How to Write Science Fiction Using Character-Driven Conflicts
67Exposition: The Mice Discover a Strange Object
OMG! It has buttons and numbers! It must be of Alien Design!
Freytag's Pyramid: Traditional Narrative Structure
A traditional narrative follows five steps: Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Resolution/Denouement
Rising Action: The Mice Take on the Penguin-Industrial Complex
Top Secret government files, a media blackout, and a crack team of Imperial Storm Penguins: indeed, we have a conspiracy.
Rising Action Leading to the Climax: The Mice Turn to a Lizard to Aid Them in their Fight for Truth in the Face of Penguins
"How do we know we can trust you?" the mice asked. "I mean, you're a dirty old lizard. Quite possibly the most cold-blooded creature I know," said one mouse. The lizard's reply was brief: "I will take you to the Turtle."
"If the penguins see us mice talking to a lizard, we're done for." "To late," the lizard said.
"Run for it, Mice!" the lizard cried. "I'll hold them off!"
The lizard sacrifices himself in the name of truth, justice, and - well, he's got a concussion, so it's hard to be sure.
"Oh no! They're still coming!" the mice shrieked. "Worry not, my children," the turtle replied. "We shall soon be safe."
"A sad, sad day for justice and lizards," he said. "I wish there was something we could have done," she replied. "He was a good reptile," the other mouse replied. "The best friend a mouse could hope for."
Falling Action: The Turtle Guides the Mice to the Device and Teaches Them to Fly It
"Where are we going?" the mice asked. "Home," the turtle replied. "To a place I may never see again."
"How can we ever repay you, Turtle? "By shutting your face and getting a real job. Or fly that alien thing back to where it belongs."
Resolution/Denouement: The Mice Fly Onward to the Sequel
Yes...we have learned that the journey of life is long, but that it's worth the struggle. For book rights and a sequel, anything is worth it."
