Exposition: Hailey, about 17, wakes up in a barn, with her head so clouded that she can't remember a thing. She doesn't know where she is, what time it is, or how long she has been there. She is about 5'6, jet-black hair with a pale complexion. She is laying in a pile of hay, in jeans and a gray t-shirt. There is blood on her shirt, which she assumes is from the large gash on her arm.
Inciting Incident: She stumbles around, and when she looks up she sees a barn owl staring back at her with huge, glassy eyes. She freezes. The eyes, the eyes remind her, they make her feel, they cause her to remember other eyes. The trusting ones, the scared ones, the eyes of her friend, Rachel's, killer. She remembers those eyes too well. She wants to find them, to ask why, to bring her best friend back.
Rising Action: She walks toward city lights blindly, and into a coffee shop. She sits in a booth, and the waitress comes over to take her order. Hailey looks up, and a warm feeling rushes over her. She sees those trusting eyes, the ones that think she can do no wrong and will protect her no matter what. Her aunt. She sees them, but is scared, tentative. She can't stay with these eyes, the trusting ones. They are not the ones she needs to locate, not the killer's eyes. The memories slowly come back to her, of her aunt hugging her and telling her everything is going to be alright when her parents died, making her brownies when kids were mean to her at school. She sees her house, and is compelled to go there. She sprints out of the booth and toward a now-familiar street. Down two houses, she stops and stares at her childhood home. She does not remember who lives in this house, she cannot remember anything except for her aunt and that Rachel is gone. Hailey walks slowly up the steps and knocks twice. A pair of giant blue, childlike eyes open the door and immediatly harden with fear. She remembers these eyes now. The scared, stone-like ones. The ones who wouldn't talk to her, only stare with concern and fear. She also remembers the memories, playing with their parents and laughing. She also remembers that he is still her brother, and shares the same drive to find Rachel's killer.
Climax: He asks Hailey quietly to come with him for a drive. She agrees. They drive slowly, silently, down to the police station, and pause. Her brother turns to her, searching her eyes for answers as she searches his. His eyes open up for a second, hope pouring out, and she does the same. They are both searching for answers. Finally, he blinks, looking dejected, and asks her to follow him. They walk into the police station, and he nodds to the police officer. He grabs Hailey.
Falling Action: She walks with the officer down a long hallway, still not comprehending. She tries to remember what she had done to deserve this, why they are keeping her from finding the murderer. Why her brother is acting so weird, why he is scared. She keeps walking, until they reach the cell.
Resolution: Hailey sits down on the metal bench and breathes. She closes her eyes, tries to concentrate on memories. Tries to remember what happened, why she was here, why she is acting like a mindless zombie. She looks down at her gray shirt, at the blood stain there, and freezes. It all comes flooding back to her now, like a dam that has broken. Last night, the conversation about her life, the accusations of ignoring the truth. She remembers Rachel, looking pained and her attempts at connecting to Hailey. Hailey also remembers the fight, the satisfaction she got by stabbing Rachel, how she felt she finally avenged her parents.
Denouement: Her brain is now completely wired. She gets up to wash her hands, to come to terms what she had just realized. She looks up, into the mirror. And sees the eyes, the eyes of Rachel's killer. She can't take it anymore, the pain, the suffering. Then she closes those eyes, and faints into oblivion.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Clara Short Story Proposal
Exposition: Larry Pearce, in his 30's, is a retired soldier from World War. After several months back home in Connecticut, war nightmares come back to haunt him. He lives with his wife, Charlotte Pearce. He has three children. One 17 year old, one 13 year old, as well as a 9 year old. He didn't get to see them grow up and teach them what he knows about hunting, fishing, and other similar activities. Thus, he tries to connect with them, but they aren't interested. Larry is mad at himself and doesn't understand why this is happening to him.
Rising action: Larry wants everything to be like it was before he left for war. They were both happily married and the children were set for a bright future. But when he got back, everything was different. He wanted the world to stop, but he was stuck in the past. Consequently, Charlotte would get frustrated with him and ask him to do certain tasks, but he was incapable of doing so because he was so traumatized. The tension level in the household is starting to rise.
