet secrets game. And much of the action was set in the DC/MD/VA area (aka DMV), which is my home turf.

Five Star Points

Show: The Americans

Big Picture Hooks

Big hook is that we have secret Soviet agents, posing as husband and wife with actual kids, who are willing to kill and die in DC living next to an FBI agent seeking Soviets

Amazing and Intriguing Character

Most intriguing is the female agent, who was raped by the Soviet defector they have captured. Both of the husband and wife have amazing skills at disguise and deception/seduction to obtain the information they need.

Empathy / Distress

She is pretending to be a happy wife, but the rape trauma makes her unable to accept her husband’s love. Meanwhile, her husband is deeply in love with the woman assigned to him as wife. Meanwhile, they have two children they adore who know nothing of what their parents are actually doing.

Layers / Open Loops

Will the FBI agent discover the defector? Will they survive? Where are the seductions leading? What will happen to their children?

Inviting Obsession

We want to know if the Soviets will be discovered, we want to know if the kids will be OK, we want to see the disguises and seductions, we want to know if the female agent will reciprocate her husband’s love, we want to know if the male agent will really defect, we want to know why the female agent is so devoted to the Soviet cause.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by  Meg Stout. Reason: Just checking out how editing works. Plus wanted to fix minor formatting and grammar

[Meg Stout]

1. Name?

Meg (Chiu) Stout

2. How many scripts you’ve written?

I wrote my first script in two weeks so a producer friend would have something (less-sucky than the script she had in hand from another writer) to provide a colleague to pitch in China to LionsGate. I’ve written most of a second script and am using screenwriting as a technique for drafting novels I’m writing (with the novels as PR for the screenplays and any films or TV-series as PR for the novels).

3. What you hope to get out of the class?

I agree that limited TV series are perfect for exploring complex topics, such as ones I wish to explore in novels. One of my novel series will be something like a cross between The Crown and Vikings/The Last Kingdom. Another series is a passion project for which I’m currently writing episodes for Vella. At any rate, I think these and other ideas would be great as limited mini-series, so I want to learn how to write and pitch to this new and emerging market.

4. Something unique, special, strange or unusual about you?

The GRU agent who was declared persona non grata at the beginning of the first Bush administration was entrapped by volunteer counter-espionage agent who subsequently wanted to marry me or, failing that, have sex with me or, failing that, have me use a push blade to kill him (all requests I refused).

Also I eat my cereal dry from a cup while quaffing intermittent sips of milk from a separate cup.

[Meg Stout]

Meg Stout

I agree to the terms of the following 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 Binge Worthy TV class confidential, and that I will NOT share any of this program either privately, with a group, posting online, writing articles, teaching a class, through video or computer programming, or in any other way that would make those processes, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the Binge Worthy TV 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 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. The easiest solution if you have similar ideas is to either not look at each other’s work or to agree to take your shows in different directions.

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 Binge Worthy TV class.

[Meg Stout]

Hi Stuart,

Question – as you are envisioning an anthology show about Poe’s stories, how do you plan on driving the viewer to watch the next episode? It can work – I understand the whole point of the 1001 Arabian Nights tales was that Scheherazade did exactly that, make the pain of missing the story so great that the Sultan kept her alive. So if one were to turn the Arabian Nights into an anthology show, the relationship between Scheherazade and the Sultan would serve as the overarching problem. Just hadn’t seen what you envision being that overarching “must watch!” Open loop for Poe Forevermore.

[Meg Stout]

Hi Joseph, one question I would have is the way you will address the fact that most people consider killing to be more heinous than adultery. I look forward to seeing how you make Ruby a character we care about!

• This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by  Meg Stout. Reason: Wrong name for main character

[Meg Stout]

I’m posting the assignments for Design Lesson #3 in “Post Day 3 Assignment Here”

We are missing the “Post Day 12 Assignment Here,” but Cheryl can add that. Or we can just post Lesson #12 stuff into the end of the Day 11 post.

Mostly, we were missing the post where we could share our story concepts. But I used the Introductions post to put mine up. And over time, it will be relatively clear what our story concepts are.

Pi is involved in everything.

[Meg Stout]

Hi John!

Wondering which few of your several main characters are the main main characters? Also, does your story have a title? Thanks! Meg

[Meg Stout]

Hi David,

I agree that Firefly is delightful, but it seems to me it wasn’t crafted as binge-worthy. This is particularly evident as the final episodes weren’t even aired in the proper order.