The Outline

My First Part of The Story

After completing the exercises we put everything together in an outline. I’ve mentioned this a few times, so I thought I should share what I have. I’m a little out of order here, but I’m finding it nerve-wracking to even consider posting actual parts of my story. Doing this feels like a good start. You’ll get a feel for what I’m aiming for without me giving away my secrets.

Outline

Title: The Misfits of Bad Sign Tavern

Opening Line: Clang! The ancient door of Bad Sign Tavern hit the rusty weapon rack behind it as it was flung open in panic.

Everyday Life: The story starts with a regular day for the three Oakenbow women, members of the dwarven family who have run the tavern for generations.

Something Changes: When a mysterious bard brings news of a great threat, life changes fast for the Oakenbow family, and the patrons of the tavern.

Wallop Scene: The big opener is when the bard enters, bringing news of a cursed fog threatening the land.

Inciting Event: When the bard also reveals that the band of local heroes are trapped in the fog, it’s up to the tavern patrons to assemble a team of adventurers to stop the fog and save the day. The only problem is that the tavern doesn’t exactly house a lot of heroes.

Mirror Scene: A scene here will show a character listening to others tales of adventure. By the end of the story they will be the one regaling people with stories of their own heroics.

The Main Character’s Goal: They must pull together a party of misfit adventurers and turn them into heroes who can save the tavern from destruction.

The Main Obstacle: The cursed fog is the main obstacle, but the misfits must also fight their own ineptness.

The Ticking Clock: The fog continues to creep forward, consuming all in its path.

The Consequences of Failure: Direport becomes engulfed in fog and who knows what that actually does?

Simple Steps of the Story: Get bad news. Form an adventuring party. Find the source of the fog. Overcome obstacles. Defeat/stop the fog. Rescue the heroes.

Within this outline I have also broken down each step into scenes, and ordered them using index cards as described in my previous post. A system I never expected to find so useful.