Generating Index Cards for Story Elements

I've been on a craft rollercoaster ride and here is something I recently came across to help plot my next story.

ACT ONE

* Opening image

* Meet the hero or heroine

 

* Hero/ine's special skills

* Hero/ine's inner and outer desire

* Hero/ine's ghost or wound

* Hero/ine's arc

* Inciting Incident/Call to Adventure

* Meet the antagonist (and/or introduce a mystery, which is what you do when you're going to keep your antagonist hidden to reveal at the end)

* State the theme/what's the story about?

* Allies

* Mentor (possibly. May not have one or may be revealed later in the story).

* Love interest (probably)

* Plant/Reveal (or: Set ups and Payoffs)

* Hope/Fear (and Stakes)

* Ticking Clock (possibly. May not have one or may be revealed later in the story)

* Sequence One climax

* Plan, Central Question/Central Story Action

* Act One climax

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ACT TWO, PART ONE

* Crossing the Threshold/ Into the Special World (may occur in Act One)

* Threshold Guardian/Guardian at the Gate (possibly)

* Hero/ine's Plan

* Antagonist's Plan

* Training Sequence (possibly)

* Series of Tests
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* Picking up new Allies and Bonding with Allies

* Assembling the Team (possibly)

* Attacks by the Antagonist (whether or not the Hero/ine recognizes these as coming from the antagonist)

* In a detective story, Questioning Witnesses, Lining Up and Eliminating Suspects, Following Clues.

 

* Genre scenes

THE MIDPOINT CLIMAX

* Completely changes the game

* Locks the hero/ine into a situation or action

* Can be a huge revelation

* Can be a huge defeat

* Can be a "now it's personal" loss

* Can be sex at 60 the lovers finally get together, only to open up a whole new world of problems

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ACT TWO, PART TWO

* Recalibrating after the shock or defeat of the game-changer in the midpoint, the hero/ine must Revamp The Plan and try a New Mode of Attack.

* Escalating Actions/ Obsessive Drive

* Hard Choices and Crossing The Line (immoral actions by the main character to get what s/he wants)

* Loss of Key Allies (possibly because of the hero/ine's obsessive actions, possibly through death or injury by the antagonist).

* A Ticking Clock (can happen anywhere in the story)

* Reversals and Revelations/Twists.

* The Long Dark Night of the Soul and/or Visit to Death (also known as: All Is Lost)

* In a romance or romantic comedy, there is often Declaration of Love scene or an ultimatum I call "The Lover Makes A Stand" scene, in which one lover confesses his/her feelings- and/or tells the more reluctant lover "Commit to me now or hit the road." Interestingly, this is often also the "All is Lost" moment in a romance.

THE SECOND ACT CLIMAX

* Often can be a final revelation before the end game: the knowledge of who the opponent really is

* Answers the Central Question

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ACT THREE

The third act is basically the Final Battle and Resolution. It can often be one continuous sequence the chase and confrontation, or confrontation and chase. There may be a final preparation for battle, or it might be done on the fly. Either here or in the last part of the second act the hero will make a new, FINAL PLAN, based on the new information and revelations of the second act.

The essence of a third act is the final showdown between protagonist and antagonist. It is often divided into two sequences:

1. Getting there (Storming the Castle)

2. The final battle itself

* Thematic Location - often a visual and literal representation of the Hero/ine's Greatest Nightmare
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* The protagonist's character change
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* The antagonist's character change (if any)

* Possibly ally/allies' character changes and/or gaining of desire

* Possibly a huge final reversal or reveal (twist), or even a whole series of payoffs that you've been saving (as in Back to the Future and It's A Wonderful Life)

* RESOLUTION: A glimpse into the New Way of Life that the hero/ine will be living after this whole ordeal and all s/he's learned from it.

* Closing Image 

So how about you? Do you pants or plot your story?