Climax: The tension keeps increasing among him and his wife. They no longer are in love they way they were. Mad, frustrated, enraged, Larry decides to runaway from his family for a few days. He goes to a nearby lake to seek some peace and time away from the outside world. He highly considers suicide, but right before he is about to kill himself, he thinks of his family. He then changes his mind and realizes how much his family needs him.
Falling action: After a few days of reflection, he returns home to his family scared to death because of his absence. He apologizes to them and realizes how much he needs them and loves them, even though it didn't seem like it beforehand.
Denouement: Larry promises to change and appreciate his family. Before he was misunderstood, but now he is a new person. He is thankful to still be alive and realizes how precious life is.
Rising action: Larry wants everything to be like it was before he left for war. They were both happily married and the children were set for a bright future. But when he got back, everything was different. He wanted the world to stop, but he was stuck in the past. Consequently, Charlotte would get frustrated with him and ask him to do certain tasks, but he was incapable of doing so because he was so traumatized. The tension level in the household is starting to rise.
Climax: The tension keeps increasing among him and his wife. They no longer are in love they way they were. Mad, frustrated, enraged, Larry decides to runaway from his family for a few days. He goes to a nearby lake to seek some peace and time away from the outside world. He highly considers suicide, but right before he is about to kill himself, he thinks of his family. He then changes his mind and realizes how much his family needs him.
Falling action: After a few days of reflection, he returns home to his family scared to death because of his absence. He apologizes to them and realizes how much he needs them and loves them, even though it didn't seem like it beforehand.
Denouement: Larry promises to change and appreciate his family. Before he was misunderstood, but now he is a new person. He is thankful to still be alive and realizes how precious life is.
Andrea O.- Plot Summary
Exposition: The story starts with the protagonist, Ian, and his 5 closest friends:Seymour, Zane, Kou, and Rasta. They are driving home from a 4-day-long anime convention, and they're still hyped up about it. So excited, in fact, that they're still wearing their costumes from the convention. They are cosplaying playable characters from the video game Super Smash Brothers: Brawl. Ian is dressed as Link, from Legend of Zelda; Seymour is dressed as thePokémon Trainer character; Zane is dressed as Pikachu from Pokémon; Kou is dressed as Prince Marth from Fire Emblem; Rasta is dressed as Samus from Metroid. Overall, everyone is still having a good time.
Inciting Incident: As the friends are driving, one of their tires blows out, sending them spiraling off of the road into a deserted embankment in the middle of nowhere. They went so far off that they can no longer find their way back to the freeway. Everyone is unharmed, except for Ian, whose head slammed against the steering wheel as the car lost control. He is unconscious for a few brief moments before he wakes up speechless. His friends soon realize that there is something wrong. Ian actually believes that he is the real Link fromLegend of Zelda.
Rising Action: Some of Ian's friends panic, while others stay calm. This leads to an emotional conflict between the friends. The only person who seems to be unaffected by all this is Ian, who is more concerned with "finding his way back to Hyrule" and "saving Zelda". They hear a chainsaw in the distance and panic, thinking that they are in some sort of slasher film where they all getbutchered. However, they then find out that it was just Zane and Rasta playing a trick on them using Zane's phone. They realize they can use the phone to call for help, but their hopes are crushed when they find out that there is no signal in the area where they're stranded. Seymour begins to worry that furious wild animals will come from the woods and attack them. The worry spreads throughout the group, not including "Link", and they all scream in horror as a creature comes out from the shadows of the woods. Even though they realize that it was just a small cute bunny, they are still frightened of what else could be in the woods...
Climax: Soon it is dark, and all the friends begin getting scared. Seymour begins crying while Zane paces back and fourth nervously; Kou seems unfazed, her arms crossed, glaring off somewhere else; Rasta is sitting with his face in his palms, really just wanting to go home; while Ian, or "Link", is attempting to guard the friends, wielding a "menacing" plastic sword. The sounds of wolves gets closer, and Ian runs off somewhere. The friends are afraid they've lost him, but follow his footprints.
Falling Action: The friends follow his footprints all the way out of the forest and to what seems to be a truck stop. They see him running towards the In-N-Out, but he trips. The friends scurry over to see if he's okay.
Falling Action: The friends follow his footprints all the way out of the forest and to what seems to be a truck stop. They see him running towards the In-N-Out, but he trips. The friends scurry over to see if he's okay.
