[Milam Smith]

ASSIGNMENT: #2:

“What I learned doing this assignment is…?”

Outlining series of tropes towards discovering a full outline. I’m a pantster and don’t do outlines. Outlines complete the story in my head and need blanks to motivate my Muse.

1. Fill in the blanks and see what shows up.

Concept: A rookie CIA officer Riley S. arrives to her assignment just as her mentor is assassination by an explosion.

Hero Morally Right: Riley S. must find her mentor’s killers to expose a plot against NATO—and expose a CIA mole.

Villain Morally Wrong: The Mole murdered a fellow CIA officer and conspired with an enemy nation to disrupt NATO.

Hero: Riley S. – rookie CIA officer

Unique skill set: Raised in foster care homes in dangerous environments and spent one supper with an Apache family as a teen.

Extrapolate: Fostered at the age of three, her parents are a mystery. Besides the good fortune of a summer with an Apache family, the family who adopted her at the age of 14/15 and nurtured her talents may know more about her past

B. Motivation: Complete her mentor’s assignment and expose a mole and enemy nation’s actions to disrupt NATO

Extrapolate: She realizes her rookie training pale in comparison to her natural abilities to defeat experienced enemy combatants may be unnatural

C. Secret or Wound: Loss of parents at 3, a decade in abusive foster care homes, and not really knowing the truth about parents

Extrapolate: She finds hints to a past she knew nothing about

Villain: CIA mole and enemy country

Extrapolate: Mole has own agenda and maybe deeper connections to Deep State besides helping the enemy country and stopping the growth of NATO

Unbeatable: Mole has access to CIA actions and resources of enemy nation

Extrapolate: Uses CIA resources and information on Riley’s progress to further the obstacles in her path

B. Plan/Goal: Kill Riley and disrupt NATO using CIA assets and enemy country assets

Extrapolate: Mole suspects something special about this young woman able to defeat multiple experienced enemies and investigates her past while working to stop her

C. What they lose if Hero survives: Mole’s life and exposure of enemy country on world stage

Impossible Mission: Riley must expose mole and protect NATO and find clues to her past

Extrapolate: Exposing the Mole may reveal deeper connections to government bad agents

A. Puts Hero in Action: She battles enemy combatants across Europe at every exposure of evidence and finally confronts and battles a seasoned CIA officer

B. Demands They Go Beyond Their Best: She’s not just solving a murder finding evidence, but saving NATO in a constant series of violent confrontations

C. Destroy the Villain: Expose an enemy nation and CIA mole, and defeat the mole to expose him/her while discovering a truth to her past

[Milam Smith]

What I learned doing this assignment is…?”

The five necessary tropes that propels the action script forward.

Concept: CIA SpecOps agent on her first assignment survives murder attempt and must track down her Mentor’s killer–and discover the truth about her past.

Conventions

Hero: Riley S. orphaned early in life is prepared by her traumatic foster care to face a dangerous world, aptitude for solo sports through skill hones physical abilities, and unusual intellect through college guides her to CIA employment.<div>

Demand For Action: Unknown antagonist and questionable support from CIA makes her quest one of survival as well as results.

Mission: Riley must find who was behind the murder of her mentor and if there is a bigger threat behind it.

Antagonist: Mole working with enemy nation to compromise prevent new Nato candidate nation from becoming a member.

Escalating Action: The mystery of her true background and ‘abilities’ becomes entwined with Mole’s mission, which expands to include taking her out.

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[Milam Smith]

Milam Smith

I agree to the terms of this release form.

[Milam Smith]

Milam Smith

Four scripts–but primarily write crime fiction.

Necessary tropes, pacing tips, improve writing.

Saw JFK the morning he was shot, watched live tv Ruby shooting Oswald, and watched live live tv RFK’s assassination–will never forget Greer tackling Sirhan…