Create an Outline: Raise My Town My Love

Hollis, Oklahoma.
Present Day

Story begins with a Policeman and an accident; where four adults are killed. None of the adults are wearing belts. One baby survives.

In the second chapter we see Policeman David drawing with a piece of charcoal--- while on duty. He's drawn the baby seat from the accident site! An old man interrupts his silence and David follows the old man, a local crazy, back to the man's home.

Q: Why write it this way?

Two juxtaposing situations back-to-back early-on creates empathy and eventual trust for our protagonist, David.

He witnesses something horrible that could have been prevented. As the first on the scene David saves one life, a baby.

In the second scene we witness David's otherwise boring life as a policeman and general good guy.

Might as well go ahead and give him up to the forces of evil: He's one of those---he helps the elderly.

Yet we must suspect David's going to be wounded by this opening scene nonetheless.

Tip: Visualize entire scene from top to bottom. You've already began taking infant steps toward the story. What happens second by second?

If I am driving down a road and start to dodge objects in the road, the road is certainly opening a story for me, ...just ahead?