Lesson 8. Comprehensive Outline

Untitled
Author:  Endless Enigma


Characters –

         Juliet
         Delphina
         Aunt Delia
         Keno
         Sam
         
Secondary Characters –

         Prison Inmates:  Marigold (Moo), Shaylene (Straycat)
         Barmaids:  Nicky, Amber

Synopsis:  The story unfolds as a drama-comedy for the central character – Juliet Chapel.  She spins through life with a co-dependent mother who likes to pull up roots on a moments notice.  Juliet remains a spunky individual, but would like a more solid footing in the world, thus making some bad choices along the way.  Her aunt has a more level-headed way of handling Juliet and does the best she can. Aunt Delia is an inspiration to Juliet as a hard working independent woman of means.  But, Juliet has to find her own way through trial and error, including attempted kidnapping, abandonment from her mother, not knowing her father, a marriage turned sour, and a stint in prison.  She searches for meaning and purpose and eventually finds it.

Tactical:  Story begins with Juliet arriving with Delphina at Aunt Delia’s home in New Orleans unexpectantly.  Juliet has been accustomed to living out of a suitcase and not knowing where her next meal is coming and by what method.  Aunt Delia will be her best mentor for dealing with life and its problems.

Operational/Strategic:  The CC is Juliet with Delphina and Aunt Delia the supporting characters.  The antagonist is Laslo, followed by Keno.  The rest of the characters are secondary and necessary to the plot of the story. 
1)          Crisis – Lazlo sets up a scheme to have Juliet sold to a couple seeking a child.
2)          Crisis—Keno’s reputation puts Juliet at risk of being drowned.
3)          Crisis—Keno’s hidden lifestyle lands Juliet in prison.

Each of these crises serves to round out Juliet’s capability to grow stronger and independent.  She is half-content with life and desires her freedom and purpose in life.

Dramatic premise:  Life can be a bowl of cherries if you persevere.



Chapter 1.-There is a house in New Orleans

1)          Juliet and her mother Delphina arrive unannounced at Aunt Delia’s antique shop.
2)          Aunt Delia accepts Juliet and Delphina have nowhere to go.
3)          Juliet adjusts to her life in the city.  (image of Juliet as child)
4)          Delphina makes money doing tarot cards in the evening.
5)          Juliet relates to Aunt Delia about losing her best friend.

Juliet and Delphina arrive at Aunt Delia’s because Delphina has run out of money.  Aunt Delia is thrilled to see spunky Juliet and dotes on her.  She is also surprised at how raggedy they are dress.  Delphina decides to do tarot readings, and Juliet regales Aunt Delia with life on the road and living in a commune.

Chapter 2.-Papa was a rolling stone

1)          Delphina begins dating men in New Orleans
2)          Juliet tells Aunt Delia about the men they have lived with.
3)          Aunt Delia digs deeper into the life Delphina has been living.
4)          Juliet asks questions about her real father. conflict
5)          Aunt Delia wants to tell the truth, but Delphina presents a different story.

After Delphina begins dating a variety of men, Juliet tells Aunt Delia about the men that have lived with them.  Aunt Delia is disturbed by this news and seeks answers to the lifestyle Juliet has been exposed to.  When Juliet inquires about her own father, Delphina doesn’t want to reveal the truth—just yet.

Chapter 3.-Something smells fishy – Crisis #1

1)          Delphina is swept off her feet by Lazlo.
2)          Juliet misses her mother’s company.
3)          Delphina and Aunt Delia have an argument.  Conflict
4)          Delphina and Lazlo bring Juliet along on dates.
5)          Delphina and Juliet move into Lazlo’s house.
6)          Aunt Delia intervenes on behalf of Juliet when she is put in jeopardy.

Delphina falls madly in love with Lazlo and spends a considerable amount of time away from Juliet.  Missing her mother, Aunt Delia confronts Delphina and they have an argument.  Soon Delphina is bringing Juliet along on some dates and later they move in with Lazlo.  Aunt Delia finds Lazlo’s behavior peculiar and keeps an eye on him.  Lazlo puts Juliet in jeopardy when he tries to sell her to a couple who want a child.


Chapter 4.-Mommy has a headache

1)          Juliet is scared and bonds with Aunt Delia instead of Delphina
2)          Delphina is unhappy with her life.
3)          Delphina is drinking excessively.
4)          Juliet finds pictures of her father.
5)          Juliet insists Delphina find her father.
6)          Delphina goes on a road trip and leaves Juliet behind. Conflict

Juliet is saved and panicked this could happen again so she sees Aunt Delia as her savior while Juliet practices karate.  Delphina stays on a drinking binge and Juliet becomes more of a mother than Delphina sneaking water into her vodka.  Snooping around in Delphina’s possessions, Juliet finds a picture of a man and Delphina as teenagers.  Juliet wants to know what happened to her father, but Delphina hits the road and Juliet is mad as hell.

