Good morning everyone. Today is the day we start breaking out chapters. I’m very excited. Now before we begin, I know some of you don’t like outlines and some of you love them. I have a love hate relationship with them. I generally enjoy making them, however once I start writing I will often veer wildly off course into something else.
However whether I use the actual chapter break outs or not, they are useful to make. Having a concept like ‘I want Bob to be frustrated because Henry keeps going back to his old ways’ is one thing actually showing it is another. And when I set my chapter list up. I am forcing myself to walk through the story.
It may not be the walk I ultimately take in my manuscript, but it makes me think about how I am going to show those things I want to tell readers. If that makes sense. I sometimes see where I need more actions or where I might have belabored a point too long in my three act break out. So even if you hate outlines, it is a good task.
And this week is all about that chapter break out.
The Task #36: Break out the chapters for the first act.
Now I know that looks like a lot, but remember we are only writing a one sentence (maybe two) general description of what the chapter covers. And on Friday we wrote out where we want our story to start so we have a place to begin.
Before we start, look over that paragraph from Task 35 on Friday. We will wait. And as I have the theme song from the Simon and his chock drawing world cartoon in my head, that is the theme song playing while we wait. (You know my name is Simon and the things I draw come true…Sing along if you know it, stare at me like I am a crazy person if you don’t.)
Right so we have all mentally refreshed ourselves on where we want to start our manuscripts. We also need to take a quick look at the math. For my example math I came up with 12 chapters for Act 1. What I like to do is start by writing the numbers one through twelve down the side of the page. I then put a one or two sentence description from the starting point next to number one. Then I look at the Act 1 break out to see what it was I want to cover.
For Bob I will start with…
1.Bob gets to work and there is an emergency he has to deal with before he even makes it up to the office.
Then we look over Act 1, Which as you may recall was…
Bob: Act 1
1: The start of the Story. Bob is working for his Father-in-law as he had a heart attack and there was no one else available to keep the family business afloat. (trapped)
- The business is a lumber yard.(no real feelings about the business in general)
- Bob is running the lumber yard, show a little day to day before things get crazy. (competent, maybe a little bored)
- Bob is very good at organizing things and following a plan while Henry (FiL) flies by the seat of his pants calling his loose and disorganized stacks of things the traditional method that worked for him despite things going missing and the system clearly not working. (annoyed with Henry)
2:The issue with the everyday world: Bob went to school to be a Marine Biologist but even though he takes small jobs in his field when he can, he feels that more and more of his life is becoming about the Lumber Yard. (lost, trapped, sad, exhausted)
- After work Bob goes home and we see his man cave/lab where he works on small projects, primarily data analyzation. (relieved to be able to spend some time doing what he wants but sad that it is only a small corner of his life)
- His wife Sarah is out with friends so he makes a sandwich and eats while he works. (lonely, isolated)
- At breakfast they don’t have much to say to each other. Show the repetitive circle. (distant)
- Add in comments about family. He wants her to talk to her father, she doesn’t want to get involved but defends the family not Bob. He then goes back to work to start a day much like the last. (annoyed, emotionally drained)
3: Inciting Incident: Bob had to change systems and processes when he started taking over because the business was heading for bankruptcy and now that they are in the black Henry insists on going back to the way things were and making things more miserable (actively miserable) for Bob at work. (determined and miserable)
- Henry who is back for a limited number of hours each day tries to input something into the system and it won’t let him do it the old way because it is a new system. He is yelling at the computer when Bob arrives. (annoyed and frustrated as he has explained the same things multiple times)
- Bob explains it again and Henry points to out of date charts. Henry wants to go back to his scribbled notes and post it notations and Bob says they can’t because of the number of people accessing the data. Henry says he is the one who needs to know and everyone can just ask him. (irritated but trying to be understanding and calm)
- Bob tries hard to avoid pointing out that Henry’s system was running them into bankruptcy. Specifically avoids mentioning money so as not to start that argument. (trapped)
4:Chocies: His FiL hints (in several unsubtle ways) that he should quit, giving him the opportunity of walking away. (annoyed, underappreciated)
- Henry says that now he is better they should get back to his system since Bob isn’t going to be there forever. Also says things along the line of getting rid of him and the new system at the same time.(irritated, and under appreciated, worried for the family if Henry goes through with things)
- Mention of how Chuck is now old enough to take on more responsibility and how he should be in charge because he is family. (annoyed as he knows Chuck is incompetent)
- Small digs in general to undermine Bob in the eyes of the family. (irritated but determined to do the right thing, despite everything)
- Show those not family appreciate Bob being there. (relieved and determined to protect the workers from Henry)
- Bob knows they are currently in the black and he thinks about leaving. (slightly hopeful)
5: Second thoughts: Bob realizes that if he leaves everything will go back to being run the way it was and the business will fail in a year or two. (responsible, determined)
- Bob knows that the inventory and sales system with trackers will be shut off by Henry as soon as he walks out the door. (irritated but begins to think of ways around henry, still slightly hopeful)
- He also knows Henry’s system can’t keep track of things. It was fine when they were a small operation, but they are much larger and Henry’s system didn’t work before the Heart attack. Five years later dropping the system everyone else is using will cause major problems and spiral things back towards bankruptcy. (slightly sneaky in a good cause)
- Bob knows if he leaves and they fail he will be blamed even if he isn’t there. (annoyed)
- Bob also knows if it does start to go down, Henry could have another attack and he will be called back to fix the mess he already cleared up once before. (worried, guilty)
6:Decision:Bob decides he will train some of the others so they will understand the system and then once they can manage things competently he will pull himself out of the company so it doesn’t just collapse. (pleased with himself, hopeful for an exit strategy)
- Bob realizes he can’t stay. It is killing him. (understanding)
- He also knows he doesn’t want to come back when the ship goes down again. (annoyed, worried)
- Bob looks at the family members trying to figure out who can keep things running or keep Henry from destroying the system so it won’t collapse and he can escape. (hopeful)
Now while there is a lot going on, it isn’t broken up by chapters here. But we do know that while we are starting with the emergency, we want this section to end with Bob realizing the only way he can escape is to train others. So for reference, I am going to add…
12: Bob makes a list of all family members and begins breaking out the pros and cons of putting each one in charge while reviewing their work.
