A Puzzle Where the Pieces Don't Fit

I'm going to warn you up front. I just took some cold medicine. Like, the liquid kind that's 10% alcohol. I'm not sure when it going to kick in. Things could get… interesting.

There's still a poll over there on the right. Cast a vote! Influence my future! I guess if there's a tie, I'll have to combine the genres. I honestly didn't think of that possibility until now.

Anyway, that's not what we’re here for. We're here for…

Character arcs!

As I keep saying, I don’t know what I'm doing. So this blog post is helping me out. I believe our story falls under Growth Arc. He starts as one thing and becomes something better. Now, it's a story of redemption, but I don't know if it counts as a Redemption Arc, simply because he didn’t set out with that in mind.

So I have an outline of things that should occur. Inciting incidents and all that. My trouble has always been in trying to put the plot ideas I have into the right places. See, early on in the story, two things happen: the character discovers that there is some thing in the world with him, and he meets the Girl. Which is the inciting incident? Or is the inciting incident the point where he wakes up on the empty train, which is literally the very beginning of the story? Does that mean that something else needs to come before it and I need to write a new beginning? I mean, I'm not opposed to the idea, but is it right?

I think the cold meds are kicking in.

Okay, let's just… Who cares if it's right? I'm out of my gourd on off-brand Nyquil. Let's do this!

1. Setup
1. Old Order - Goal = Survival & Self-interest
2. Inciting Incident - Waking up on the empty train.
3. 1st Plot Point - There's a weird house. Is there a way out?
2. Reaction
1. 1st Pinch Point - There is something in this world. Something hungry.
2. Mid-Point - Something about souls?
3. Attack
1. Second Pinch Point
2. Second Plot Point
4. Resolution
1. Climax
2. Denouement

This is what I have. Half of it. See, the second half involves starting to go on the offensive against the antagonist. And I never really figured that part out.

Now, I don't know if the things I have are even in the right places in the outline. I'll probably see this in the light of day and think it’s nonsense. And that's okay. You have to write a little nonsense before you can write sense. You need a first draft to have a second draft.

I hope that sounded suitably inspiring. It felt inspiring, but that might be the cold meds. Anyway…

Be inspired. Vote for genres.

I'll see you Friday.