PSR with Prot/MC Character

writing
#1

For those of you who have spent more time with the PSR than I have:

I have an MC/Protag.

OS PSR, Signpost 1, first step> Wisdom
MC PSR, Signpost 1, first step> Truth

The MC experiences something in the opening scene (an event has been cancelled) that allows her (as Protagonist) to see through the Antagonist when they first meet.

This makes a lot of sense given that they are the same player. But it blurs the line between the throughlines – the truth of the first event is what leads to the wisdom in the second.

Is this in line with the theory?

(There is a different way to interpret it that doesn’t blur the lines, but the above interpretation is what came to me first. and yes I’m having trouble keeping the two throughlines separate why do you ask?)

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#2

I see this quite often as well and don’t know if this in line with the theory. When I saw it I was wondering if it just just my “weak” illustration or do I see the effect of the perspectives at work?

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#3

I think it’s totally, 100% fine.

I’m assuming that “truth of the event being cancelled” is related somehow to the MC’s personal conflict in the story. And that Truth is a source of conflict here.

But pretend for a moment it wasn’t – that the event being cancelled was just plain storytelling setup that allows for the “seeing through the antagonist” moment. That would be fine, right? So from the OS perspective, this is what’s going on – the OS only “sees” that first event inasmuch as it affects the OS.

So I think all you’re doing here is weaving the throughlines together, and storyweaving is definitely in line with the theory.

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#4

I woke up with a new perspective this morning. I tend to think of all domains as people doing things. The Protagonist is pursuing, etc. But my OS is in Universe, so I’m going to go back in and see if the Wisdom is more about the Universe and less about the Protagonist.

Both of you are reminding me that a story happens “simultaneously” so I’m going to roll with it for now.

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#5

As a reader, I always enjoyed stories that repeated patterns (if that makes sense w/o rambling on). My brain had no problem creating its story map.

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#6

This simultaneous and parallel processing causes some times trouble for me while in outlining mode. I am getting stuck and asking myself: Do I need to add a bit more plot or do I need to do something else?

Here is a recent example for a child book I am working on:

Signpost 1, Scene/Step 4

  • OS Conceiving in terms of Worth: 9y old Ben struggles to tell the truth to his 12y old sister about something, he thinks its not worth the trouble
  • MC Past in terms of Destiny: Ben wants to avoid his destiny (his sister will “kill” him for lying about something) and goes out to search for a simple solution but doesn’t find anything
  • OC Memory in terms of Deficiency; Bens Sister calls him, she is nice, he could tell her the truth right now, but Ben has no guts
  • RS Doing in terms of Senses: Ben struggles (sweats, shakes, hears voices) while on the phone with his sister. He can’t speak and just say the truth

I build the scene with PRCO using the InstaScene Method. In the example above I plan to write 4 scenes: 1 for Worth, 1 for Destiny…

I am not really happy with the above outline as I struggle to build 4 separate scenes with the material.

How would you tackle this?

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#7

I have the advantage of a complete draft that I am re-writing, which helps me a lot. I tend to shy away from this level of detail when I write my first draft. Too many new things always occur to me when I’m actually writing.

I don’t know what this is. I mean, I don’t know how to align the PRCO with scene order.

If you want four scenes, then I would use the first scene to set up consequences for telling or not telling. For instance, his father won’t take him to the football game if he knows the truth, and the scene is between the father and the son. That way it’s not just thoughts in his head about “worth”. (He doesn’t want his dad to see him as a liar. If he does, then there will be no football game.)

Now we run into trouble with the outline, though, because you’ve put the consequences here: his sister will kill him. That seems like it has to do with their relationship. I would think this has something more directly to do with his Universe: he has a reputation for letting people down, or something. If this were a movie, we’d have to put that into a scene we can witness. It’s hard to know what to do without knowing your story, so I’ll just say that he goes to his room to get ready for the football game and finds something—maybe a note that his teacher sent home that explains his bad attitude.

OC Memory: I would use this to cut Ben to the bone. His sister calls and they talk about something that they did together. Or, let’s say Ben stole something from her, she calls to ask if he’s seen it because she can’t remember where she put it down. Of course, we know that he could tell her, and fill the “deficiency” in her memory.

RS Senses: What does it mean for a relationship to have “senses”? Such a weird question. maybe it’s as simple as making it a video call or she’s called him into her room, and he watches her tear her room up looking for this thing.

My main thought, honestly, is that all of these seem too close together. They’re all about the OS. Maybe that’s only how you wrote it though. Maybe the sister is Mind>Great attitude! So that OC Memory is less about “he could tell her the truth now” and more about her great attitude and his guilt.

Does that help? Or is that interesting to you? Does it spark anything?

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#8

Thanks Mike for taking the time and your detailed feedback. Its very helpful. I could rework the storyform … and I am back now with hundert new questions ;o)

I have a final draft written already for a short. As the time is difficult to film (C19) I started rewriting the story as a children’s book. However, I usually to tend to do too much outlining before actually start writing.

I just use the PRCO technique to write my scenes. I don’t use PRCO for ordering, I just order them how I feel its right.

Thanks, that was the problem why I felt stuck here … Even I say to myself »show don’t tell« I sometimes don’t see it

The story is about 9y old Ben who wants to be cool. To impress a 2y older would-be-friend at school Ben steals a magic box form his sister Darla (12y). When Ben shows it at school to his would-be friend the box disappears. To bring the box back before Bens sister discovers it Ben needs to go on a trip. On the trip Ben meets Karla (9y). Karla could help Ben to find the box if he is willing to tell her the truth about some serious stuff from his past. But this is not so easy as telling the truth is not really cool for Ben.

Haha, that’s true in that case, sometimes really weird …

How could I bring this more apart? I feel sometimes the more I dive into the story the more details I get but the also more difficult it gets to keep the individual throughlines apart.

Thanks, very helpful and a good reminder too myself that the OC is in the first place about impact

#9

That’s funny – the first thing I thought of was that he’s afraid that she will sense his dishonesty. (e.g. “What’s wrong? Your voice sounds strange. Is everything okay?”)

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