Red and the 7 Anchor Scenes

This is what we in the business call "repurposing content"

Dear Writer,

As you all know, I’m still in edits on the How Story Works book. It’s going pretty well, although my editor is driving me hard to get it done.

Love you, Kelly.

Anyway, because you guys are paid subscribers…

… and a little bit because I’m working 12 hour days between work and this so I can get it all done…

… but mostly because you are paid subscribers and I appreciate your support, you get previews.

I wrote a Little Red Riding Hood story specifically to illustrate the seven anchor scenes and how they work. I thought I’d share that with you, because I actually quite like it. Hope you do, too! Enjoy!

Everything,

L

Illustrating The 7 Anchor Scenes

To illustrate the seven anchor scenes, I’m going to expand on our simplified version of Little Red Riding Hood from earlier in this book. We’ve already done Red’s story with the basic SEE Change structure, and I’ll map that four-point structure—start the conflict, escalate the conflict, end the conflict, change the world—to the three-act, seven-anchor-scene structure to illustrate the concepts behind the anchor scenes, but also so you can see how you expand a story from a simple structure to a more complex one.

Act I: Inciting Incident (Start the Conflict)

Red comes inside after doing her chores to find Mother crying at the kitchen table. Red asks what’s going on; Mother says that Grandma is ill. Mother wants to go take care of Grandma, but there’s so much to do at the farm; she can’t take that kind of a trip. Red says she can go, but Mother hesitates. It’s too dangerous. Red promises to be careful. Mother agrees with a sigh of combined relief and apprehension. As she loads up a basket with food and medicine, she gives strict instructions; don’t talk to anyone, don’t stray from the path, and get to Grandma’s before dark. Red promises to follow her mother’s instructions, takes the basket and heads out. The walk is pleasant. It’s a sunny day, no one is around and Red is enjoying herself.

After a while, she notices some movement and glances around. Nothing. She walks a little more and hears a whistle.

She looks around.

Nothing.

A few more steps and suddenly a beautiful dark gray wolf appears just off the forest path, walking in pace with her.

“’Morning,” Wolf says.

Red says nothing.

“Nice day, don’t you think?” Wolf asks.

Red says nothing.

“Luckily, I’m not the kind of guy who takes things personally,” Wolf says, and slows down, letting Red continue on her way. Red is relieved, but then she hears singing…

It’s Wolf.

Red stops to listen. His voice is deep and gravelly, but the melody has a surprising bounce to it. Her feet are eager to dance, but Red holds still.

When he finishes the song, she asks, “Who taught you to sing?”

In an instant, Red realizes that she broke one of her mother’s rules; she spoke to him. But his song was so lovely, and she wants to hear it again so she can remember it, she thinks Grandma would love the song… but Mother said not to talk to anyone. Red starts away again, eyes on her feet to be certain she doesn’t stray from the path. If she keeps her head down and stays away from the edge of the path, maybe the wolf will just go away…

“What’s the rush?” says Wolf, walking just off the path, keeping pace with Red. “Don’t you like my song?”

Red shakes her head.

“I know you can speak,” says Wolf. “You spoke to me just a minute ago.”

Red keeps walking, eyes on the path.

“My mother taught it to me,” Wolf says, and wanders off, ambling lazily into the woods without looking back.

Red glances up to see him retreat, and continues on her way. She keeps her feet solidly within the bounds of the forest path, and gets to Grandma’s before dark.

That night as Grandma sleeps, Red sits by the fire, trying to remember the wolf’s song. She hums a bit to herself, then hears a hint of a gravelly voice from deep in the darkness, singing that tune. She goes to the window and strains to listen, but hears nothing more than the wind.

We’ve launched Red’s internal conflict; she wants to obey her mother, but she also wants more of Wolf.

Act I to Act II turn: Engaging with the Conflict (Escalate the Conflict)

The next day, Red is picking flowers in Grandma’s garden. The sky is blue, the sun is shining, and she sings the song to herself quietly.

“What terrible song is that?” a voice says. Red jumps and looks up; it’s Wolf.

“It’s your song,” Red says.

“That is not my song,” Wolf says. “You got all the notes wrong.”

“Well, I like my version just fine, and anyway—” Red catches herself, once again, talking to Wolf and stops. Wolf grins.

“Your mother said not to talk to anyone on the way to Grandma’s,” Wolf says. “But now, you’re here. The rules have changed.”

Red looks at him. “How do you know what my mother said?”

“That’s what all the mothers say.”

Red buries her face in her flowers so Wolf can’t see her smile.

“There are prettier flowers just over there,” he says, nodding toward the vibrant field of wildflowers blooming off the forest path.

Red meets Wolf’s eye and says, “Now, what would my mother have to say about that?”

Wolf shrugs. “Nothing, if she never finds out.”

