Flash Fiction Plot Breakdown

Plot Description

Wyatt and Beth discover they’re going to have a baby; they need to get out of South Boston before the baby’s born because their housing project and the surrounding school system is no place to raise a child. Wyatt’s never met his father. After fighting in Vietnam and witnessing the horrors of war, Wyatt’s father disappeared, believing he was unfit to raise a child. Telling Beth he’s on the hunt for more work, Wyatt secretly consults James Bulger (a local mobster) in a desperate attempt to get the money they need to escape South Boston. Wyatt knows Bulger lost his getaway driver in a fatal accident during a high-speed police chase; the incident was in the news. Wyatt, a talented driver, plans to use his skill as leverage. Bulger, with his right hand man (nicknamed DJ) next to him, asks Wyatt his name. Wyatt responds, “Wyatt Johnson.” Bulger then asks Wyatt how he could be of use to Bulger. Wyatt hesitates to respond, overcome with anxiety. Suddenly, he blurts out, “I can drive!” Bulger bursts out laughing; DJ, meanwhile, continues to stare at Wyatt with a piercing gaze, which he’s been doing ever since Wyatt mentioned his name. Bulger proceeds to kick Wyatt out. A couple days later, Bulger and DJ sit together by a crackling fire. DJ informs Bulger that he stayed in contact with the kid after their meeting. “I’ve seen him drive; he’s special,” DJ tells Bulger. “We can trust him,” DJ continues. DJ explains Wyatt’s situation and how it’s unlikely Wyatt will betray Bulger; Wyatt doesn’t want to put his girlfriend or their unborn baby at risk. After some convincing, Bulger agrees to give Wyatt a job, on the condition they betray him once the money’s stolen. DJ pauses for a moment, then nods his head in agreement. “May I ask why, though?” Bulger responds, “Our gig is nearing its end. My informant status is losing credibility by the day. We’re losing support from the Bureau. After this last job, we won’t need a driver. What’s one less share, am I right?” The job is successful. DJ does his part by breaking in and stealing the money, and Wyatt manages to evade the police with his exceptional skill behind the wheel. Once the two are safe from the police and en route to Bulger’s mansion, DJ tells Wyatt to pull over. DJ takes the driver’s seat and makes a different turn. “I thought we were heading to Bulger’s place.” “Change of plans,” DJ responds, sternly. They pull into a rundown parking lot. Bulger stands in the distance, waiting patiently. “He wants to talk to you in private,” DJ says, without making eye contact. Wyatt gets out of the car and walks toward Bulger. “You did good, kid. I’m sorry this is how it has to end.” Wyatt, knowing the exact intention behind those words, reacts. Before Bulger has time to pull out his pistol from his trench coat, Wyatt pushes him to the ground and takes off into a sprint. Wyatt was running faster than ever, but before he could make it far, he felt a bullet pierce through his thigh, causing him to tumble to the ground. He squirms his body to face the shooter. Bulger slowly approaches Wyatt as he lay helplessly. Meanwhile, the headlights from the car approach the scene. Bulger points his gun at Wyatt, but before he has to time to shoot, loud honking comes from the car, which is now speeding directly at Bulger. Bulger shifts his attention to the car. “DJ?” Bulger asks himself in puzzlement. “Slow down!” At this point, with the car alarmingly close to Bulger, his fight response kicked in. He opens fire at the vehicle, breaking the windshield, but the car remained undeterred, hitting Bulger with ferocity. Wyatt limps over to the car. He opens the door to see DJ shot multiple times in the chest. Lost for words, Wyatt stares in shock at DJ, who’s close to death. “I’m sorry,” DJ mumbles. Mustering what strength he has left, DJ rips his dog tag off his neck, attempting to hand it to Wyatt but goes motionless in the process. Wyatt grabs the dog tag from DJ’s bloody hand and reads “David Johnson.”

Dr. A, I’m curious if my ending made sense to you? Did you have to think about it for a little? Should I add more clues throughout the story?

Analysis

After thoroughly taking the time to develop the plot of my story, I’ve come to realize how much attention to detail is required to craft a narrative. Now, I understand why authors and directors are so passionate about their characters; it’s because so much thought is given when developing fictional characters into real people that audiences can relate to. One note to self I kept in mind while creating the plot for my story is every story, even the best, have subtle plot holes; don’t get bogged down trying to make every aspect of your story completely realistic.

Overall, creating this draft of my story’s plot was super helpful. Previously, I had a general idea of what I wanted my story to be about, but I didn’t know how the events would logically flow. In addition, when drafting the plot, I had to consider a plethora of minor details that you don’t think about when you are simply coming up with the idea for a story. Now that I’ve created this draft, I think it’ll be easy for me to write the actual story since I know all the information I want to include. I need to make sure that when I write my story, I stick to the notorious rule: show don’t tell. When writing this plot summary, I noticed I was doing a lot of telling. In my actual story, though, I’ll have significantly more dialogue and details about the characters and their surroundings, which will enhance the show aspect. Since flash fiction is typically irregular, I’ve determined I want my plot line to be slightly out of order, similar to the non-linear timelines Christopher Nolan often employs in his films. My story will be broken into three different scenes. The first scene of the story will be Bulger and DJ talking about betraying Wyatt, so the reader will keep this in the back of their mind as they read. The next scene will be Wyatt giving his offer to Bulger and DJ. The last scene will be the actual betrayal plus the concluding plot twist.