Story Assembly II - another embroidery thread (post-apocalypse!)

writing
#161

WHOA!!!

I so did not see that coming. I’m not sure that the Audience would either, with so much focus on the fertile vs. infertile, then in the end it turns out ALL the women will be needed to bring children to term. And EVERYONE (young or old, man or woman) will be needed to help raise the next generation, nourish them and keep them safe. So awesome!

Talk about learning a lesson in Acceptance!

Note: I think this works well with the OS Solution as written, although it might take a bit of the wind out of the sails of this:

ADDED, by accepting other survivors they find a young pregnant girl and her fertile boyfriend, both of whom would have died outside the colony.

Maybe we would change it finding an older couple and they find out after accepting them into the Colony that the woman is pregnant even though she’s both infertile and in her 50s … because the old guy was the fertility doctor. Or we keep the young people and just include the fertility doctor too, maybe as the girl’s father or grandfather, who only gives up his secret after being Accepted by them?

#162

Details…we could also have the girl and boyfriend declining to join the colony if her parents/grandparents aren’t allowed in.

LAWANDA: We need you!
GIRL: Yeah, but, you’re assholes, with skewed and bankrupt morals.

I am however glad ya liked it.

@Gregolas you’re up

#163

The old couple might end up stealing the main character focus thru audience reception… just something to think about.

#164

Such a cool way to set up a good success flourish at the end!

#165

Shhh…we’re the only ones that know. And they would be the first ones to be ecstatic their kid gets to have lots of other kids to play with.

#166

Wait I think it’s my turn … hopefully get to it tonight.

#167

Well I wasn’t going to say anything. I’ve been having a vacation here the past few days, not having to come up with anything.

#168

Yup, my bad. I’m confused. Please don’t let me run the ship or any heavy machinery.

#169

MC Problem: Disagreeing with something
Lawanda does not accept the limitations of the post-apocalypse. She thinks that people need to aspire to higher ideas, higher standards. She disagrees with the whole idea of limited resources and food; it’s by accepting those limitations that everyone is limiting themselves. Everyone needs to think bigger and conceive the abundance in the world – she made it across the country alone to find the Colony, didn’t she?
How is this a problem? Living under food rationing and other limitations really bothers Lawanda, and she gets in trouble for sneaking extra rations – not just for herself but for other fertiles. She causes herself further difficulty when she tries to get people on board with her ideas; many believe the Colony has survived because of its strict rationing and they reject Lawanda, try to ostracize her, leaving Lawanda lonely and with few friends.

P.S. I’d love to reserve MC Signpost 2 for my next turn as I got some ideas for it with this … but feel free to take it if you like… :slight_smile:

#170

Why don’t you just post proposed then what it is so we can keep it in mind

#171

Diane, love the way you worked out the solution for the OS. I wasn’t sure how that was going to turn out because we seemed to have several different options at different points.

And Mike, nice MC problem.

I think what was giving me problems connecting with the MC throughline was the difference between my original interpretation of the gists vs the direction the story ended up going, which is part of what’s great about an exercise like this. You’re forced to see things in a whole different way than you normally would and sometimes have to do some Olympic level mental gymnastics to fit in a story point you really want to go with.

#172

Thanks Greg.

@Prish, my MC Signpost 2 idea was that Lena makes Lawanda into her ‘slave’ by blackmailing her because she somehow finds out (I was still working that part out, maybe involving Dr. O) that Lawanda is infertile.

I think you’re up now Prish!

#173

PROBLEM-SOLVING STYLE: Linear

Lawanda is methodical and applies logic to everything. She sees what is needed and waits for an opening.

#174

Wow. she disagrees with post apocalyptic food rationing, and sees allowing the martial arts practitioners to do their thing as a linear solution to this. I have to wonder…is she using the martial arts practitioners to steal all the food for herself and the fertiles? What’s up with that?

#175

Hmmm…do you.want me to come up with details, now?

#176

Nah. I’m just trying to connect what we’ve got. I’m sure everyone sees it a little different. I’m thinking about my turn now.

#177

Maybe, I’ve got it wrong, but I thought if the problem solving was linear, the MC was too?

#178

You got it. I was trying to find the linear path between disagreeing with someone and giving permission to the martial arts practitioners.

#179

Someone who does not have success as the goal?

#180

Hold on – just because the MC is a linear thinker doesn’t mean the MC Solution has to logically follow as a Solution to what we’ve written as the MC Problem. At least, I don’t think so.

I think you’ll see linear vs. holistic at the scene level (and I think it’s even true in the OS throughline … unlike Do-er vs. Be-er the MC player is consistent with mental sex regardless of whether they’re looking at personal vs. overall problems).

@Prish I do think it would be good to have an example of linear thinking involving Lawanda’s actions and possibly other characters. But it doesn’t have to tie into any specific story points.