Red gets up, brushes the dirt from her knees, and hugs her basket of flowers to her chest. “Maybe tomorrow,” she says, and allows a sly smile.

“Well, then, maybe tomorrow I’ll teach you how to sing that song right,” Wolf says.

Red heads back into the house, feeling a small thrill in her certainty that he is watching her walk away.

Red is engaging with the conflict; she’s not rushing to disobey her mother, but she’s having fun flirting with Wolf.

Act II: Midpoint/Reversal (Escalate the Conflict)

The next day, Red goes outside and starts down the forest path, walking by the field of wildflowers. She pauses at the edge of the forest path. She hums the song, as best as she can remember it.

Wolf doesn’t show up.

Red lifts her foot, but pauses and puts it back solidly on the path. She hums a little louder and looks off toward the trees that line the edge of the field. Behind them is darkness, but she doesn’t sense any movement there.

He’s not there.

He’s not coming.

Disappointed, Red goes back inside the house.

That night, Grandma starts to run a fever. Red puts cold cloths on her forehead and gives her the medicine Mother sent, but nothing works. It’s late, but Red doesn’t feel like she can wait until morning. She puts on her red cloak and grabs a torch, then heads out to find the doctor.

She’s barely out of sight of the house when Wolf shows up.

“Hey, Red,” he drawls. “Awfully late for a good girl like you to be out and about, isn’t it?”

“Leave me alone,” Red says and moves faster down the path. Wolf’s tone goes from playful to serious.

“What’s wrong?”

“I need to go get the doctor,” she says, her voice brittle. “Grandma’s sick. I think she’s dying. Nothing I do helps. She’s…” Red glances back over her shoulder at the house, the unthinkable crossing her mind. She looks back at Wolf. “She’s alone.”

“Go back,” Wolf says. “I’ll get the doctor.”

“But—”

“Go!” he says, and disappears into the night. Red hesitates, then rushes back to Grandma’s house. Grandma is still alive, but suffering, and Red goes from Grandma’s side to the window, worried about how phenomenally stupid she was to ever trust a wolf. But soon, she sees a dim light on the path, moving closer. It’s a lantern.

It’s the doctor.

The doctor gives Grandma some medicine and the fever comes down. In the morning, Red makes them all breakfast, and Grandma seems to be doing better. The doctor leaves. Grandma naps.

Later in the day, Grandma is still napping, and Red is bored. She putters around the house for a little while, but then goes outside and walks purposefully off the path and into the field of wildflowers and starts to pick them. Once she has an armful, she glances up at the forest’s edge and sees movement in the dark shadows.

Wolf steps out of the forest but doesn’t move closer. He just looks at her.

She looks back. Her heart races. She feels a trickle of sweat at the back of her neck.

He turns and goes back into the forest.

She turns and goes back into the house.

The midpoint/reversal: Wolf honored her trust, and did as he said he would. Red wants him.

Act II to Act III turn: No Way Out But Through (Escalate the Conflict)

Grandma is almost all better. She tells Red to go back home so that Mother doesn’t worry. Red doesn’t want to go right away. She likes it here, in the woods. It’s so much more… peaceful than in town.

Grandma gives Red a knowing look. “You have to go back,” Grandma says. “But someday when I’m gone, this house will be yours and you can stay here all the time.”

Red is horrified at the thought and jumps up to hug Grandma. “I don’t want your house without you in it!”

Grandma hugs her back and says, “Don’t fight nature, child. You’ll lose.”

“I don’t know about that,” Red says, teasing. “I’m pretty stubborn.”

Red packs up her things, and Grandma fills her basket with food and wine for Mother. Red heads out on the forest path. When she’s almost out of sight of the house, she turns to wave, but sees that Grandma has already gone inside.

Red pauses on the path. She looks out over the field of wildflowers, to the forest’s edge.

She glances back at the house.

And then… she runs. She runs off the path, through the field, to the edge of the forest where the line of trees stand like soldiers on guard duty. She stops and stares into the darkness. There are shapes there in the darkness, but she can’t make them out. She reaches out her hand into the shadows and a voice says, “Are you sure you want to do that?”

She gasps and pulls her hand back. Wolf watches her from a few yards away.

“It’s rude to sneak up on people,” she says.

“It’s rude to go where you don’t belong,” he says.

“It’s as much my forest as yours,” she says.

He laughs. “That’s not even close to being true.” He moves toward her. “But if you’d like… I can show you.”

Red feels a thrill rush through her, followed by a stark fear. She glances behind her, and realizes she can’t even see the forest path from where she is.

She’s spoken to the wolf. She’s gone off the forest path. And now, here she is, at the edge of darkness. But there’s no going back now, is there? She’s not going to just go back on the path and go home now like a good little girl… is she?

“Show me,” she says.

He steps in front of her and walks slowly backwards, moving into the shadows.

Her eyes locked on his, she follows.

No way out but through. Once Red has broken two of the three rules, she has to break the third. She has to know.

