The Plot

Okay. Here’s the results of my spitballing (disgusting phrase,… Thanks, William Goldman…). This is basically a list of scenes, but they’re not necessarily in order. My intention is to let them percolate and see where some of them fit in the structure. As John Truby says in his book The Anatomy of Story, you shouldn’t organize scenes by chronology, you should organize them by structural steps. When elaborates on that, using THE GODFATHER as an example, it’s very compelling.

Spitballs

• Sam’s company is captured in Iraq by insurgents
• Sam and Co. are tortured (Sam?)
• Sam and Co. are rescued by a team from WKCH and Marines, including Carl
• Carl dies in rescue
• Sam gets debriefed, accuses WKCH’s D. Knapp of rape, Army wants her to say it happened in captivity by Iraqi insurgents, cover-up
• Sam returns home, greeted by Kevin at airport, gets her car
• Sam and Carl drive home
• A tire blows out in vehicle next to hers
• Sam and Carl are in multi-car pile-up, Carl gets abducted by men from black SUVs
• Sam evades/eludes cops, Bats joins her, goes home
• Police contact Kevin for help locating Sam
• Sam/Bats decide to rescue Carl. To do so they have to find where they’re keeping him
• Sam/Bats break into WKCH Corp. H.Q., fight guards
• Kevin helps cops, tries to call Sam
• D. Knapp/WKCH get involved in search, D. Knapp knows Sam, her story
• Sam/Bats escape to nearby construction site
• Sam/Bats are chased on freeway, cause mayhem
• Sam/Bats steal SWAT van
• Sam/Bats find D. Knapp’s home, decide to kidnap him
• Knapp sends unit after Sam
• Police Capt. introduces Kevin to Knapp, Knapp recognizes an opportunity
• Knapp uses Kevin to lure Sam into a trap
• Kevin tells them that she’s having a psychotic break – Carl’s dead
• Kevin explains that Sam needs to be neutralized by creating a safe place for her (goes on TV/radio?)
• Sam/Bats invade Knapp’s home, kidnap his wife, send the kids off to neighbors, drive off
• Sam negotiates an exchange of wife for Carl
• Knapp plays along that he has Carl
• Knapp sends her to WKCH property, a trap
• or Sam insists on place she’s familiar with (High School)
• Kevin is there (help de-escalate her)
• Unit is there too to kill her
• Sam/Bats torture wife (?) threaten to?, not for info.
• Unit Attacks, wife dies, Kevin wounded
• Sam/Bats Kevin escape?
• Sam/Bats Kevin capture Knapp
• Sam/Bats torture Knapp, Kevin objects
• Knapp gets loose, attacks Sam, chokes her
• Kevin shoots Knapp-kills him
• WKCH unit attacks
• Kevin debriefs Sam (in Psych ward)
• Kevin and Sam hole up after barely surviving attack, debriefs Sam
• Sam realizes her error
• Sam retreats into her mind

The 22 Building Blocks

1. Self-
   Revelation, Need, Desire:

   Sam has been denying reality- Carl is dead, she’s caused real hurt, Needs to stop denying reality, Rescue Carl, live happily ever after

2. Ghost/Story World

   Rape, MST (Military Sexual Trauma)/Warfare, Iraq, physical violence

   • Sam’s company is captured in Iraq by insurgents
   • Sam and Co. are tortured (Sam?)
   • Sam and Co. are rescued by a team from WKCH and Marines, including Carl
   • Carl dies in rescue
   • Sam gets debriefed, accuses WKCH’s D. Knapp of rape, Army wants her to say it happened in captivity by Iraqi insurgents, cover-up

3. Weakness/Problem, Need;

   Alone, woman in a man’s world weary, traumatized/Carl kidnapped; Acknowledge reality, deal with it…

   • Sam returns home, greeted by Kevin at airport, gets her car
   • Sam and Carl drive home

4. Inciting incident:

   Blow-out on freeway, pile-up

   • A tire blows out in vehicle next to hers
   • Sam and Carl are in multi-car pile-up, Carl gets abducted by men from black SUVs
   • Sam evades/eludes cops, Bats joins her, goes home

5. First Revelation (moved up in timeline):

   Carl’s been abducted by WKCH

6. Desire:

   Sam/Bats decide to rescue Carl

7. Ally or Allies:

   Police contact Kevin for help locating Sam

8. Opponent/Mystery:

   (This might offer an opportunity, How is Knapp introduced here?) D. Knapp/WKCH private security firm (How about?) Knapp gets a report about Sam’s debriefing and a heads-up from a friend that she might cause trouble, she’s sticking to her story

9. Fake-ally opponent:

   None

10. First Revelation:

11. Plan:

    To do so they have to find where they’re keeping him

    • Sam/Bats break into WKCH Corp. H.Q., fight guards
    • Sam/Bats escape to nearby construction site

12. Opponent’s Plan and main counterattack:

    • Kevin helps cops, tries to call Sam
    • D. Knapp/WKCH get involved in search, D. Knapp knows Sam, her story
    • Knapp sends unit after Sam
    • Police Capt. introduces Kevin to Knapp, Knapp recognizes an opportunity

13. Drive:

    • Sam/Bats are chased on freeway, cause mayhem
    • Sam/Bats steal SWAT van
    • Sam/Bats find D. Knapp’s home, decide to kidnap him
    • Sam/Bats invade Knapp’s home, kidnap his wife, send the kids off to neighbors, drive off
    • Sam/Bats torture wife (?) threaten to?, not for info.

14. Attack by Ally:

    Kevin objects to Sam’s actions

15. Audience Revelation:

    Carl is dead?

    • Kevin tells them that she’s having a psychotic break – Carl’s dead
    • Kevin explains that Sam needs to be neutralized by creating a safe place for her (goes on TV/radio?)
    • Knapp uses Kevin to lure Sam into a trap

16. Apparent Defeat:

17. Obsessive Drive/Second Revelation:

    • Sam negotiates an exchange of wife for Carl
    • Knapp plays along that he has Carl
    • Knapp sends her to WKCH property, a trap
    • or Sam insists on place she’s familiar with (High School)
    • Kevin is there (help de-escalate her)
    • Unit is there too to kill her
    • Unit Attacks, wife dies, Kevin wounded
    • Sam/Bats Kevin escape?
    • Sam/Bats Kevin capture Knapp

18. Apparent Defeat:

    It was a trap, no Carl.

19. Audience Revelation:

20. Third Revelation and decision:

    Sam has not recovered Carl, things have gotten worse

21. Gate, Gauntlet, Visit to Death:

    Sam’s High School (auditorium?)

22. Battle:

23. Self-Revelation:

    Carl is dead, Sam has been denying reality and has hurt many…

24. Moral Decision:

    Retreat into mind

25. New Equilibrium:

    Clarity for Sam, a peace of sorts, return to calm for world

I find this part of screenwriting to be the hardest. Of course, that’s like saying, “The hardest part of brain surgery is the operating inside of the skull part.” Being that as it may, trying to juggle all of the plates that are storytelling is a lot of work and it always comes down to a section that doesn’t seem to meet seamlessly.

Anyway, the next step I think is to just write the synopsis, based on what I have here and see if the simple meditation of doing that doesn’t spark a solution.

© The Trubyphiles and “Blunt Force” Copyright 2009 Melton Eduardo Cartes. All other copyrights are those of their respective owners.