When working on the story development in the early stages, Simon advised me to come up with a few themes that the story would be about rather than coming up with a structure of events that would happen. I had decided that the story was about parenthood/motherhood and a family unit but also about sacrifice and loss. Keeping these themes in mind throughout is what will enable me to make some important plot decisions later on in the writing process.
The next step was to think about who my characters are- in particular the main character Vivian. As the story is essentially about her more so than any of the other characters, it is very important that I fully understand who she is and what her past experiences are. This will allow me to make decisions on her behalf, taking into account what I know about her. To gain some instruction on how to move my story forward I conducted some research regarding structure and storytelling
I found an article entitled 'How to structure a story: The 8 point arc' stated by Nigel Watts in his book 'Writing a novel and getting published'. He describes the arc as a "fool proof, fail safe and time honoured way to structure a story". The 8 points are
1. Stasis
This is the “every day life” in which the story is set. Some examples include Jack from Jack in the Beanstalk living in poverty with his mum, or Harry Potter living with the Dursley’s. In terms of my story, I imagine Vivian living in a run-down house and supporting her children with a very low paid job.
2. Trigger
The trigger is an event that will spark off the story. For example: A fairy godmother appears or someone pays in magic beans not gold. I have decided that I want one of the twins to be abducted which will be the turning point for Vivian.
3. The Quest
The trigger results in a quest which might involve a quest to return to the status quo. The quest for Vivian would be to find her daughter.
3. Surprise
This stage involves not one but several elements, and takes up most of the middle part of the story. The Surprise can include pleasant events, but more often means obstacles, complications and trouble for the protagonist. Some surprises for Vivian would include the Police finding evidence regarding the investigation or her meeting the new mysterious little girl in the neighbourhood.
Watts suggests in his book that the surprises shouldn't be expected, the audience shouldn't be able to see them coming.
4. Critical Choice
At some stage, your protagonist needs to make a crucial decision. This is often when we find out exactly who a character is, as real personalities are revealed at moments of high stress. Watts stresses that this has to be a decision by the character to take a particular path – not just something that happens by chance.
However, in tragic stories the unhappy ending often stems from a character making the wrong choice at this point – For example: Romeo poisoning himself upon seeing Juliet supposedly dead.
I think a critical choice for Vivian would be choosing the investigation over the rest of her family, driving them away from her.
5. Climax
This is the highest peak of tension, in the story.
For some stories, this could be a battle commencing, or a high-speed chase. In other stories, the climax could be a huge argument between a husband and wife, or a playground fight between children. In terms of this series, the climax could either be Vivian suspecting the mysterious little girl is Elise or obtaining a sample and having it tested, with a determined result, that she can act on.
6. Reversal
The reversal should be the consequence of the critical choice and the climax, and it should change the status of the characters – especially the protagonist. Vivian's choice would be to act on the test results, and act destructively. However, I am yet to decide what this would be. 7. The Resolution
The resolution is a return to a fresh stasis – one where the characters should be changed, and the story being told is complete. In terms of my story, I have not determined the ending or what I would like to happen to the protagonist so this is something I intend on working with, experimenting with different endings and finding the most resolved one. Initially, I wanted the Mother to be institutionalised for her actions. However, I am insure yet as to whether I would like the protagonist to have a tragic ending as opposed to a happy one.
I found this article really helpful for bullet pointing some of the events of the story that I have devised thus far. I know roughly what I would like the beginning to look like, the triggering event and some of the final outcomes. However, I need to work more closely into the ending.
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