Rachel Hannon

Opening scene - introduces protagonist - establishes primary conflict - hints at secondary conflict - reveals major settings - leads with action and suspense I Might Be An Idiot: Based On True Events Chapter 1: Full Circle I line the tip of my index finger up where orange meets pale blue and spin. I have to squint when the wind kicks up the dust but, yeah, in the middle of freaking Utah, I can see the horizon the entire way around. I thought my future was over when I got suspended from college but I’ve never seen so much of the world at one time. Planes. I guess I’ve seen further on planes but I’ve never seen this far around. There’s always something that blocks part of the view. Except, maybe, on my dad’s boat. Okay, I guess I’ve seen this much of the ocean but never this much land. I’m from the East Coast. I’ve never been this far west before. When I think of the horizon, I think of staring at the navy blue line off the coast of Massachusetts, where I’m used to going with my family, looking for waves to boogie board or body surf. There, when you turn around, the seawall and cottages gobble up the line. And that’s how the horizon usually is, obscured in some way. I had been so afraid of coming out here. I never liked plans but I used to have one, nonetheless. The plan that got me into my top choice college and graduated in the top 10% of my high school and it just seemed like well the plan held a certain degree of success. I was afraid being out here would push me into total obscurity but I’ve never seen more of the Earth. I glance back at the giant orange horseshoe-like arch out to the horizon and my mind snaps back to focus. Wait, is everyone still here? I’m relieved to find Caitlin is still sitting on the only bench, staring out at the Delicate Arch. I bob beside her, “Caitlin, did you know that people stare at the horizon because it makes their eyes feel like they're stretching?” Caitlin side-eyes me, squints, “Really?” Now I’m scared that she’s mad at me, “Or that’s what it feels like.” Thinking it might help, I admit, “But I am really freakin’ high right now.” “Oh my god, Rachel.” She snaps forward to walk back to the parking lot. She smokes all the time. Now I’m confused. Anxious to shake off the thought that she just doesn’t like me, I look around for someone new to talk to. Diego. Oooh where is Diego? I spy him walking next to Charles, I’m a little disappointed I can’t talk to him alone. Diego has a girlfriend back home. I hate people who think it’s okay to cheat as long as they’re not the one in a relationship. I don’t even flirt with people in relationships. Diego makes me nervous that I’m not actually morally superior. I’ve only never hooked up with someone in a relationship because I haven’t been cool enough to have the opportunity. Diego’s never made a move on me. I know from constantly looking for signs. His girlfriend, Sophia, is very pretty. High chance he isn’t even interested. We’re safe. I would never initiate. He is eighteen, anyway. My friends would make fun of me if they found out I was crushing on someone who wasn’t even a freshman. Regardless, Charles sees me first. Charles is tall with curly black hair that’s grown out past the tops of his ears. His clothes are loose-fitting, kinda hippy-looking. By way of greeting, he makes a show of kicking his feet and sliding his pink glasses down on his nose, “Get it? I got rose-colored vision, Hannon.” It’s Charles, so I saw the joke coming from a mile away, but it’s Charles, so I laugh anyway, “Yeah, Charles, I get it.” We’ve all been volunteering together for about 2 months at this point. We’re in a program called the American Conservation Experience (ACE), where, through AmeriCorps, 18-25 year olds are eligible to do trail work in exchange for a government grant that could be applied against Educational Expenses. I was in a good spot. I planned for this. I worked all summer and I saved. I also had student loans to pay with the grant money. This wasn’t the case for most of the people I worked with. A lot of them didn’t go to college and hadn’t saved enough but it is hard to save enough to live for three months with only the promise of a grant as income. A lot of these guys were coming from nothing. I have never felt so close to homelessness as I had been out here. Some of the people I lived with slept in their car when they weren’t provided ACE Housing. Outside of the dorm room my parents paid for, what did I really have? If they cut ties, all I had was $3000, a raggedy Honda Accord Coupe, and a high school diploma. At night I’d swipe through happy, smiling photos of my college friends back in Pennsylvania until my phone battery died. This month, I would’ve started my Junior year at Bucknell University. This would’ve been the semester I studied abroad in Copenhagen. Everything was a culture shock to me.

