So I’d thought to review my one and only comicbook script to see what I could clean up in terms of structure and story. You know, now that I’m packed with all this experience and skill. A quick read through just now makes me think I was crazy to fit that much story into a five-page script. Overall I like the elements, but I’m not sure I executed some of the more subtle portions the way I’d thought I had. It worries me I’m not finding as much wrong with it as I probably should.
Maybe I ought to re-write it as normal prose.
Comparing this single scene story to the structure I’m learning ought to be employed (goal – conflict – disaster) I see that I’ve inverted the order to (disaster – conflict – resolution). I assume the obvious last scene of any story includes resolution rather than deeper disaster. But opening with the disaster (Wolverine captured and strung up) I’m posing a question for the reader to wonder how he got that way and hopefully want to know how or if he’ll get out. Since we find out he’s orchestrated the whole thing from the beginning as a training exercise for Jubilee there is no real conflict leading to that disaster, so the conflict I need to add in the middle is the escape route battle. I’d call that rather mundane, but I think the interesting ways that fight plays out gives it some atypical brawl character. The resolution does a mediocre job of wrapping the whole whodunit vibe probably because I never make it clear that even the one Hydra having his lighter was part of Logan’s multi-layered plan.
282 words on day 785