Resolution: When Ian falls, he hits his head again and is knocked back to his senses. Everyone is relieved and they use the nearest pay phone to call for someone to come pick them up.
Dénouement: The friends spend the rest of the night in the In-N-Out, waiting for their ride home and telling Ian all about what had happened.
Terence Sun: Short Story Proposal
Exposition: The story takes place in a summer, far into the future, where intergalactic travel is possible, plausible and life on other planets is possible--much like traveling to other countries. The main character, yet to be named (open for suggestions), decides to take a break from life and visit a renowned planet in a different galaxy, both yet to be named (suggestions?).
Inciting Incident: After the intergalactic shuttle touches down and the main character exits, he is immediately met by a squadron of officials who tell him to leave his bags and go with them. He is taken into a dark, double-paned glass room and sat in a chair. The main character is left with the seemingly "head guy" who, with a loud voice, questions the main character about a name that he knows nothing about; the main character thinks that they have the wrong guy, the officers do not believe his "bullshit". The main character is jailed for future use.
Rising Action: The main character, as he is being transported to another place, escapes and goes into hiding. He goes around the town to see if anyone recognizes the name of a breakfast diner that he found on a business card from his wallet with his hand writing on it "Ask for Jim". Over the years, he has kept the card in his wallet because it was mysterious to him that the place did not exist on the face of Earth. Some one leads him to the diner where he is greeted by Jim, as if an old friend then immediately runs into the back room to retrieve something. Jim hands him a box: "So you're finally back, here it is, I've kept it for years."
Climax: After finding several boxes of items and short riddles that seem to have been left intentionally for him, the main character's thoughts seem to fit into place and he finds out that he has been to this planet before--maybe even born there. Yet, the main character feels that there must be a missing piece to the puzzle and the last riddle does not make any sense at all. All the work he has done to try to figure out the reason he is there seems wasted.
Falling Action: The main character sees newspapers that spark him to remember the dreams he has had and suddenly, the random letters on the back of each riddle in each box spell something out and he finds the remaining piece of the puzzle and unveils the truth (not going to spoil... maybe you have a guess? go ahead).
Resolution: (Cliff hanger) Leaves the reader with a feeling of the action being only partially resolved: the truth has been unveiled but it is questionable as to what the main character is going to do. "and he walked out, a different person, on a mission."
Dénouement: None. It would ruin the cliff hanger effect if I were to tell the reader what ended up happening. The mood of the ending will, hopefully, spark imagination in the reader to think of the possibilities.
Any ideas to help shape the story or suggestions would be awesome :)
Comment at will, it can only help.
-Terence Sun
Inciting Incident: After the intergalactic shuttle touches down and the main character exits, he is immediately met by a squadron of officials who tell him to leave his bags and go with them. He is taken into a dark, double-paned glass room and sat in a chair. The main character is left with the seemingly "head guy" who, with a loud voice, questions the main character about a name that he knows nothing about; the main character thinks that they have the wrong guy, the officers do not believe his "bullshit". The main character is jailed for future use.
Rising Action: The main character, as he is being transported to another place, escapes and goes into hiding. He goes around the town to see if anyone recognizes the name of a breakfast diner that he found on a business card from his wallet with his hand writing on it "Ask for Jim". Over the years, he has kept the card in his wallet because it was mysterious to him that the place did not exist on the face of Earth. Some one leads him to the diner where he is greeted by Jim, as if an old friend then immediately runs into the back room to retrieve something. Jim hands him a box: "So you're finally back, here it is, I've kept it for years."
Climax: After finding several boxes of items and short riddles that seem to have been left intentionally for him, the main character's thoughts seem to fit into place and he finds out that he has been to this planet before--maybe even born there. Yet, the main character feels that there must be a missing piece to the puzzle and the last riddle does not make any sense at all. All the work he has done to try to figure out the reason he is there seems wasted.
Falling Action: The main character sees newspapers that spark him to remember the dreams he has had and suddenly, the random letters on the back of each riddle in each box spell something out and he finds the remaining piece of the puzzle and unveils the truth (not going to spoil... maybe you have a guess? go ahead).
