Warning: Huge, huge Wall of Text ahead. If you don’t want to read it, just general outlining tips would be much appreciated.
So I've been doing Na No Wri Mo, and so far it went horribly because of a) my over-elaborate, convoluted plot, and b) my lack of a tight outline. It’s the 25th, my story is crappy, and the plot isn't even halfway done.
So for April's Script Frenzy, I want to scale things down and tell a simple, emotional story. And I also want to have a detailed outline, and I'd like your help for that.
I'm going to make it somewhat in the style of a Disney Princess movie, because hey, it's nostalgic and actually seems doable in a month. This is the plot I'm thinking about:
The Hero is a Lovable Rogue and Con Man, but he’s getting sick of the criminal life, and wants to settle down after One Last Job. He gets his opportunity when the king sets up a contest and says that anybody who can kill the Hero – the “greatest criminal in the land” – gets his daughter's hand in marriage. The Hero plans to fake being dead and have his Sidekick marry the Princess so they can live a comfortable life in the palace, forcing the greedy aristocrats they have always hated to treat them with respect.
Now, our Princess is aware of her duties to her people and doesn't instinctively want to rebel, but as far as she knows, the single most likely person to win this contest is the Villain, a horribly cruel and arrogant nobleman, like Gaston but well-spoken. Almost everyone else that has the resources to potentially win is scared of him and will cooperate.
So the Princess devises a plan that would both save her beloved kingdom from the Hero and save her from the Villain - she disguises herself as a man, ties up all her gold and jewels to sell, and decides to win this for herself.
The Princess leaves the castle, the Hero heads for the castle, and they run into each other in a tavern. Both recognize the other, though neither thinks the other knows. The Hero figures kidnapping the Princess and holding her for ransom would be a lot less risky and still get them a nice amount of cash. He wants to take her outside the kingdom’s borders and to his small ship in neutral waters, and then send word to the king. The Princess can't kill him right then without a whole bunch of thugs loyal to him jumping her, so she reluctantly agrees to “go on a little trip” with the Hero.
A journey ensues, dangers are overcome (including the Villain’s thugs), backstories are exchanged, and both Princess and Hero change their minds and fall in love. (What a shocking twist!) This is the part I need help with – keeping it tight and concise, driving forward the plot, and yet still producing a believable change of heart.
But then the Villain engineers a misunderstanding that makes it seem like the Princess set up the Hero to be ambushed (I also need help with how exactly this works). They’re stormed, and the Sidekick is severely injured. The Hero goes ballistic and tells her to leave. She does, but insists he keep her remaining money, to pay for the Sidekick’s treatment. He’s a pragmatist, so he does accept it, and gets the Sidekick to a healer.
The Princess is pretty pissed that the Hero stopped trusting her so easily, and she’s now left in a strange land with no guide and no money, and her whole purpose – winning the contest – becoming a moot point. At this point, the Villain arrives and offers her a ride back to the kingdom, which she, also being a pragmatist, reluctantly accepts. But once there she finds out – either by recognizing stolen goods or recognizing the Family insignia somewhere – that the Villain is part of the Family, and is no doubt the elusive and mysterious “Boss” the Hero and Sidekick kept talking about.
She realizes she’s not being taken to the palace, and also realizes she can’t do anything about it. She’s taken to a prison somewhere, and is Bound and Gagged, while the Villain intends to launch a coup on the palace, complete with armed invasion, using the fact that he has her prisoner to get the king to not fight back.
The Hero, meanwhile, finds out the truth (not quite sure how he does), learns of the coup (again, not sure how), and sets off to save her, guessing she will be kept at the Villain’s headquarters. A combination of both their efforts gets her rescued, and gets them both to the palace to warn the king (who has surrendered to keep his daughter alive) and stop the Villain. They do, and the Villain gets a Disney Villain Death, and the Hero gets to marry the Princess because he has fulfilled the requirement of killing “the greatest criminal in the land.”
Can you guys point out the Plot Holes and Fridge Logic potential, and help flesh out the vague parts of the story? It would be an enormous help, thanks. :)
edited 25th Nov '10 10:19:01 PM by OnTheOtherHandle
"War doesn't prove who's right, only who's left."
"Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future."
