Where Did It All Go Wrong?
Please indulge me...
In this thread and the 75/100/300 worder discussion threads some people bemoan that the entries are not stories but vignettes, scenes, slices of life etc.
Right, I thought. Challenge accepted!
So, I'll write a story using the classic
three act structure (If it was good enough for Aristotle, it's good enough for me)
As we all know a rule of thumb is Act 1 takes up 25% of the story, Act 2 50% and Act 3 25%.
However
James Scott Bell in his book
Plot and Structure reckons that in a novel Act 1 can be 20%, Act 2 55% with Act 3 remaining at 25%.
So, as a computer programmer always on the lookout for an algorithm to make life easier, I converted these percentages into words resulting in the following structure:
- Act 1. The set up = no more than 15 words
- Act 2. Rising action/conflict = at least 41 words
- Act 3. Resolution = no more than 19 words
So with all this in mind, here's the story again:
Shot studied the dossier. Stabbed had apparently gone rogue. The mission: terminate with extreme prejudice.
In Istanbul, Stabbed's last known sighting, Shot headed for the safe house. Evidence of activity, but no Stabbed. Same story in Casablanca and Moscow.
On entering the Paris hideaway, the intense aroma of Stabbed's favoured Gauloises hit Shot just before the blackjack.
Shot awoke, trussed up, head pounding.
"Sorry partner." Stabbed unsheathed her stiletto. "Seems we have the same mission."
Here's a summary as I wanted to convey:
- Act 1 = Agent Shot gets his mission (Setup)
- Act 2 = Shot travels around several continents hunting for Agent Stabbed, finishing with the confrontation, where he gets bashed on the head. (Rising action/conflict)
- Act 3 = Shot awakes in the enemy's lair, where he learns his erstwhile partner had been ordered to assassinate him and will probably succeed. (Resolution)
So, let's return to my question, Where Did It All Go Wrong?
I felt it fulfilled the "Story" requirement well enough.
Was it not "Spy themed" enough? Probably.
Was I too close to the story? I.e. I knew what it was all about, but perhaps I didn't convey it adequately.
Did I need more conflict in Act 2?
What could/should I have changed to garner more mentions/shortlists/votes?
Next month I'll be attempting 75 words using the
Hero's Journey structure.

PS
Regardless of the number of mentions and votes and what I should and shouldn't have done, I actually quite enjoyed the challenge of getting a story into the aforementioned structure, and when all's said and done and analysed, isn't that what these challenges are all about - the joy of writing?