Writers’ Crossing — Using Story Beats

Dramatis personae

• Billy the skunk
• Corrin the Capybara

Outline

• Goal or agenda:
  • Billy doesn’t have time for love, too busy being professional skunk - twinge of loneliness b/c no +1
  • Corrin has body image struggles because she’s shaped like a capybara
• Meet cute:
  • Office party b/c they are coworkers
• No Way #1:
  • Billy: Corrin is in a different department and doesn’t have a great working rep
  • Corrin: He’s so handsome…too handsome, the suit may mean he’s a jerk
• Stuck together:
  • Broken elevator
  • Corrin kind of freaking out b/c this is making her late to a meeting her job is riding on
  • Billy offers story for why she was late, showing that he understands more of her troubles on the job
  • Billy learns about Corrin’s lack of self esteem
  • Corrin learns why Billy’s so motivated
• No Way! #2:
  • Billy doesn’t want to get distracted. Trying to help the company as a whole, and maybe that will help corrin, but he can’t let that get in the way.
  • Corrin tries to play it off, he was just being nice, but she still harbors doubts. Two options:
    • Corrin hears from a friend that she should go for him, but resists that idea
    • Corrin hears from a friend that he’s really good at acting nice but is actually terrifying
• Bone Town™:
  • A frank exchange of opinions and fears over skee-ball at Dave and Bustersn
  • Swaps numbers, but pen explodes over tie
  • Billy is self-conscious about what others will think of this relationship; embarrassed that this felt good
  • Corrin is optimistic; scared but relieved
  • There’s some mixed signals re: expectations for each other and feelings for each other
• Seed of doubt:
  • Billy
    • Wallow #1: Texting/DMs with college buddy, bouncing off this idea that he’s embarrassed (also gives other character chance to give billy some backstory)
    • Retreat: Starting to feel for her, but it turns out she really isn’t a great employee (but based around anxiety attacks), so it could reflect poorly on him as upper management if they were to go out
    • Choose fear: work is too important to try and make relationship work, etc
    • Wallow #2: light-hearted: getting drunk at the jazz bar; darker: pulling all-nighters at work b/c that way won’t have to think about it
  • Corrin
    • Wallow #1: She got Billy’s number, but balks before actually texting because she’s still scared about the possibilities.
    • Retreat: Finally tries to reveal soft spot for Billy, but texts the wrong number, retreats.
    • Choose fear: he gave me the wrong number because suit = jerk; maybe she got fired and it looks like it came from him (if only in the heat of the moment)
    • Wallow #2: catharsis of eating garbage food/screaming into karaoke
• Choose love:
  • Billy: distraction is not happiness, work is just distraction
  • Corrin: can’t tackle self image without validation, and hey, Billy gave her that; finds out that it wasn’t an intentionally wrong number
• Plan and risk:
• Grand Gesture:
  • Corrin: replaces Billy’s tie (maybe with something outrageous b/c quirky)
  • Ends with yes:
    • puts on tie, looks terrible on him, laughs, smooch
• Payoff:
  • Asks to go on vacation w/ because he’s a workaholic.
• Hope:
  • She looks at herself in the mirror, frowning at the thought of beachwear, he hugs and comforts, they go for a walk on the beach.