So we have a chapter break out for one and twelve now, we just need to fill in the middle. Remember, these aren’t set in stone and can change as you work. Also this is just a list for you. If you want to set the stage a little instead of just the one sentence I put as an example, go ahead. This is just a simple list for you to know what each chapter covers. So let’s finish breaking out Bob’s chapters for Act 1
1.Bob gets to work and there is an emergency he has to deal with before he even makes it up to the office.
2.Bob makes it up to the office and finds all his notices of scheduling ripped down and ones with out of date schedules (dates updated) put in their place which caused the confusion. He takes them down, prints out new copies, deals with emergency phone calls and adjustments to several other things henry fixed and wonders how to talk to Henry about this. (again)
3.End of day, bob exhausted when he goes hm, note from Sarah saying dinner on his own, he changes has a sandwich and goes to his at home office, we see him come to life as he works on a project and wishes he could leave and do it full time.
4 Morning, gray slog, excitement from the night before gone. He and Sarah barely talk except for her reminder of the family gathering at her folks place. He decides to put off talking to Henry until after the gathering as he doesn’t want an angry Henry at dinner. He goes to work, stopping by the coffee shop and getting a brief enjoyment that his order is recognized as everyone else seems to ignore him.
5 Phone calls about more of Henry’s tampering. Numbers were changed to what they were ten years prior because that is what Henry knows and Bob has to correct them. He calls to get something situated and finds Chuck didn’t bother coming in and told no one he was going out. He steps out for lunch and comes back to find other people have left folders on his desk despite the tasks being delegated to others.
6 Exhausted after the day, but goes to the family dinner. Show the dynamics. Chuck is praised for his work, Bob is alternately ignored or belittled. Chuck openly mocks him. Henry thinks he ‘fixed’ things for Bob and that Bob should feel grateful he gets to work in the family company even though he isn’t family. He manages to make it through dinner while still polite and considers that a victory.
7 Drive home, Bob tries voicing some of his complaints to Sarah and she voices the same things as the rest of her family and is irritated that he doesn’t seem more grateful for the opportunity they present him, belittle his degree a bit. Once they reach home he retreats to his space and she does whatever she is going to do.
8 In his office he tries to work but keeps replaying the conversations. They ignore the fact that he came after Henry’s Heart attack when they needed someone and that it was supposed to be temporary. He replays the new version of events in his head and realizes he needs to get out for his own sake. He just doesn’t know how.
9 In the office, Bob gets an e-mail about one of his after hours projects. It is an offer for another project that would take far more of his time. He spends the day with notes and schedules trying to make it work but realizes there is no way he can run the family business and give the time needed to complete the project. He has to regretfully decline.
10 Chuck comes into the office and drops off work that he should have done weeks ago but hasn’t. Asks Bob to handle it because he is expected at golf with Henry. He makes the same sort of disparaging remarks from the night before and when he leaves Bob realizes the work is overdo and if the orders don’t go in today it will cause massive problems. He plows through them and at the end of the day makes a list of all the projects he had to turn down because the family needed him.
11 Comes into the office and Henry is there, Bob catches him in the act of changing things and they argue. Bob tries explaining the way things work but Henry just gets mad and storms out. Bob realizes if he wants to leave he has to find someone else to put in charge or the company will go down, he will be blamed and worse, he might be called back.
12: Bob makes a list of all family members and begins breaking out the pros and cons of putting each one in charge while reviewing their work.
Okay so I tend to go in for a bit more than a sentence in my chapter break outs. I always plan on one sentence, but somehow, they end up expanding. But that is just what I need to keep my brain following the story.
But there you have the example of Bob. Hopefully it will help you in your break out of the chapters needed for Act one. I will see you tomorrow for our next task. Happy writing.
Ten til Midnight 