15. How do we get to the end?

9 April 2025

Alison Rocket Ross

Aaron (35) Landscaper needs a grand finale.

We’ve got a few moving parts here. Ronnie Corbin is in custody, Aaron and Brooke are suspects. Katie Thompson is home after the murder of her brother. We have an unsolved murder of Fred Corbin.

Updating as we go.

Previously, we had discussed the idea of ending this script with a bribe. Katie would pay Aaron off to keep quiet. I’m thinking we take that and pump it up. Instead of giving him a minor choice, I think we should ramp it up so he really does NOT have a choice but to take the money and run.

We were also looking for symmetry in the script.

It starts with Aaron digging up a body and I’d like to end it with him burying one.

Our initial idea was for Katie to kill Ronnie Corbin to keep her quiet. That’s no longer possible considering Ronnie Corbin is in police custody. It’s a pretty solid case and Ronnie Corbin isn’t exactly a criminal genius, so she’s not escaping prison.

Brooke, however, now being pushed away by Aaron, is clawing her way back into the adventure. What are our options here?

Options for Brooke:

• Katie kills Brooke to show Aaron she means business.

• Aaron and the Cop team up to kill Katie, accidentally shoot Brooke.

• Aaron and Brooke end up killing Katie.

• Brooke kills Katie, Aaron has to clean it up for her.

Ok… well… I think we have some decisions to make.

Aaron isn’t a killer. Brooke might be.

Maybe Brooke, being an avid gamer, SWATS Katie… gets her killed, or at least scares her. But there’s already an investigation going on in the Yellow House. Katie is already somewhat of a suspect in all this.

We may have to abandon the idea of having Aaron buy a body to…

WAIT!

Katie kills Brooke. Aaron finds out. Turns Katie in, it ends with the cops descending on Katie doing the deed. Aaron finally calls for help like he didn’t do in the beginning.

That’s interesting. But would Katie really take that chance?

Ok… New Plan.

Katie kills Brooke when she gets too nosey. That’s… unfortunate. She then tries to frame Aaron, but Aaron won’t play ball. She does the things where she tries to throw the gun to him, but he won’t catch, tries to get him to help her move the body… etc. But nothing.

Aaron is devastated. He can finally feel the loss. He had grown attached to Brooke. Katie tries to bribe him. Last ditch effort. He takes the bribe. Then goes straight to the police.

This feels like it’s getting too complicated.

And we need to bring the ants back at some point…

Maybe Aaron discovers Brooke’s grave and there is an ant hill nearby before it’s finally revealed.

Are we sure about killing Brooke? No.

It’s not a murder mystery, it’s not a rom-com, what is it? Just a dark piece? What’s the point of all this? What are we trying to say here? What’s the theme?

Confessions:

I didn’t think this script through. I was just going to show you all how to build characters then it turned into “let’s write a script”. So my map is off. Let’s go back and try to figure out what we’re trying to say here. Why we’re continuing to build this story.

I like Aaron. I think his belief that he’s better off alone leading a quiet life is a great set up. I want to write this because it feels like one of those “life happens, connections are unavoidable” moments. No matter how hard you try to stay out of the weeds of society, you WILL be pulled back. People WILL try to love you.

There is also nothing supernatural or sci-fi about this script, which is something I don’t often do. So let’s see…

Maybe Aaron dies trying to save Brooke. Or maybe no one dies. We need to just pick an ending and run with it. We can always change it.

We will tear this up and rewrite it as we go… We just had to pick something for now. 

The special guest…

I was thinking Katie is a mob lawyer. Has lots of friends. Starting out her young life with such a major crime forced her into these criminal enterprises as an adult.

Obviously, we can’t just end it on a cliffhanger like that and I have no intention of writing a sequel. My only thought would be that perhaps this is limited series. Something like that.

Let’s reassess it in our next session… I’m thinking we start writing a treatment and see what comes out.

-Rocket