Resolution: (Cliff hanger) Leaves the reader with a feeling of the action being only partially resolved: the truth has been unveiled but it is questionable as to what the main character is going to do. "and he walked out, a different person, on a mission."
Dénouement: None. It would ruin the cliff hanger effect if I were to tell the reader what ended up happening. The mood of the ending will, hopefully, spark imagination in the reader to think of the possibilities.
Any ideas to help shape the story or suggestions would be awesome :)
Comment at will, it can only help.
-Terence Sun
Monday, April 18, 2011
short story proposal
last one was bs. :)
theme is imperfections and overlooking them.
introduction: a guy is "strolling" along a harbor and he is also the narrator. he introduces himself, and introduces his condition: he has no legs and is confined to a wheelchair. his life has been one huge internal battle, in which he brings himself down and sees less of himself because of his imperfection.
rising action: he then ventures into a nearby bakery with a view of the setting sun, and sits himself in a corner. next to him sits an old couple. in walks a gorgeous girl, like nothing he's ever seen, flawless, but he pretends not to notice and knows that he has no chance, no matter what he says or does, once she realizes his glaring imperfection she wouldn't want him for sure. however, she sits down, and after a while, introduces her self. she can't, at this time, see his disabled legs, and assumes he is a normal guy.
climax: the old couple gets up to leave, the lady moving quicker as the man takes his time cleaning up his area. the girl calls out, thinking that the wheelchair belongs to the couple.
falling action: guy all of a sudden becomes very hostile and hoists himself on to the wheelchair and leaves....and that's as far as i have, i don't know the ending yet.
theme is imperfections and overlooking them.
introduction: a guy is "strolling" along a harbor and he is also the narrator. he introduces himself, and introduces his condition: he has no legs and is confined to a wheelchair. his life has been one huge internal battle, in which he brings himself down and sees less of himself because of his imperfection.
rising action: he then ventures into a nearby bakery with a view of the setting sun, and sits himself in a corner. next to him sits an old couple. in walks a gorgeous girl, like nothing he's ever seen, flawless, but he pretends not to notice and knows that he has no chance, no matter what he says or does, once she realizes his glaring imperfection she wouldn't want him for sure. however, she sits down, and after a while, introduces her self. she can't, at this time, see his disabled legs, and assumes he is a normal guy.
climax: the old couple gets up to leave, the lady moving quicker as the man takes his time cleaning up his area. the girl calls out, thinking that the wheelchair belongs to the couple.
falling action: guy all of a sudden becomes very hostile and hoists himself on to the wheelchair and leaves....and that's as far as i have, i don't know the ending yet.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Plot summary by Hannah Long
In the beginning of the story the main character, 16 year old Maya, is chatting with her one of her really close friends on facebook. They are chatting and they're saying their most embarrassing moments. Maya gets up to get a glass of water, and soon gets sidetracked. While she's doing all that, her sister pastes the chat onto her status. When she gets back a bunch of people have already commented on the post. She is totally freaking out ,but it's just the morning and tells herself how bad can my day get. Yesterday she had planned to go to the pool with her friends and keeps with that plan. She just keeps having really bad things happen to her and embarrasses herself in front of her crush. As she and her friend are talking by the pool she notices a little girl drowning, and but no one tries to help the girl. Maya saves the girl, and the parents thank her by giving her a rose. They tell her that it is for times in her past that she wants to change. They also mention that she is able to undo all the wish and it's consequences, but she has to pluck off the other half of petals. She doesn't know what to think, but pulls off the petals, and wishes that she could redo today. She keeps her sister from doing anything to her facebook but instead of then just going to the pool her parents ask her to drop her sister off at her friends house and then mail letters. Nothing bad happens but when she arrives at the pool the paramedics are already removing her dead body from the pool. She realizes the consequences of her wish. She plucks off the remaining petals undoing her wish, but things don't turn out bad, the bad things that had happened that day are resolved. She has just wasted her wish but realizes that things happen for a reason and it's better not to change the past.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Update to Spring Break Homework and Short Story Proposals
Comment on at least two posts: Mandatory by 4/20
Full proposals turned in to me in hard copy form: mandatory by 4/20
For complete instructions, click on the "Short Story Proposals" page on the side bar.
--Ms. Mason
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