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Writing Tool: LOCK System

Get your writing LOCK-ed and loaded.  

I've been working through James Scott Bell's excellent writing book, Plot & Structure.  In the first chapter, he explains the LOCK System.  It stands for:
  • Lead: make the lead character memorable, interesting, and relatable
  • Objective: point your lead towards a worthy goal
  • Conflict: set up obstacles in the lead's way
  • Knockout: deliver a powerful and satisfying ending
The system, is simple, memorable, and moves stories forward.  I've been thinking a lot about this, especially as I started my 10 minute writing attempts in an earlier post.  

I realized that for my short stories, I struggle with solid LOCK system components.  Not time like the present, so let's practice.  LOCK it down.

Prompts: Sugar, Circus, Napoleon

Lead: Napoleon Bonaparte (as a salt-zombie)
Objective: Needs salt to preserve himself as he stumbles through the circus.
Conflict: Keeps mistaking sugar as salt (cotton candy, etc.); lions hunting him down.
Knockout: Saves the circus by eating a dangerous flood of extra-salty popcorn.


Prompts: Donkeys, Rabbits, Weather

Lead: Dagmund the Farmhand
Objective: He's trying to get all the animals in the barn before the inclement weather (tornado) hits.
Conflict: Rabbits and donkeys want to test-drive their hang glider.
Knockout: Dagmund and animals get caught in tornado, but fly home safely, learning a lesson about the balance between risk and caution.


Prompts: Vanilla, Coffee, Bat

Lead: Dracula (hipster)
Objective: He wants a vanilla cappuccino.
Conflict: Coffee shop won't serve vampires.  Turns into different animals to get around it (to no avail).
Knockout: Turns into a bat and pretends he's there to pick up Batman's order.

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