Chapter 5. – Who do the voodoo

1)                Juliet annoyed at her mother and starts cutting school and writing her own absent notes
2)                Juliet stays in her room and writes mean letters to her mother.
3)                Juliet joins up with a Goth group.
4)                She has fun stealing stuff.
5)                Decides to make money of her own and takes over the tarot readings that          Delphina used to do only Juliet uses more sarcasm with an aloft flare.

Juliet becomes incorrigible and skips school to hang out with less than savory people.
She steals items from stores and tries to sell them in the square with her Goth friends. Aunt Delia brings her in for counseling to work through her dilemma.  At first nothing works, but eventually she begins writing letters to her mother even though she doesn’t know where she is. Later she makes money doing tarot readings on weekends and becomes more interested in a positive read.

Chapter 6. -  Higher Education  (image of Juliet)

1)          Time for college
2)          Aunt Delia pays for Juliet’s education.
3)          Juliet goes to Columbia for photographer/video
4)          Does the usual peer thing of partying.
5)          Hooks up with new friends.

Juliet is ready for college and Aunt Delia will pay for her education.  Juliet selects Columbia College in Chicago so she can confront her mother who has married and lives there.  The process seems slow, but Juliet recognizes her mother’s need for acceptance and their relationship is on the mend.  When she gets to college she makes new friends and experiments with drinking and drugs.

Chapter 7.-  Working 9 to 5 – Crisis #2

1)          Juliet has been working at Starbucks in Chicago.
2)          Keno and Juliet flirt.
3)          Keno and Juliet begin a relationship.  (image of Keno)
4)          Juliet learns Keno is a heavy gambler.
5)          Juliet travels to Las Vegas to stay with Keno.
6)          Juliet becomes a target due to Keno.

Wanting more spending money Juliet does some waitressing and also starts working at Starbucks.  Down the road she meets Keno and they begin a whirlwind relationship.  She only knows vague things about him, but is delighted to meet him in Las Vegas for a romantic weekend which doesn’t end well for Juliet.

Chapter 8.- I married a millionaire

1)          Keno smoothes things over and convincing Juliet to marry him.
2)          Juliet is captured in the moment.
3)          Things go smoothly for awhile, but Juliet senses something isn’t quite right.
4)          Keno disappears quite often
5)          Juliet tries to follow him.

Juliet and Keno get married at a Vegas chapel.  Odd characters join the partying and Juliet wonders who they can be.  Back home, Keno runs a lot of errands after answering his phone.  Juliet is becoming suspicious, but Keno shrugs it off.


Chapter 9.- Home Improvement DIY

1)          Keno suggests moving into a real home and leaving the condo.
2)          Keno wants a place in a gated community with privacy.
3)          Juliet and Keno find the perfect place.
4)          Juliet selects a decorator to help furnish the home.
5)          While organizing closets, Juliet finds a gun. conflict

After locating and moving into their new home in a quiet upscale community, a decorator contacts Juliet.  He promises to style the house to her specifications, but some things go awry.  Juliet almost shoots herself when she discovers a gun in Keno’s closet. 

Chapter 10.-Color me purple – Crisis #3

1)          Keno gets whoop-assed.
2)          Juliet drives the ‘borrowed’ car to the hospital.
3)          Juliet has an accident.
4)          Keno is further injured.
5)          Juliet goes to jail.

Out on another of his errands, Keno returns in a different car.  He is beaten up and Juliet takes the wheel to get him to the hospital.  Along the way they have an accident.  Both are banged up, but Juliet goes to jail for driving a stolen car and possession of drugs.

Chapter 11. – In Zombieland

1)          Juliet goes from prosperity to having nothing.
2)          Instead of speaking out, she goes silent.
3)          Juliet refuses bail so she won’t put her Aunt and mother in debt.
4)          She doesn’t know the condition of Keno and feels responsible.
5)          Activity in the jail is comforting.

Juliet is sleepwalking through life.  She dreams of having a lobster dinner, but refuses bail to spare the expense to her family.  She feels shame and despair for further injuring Keno, but is comforted by the goings on in the jail.

Chapter 12. – Prison…Not my best color

1)          The long ride to prison.
2)          Color me in blue.
3)          Juliet is coaxed out of her silence.
4)          Prison is routine.
5)          This mattress is lumpy.

After the long journey to Shawnee prison, she is assigned her prison blues and meets her cellmate.  At first she is reticent to talk too much, but eventually she falls into the mind-numbing prison routine.  And, why can’t she get a better mattress?