Warning: Huge, huge Wall of Text ahead. If you don’t want to read it, just general outlining tips would be much appreciated.
So I've been doing Na No Wri Mo, and so far it went horribly because of a) my over-elaborate, convoluted plot, and b) my lack of a tight outline. It’s the 25th, my story is crappy, and the plot isn't even halfway done.
So for April's Script Frenzy, I want to scale things down and tell a simple, emotional story. And I also want to have a detailed outline, and I'd like your help for that.
I'm going to make it somewhat in the style of a Disney Princess movie, because hey, it's nostalgic and actually seems doable in a month. This is the plot I'm thinking about:
The Hero is a Lovable Rogue and Con Man, but he’s getting sick of the criminal life, and wants to settle down after One Last Job. He gets his opportunity when the king sets up a contest and says that anybody who can kill the Hero – the “greatest criminal in the land” – gets his daughter's hand in marriage. The Hero plans to fake being dead and have his Sidekick marry the Princess so they can live a comfortable life in the palace, forcing the greedy aristocrats they have always hated to treat them with respect.
Now, our Princess is aware of her duties to her people and doesn't instinctively want to rebel, but as far as she knows, the single most likely person to win this contest is the Villain, a horribly cruel and arrogant nobleman, like Gaston but well-spoken. Almost everyone else that has the resources to potentially win is scared of him and will cooperate.
So the Princess devises a plan that would both save her beloved kingdom from the Hero and save her from the Villain - she disguises herself as a man, ties up all her gold and jewels to sell, and decides to win this for herself.
The Princess leaves the castle, the Hero heads for the castle, and they run into each other in a tavern. Both recognize the other, though neither thinks the other knows. The Hero figures kidnapping the Princess and holding her for ransom would be a lot less risky and still get them a nice amount of cash. He wants to take her outside the kingdom’s borders and to his small ship in neutral waters, and then send word to the king. The Princess can't kill him right then without a whole bunch of thugs loyal to him jumping her, so she reluctantly agrees to “go on a little trip” with the Hero.
A journey ensues, dangers are overcome (including the Villain’s thugs), backstories are exchanged, and both Princess and Hero change their minds and fall in love. (What a shocking twist!) This is the part I need help with – keeping it tight and concise, driving forward the plot, and yet still producing a believable change of heart.
But then the Villain engineers a misunderstanding that makes it seem like the Princess set up the Hero to be ambushed (I also need help with how exactly this works). They’re stormed, and the Sidekick is severely injured. The Hero goes ballistic and tells her to leave. She does, but insists he keep her remaining money, to pay for the Sidekick’s treatment. He’s a pragmatist, so he does accept it, and gets the Sidekick to a healer.
The Princess is pretty pissed that the Hero stopped trusting her so easily, and she’s now left in a strange land with no guide and no money, and her whole purpose – winning the contest – becoming a moot point. At this point, the Villain arrives and offers her a ride back to the kingdom, which she, also being a pragmatist, reluctantly accepts. But once there she finds out – either by recognizing stolen goods or recognizing the Family insignia somewhere – that the Villain is part of the Family, and is no doubt the elusive and mysterious “Boss” the Hero and Sidekick kept talking about.
She realizes she’s not being taken to the palace, and also realizes she can’t do anything about it. She’s taken to a prison somewhere, and is Bound and Gagged, while the Villain intends to launch a coup on the palace, complete with armed invasion, using the fact that he has her prisoner to get the king to not fight back.
The Hero, meanwhile, finds out the truth (not quite sure how he does), learns of the coup (again, not sure how), and sets off to save her, guessing she will be kept at the Villain’s headquarters. A combination of both their efforts gets her rescued, and gets them both to the palace to warn the king (who has surrendered to keep his daughter alive) and stop the Villain. They do, and the Villain gets a Disney Villain Death, and the Hero gets to marry the Princess because he has fulfilled the requirement of killing “the greatest criminal in the land.”
Can you guys point out the Plot Holes and Fridge Logic potential, and help flesh out the vague parts of the story? It would be an enormous help, thanks. :)
edited 25th Nov '10 10:19:01 PM by OnTheOtherHandle
"War doesn't prove who's right, only who's left." "Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future."