Exposition: The story begins with a woman watching the sunrise on her deck. Soon after the sun peaks out from the water, her daughter comes out and sits on her lap. The fresh bruises are tender to the touch and the cuts are cleanly covered with band aids. The father of her child has manic depression and is abusive. He often spends days without coming home. He usually leaves after physically hurting her because he feels guilty and out of control. Her name is Annalise Scott.
Inciting Incident: One night he has one of his manic episodes and hits Annalise harder than he ever has. He is horrified and leaves in tears feeling ashamed.
Rising Action: The police come to the door and tell Annalise that her child's father has signed himself into a mental institution. She visits him and he gives her a letter through a nurse refusing to see her. She continues through her life watching her child grow, exchanging letters with the man who left them every month. Her brother, Christopher, becomes the father figure for her daughter and visits every week. Annalise and her daughter end up moving in with her brother and his family so Annalise can go back to college and complete business school.
Climax: The father is released from the hospital and struggles to reenter his daughters life as well as control his illness.
Falling Action: He moves in with an old friend and tries spending more time with his daughter. Christopher doesn't trust him and wont let him be with his niece without his sister there. One night as the girl's father is driving to meet Annalise and their daughter at a restaurant he gets into a car accident and is put in the hospital. While he is under pain medication he is not allowed to take the medicine for his illness and his symptoms for manic depression come back. He ends up having bleeding in his brain and dies.
Denoument: Annalise finishes business school and opens her own bakery where her and her sister-in-law work. Her daughter is surrounded by all the love she could ask for but a part of her will always be missing.
Awww i hella like it Camille! Your story is touching, i'm really looking forward to it.
ReplyDeleteThis is really good! It's sad, but it seems like its going to be a very interesting story.
ReplyDeleteI love the beginning of the story especially... it was very deep how you made it seem like it was going to be a peaceful scene with a mother and her daughter then BAMM hahaha great beginning.
ReplyDeleteLove it, interesting plot with harsh inner struggles. Looking forward to it.
ReplyDeleteCamille,
ReplyDeleteI agree with Amar -- nice contrast in the opening.
I have a question: is there some link between the father dying and his failing to take his medication?
Anyway, what I like most about this story is that the father is sympathetic despite the horrible mistakes he has made. Mental illness is usually a compelling topic because it is a "man against himself."
Lastly, will the letters exchanged between the father and daughter illuminate the narrative?