Filling in the Sticky Notes: Act I

This is a series of posts I'm writing as a followup to my Mapping the Plot class. Even if you didn't take the class you might find something useful here!

Everyone left Saturday's class with posterboard folded into three act-sections, with the middle one being twice as long as the ones on either end. Also lots of sticky notes, some filled in, some blank. These posts will be geared towards filling in some of those still-blank notes. 

We talked about Emma Coats' Pixar's 22 Rules of Storytelling, and in particular about Rule #4: "Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___."

In Act I, you filled in the sticky for your first scene. This establishes the context (time, place) and the character within that context. In other words, "Once upon a time, there was _________" is covered (or at least starting to be established) in Scene 1. 

The following scenes will cover "Every day, ________."

In The Wizard of Oz, for example, these are the scenes with Dorothy on the farm, the ups and downs of Kansas farm life. 

These scenes may include the "I Want Song" idea discussed in class: your character showing us what s/he Wants. (For example, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" in Wizard of Oz.)

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Here are a few other examples of Act I/ setting up the-world-as-it-is, using narratives we've discussed recently in my classes:

-In "The Birds" by Daphne DuMaurier, this covers about the first page of the story. Where does the narrative shift from things-as-usual to the "One day _______" phase? I think this occurs with the line at the bottom of page 1: "The birds had been more restless than ever this fall of the year."

-"Indian Camp" by Ernest Hemingway is a tiny story and barely has room for an Act I, but you can see the world-as-it-is sketched for us as Nick and his dad are leaving it: we infer it's a known place, and a place where Dad has authority and can handle things. Whatever the Known, Usual world is, we know we're leaving it as we get on that boat. "One day, ______" is Nick getting on a boat to head out to the Camp.

-In the pilot for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, I think it's in the wedding monologue, the main character's survey of her life/past, in which everything has always gone according to her careful plans . . . up to meeting Joel, who wasn't exactly the prince she planned on. ("One day, ______" is: she meets Joel.) Next, we'll embark on the next phase/new world: Life with Joel.

-in Margaret Atwood's "Stone Mattress," this is the section where Verna follows her usual habit of scanning the crowd for men of interest, dressing to attract, etc. The "One day, _____" event occurs when she recognizes one of the Bobs as the Bob. ("Verna smiles widely to disguise her shock" is the exact moment.)

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TO DO:

Fill in more of the sticky notes in your Act I section-- at least four-- with scenes that might show us the world-as-it-is. 

Also, if you didn't do it Saturday, fill in the "One day, _____" sticky note which will come somewhere at the end of Act I.

Remember this is a thought experiment and it's not necessary to find the perfect answers or to be rigid about anything. Just come up with four or more scene ideas to show us different aspects of the Known World of Act I and fill up that column of the posterboard.