Act III: Dark Moment (Escalate the Conflict)

Wolf doesn’t speak as Red follows him deeper and deeper into the forest. It’s mid-day, she knows it’s mid-day, but forest shadows make it feel like dusk. The bright red of her cloak is now dark, like blood. And the wolf, who appeared charcoal gray in the daylight, now has a silver shimmer to his coat, making him look like he’s made of starlight. He leads her through an area of thick branches and she has to crawl on her knees to enter his lair. The ground is covered in soft pine needles, and the space smells sweet and earthy.

“Sit,” he says, and she does. It’s so dark, she can barely see him. The air is thick and close, completely silent. He begins to sing the song, but it’s different. Before, it was playful and fun. Now, it is plaintive and melancholy. She feels suddenly tired, and lies down on the ground. He curls up next to her, and his body is so warm that she instantly falls into a deep, dreamless sleep.

When she wakes up, she’s alone. Where there was very little light before, there is none now.

“Wolf?” she whispers, her voice cracking. There is no sound, and fear rushes through her. She knows she is alone, in the forest, in the dark.

He left her.

Her eyes have adjusted a bit to the darkness, just enough that she can grab her basket and find her way out of the lair, but once she’s out, she’s not sure which way to go to get back to the field of wildflowers. She rushes through the forest. A tree branch grabs at her cloak, pulling it off her but she doesn’t stop. She runs, breathing hard, spikes of panic shooting through her chest. She can feel eyes on her, lots of them, but nothing chases her as she runs.

Whatever is in that forest is letting her pass.

She makes it to the field, and it’s way past dark. Red doesn’t know which way to go. Home, to Mother? Or back to Grandma’s? Should she call for Wolf? Where did he go?

She rushes through the field, the wildflowers and weeds slapping at her shins. When she gets to the forest path, she’s about to head toward home when she hears a noise coming from Grandma’s house.

Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. Her mind can’t form any other thoughts as she runs.

That’s a dark moment. Red already knows what has happened, but she’s going to Grandma’s anyway, because she has to know for sure.

Act III: Climax (End the Conflict)

Red bursts through the front door, but everything is silent. The fire is still going in the fireplace. Dishes are neatly put away. Nothing out of place. Red starts to relax, and even laughs at herself for allowing her imagination to run off with her.

Everything’s okay.

Everything’s fine.

She sets her basket on the floor and calls out.

“Grandma?” she says. “I’m sorry. I did something so stupid and I think I’m going to just stay the night here and go back in the morning, if that’s okay.”

The door to the bedroom opens, and Red turns with a smile.

And there is Wolf, in the doorway, just watching her.

“What did you do?” she whispers, her heart rate picking up again.

Wolf says nothing.

“What did you do?” she screams, and runs past him into Grandma’s room.

It’s empty.

“Where is she?” Red asks.

“She’s gone,” Wolf says.

“Where?” Red asks, her voice quivering.

“Don’t ask a question you already know the answer to,” Wolf responds.

Red sits on the edge of the bed, clasping the bedspread so tight in her fists that her fingers start to hurt. “How could you?”

“Stop pretending, Red,” Wolf says. “You knew I was a wolf when you let me in.”

Red stares at the floor, her throat choked as tears blur her vision. “I didn’t let you in.”

“Oh, come on,” Wolf says, smirking at her one last time before turning his back and ambling away. “Sure you did.”

Red sits on the edge of the bed, staring down at the floor. Slowly, she pulls her grandmother’s quilt around her and falls back into the bed, where she silently cries until, finally, she falls asleep.

Red’s conflict was always internal; she wanted to obey her mother, but she also wanted to see what was beyond the forest’s edge. When she did that, she grew up, but there was a cost. Now, as she pulls her grandmother’s blankets around her, she accepts that the girl who obeyed is gone. That battle is over.

Act III: Resolution (Change the World)

A few weeks later, Red sweeps the living room of Grandma’s house, which is now hers. She shoos the dirt out the front door and raises her hand up to shield her eyes from the sun as she looks out to the field of wildflowers. She can barely see the forest’s edge from the stoop.

She goes back inside, leaving the door open. A light breeze flows through the house as she ambles to the kitchen. As she washes the dishes, she sings the Wolf’s tune.

Plate.

Plate.

Mug.

Spoon.

She sets them all in the rack to dry, then turns toward her open front door and wipes her hands on her apron. Wolf stands at the threshold, watching her as she pulls the apron strings free at the small of her back.

“’Morning,” she says, and heads to the bedroom, not looking back to see if Wolf will follow her.

Because she knows he will.

The world has changed. Red has gone from girl to woman. She has lost innocence, but she has gained her own power. She knows exactly what Wolf is, and she chooses to be with him, but on her own terms now. She may never trust him again, but he will never trick her again, and she lives peacefully within that watchful truce.