FIRST ASSIGNMENT: write your story statement. I Might Be An Idiot (Based on True Events) follows my determined search for popularity as I maintain trails in Arizona following a suspension from my Private Arts Pennsylvania college. When things get worse it rocks understanding of faith, love, forces me to search for something deeper: the reason why all these bad things keep happening to me. At the end… well you know the conclusion. SECOND ASSIGNMENT: in 200 words or less, sketch the antagonist or antagonistic force in your story. Keep in mind their goals, their background, and the ways they react to the world about them. In the beginning, Rachel thinks her antagonist is her strong-willed mother. While her mother’s determined efforts to keep Rachel from ever getting what she wants are abrasive, they seem to stem from the mother’s want to keep Rachel safe. But definitely don’t keep her happy. However as Rachel matures, she comes to realize that her unhappiness stems somewhat from a medical-grade depression but mostly from herself. Rachel’s intrusive thoughts form a dialogue at points when Rachel feels anxious about being perceived. Rachel thinks negatively and struggles with eating disorders and alcoholism and constant thoughts of self doubt. She finds humor in it so it’s not like a downer or anything but, yeah, she gets a little sad. THIRD ASSIGNMENT: create a breakout title (list several options, not more than three, and revisit to edit as needed). I Might Be An Idiot I Might Be An Idiot: Based on True Events I Might Be An Idiot: A Memoir FOURTH ASSIGNMENT: Develop two smart comparables for your novel. This is a good opportunity to immerse yourself in your chosen genre. Who compares to you? And why? Holes by Louis Sachar - Light-hearted hero journey of juvenile delinquents doing manual labor in the desert Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast Trail by Cheryl Strayed - Memoir of woman who resolves conflict with a series of flashbacks FIFTH ASSIGNMENT: write your own hook line (logline) with conflict and core wound following the format above. Though you may not have one now, keep in mind this is a great developmental tool. In other words, you best begin focusing on this if you're serious about commercial publication. Core: College student gets suspended from college, searches for meaning of deeper trauma through flashbacks while making friends in the Ponderosa Forest. Primary: College girl gets suspended, self-doubt follows her back to college, she gets pregnant, gives the baby up for adoption. Secondary: A young girl’s search for popularity turns into questioning her sense of self, love, and religion as she experiences more horror than she ever imagined. SIXTH ASSIGNMENT: sketch out the conditions for the inner conflict your protagonist will have. Why will they feel in turmoil? Conflicted? Anxious? Sketch out one hypothetical scenario in the story wherein this would be the case--consider the trigger and the reaction. Next, likewise sketch a hypothetical scenario for the "secondary conflict" involving the social environment. Will this involve family? Friends? Associates? What is the nature of it? 6A. Inner Conflict Trigger: It doesn’t really have a trigger. It’s always there. Reaction: Constant feelings of pain, sadness, self-doubt. Ie, After a scene where Dad has forgiven me for missing a flight, I write; Ughhhhhhhhhhhh I have all of this adrenaline coursing through my body, I don’t know where to put it. If he’s not mad at me… I’m surprised by a sinking feeling. If he doesn’t hate me… The only person who would understand how much I hated myself was… me. I’ve felt alone. But never quite like this. 6B. Secondary Conflict - Rachel will struggle with trying to date out in Arizona, her mom’s going to always cause drama when she’s back at home, hippies are always around. Ie, scene where Rachel learns her crush has a girlfriend. “Oh, you have a girlfriend?” Like a punch in the gut. “Yeah, her name is Sophia. Wanna see her?” “Yeah.” A beginners mistake. He pulls out his phone, she’s his screensaver. Blonde. Thin. “She’s beautiful.” And I mean it, but of course she is. I push down the knot I feel in my stomach. It was just a crush. Diego points out to the rock, “Wanna try again?” I take a big gulp of my water, nod, “Yeah, let’s do it.” I walk back over, we try, the electricity has been zapped. This boulder is not moving. FINAL ASSIGNMENT: sketch out your setting in detail. What makes it interesting enough, scene by scene, to allow for uniqueness and cinema in your narrative and story? Please don't simply repeat what you already have which may well be too quiet. You can change it. That's why you're here! Start now. Imagination is your best friend, and be aggressive with it. ________________________ My story takes place mostly between New Jersey and Arizona (some scenes are set by the beach in Massachusetts and my college is in Pennsylvania) so there is some dramatic shifting between the east and west coast. My west coast scenes are orange and light blue to match the landscape, we’re mostly outdoors. There’s plenty of trees around. You can see farther away. The trees are spaced out in the Ponderosa forest, it’s a pine forest not desert like most people expect. It’s my first time out west, the landscape continuously surprises me. Like one hitch where my crew worked a burn area. When we started, there was only char over the red land, by the end of the eight days green lichen had started to spurt. It’s warm out but I’m surprised by the cold I feel at the end of the year. There are some scenes overlooking the dark blue Atlantic Ocean in Northern Massachusetts that are happy. Most of the East Coast story takes place inside. It’s darker. Maybe cozy.