Eight-Point Story Arc

Within Nigel Watts’ book Writing A Novel and Getting Published Watts identifies 8 key points that should be focused on when writing a story in order to make it successful. these 8 key points are:

1. Stasis
2. Trigger
3. The quest
4. Surprise
5. Critical choice
6. Climax
7. Reversal
8. Resolution

Whilst I have looked at these 8 key points and considered them when writing my plot for the film I have also kept in mind that some of the best films do not follow this sequence exactly and a cliff-hanger such as the ones in The Italian Job and Drive make for very interesting endings.

Stasis: the every day life in which the story is set.

• My Stasis is shown within our opening sequence when we will see the killer flicking carefully through a journal and reliving past events as this ritualistic manor is often revolved around heavily in other crime-thriller genre movies and would be something that the killer would do on a regular basis.

Trigger: Something within a story that sparks the plot

• The killer revisiting his past hometown and walking around anonymously, no one recognising him or acknowledging his existence, he walks into an old house which is not lived in and he picks up a purple ribbon from a lone desk chair whilst looking at a picture of a lady who looks very similar to his victims.

The Quest: the beginning of a journey (whether it be metaphorical or literal)

• After seeing short shots of a detective arriving at the scene of a murder we witness a scene in which they connect the murders officially and begin the hunt for the killer.

Surprise: This stage involves not one but several elements, and takes up most of the middle part of the story. “Surprise” includes pleasant events, but more often means obstacles, complications, conflict and trouble for the protagonist.

• A this stage of the story we see the killer going back home to what seems like a relatively normal household and we see the lead detective stood in the kitchen of his house, at this point the viewers will believe that the detective has already found him. The viewer then witnesses the two exchange greetings and realise that the detective is the sister of the killer.

Critical choice: At some stage, your protagonist needs to make a crucial decision; a critical choice. This is often when we find out exactly who a character is, as real personalities are revealed at moments of high stress.

• As the detective and her team make more discoveries, the killer is made aware of her investigation as he sees a case file which she has left round his house. As the police become much more involved with the investigation the killer must make the decision as to whether he leaves his current lives and the routine which he has created for himself that he follows every minute of the day.

Climax: The critical choice(s) made by your protagonist need to result in the climax, the highest peak of tension, in your story.

• When the killer is faced with claiming his next high from his next kill who he has kept tabs on throughout the film, or stopping and getting away from his sister's investigation. As the killer makes the decision to try and run away and return to the house from the beginning of the film, his sister finds a piece of purple ribbon at his house when collecting her case file. As she finds the ribbon multiple connections are made in her head about her brother.

Reversal: The reversal should be the consequence of the critical choice and the climax, and it should change the status of the characters.

• The detective does not report any news of the ribbon and kept it in her pocket, at this point of the film her motives are questioned and the audience do not know whether to trust her or not.

A typical resolution would leave the story complete however, in my film the killer will remain an unknown and unnamed man. The killer returns to the house shown towards the start of the film. The very last scene shows the sister joining the detective in the abandoned house and ends on a cliff-hanger. This leaves the possibility of a sequel to the film and will grip the audience.