Step outline / Theme brainstorm- Story 1 - ZEFRANK.COM

amanda · 03-07-2005, 06:11 AM

Here's where we can start bringing in ideas, either for the theme or plot points for the first collaborative short story.

What I have found useful in story is something called a "step outline"

Step outlines are stories told in steps- basically the turing point in scenes written out in one or two sentences. example: "He climbed the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro to find the treasure was already pilfered away by the rebels." Everything else of the scene works away from that point. How did so and so get there? Who is he? Why is looking for treasure in some absurd place like the top of a mountain and so on.

But since we are at the very beginning, it would be helpful just to have this thread be a bucket for ANY ideas relating to this story- theme, character's names, place, favorite ice-cream flavor of the pet goldfish... ANYTHING. Toss it in here, kids. We'll pick out the soggy bits later.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Theme- powerlessness. abandoned love.

scene- as the child hears fighting, he slips outside to watch fireflies. He remembers from his book that the flashes are the males asking the females to love him. He wonders if he could flash too.

Marcus Bales · 03-07-2005, 01:09 PM

The child hears fighting and he starts worrying about what he's done. Did the teacher call? One of his friends' parents complain? Did that cop report him for crossing the street in the middle of the block? Did old Mrs Smith tell that he cut through her yard?

trisherina · 03-07-2005, 01:14 PM

He is alone in his room and copes by talking to his stuffed toys about what's going on in his head.

zefrank · 03-07-2005, 01:41 PM

(let's combine these together as we go

scene- as the child hears fighting, he slips outside to watch fireflies. He remembers from his book that the flashes are the males asking the females to love him. He wonders if he could flash too.

The child hears fighting and he starts worrying about what he's done. Did the teacher call? One of his friends' parents complain? Did that cop report him for crossing the street in the middle of the block? Did old Mrs Smith tell that he cut through her yard?

He is alone in his room and copes by talking to his stuffed toys about what's going on in his head.

grocery shopping with dad, kid innocently games the situation to get stuff mom wouldn't buy.

trisherina · 03-08-2005, 08:39 PM

The mom and the dad are fighting about who gets the family dog in the physical separation.

funkytuba · 03-09-2005, 05:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trisherina

The mom and the dad are fighting about who gets the family dog in the physical separation.

and he's wondering why they're not fighting about him instead

sammygirl · 03-10-2005, 09:15 AM

So he decides to take the dog and leave...he wants to hide out somewhere, just to see how long it will be before someone comes to look for him. He doesn't actually want to run away from home, he just wants someone to notice him.

priceyfatprude · 03-10-2005, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by funkytuba

and he's wondering why they're not fighting about him instead

Sharing the brain, we are.

He goes to the park with the dog & a Frisbee. He forgets about his parents for the next few hours & plays with his dog, not realizing how dark it has gotten outside or how hungry he is.

trisherina · 03-10-2005, 08:02 PM

There is a brief shift in POV to show that his parents eventually take note of his absence and fear the worst.

Marcus Bales · 03-11-2005, 04:17 PM

Perhaps instead of a shift in POV, the parents come get him and the dog, and they're both mad at him. Good, he says, then you're not mad at each other any more.

sammygirl · 03-12-2005, 07:15 PM

There could be some sort of arguement scene here, perhaps in the car or on the walk home. The reasons for the divorce and the real family problems begin to be revealed to the reader, in the course of the argument. But of course the boy always puts the blame on himself. They fight about the son at first because they are mad at him, and then the whole thing snowballs like it always does with people who are having problems with their marriage.

amanda · 03-20-2005, 12:20 AM

scene- as the child hears fighting, he slips outside to watch fireflies. He remembers from his book that the flashes are the males asking the females to love him. He wonders if he could flash too.

The child hears fighting and he starts worrying about what he's done. Did the teacher call? One of his friends' parents complain? Did that cop report him for crossing the street in the middle of the block? Did old Mrs Smith tell that he cut through her yard?

He is alone in his room and copes by talking to his stuffed toys about what's going on in his head.

grocery shopping with dad, kid innocently games the situation to get stuff mom wouldn't buy.

The mom and the dad are fighting about who gets the family dog in the physical separation. and he's wondering why they're not fighting about him instead

So he decides to take the dog and leave...he wants to hide out somewhere, just to see how long it will be before someone comes to look for him. He doesn't actually want to run away from home, he just wants someone to notice him.

