Five Act Short Story: Lesson One

In my previous blog, I explained the Five Act formula for structuring plots that William Shakespeare used for every play he ever wrote. Now I'm going to use it to outline a short story that I wrote. Thing is, though, that this short story is a story that I know well, but that I wrote badly. In outlining it, I hope I can improve it. This, being only an outline of the story, will read vaguely. Tell me how it reads to you, and if you like it.

Act I: Introduce Main Plot/Characters/Conflicts

• Main characters of this story: Trick and Moxy
• Trick: a good looking and talented boy with an overdeveloped sense of justice
• Moxy: a good looking and quiet girl who likes to think and be alive and just get along with things
• Main plot: Trick is introduced as a person who is usually kind and generous, but he has recently been controlling. That seems to Moxy to be out of character.
• Main Conflict: Trick has decided that it's his mission to rescue a boy named Hugo who gets picked on a lot. Moxy disapproves of this plan.
  

Act II: Introduce Secondary Plot/Characters/Conflicts

• Moxy likes trick, and she is suppressing it. She has a boyfriend, and she doesn't want to think of Trick that way, and he's never encouraged her to do so.
• Trick is comitted to give a speech at a club meeting tomorrow.
• Moxy's friend, Elizabeth, is introduced: she's abrasive and honest.
  

Act III: Plots Are Complicated

• Moxy refuses to talk to Trick about casual things (invitation to a party). Elizabeth calls her out on this and forces Moxy to really consider how she feels about Trick.
• Trick bails on the speech he'd comitted to give, going further against his character as Moxy understands him.
• Moxy confronts him, and becomes angry.
• Trick behaves resolutely chauvinistic.
  

Act IV: Resolution Suggested, and Described as Both Impossible and Inevitable

• Elizabeth says Trick needs to be taken down a peg.
• Seems impossible: Trick is too awesome, in the eyes of our perspective character.
• It would solve all the problems: A Trick with a lesson in humility would be a Trick restored to equilibrium.
• Maybe this would help Moxy, too.

Act V: Climax and Conclusion

• Trick gets into fight with the people who were harassing Hugo.
• And loses. Moxy genuinely fears for him.
• He realizes that he doesn't have to control everything.
• Moxy begins to actually see him for who he is.

Right. There's the story. Outlining it like this has helped me. Does it make any sense?

Next lesson: um...something good. It's a surprise!

Theme Songs: Drift Away

"Day after day I'm more confused,/but I look for the light through the pouring rain./You know that's a game I hate to lose./I'm feeling the strain./Now ain't that a shame."--Mentor Williams, Steppenwolf

I identify with music. And I identify with words.

Making any leaps of judgment here? Okay, good; I'll assume we're all on the same page.

I have begun compiling a list--playlist--of theme songs. Songs that are already floating around in the void. So far they mostly fall into the "no duh it's that one" column. However a couple have really surprised me. A phenomenon in itself quite shocking since I'm talking about me choosing something to be associated with something that I made up.... Not a strangity that I think I can explain.

Steppenwolf is an old band, and they have an old song most everyone has heard. The "Give me the beat boys to free my soul, I want to get lost in the rock and roll" song. It's called "Drift Away". It's a pretty feel good, ephemeral song. Almost sad, really. Not high tempo, blood and guts rock and roll. More classicky, more artistic.

I was just listening to it and reading Jenny's blog about revision, and thinking about the revision that I've been putting off on "Taking Bluegrass". And I associated "Drift Away" with "Taking Bluegrass". It felt right. It didn't think right; my intellect said "NO! NOT HARD CORE ENOUGH! TOO MUCH OF A SOFTY SONG! GAH! BRIGHT AND SUNNY FEEL GOOD! BAD BAD! CROSS FINGERS! BACK! HISS!"

But then I listened to the lyrics, real close. And the intellect started to agree with the instinct.

So all the other songs on my playlist are the theme songs of characters. But this one is for a short story. Or, more specifically, for my protagonist's mindset. Not for the character, because this is a transitional point in her life and she was never this way before and won't be again later on. So it's all very cool.

It occurs to me now, though, that the revision which "Drift Away" associates with is one most of my readers won't be familiar with.... So...yeah, make like a door and be open [minded].

Starting stuff, and finishing stuff

"When you aren't in school, you should be working. Getting money."--John (paraphrased)

I do a lot of stuff by feeling. Writing especially. If things feel right, I go with them. If I come to a spot and I find that I'm trying too hard for the words to come out, often I find that means I'm doing something that doesn't fit. Usually I'll plow through, come back to it later. But a lot of the times that means a hang-up of hours, or days, or months.

I spent November revising a story. This morning, I metaphorically put it in an envelope, slapped some stamps on it, and a return address sticker with an ostrich chicky on it, then put it in the mail. (Metaphorically did the first three. I put the return address and the mailing address on't a week ago, and the stamps on't last Saturday. Only mailed it today. Waited for the weekend in case I forgot anything.) It is done. I have a feeling. Not only that, I have begun thinking about, like, other things. OTHER THINGS, I tell you. Last night, I imagined this short story in two or so parts about cool stuff, and...and...and this other one I can't remember. But the point is, my instincts tell me that, for now at least, this story that I sent to a magazine is well and truly finished. I have no nagging doubts about its content, and I cannot think of anything which I should have changed.

A calmness and clearness of mind that could be dashed to insecure nail-biting in half a sentence by any of the group, no doubt. But it feels nice now.

What does that have to do with John saying, "Go, grift for money,"? Nothing whatever. I'm motivating myself to get a job.