I. Map out the story with Scene and Sequels
When the story pitch for each episode  is chosen we will go into this first phase of the Writing Process, namely... I will be asking for each of you to submit a scene and sequel. You will be given one day to submit your idea to the scene and sequel. If this time period is too short I will extend it to a two-day period to come up with a scene and sequel.

II. Fine tune the Scene and Sequels
This step may not be necessary, depending on how everything is written out.

III. Write
We will take a one-week period after the story is plotted and everyone will write his or her parts at that time. After you have written your rough draft I will ask for you to put it away and not look at it for at least a week.

IV. Take a week break/Start planning the next story.
During this week we will be planning for episode 26.

V. Re-write/edit the story
It will be time to pull out, re-read and polish up your story. When we hit this phase I will give you recommendations on how to revise your rough draft. Once again, we will take a full week to do the revision process.

VI.  Begin publishing the episode
Now, the moment of truth... we will begin publishing episode 25 on the fan-list and wherever else we feel like.

 

Maping out the story

Step A:  The writer developing the begining of the story will write a Prologue Scene and a Scene 1.  A prologue scene will be a catching scene, a scene which will stand by itself.  Scene 1 will follow the directions in Scene's and Sequels (below).

Step B:  This will be the bulk of the story.  Each subsequent writer will write once Sequel and one more Scene.  So writer 2 will write Sequel 1/Scene 2, writer 3 will write Sequel 2/Scene 3 until one writer decides to move to Step C.

Step C:  When a writer feels like it is time, and everything is set up for the end of the story he will write the final sequel and the climax.  The climax will not follow the scene and sequel format but will fit the needs of the story and finish the story.

 

Scene's and Sequels

The process we are going to use in  mapping out of the episodes we write is going to be based upon scenes and sequels. The reason we are going to use this method is because each person will be writing one part of the episode, and in order to write your part well you will need to know what is going to happen before and after your scene.

To give credit where credit is due, I need to let you know that the idea of scene and sequel’s was not created by me (no Sheelba… Tell me it isn’t so). I picked up the instructions a few years ago in a book called "Writing the Short Story, A Hands-On program" by Jack M Bickham. He also wrote a longer book titled "Scene and Structure". Writer’s Digest Books published both books.

Through experience I can tell you that even in times where I am very hazy about the story I am going to write, when I pattern the outline of the story in the scene and sequel process, I almost always come out with a good, and readable story plotline.

In Jack Bickham’s words:

"A Scene is a structural component, a brief bit of story action played out in the story, onstage, and present moment by moment. It is where the primary conflict takes place."

"A Sequel is a structural component that provides a condensed record of how your character gets from one scene to the next. It presents a character’s feelings and thoughts as he plans his next move in his ongoing struggle to find an answer to the story question."

***

Before a story is written each writer will be asked to answer each of the bullet points in the Scene and Sequel section. This will allow us to sketch out the story before it is written and will allow everyone to know where the story is going.

Scene:

Every scene has a goal, something that the viewpoint character wants to accomplish.

What is the Goal?

In every scene there is something that is thwarting the viewpoint character from reaching his goal. Most of the time it will be the antagonist in the story, but there are times when it is more abstract such as a storm or even character confusion.

What is the Problem?

Sketch out how the antagonist (or storm, or whatever) dynamically stands between the viewpoint character and the immediate scene goal.

What is the Conflict?

Sketch out, in ten words or less, what awful twist takes place at the end of the scene to put the viewpoint character farther behind the eight ball than he was at the beginning. Of course, the last scene of a story will typically not have a disaster occurring in it.

What is the form of the Disaster?

Sequel:

In ten words or less sketch the uppermost emotions you imagine would go through your character’s mind as a result of the disaster that just took place in the preceding scene.

What is the viewpoint character feeling?

Briefly express the kinds of thoughts – and possibly new actions – the character might go through after working through her first feelings of shock or fear or rage.

What is the Viewpoint characters thoughts?

What is the active decision the character should make to get her to the ultimate goal that will open the next scene.

***

Now that I have explained what a Scene and a Sequel is, and how we are going to use it, I need to give you a final word on how to use them.

The first thing to know is that depending on the type of story you are writing, the length of your scene and sequels will vary.  If you are writing a smash-bang action adventure (for instance an Indiana Jones or Star Wars story) you will have longer scenes than sequels.  On the other hand, if you are writing a drama you will likely have short scenes (where the action takes place) and long sequels (where the viewpoint character deals with what
happened in the scene).

To help further clarify what a sequel is I should let you know (and I am sorry I didn’t mention this earlier) that the primary purpose of a sequel is to provide a smooth transition from scene to scene.

A third thing to know, and this is mainly true with action based stories, is that although you will want to detail every sequel, you may not need to write it.  For example... if in your scene your character had the ending of escaping from the temple only to run into mad savages who start chasing the character with stone knives, the sequel would be fear and the characters thoughts and decision is to do the four-minute mile and get out of there, you would not need to write the sequel scene since the act of the character running away tells what the character was thinking, feeling, and what his
decision was.

What is the viewpoint characters decision?