Cole: A Singularity Story

I noticed the sensation of my head deep in a barrel with one hand alternating between scraping around and holding me up the first time I read this book. I’m realizing now why I don’t like some of these plots. I understand them as plots, but the author inconsistantly outlines each archetype. Rather than methodically analyze each plot and present a symbolic outline he book-reports a movie matching his idea of that plot. When he draws me into specific characters by name and situation the effort obscures the blueprint not elucidates it.

Sigh.

Theme – Discovery. Personal discovery not adventuring for treasure and glory.

Setup – Cole is everything you’d think a college student would be. Growing up, unsure about the future, trying to find a girlfriend, but wary of how to do any of those things.

Hook – After having a great night at a dorm sponsored end of semester bash, Cole discovers his well-meaning buddies bribed his date to go out with him.

Plot Point 1 – Cole determines to transfer schools so that he can clear the slate and find a girl without the risk of a setup, but he can’t leave till the end of the second semester without forfeiting most of his fees.

Pinch 1 – As the Spring Semester Bash approaches, Cole’s friends badger him about maybe being gay.

Mid-point Twist – Back home for Summer Break Cole meets a nice girl, Anna, working at the coffee shop he frequents. They hit it off.

Pinch 2 – Anna mentions to Cole that his mother encouraged her to befriend Cole because Mom worried he might be gay. Clearly he can’t find a girl on his own or worse.

Lull

Plot Point 2 – Cole accepts that he’s either gay and too scared to confront that situation or that he’s completely ineffectual at meeting girls and never will without help.

Conclusion – At a 10 year Homecoming Cole and friends gather for a BBQ at Cole’s home. Their married-with-kids lives contrast with his own single-guy life, but he’s comfortable with his choices.

I forced some of this into the plan I had before I wrote the Hook. Usually I save the hook for after or partly through rather than start with it populated. In this instance I populated it and immediately had a nearly different story to head down.

If I returned to this I’d examine the hook and either better craft it for leading into a more appropriate story or I’d redo the hook itself. Make these two parts match up better than they do.

431 words on day 675