May Challenge #2

Hey guys!

I hope this next challenge is helpful for you. 

Outline the first act of your story, keep it simple, and 500 words max.

The first act should have four points:

The Hook

“What Is It? Your story begins with the hook. This is your first opportunity for catching your readers’ attention and convincing them to read on. The Hook will always be a question (perhaps explicit, but probably implicit), piquing your readers’ curiosity and urging them to find out, “What happens next?”

“Where Does It Belong? The Hook must show up in your first chapter, preferably on the first page, and even more preferably in the first line.”

Excerpt From: K.M. Weiland. “5 Secrets of Story Structure.” iBooks.

The inciting incident

“What Is It? The Inciting Event is the turning point in the First Act when your character first brushes the story’s main conflict. To identify your Inciting Event, ask yourself, “What event starts the ball rolling in my story’s plot? Where does the conflict begin? What sets the story’s action in motion?”

Where Does It Belong? The Inciting Event is the turning point halfway through the First Act (one of the secret pieces of story structure!). This timing allows for the story’s Normal World to be properly established. Don’t confuse the Inciting Event with the Hook. The Hook will be the first in the line of causal dominoes, bumping one scene into “What Is It? If the Inciting Event is where your protagonist first encounters the main conflict, the Key Event is what irrevocably engages your protagonist with that conflict. Even if you have a great big Inciting Event (like, say, the beginning of a war), it can’t affect your character until the Key Event drags him into the mess (as would happen if he were drafted into the Army).

The key event

“What Is It? If the Inciting Event is where your protagonist first encounters the main conflict, the Key Event is what irrevocably engages your protagonist with that conflict. Even if you have a great big Inciting Event (like, say, the beginning of a war), it can’t affect your character until the Key Event drags him into the mess (as would happen if he were drafted into the Army).

Where Does It Belong? The Key Event occurs toward the end of the First Act. Often, it will be so closely linked to the following First Plot Point as to be almost inextricable. Other times, the Key Event and the First Plot Point will be two distinct moments. More on the Key Event in Chapter 3.

Excerpt From: K.M. Weiland. “5 Secrets of Story Structure.” iBooks.

The first plot point

“What Is It? The First Plot Point marks the end of the First Act and the beginning of the Second. This is where everything changes for your character. Up to now, the First Act has mostly concerned itself with setting up your character’s Normal World and introducing the supporting characters, the settings, and, most importantly, the stakes. But now, the First Plot Point rocks that Normal World. Everything changes, and your protagonist will be forced to start reacting to the new status quo.

Where Does It Belong? The First Plot Point will occur roundabout the 25% mark in your book. This placement doesn’t have to be absolutely precise, since a book is long enough to allow a less than exact structural timeline. But aim to have your major plot points dividing your book into rough quarters.”

Excerpt From: K.M. Weiland. “5 Secrets of Story Structure.” iBooks.

The Hook

The reader won't want to leave. When they see the comrades in the shabby frigate they won't want to go back to the dull world. They'll hear the jokes of sailors. They'll see the starlit night outside the porthole, stretched above the city these men love more than themselves. The ambiance that surrounds this place has a magical quality, one which you can't experience in the world outside.

While sitting in that Danish defence frigate, the reader will notice the ironmonger, the fisherman, the contract soldier, the umbrella maker from Paris, and they won't want to leave them. They've already become like friends to these people.

The Inciting Incident

When the first cannon fires, that is when the story has started. Diplomats stare out of palaces at the watery battlefield they caused. War is on. Every soldier screams valiantly for fatherland and patriotism. Britain has mustered a mightier fleet than that of the poor Danish Navy. The old ships destined for the junkyard were hastily restored for this purpose, and now the day of battle has begun in a sudden early-morning moment. Two worlds of action and suspense unfold; one of war and soldiers, the other of governments and diplomacy.

The Key Event

The key event is when Fritjof leaps off the vessel, when his feet crash into the smokey harbor, when the icy waters nip at his skin, when everything is shrouded in gun smoke, when he realizes the magnitude of his decision, when he unconsciously tips the first domino, and when nothing but battle cries and bullets can be heard.

The real battle began in the heart and mind of that one man.

The First Plot Point

In my story, I had a hard time discerning the first plot point from the key event. It's probably since they're closely linked. The key event is when Fritjof decides to stop the war, and the first plot point is when he does so. 

Fritjof knows that the Danebrog is the flagship, meaning she is the one to hoist the white flag should the Danish commander choose to do so. What he didn't account for was where the flagship was. His vantage point gives him no indication as to its whereabouts. Also, he can't tell an English ship from a Danish one. Nevertheless, he doggedly persists in his mission 

Signing off, Johny A. Crow.             

Excerpt from Peace Unattainable.