🌱 Outline for Lights in the Shadows, Book 1
A young girl gets gang-rapped, ends up pregnant, and finds healing through the help of a Father.
Focus on her healing and journey to self-acceptance and love. This isn’t a romance story, it’s a story about a girl who learns how to recover from trauma.
Act 1 - Setup
Block 1 - Introducing the main characters
1. INTRODUCTION - Intro to set up their ordinary world
MC is going about her day, heading to work.
2. INCIDENT - Inciting incident to start of the story
As she’s heading home, she gets nabbed by three guys and they rape her.
3. FALL OUT - Immediate reaction to the incident
She escapes by fighting her way out.
Block 2 - Life gets disrupted
4. REACTION - MC reacts & reflects on long-term impacts
Afterward, she tries to return to her normal life and ignore what happened to her.
5. ACTION - MC takes action
MC goes back to work at the library.
6. CONSEQUENCE - Immediate consequences of MC’s actions
Several times, she experiences panic attacks.
Block 3 - Time to change
7. PRESSURE - MC’s Life has changed, creating pressure & stress
She sees one of them and freaks out that they might get her again.
8. PLOT TWIST - The first pinch or plot twist occurs
One of the guys who molested her ends up being someone important and influential.
9. PUSH → - Due to the plot twist, the MC is pushed into the new world
About two weeks after her rape, she finds out she’s pregnant.
Act 2 - Conflict
Block 4 - Settle into new world
10. NEW WORLD - Intro to the new world. What’s changed? MC’s feelings?
MC is scared. She doesn’t want an abortion, but she doesn’t know how she can raise a kid by herself. And what if the guys find out?
11. FUN & GAMES - MC takes a break, has a little fun
Board game day at the library! And she actually has a little fun AND meets SC.
12. JUXTAPOSITION - Comparison between the past world and the present one
MC wishes her life could go back to “normal” but the stress and panic make it impossible to forget and move on.
Block 5 - Main conflict
13. BUILD UP - Midpoint is approaching!
MC finds a pregnancy center and decides to get an ultrasound.
14. MIDPOINT - The main midpoint conflict
There, she runs into SC again and with his reassurance, she decides to keep the baby.
15. REVERSAL - Immediate reaction or consequence of the midpoint
SC is very helpful, but all the excitement and planning required is overwhelming.
Block 6 - Find the end-goal
16. CONSEQUENCE - MC reflects on long-term impacts of midpoint
MC does a lot of research on motherhood and it’s all so daunting.
17. TRIALS - MC takes action, but due to the enormity of the task, stuff go wrong
AC reaches out to her again, touches her, threatens her, all that stuff.
18. DEDICATED - Despite setbacks, MC decides to succeed no matter what
Despite her fear, MC hatches a plan to keep her pregnancy secret.
Act 3 - Resolution
Block 7 - Darkest moment
19. CALM BEFORE THE STORM - Stuff seem to calm down, but the tension is still there
MC and SC spend quality time together.
20. PLOT TWIST - MC experiences something completely unexpected
EITHER MC is pregnant with twins OR AC finds out.
21. DARKEST MOMENT - Success seems impossible
EITHER she freaks out because she can’t take care of twins and hide them at the same time! AND/OR She has a huge PTSD attack and ends up in the hospital.
Block 8 - Motivated
22. POWER WITHIN - MC remembers their desire to succeed & finds their inner power
SC encourages her, and together they continue with the plans.
23. ACTION/RALLY - MC takes action, plot lines begin to converge
????
24. CONVERGE - The final battle is approaching!
AC breaks into MC’s place and confronts her.
Block 9 - Finale
25. BATTLE - The finale! MC has one last battle
MC and AC fight, then SC shows up and it gets bloody.
26. CLIMAX - MC takes action to resolve the problem from the midpoint
SC’s mom shows up with the police, everyone goes to the hospital, and AC is arrested.
27. RESOLUTION - Immediate reaction to MC’s decision
Everyone is going to be fine.