Chapter 13. – New BFF’s

1)          Moo and Straycat show Juliet the ropes.
2)          Juliet gets a nickname.
3)          People do the oddest things.
4)          Juliet learns more about the women during group counseling.
5)          When Juliet tells her story, the other inmates tell her she was set-up.
6)          They should know.

Moo and Straycat cozy up with Juliet. She learns most people get a nickname and hers is Mouse.  During group counseling she hears a lot of stories, some touching, others funny.  When Juliet begins her story, these tough women say Juliet has been had by a pro.

Chapter 14. -  Keno is a big fat liar.

1)          The facts about Keno start to trickle in.
2)          She learns he wasn’t a stockbroker, but a day-trader.
3)          He also was involved in a few ponzi schemes.
4)          There are hints that Keno was a gigolo. Conflict

Delphina and Aunt Delia hear things about Keno and inform Juliet.  It seems Keno was into some corrupt business dealings and people are after him.  Also, Keno lived a lot of his life as a gigolo.


Chapter 15.-  Revenge is Sweet

1)          Juliet’s cellmates plot revenge on Keno.
2)          Juliet becomes stronger and works harder during counseling.
3)          Her counselor recommends an early release.
4)          Juliet contacts her attorney to arrange divorce.
5)          Juliet is released.
6)          Juliet seeks vindication.

Moo, Straycat, and several other inmates serve up some nasty ways for Juliet to get back at Keno.  Although most of them are gross or funny, she just wants a divorce.  At first she wants retaliation, but after the dust settles she realizes its best just to move on.

Chapter 16. – Let freedom ring.

1)          Juliet is released after six months.
2)          She misses her new friends and hopes the best for them.
3)          With divorce behind her, Juliet stays with Delphina.
4)          For once, Delphina may have chosen the right man.
5)          It’s difficult getting a job with a felony.

It’s a happy and sad day when Juliet leaves her new family of friends.  Juliet gets on the bus for the long ride.  Delphina and her beau pick Juliet up at the end of the line and have a joyful reunion.  Juliet finds it rough getting any work with a felony and wonders if she should lie about it.

Chapter 17. – Strangers in the night

1)          Without a job, Juliet takes her learned talent for photography and puts it to use.
2)          She hooks up with another photographer and gets a few gigs.
3)          Alan and Juliet share war stories.
4)          Juliet saves all her money.
5)          Keno attempts to track her down. conflict

With time on her hands, Juliet decides to do some photography around the city.  She meets Alan and he takes her on several photo shoots and learns to find other photo work as a freelancer.  Alan and Juliet have a brother-sister relationship and talk about their troubles.  She discovers that Keno lurks in the background.

Chapter 18.- Juliet’s Plight

1)          Juliet informs Delphina and Aunt Delia she is leaving for awhile.
2)          Doesn’t know where she is going.
3)          Delphina gives Juliet her car.
4)          Juliet drives until she finds a small town and a dog.
5)          Unexpectedly, Juliet gets a job.
6)          Quirky occupants at rooming house grow on her.

Still feeling the strain of her relationship with Keno, Juliet decides to leave town for awhile to explore her freedom without the constant reminders of the past.  Before entering a small town she finds an abandoned dog and cares for it.  Once in town she accepts a job at a biker bar and is sent to a room house and takes the room for rent.  She meets the other occupants and their various natures.

Chapter 19.-Coming around the corner

1)          Juliet still guarded, but growing happier daily.
2)          Juliet makes new friends and enters a relationship. (image of Sam)
3)          Someone comes calling for Juliet.
4)          Biker Sam and Juliet go to the shooting range.
5)          Juliet meets her father.

Juliet slowly lets down her guard and likes her co-workers, especially Nicky and Amber.  They teach her how to dress to get the most tips. Back at the rooming house, Juliet is told a man has come asking about her.  Juliet is uneasy about this and tells Sam about the odd visitor while she was gone.  To build up her confidence he takes her for target practice. The strange visitor walks into the bar and introduces himself to Juliet as her father.

Chapter 20.- Juliet’s Rising Sun

1)          Juliet is peaceful living in a quaint town.
2)          She decides to finish school.
3)          Sam is very considerate and encourages Juliet.
4)          Sam makes Juliet happy.
5)          Juliet and Sam are in love.

After the all too brief meeting with her father, Juliet is relieved to know about her roots and is feeling more at peace with life.  Working in the bar is fun, but she knows she has more to offer.  Sam encourages Juliet to go back to school in the quaint town.  Juliet is content there and with Sam.  Juliet feels the pull of love for Sam.