Reinvention: Challenge #1
Just joined this Asylum? Start from the beginning!
Now you know who your character is, who the important people in their life are, and you have an idea of the setting for your story. You know what they do for a living and how their days usually go, at least in rough strokes. Now let’s throw a grenade in there and figure out what blows it all apart.
Your character is going to witness a crime. This crime involves some powerful people, the kind who are inclined to retaliate against threats with violence and, most likely, liberally-applied killing. Your character is or has direct evidence that the legal system can use to put these powerful people in prison or worse.
What kind of crime is it? Is it a heist, full of wild antics, money and jewels? Is it violent? Is it white collar, virtual, or another kind of relatively bloodless crime? Is your character directly involved, a bystander, or an unwitting accomplice? Are they blamed or arrested for it themself?
If your character is unconnected with crime in their regular life, think about what sort of crime they might witness. Think about who is implicated and how, and the type of evidence or testimony this character can give. Do they come forward themselves or are they forced to? Do they want to give evidence or are they pressured – or threatened – into it?
If your character is already connected with crime in their everyday life, they’re probably well aware of crimes already. They’ve likely let a lot slide or taken an active part themself. So what sort of incident would push them over the edge into becoming a witness? What is a step too far for them to take, what crime is too much for them to stomach? Or does something else force their hand into giving evidence, like a threat to their own safety or freedom?
Whatever the case, your character ends up giving evidence on the condition that they go into witness protection. Do they know everything that is at stake before they make the deal? How willing are they when they go into it?
How many people are impacted by this deal? Does your character take anyone with them into witness protection, or do they go alone? Why?
Your first challenge is to tell the story of the crime your character is a witness to, how they come to agree to be a witness, and who is impacted by this decision.
Your bonus element for this challenge is: Noir. Write the scene as if it’s a black and white noir sequence from a classic movie.