The next step in development of my characters and their stories was to think about specific events that would happen to them. Like every good story, I needed to take my characters out of their comfort zone, which would make them realise things and after this change, they can return to their lives with a new perspective/accomplishment. This is a simplified storytelling method of Dan Harmon (creator of TV shows, such as Community, and Rick & Morty).
I quickly realised though, that to create 5 distinct stories with clear beginning, middle and end, I need a lot of time and perhaps a few creative collaborations to succeed. This lead me to simplifying my story circle even further. I realised that with graphic novels and comic books, I can communicate a lot through visual content, instead relying purely on dialogue and facial expressions and/or body language.
I shortened my stories to the most important events happening to the characters (focusing on ‘middle’ bit), without spending too much time on introducing the characters thoroughly (their background etc.). The information about characters would be presented in the background of frames, other characters, etc. At this stage of developing my stories, I wanted them to have a traditional ending – resolved issue.
Here’s 5 rough drafts of stories for each character:
FARA:
Frame 1 – pregnancy test positive results in the morning, before going to work
Frame 2 – commute journey
Frame 3 – busy morning at work, manager gets angry with her over something stupid (the reports are not done yet, the deadline is coming, why is Fara not doing anything?! “I guess today is not a good day to talk to my boss about my motherhood”) END of part 1
Frame 4 – in the office, call from gyno, pregnancy confirmation, calls her husband (“I’m gonna have to tell my brother in Egypt that he will receive lower pay checks from next month”, “Maybe it’s time for him to stand up on his own feet” “I’m tired of taking care of him, I have a family to take care of now”, talk about company maternity policy, makes a decision to finally talk to her boss about it
Frame 5 – 7 months later – Fara doesn’t feel well, manager applies earlier maternity leave, gets her uber home END of part 2
Frame 6 – couple years later, she’s thinking of going back to work, calls her old manager
KIM
Frame 1 – men in suits talk about how they’re choosing new board member, Kim has the best numbers and she should get the position, they’re not happy about her being a woman, but they recognise her hard work “we have to give her this position, if we give it to Dave and people find out, we’re fucked, and we don’t need another PR scandal”
Frame 2 – Kim walks in, cheerful and confident, “hey, you wanted to see me?” The other guy walks away, giving Kim bad looks. Boss asks “as you know, Mr Donnovan passed away last week and we need to replace his seat on board, you’ve been with us for past 7 years, climbing the ladder, having exceptional performance, how would you feel about being a new board member?” Kim is immediately thinking about money and what she can buy with it END of part 1
Frame 3 – Kim’s on the board, the only woman there, the youngest person, everyone else is an older man, nobody is letting her speak, she feels undermined, “she’s only here so we’re not scrutinised for all male board” Kim realises this and speaks up with a great idea, but gets shut down “I wish I wasn’t born a woman”
Frame 4 – In her apartment, “I have everything I ever wanter at the age of 28, and I’m so fucking miserable”, “I’m a woman living in men’s world”, “is this right for me?” “what other choice do I have? Men’s world is all I know”
Frame 5 – She finds out on the internet about female empowerment groups and female entrepreneurs END of part 2
Frame 6 – few months later, she quitted her job and started her own analytic company, employs only female coders
EMMA
Frame 1 – in the office, looks through Insta, seeing successful people having dream jobs and careers etc. thinks she should do something with her music
Frame 2 – she’s upset, colleague asks what’s wrong, she says something dismissive, colleague asks if she’s taken her pills this morning
Frame 3 – at home, playing ukulele, composing songs, de-stress activity END of part 1
Frame 4 – she’s thinking of monetising her music – start a band? (“oh no, I had band at uni, but it was awful), YT channel? (so much pressure), how much will I get from it? Do I quit my day job? All these thoughts make her really anxious (Very unrealistic pathway…)
Frame 5 – Good day in the office, payday, everyone is excited, colleagues talking about what they’re gonna spend their wages on (survey notes) END of part 2
Frame 6 – Emma starts a YT channel, she uploads first song, “I’m doing this as a hobby, as my creative outlet, I’m not here for money or fame, this is my hobby”
PAULA
Frame 1 – Paula in ‘lab’, making last changes to a thing she’s building…
Frame 2 – retirement party, in the cafeteria, cake, little speech from boss, “Paula, you were the first woman engineer we hired…”, “you were not only one of our best employees, but also a reason we have today such diverse and amazing team, thank you for all your hard work!’
Frame 3 – Paula comes back home, with flowers etc., “I can do my knitting full-time now” END OF PART 1
Frame 4 – phone call from former colleague, asking if she would be interested in visiting local schools and talk to children about her engineering career…
Frame 5 – Paula ringing her daughter to tell her about the school visit…. END OF PART 2
Frame 6 – Paula and 2 other women from her old work sit in classroom and tell children about their careers
PAM
Frame 1 – Pam sits in her living room, chatting to a friend about her husband’s death that happened last year, she is very unfulfilled, “I need a project, something to care of, this house is not giving it to me any more and my son is growing up”, apart from taking care of her teenage son, she has no purpose in life, friend suggest getting a job
Frame 2 – Pam tries to put a CV together, she has no skills or job experience, she was a housewife for last 20 years, she’s really upset, “I’m a worthless housewife”, “where am I gonna find a job in this small town? I don’t wanna commute to Manchester” END of part 1
Frame 3 – she invited few friends over to help her with the job situation, “you’re pretty good at organising things”, “you know how to basically use computer”, “you love cooking and being in the kitchen”, “my husband’s company is opening new cafe for workers, you could be a good fit to manage it few times a week”, “let me call my husband now actually”
Frame 4 – She meets with friend’s husband to discuss the cafe position, they’re on the site (cafe is not entirely done yet), she pitches few good ideas about the menu, has no idea how supply chain works etc. He feels quite positive about giving her this job, but she doubts herself. “I’m gonna have to discuss it with my son.” END of part 2
Frame 5 – She sits with her son in the kitchen, she starts her new job tomorrow, she’s nervous. He reassures her that she will do great, she always does, but she never believes in herself. She’s really grateful for all the help she receives from her friends and family.
Frame 6 – She walks confidently into the new cafe, with a great mindset. “I can do this!”
I changed character profiles of Pam and Paula, to be able to creative short and cohesive narrative and fit it in 6 pages. What influenced me the most to change their stories was the Women’s Business Council 2017 Report. I realised that I should put more emphasis on retirement and domestic issues holding women back from employment narratives.
