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Revenge for the Troll

Today has not been the day for this. Grumble. If all I have to stand on for the day is that my Christmas lights are down and I end up with a crummy bit of writing, then I’ll consider the day a success.

Revenge. Revenge I’m told is about getting wronged in the first act, seeking vengeance in the second, then confronting the antagonist in the third.

Theme – Revenge.

Setup – Twins grow up without parents.

Hook – Probably a nightmare or prologue of the troll attack.

Plot Point 1 – A storyteller comes to town and weaves a tale of how a troll laid waste to a village a couple rivers over and the only survivors were a pair of twin boys. One of the two takes it more personal than the other and decides to enlist his brother to find and kill the troll. Their Uncle discourages revenge.

Pinch 1 – Visiting the ruins for the first time, the less aggressive of the two is struck by the horror of it all and collapses (into a coma?).

Mid-point Twist – Gathering information about the possible whereabouts of the troll turns up plenty of unexpected information, but one lead confirms other hints that maybe the village had it coming to them or that maybe the troll was more of a proxy for another man’s will. (The meek twin urges the other to stand-down and he himself leaves the quest).

Pinch 2 – Locating the troll, the boy(s) attack and kill it, but not before it kills the meeker twin. (I don’t know, he came back or something). The survivor finds documents hiring the troll and the penultimate clue to who that person is.

Lull – The surviving twin buries the other. A piteous graveside scene ensues.

Plot Point 2 – survivor learns that the man he’s called Uncle for all these years is the man behind it all. Dun, dun, duuuuuh. And of course why, but I don’t need to tell you that now—and can’t.

Conclusion – Well, survivor gets back home. Fucks Uncle the hell up and has a soul searching time realizing had he not gone out looking for trouble he’d never have found it. Or something karmically circular about revenge obviously hinging on stuff meek twin said earlier.

This turned out faster and better than I thought it would. I like it. Of course, I didn’t come up with a motive for the Uncle, but one will likely arise easily enough. People believe all sorts of shit on flimsy motives.

434 words on day 644

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Grumphook and Gertrude

This 20 master plots book is organized rather rhythmically. Thus, following the rescue plot, is the escape plot.

I find it a little frustrating to have these core plots in mind as I compose each point, but not to see the evidence of such in the end. I suspect it’s the manufactured use of the plots from a list combined with my desire to do my own thang that causes the problems, but I ought to be able to adhere to the plan better I think.

The plot book indicates that in the first part our hero should be imprisoned, in the second planning her escape or making failed attempts, and in the third escaping. I’ll try not to make this sound like The Shawshank Redemption.

Theme –

Setup – The passage and quartering of the king’s troops in a tiny mountain village leaves Gertrude, our stout matronly Mayor, little choice but to scour into dragon lands for food. A single dragon egg is said to be able to feed a army for months.

Hook –

Plot Point 1 – Upset with the villages transgressions, Dragons surround the little mountain village. Grumphook is particularly upset since it’s her egg in question.

Pinch 1 – Grumphook discovers an early effort of some boys to escape and flames the terraced farmland.

Mid-point Twist – Gertrude discovers in an old text that dragons operate by a rigid code of ethics. From this she determines to challenge Grumphook to a dual.

Pinch 2 – Grumphook not only soundly defeats Gertrude but also informs her the book on dragon ethics was historical BS.

Lull – The dragons depart with no explaination. Initially elated the cautious villagers become confused and suspicious. Stockholm syndrome(?). Zoo syndrome(?).

Plot Point 2 – the dragons return with evidence of having slain the kings men, so no army will swoop in to save the village.

Conclusion – as in all great escape stories, they tunnel out. Duh.

348 words on day 643

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The Fairy Plot

Rescue plot next. I’m told this requires a protagonist, and antagonist, and a victim. Much of this physical plot should play out in the realm of the antagonist.

Theme –

Setup –

Hook – Four colorful and great smelling fairies arrive to tell me I’ve got to come away with them to rescue my missing children.

Plot Point 1 – The fairies convince me of their realness and I finally believe my daughters have been abducted.

Pinch 1 – [antagonist] sends a flock of silver shouldered blackbirds to attack our troupe on the way to gain a special sword/shield/whatever.

Mid-point Twist – I discover my fairy traveling companions have been less honest with me than I thought. They abducted my children, but then had them stolen from them by [antagonist].

Pinch 2 – [antagonist] sends a troll to attack us and two of the four fairies are killed. And we lose our ability to track [antagonist’s] travel.

Lull – I’m pissed and drinking at a bar in Faerie.

Plot Point 2 – A patron points out that since I came voluntarily to Faerie I can’t return home with my daughters even if I rescue them.

Conclusion – I discover that none of this sounds like much of a rescue, but I don’t care since my headache is running the show at this point.

232 words on day 642