Draft Scenario Ideas

10% | 100 points

DUE: March 24, 2025

A Scenario is a description of a possible, imagined, and projected sequence of events. Both the above and below diagrams are here to help inspire you.

DIRECTIONS: You are proposing a story for a three-act screenplay. You are writing roughly two pages, roughly 600 words, total. Provide one of the following:

  • Option #1: Write two very detailed scenario ideas. Each idea should provide the following:
    • What is the overall story arc?
    • Act I
      • The Beginning: introduces the setting, characters, . . . (the ordinary world).
      • The Inciting Incident: sets the story in motion (some sort of conflict), poses a dramatic question (call to adventure).
      • Plot Point #1: a twist in the action, the beginning of the actual character quest (refusal of the call to adventure and then meeting the mentor).
    • Act II
      • Pinch #1: concentration of the story toward the next plot point (crossing the first threshhold, tests, the formation of allies, the appearance of enemies).
      • The Midpoint (plot point): the center of Act II, often changes the direction of the story through reversal or a revelation, some sort of new twist of events.
      • Pinch #2: concentration of the story toward the next plot point (crossing another threshold, more tests, a change in allies, a change in enemies, or a change in the overall situation).
      • Plot Point #2: main crisis where it appears that all hope is lost, for example (the midst of the ordeal)
    • Act III
      • The Climax: the dramatic question is answered, tensions of the story are brought to their most intense point (the turning point of a fight, the gaining of a reward).
      • The Ending: the resolution to the climax (the road back, or the resurrection of the ordinary world, the return to “normal” life).
  • Option #2: Write five more detailed scenario ideas. Each idea should provide the following:
    • What is the overall story arc?
    • Act I
      • The Beginning: introduces the setting, characters, . . .
      • The Inciting Incident: sets the story in motion (some sort of conflict), poses a dramatic question
    • Act II
      • The Midpoint (plot point): the center of Act II, often changes the direction of the story through reversal or a revelation, some sort of new twist of events
    • Act III
      • The Climax: the dramatic question is answered, tensions of the story are brought to their most intense point
      • The Ending: the resolution to the climax
  • Option #3: Write ten very brief scenario ideas. Each idea should provide the following:
    • What is the overall story arc?
    • Act I: The Inciting Incident: sets the story in motion (some sort of conflict), poses a dramatic question.
    • Act II: A change in the direction of the story through reversal or a revelation, some sort of new twist of events.
    • Act III: The Climax: the dramatic question is answered, tensions of the story are brought to their most intense point

How to Submit Your Work

You may submit this assignment in one of the following ways:

  1. As a PDF, attached to an email sent to me (clrobins@kent.edu).
  2. As part of an email message sent to me (clrobins@kent.edu).
  3. As a KSU Google Document shared with me (clrobins@kent.edu).

DO NOT:

  1. Send me a MS Word document. (Points will be deducted, if you do.)
  2. Submit your work to me via Canvas. (Points will be deducted, if you do.)

How this Assignment will be evaluated:

A Level assignment: This follows the directions completely. It provides enough detail that the reader can get a clear sense of the particulars. Each scenario is unique, different from the other proposed scenarios.

B Level assignment: This follows the directions completely. It provides enough detail that the reader can mostly get a clear sense of the particulars. If writing 5 or 10 scenarios: most of the scenarios are unique, different from the other proposed scenarios. If writing 2 scenarios: there are some small similarities, but each scenario is mostly unique.

C Level assignment: This follows the directions completely. It provides enough detail that the reader can get a general sense of the particulars, but there’s a lot of vagueness. If writing 5 or 10 scenarios: some of the scenarios are unique, different from the other proposed scenarios, but many are quite similar. If writing 2 scenarios: there are several similarities, but each scenario has a certain level of  uniqueness.

D Level assignment: This does not follow the directions completely. It provides some detail that the reader can some sense of the particulars, but not much. If writing 5 or 10 scenarios: some of the scenarios are unique, different from the other proposed scenarios, but most are quite similar. If writing 2 scenarios: there are numerous similarities, but each scenario has a certain level of  uniqueness.

F Level assignment: This does not follow the directions completely. It does not provide enough detail that the reader can get a clear sense of the particulars. Each scenario is not  unique from the other(s).