He goes to the park with the dog & a Frisbee. He forgets about his parents for the next few hours & plays with his dog, not realizing how dark it has gotten outside or how hungry he is.

There is a brief shift in POV to show that his parents eventually take note of his absence and fear the worst. Perhaps instead of a shift in POV, the parents come get him and the dog, and they're both mad at him. Good, he says, then you're not mad at each other any more.

There could be some sort of arguement scene here, perhaps in the car or on the walk home. The reasons for the divorce and the real family problems begin to be revealed to the reader, in the course of the argument. But of course the boy always puts the blame on himself. They fight about the son at first because they are mad at him, and then the whole thing snowballs like it always does with people who are having problems with their marriage.

on the way, they stop at mcdonald's. The boy wonders if it's okay to get an apple pie as the parents bicker in the front seat about whether or not the McFish sandwich is better for you than Chicken McNuggets. He decides against it.

aprillillian · 04-01-2005, 06:47 AM

The parents decide against Mcdonalds, because the boy deserves no reward for running away.On the drive home, the boy grows more regretful and angry towards himself as he listens to his parents blame one another for his disappearance. "This isn't what was suppose to happen" he thinks "this was suppose to make them love me, not fight more. What have I done?"

sammygirl · 04-09-2005, 01:58 PM

They finally get home after a tense car ride. He scrubs the tears from his face with his shirt sleeve as they pull into the driveway. No way he wants his parents to see him cry. It might start another arguement. He wonders how everything he does can make them so angry at each other. He thinks his parents don't seem too upset about his disappearance, but they are deeply concerned with the nutritional value of the Mc Nuggets.
He decides then and there that the next escape will be more successful.

Mary · 04-17-2005, 05:52 AM

He plans out his "escape" with crayons and construction paper. Gathers things: teddy bear, dog, baseball cap---things of that nature.

03-07-2005, 06:11 AM	#1
amanda old s'cool Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 2,426	Step outline / Theme brainstorm- Story 1 Here's where we can start bringing in ideas, either for the theme or plot points for the first collaborative short story. What I have found useful in story is something called a "step outline" Step outlines are stories told in steps- basically the turing point in scenes written out in one or two sentences. example: "He climbed the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro to find the treasure was already pilfered away by the rebels." Everything else of the scene works away from that point. How did so and so get there? Who is he? Why is looking for treasure in some absurd place like the top of a mountain and so on. But since we are at the very beginning, it would be helpful just to have this thread be a bucket for ANY ideas relating to this story- theme, character's names, place, favorite ice-cream flavor of the pet goldfish... ANYTHING. Toss it in here, kids. We'll pick out the soggy bits later. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Theme- powerlessness. abandoned love. scene- as the child hears fighting, he slips outside to watch fireflies. He remembers from his book that the flashes are the males asking the females to love him. He wonders if he could flash too.

03-07-2005, 01:09 PM	#2
Marcus Bales ________________ Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: In a coign of the cliff between lowland and highland, at the sea-down's edge between windward and lee, walled round with rocks as an inland island, the ghost of a garden fronts the sea. Posts: 8,967	The child hears fighting and he starts worrying about what he's done. Did the teacher call? One of his friends' parents complain? Did that cop report him for crossing the street in the middle of the block? Did old Mrs Smith tell that he cut through her yard? __________________ My strength is as the strength of eight -- My heart is nearly pure.

03-07-2005, 01:14 PM	#3
trisherina meretricious dilettante Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 11,068	He is alone in his room and copes by talking to his stuffed toys about what's going on in his head. __________________ Because how we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. -- Annie Dillard

03-08-2005, 08:39 PM	#5
trisherina meretricious dilettante Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 11,068	The mom and the dad are fighting about who gets the family dog in the physical separation. __________________ Because how we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. -- Annie Dillard

03-10-2005, 08:02 PM	#9
trisherina meretricious dilettante Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 11,068	There is a brief shift in POV to show that his parents eventually take note of his absence and fear the worst. __________________ Because how we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. -- Annie Dillard

03-07-2005, 01:41 PM	#4
zefrank ------------- Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: brooklyn NY Posts: 1,581	(let's combine these together as we go scene- as the child hears fighting, he slips outside to watch fireflies. He remembers from his book that the flashes are the males asking the females to love him. He wonders if he could flash too. The child hears fighting and he starts worrying about what he's done. Did the teacher call? One of his friends' parents complain? Did that cop report him for crossing the street in the middle of the block? Did old Mrs Smith tell that he cut through her yard? He is alone in his room and copes by talking to his stuffed toys about what's going on in his head. grocery shopping with dad, kid innocently games the situation to get stuff mom wouldn't buy.

