What if your mother told you she was leaving?
This is what I used to determine the plot of my story - Mum's the Word. When starting to write my story I also wrote a log line, which explains the basics of the story in a couple of sentences; it usually tells the audience: the name of the lead character, the setting, an idea of what they want, what or who tires to stop them, what challenge they will have to complete to try and get what they want and whether they are changed by their experience or not.
The log line for Mum's the word: When normal family life takes a turn for the worst, teenager Skyler Jones sets out on a mission to find answers only along the way she discoveres a deep secret that was meant to stay just that - secret. Skyler takes on a huge responsibility that changes the lives of hers and others all the while battling the everyday going-ones of adolescence.
My lead character is Skyler Jones, a 14 year old girl who hasn't had the easiest of lives.
Her dominant impression - she's a quite a simple girl - she wears jeans and t shirts and alternates between 2 pairs of Converse. She leaves her long auburn hair in its natural slightly wavy state and the only makeup she ever wears is mascara. She talks very quietly but fast and walks with her head down.
Her dominant attitude - she is very intelligent, she enjoys reading in her free time she has a wide range of knowledge but is strongest in Media, IT and technology in general (which is surprising because of the little tech she has). She is very introvert and has only one friend who is very different to her but reflects who Skyler used to be before her life changed. She likes to be left alone to do her work or read and very much dislikes public speaking, she is very self-conscious person with little confidence in her appearance and ability but hates to show weakness, she very rarely asks for help and would rather pretend everything is fine even when it's not.
Her world - she has a very strong friendship with best friend Violet, she would go to her about anything more so than her parents. They have known each other for 10 years first meeting at swimming, which appears to be their only connection. The 2 used to get into trouble frequently doing things they were told not to do or things which are illegal. Violet is very different not just in her personality - outgoing and friendly - but in her family life, she is much more fortunate than Skyler living in a nicer area of town and a better house and having lots more clothes. She isn't a fake rich girl who gets everything but she sure does have more. Skyler has a strained relationship with her father, neither know how to talk to each other and he has never really been involved in her life. Her dad was in the army but when he gets caught in a drug bust with his brother in law he found himself unemployed and unable to find another. She gets on with her mum but sometimes finds she doesn't understand the life Skyler is living and what's acceptable, she often lives in the past and believes the best part of her life was that before Skyler and her brother. She is a cleaner at the school Skyler goes to and for the houses in Violet's estate. She is growing up with a bad illegal example which Skyler slightly followed into before realising she didn't want to follow her parents example and a disappointment. The school she goes to is a mixture of kids like her and kids like Violet, it's not high in league tables or success stories, the teaching is there but most students don't care.
No comments:
Post a Comment