03-10-2005, 09:15 AM	#7
sammygirl Positively Pessimistic Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: lost in Europe Posts: 18	So he decides to take the dog and leave...he wants to hide out somewhere, just to see how long it will be before someone comes to look for him. He doesn't actually want to run away from home, he just wants someone to notice him.

03-11-2005, 04:17 PM	#10
Marcus Bales ________________ Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: In a coign of the cliff between lowland and highland, at the sea-down's edge between windward and lee, walled round with rocks as an inland island, the ghost of a garden fronts the sea. Posts: 8,967	Perhaps instead of a shift in POV, the parents come get him and the dog, and they're both mad at him. Good, he says, then you're not mad at each other any more. __________________ My strength is as the strength of eight -- My heart is nearly pure.

03-12-2005, 07:15 PM	#11
sammygirl Positively Pessimistic Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: lost in Europe Posts: 18	There could be some sort of arguement scene here, perhaps in the car or on the walk home. The reasons for the divorce and the real family problems begin to be revealed to the reader, in the course of the argument. But of course the boy always puts the blame on himself. They fight about the son at first because they are mad at him, and then the whole thing snowballs like it always does with people who are having problems with their marriage.

03-20-2005, 12:20 AM	#12
amanda old s'cool Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 2,426	break- compile scene- as the child hears fighting, he slips outside to watch fireflies. He remembers from his book that the flashes are the males asking the females to love him. He wonders if he could flash too. The child hears fighting and he starts worrying about what he's done. Did the teacher call? One of his friends' parents complain? Did that cop report him for crossing the street in the middle of the block? Did old Mrs Smith tell that he cut through her yard? He is alone in his room and copes by talking to his stuffed toys about what's going on in his head. grocery shopping with dad, kid innocently games the situation to get stuff mom wouldn't buy. The mom and the dad are fighting about who gets the family dog in the physical separation. and he's wondering why they're not fighting about him instead So he decides to take the dog and leave...he wants to hide out somewhere, just to see how long it will be before someone comes to look for him. He doesn't actually want to run away from home, he just wants someone to notice him. He goes to the park with the dog & a Frisbee. He forgets about his parents for the next few hours & plays with his dog, not realizing how dark it has gotten outside or how hungry he is. There is a brief shift in POV to show that his parents eventually take note of his absence and fear the worst. Perhaps instead of a shift in POV, the parents come get him and the dog, and they're both mad at him. Good, he says, then you're not mad at each other any more. There could be some sort of arguement scene here, perhaps in the car or on the walk home. The reasons for the divorce and the real family problems begin to be revealed to the reader, in the course of the argument. But of course the boy always puts the blame on himself. They fight about the son at first because they are mad at him, and then the whole thing snowballs like it always does with people who are having problems with their marriage. on the way, they stop at mcdonald's. The boy wonders if it's okay to get an apple pie as the parents bicker in the front seat about whether or not the McFish sandwich is better for you than Chicken McNuggets. He decides against it.

04-01-2005, 06:47 AM	#13
aprillillian Dolefully Desired Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Atlanta GA Posts: 20	The parents decide against Mcdonalds, because the boy deserves no reward for running away.On the drive home, the boy grows more regretful and angry towards himself as he listens to his parents blame one another for his disappearance. "This isn't what was suppose to happen" he thinks "this was suppose to make them love me, not fight more. What have I done?"

04-09-2005, 01:58 PM	#14
sammygirl Positively Pessimistic Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: lost in Europe Posts: 18	They finally get home after a tense car ride. He scrubs the tears from his face with his shirt sleeve as they pull into the driveway. No way he wants his parents to see him cry. It might start another arguement. He wonders how everything he does can make them so angry at each other. He thinks his parents don't seem too upset about his disappearance, but they are deeply concerned with the nutritional value of the Mc Nuggets. He decides then and there that the next escape will be more successful.

04-17-2005, 05:52 AM	#15
Mary The Uncola Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: sterling heights, michigan Posts: 140	He plans out his "escape" with crayons and construction paper. Gathers things: teddy bear, dog, baseball cap---things of that nature. __________________ Parfois j'aime danser nu.

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