Behind the Scenes: Chapters 9 to 12
Exploring the structure and storytelling techniques of chapters 9 to 12 of The Other Side of the Ocean
Behind the Scenes posts are designed to provide insights into the storytelling techniques, strategies and structures that came together behind the scenes to shape the story The Other Side of the Ocean.
This post explores the storytelling structure behind chapters 9-12 of The Other Side of the Ocean. You can also learn more about chapters 1-4 and chapters 5-8.
Dear readers and writers,
Welcome to the final edition of Behind the Scenes of The Other Side of the Ocean!
We recently published the final chapter of the story The Other Side of the Ocean. In these Behind the Scenes posts, we analyze how the story structure of The Other Side of the Ocean was designed to support the creation of a compelling story with complete character arcs.
In this post, we’re going to look specifically at how chapters 9 to 12 support a compelling story structure. You can also read about the storytelling structure of chapters 1-4 and chapters 5-8.
Table of Contents
Overview
Summary of the Character Arcs in Chapters 1-8
Storytelling Structure of Chapters 1-4 and 5-8
Chapters 9-12: Learning and Growing
The Story Structure of The Other Side of the Ocean: Chapters 9-12
Summary: Chapters 9-12
Overview
Summary of the Character Arcs in Chapters 1-8
**Please note: there are The Other Side of the Ocean spoilers below!**
In chapter 1, we learn that Hailey is struggling with heart-racing episodes that are linked to an unexplained anxiety that led to hypochondria. The school counsellor recommends seeing a doctor to acquire actual medical results.
Seeing her excellent medical results, Hailey immediately feels better about the hypochondria but then comes a new problem when Hailey’s doctor triggers a new source of anxiety. Hailey’s doctor recommends learning more about her family’s medical history, which creates new anxiety for Hailey as she considers broaching a taboo topic in her comfortable relationship with her parents: her dad’s mysterious, unknown side of the family.
We know that, by the end of the story, Hailey’s character must resolve the source of the anxiety and learn from it.
Along the way, we learn that Hailey has other struggles too. She wants to open up to her friend Almira, but she hesitates and decides not to when she has an opportunity (chapter 2 and chapter 3). We also notice that she is avoiding the topic of what to do after graduating from high school (chapter 3).
Almira, we learn, struggles to be heard in her busy home, and hasn’t expressed herself to the people directly involved: her family (chapter 6).
Storytelling Structure of Chapters 1-4 and 5-8
In the previous Behind the Scenes posts, we identified the storytelling purpose achieved by the first two thirds of The Other Side of the Ocean:
Chapters 1 to 4: Establish what the protagonist wants + obstacles to achieving it
Transition from chapter 4 to 5: The protagonist explores a new world
Chapters 5 to 8: The stakes are raised
Chapters 9-12: Learning and growing
It helps to recall that in a three-act structure, generally:
Act one sets up the story.
Act two develops the story and raises the stakes.
Act three provides the story resolution.
In chapters 9 to 12, our characters are learning from their mistakes and mistaken beliefs and so they grow, reaching a new, healthier place in their relationships with others and in their understanding of themselves.
The Story Structure of The Other Side of the Ocean: Chapters 9-12
To help create a story structure/outline that supports the telling of a compelling story, I followed elements from Jessica Brody’s fantastic book Save the Cat! Writes a Novel. That book outlines 15 events (“beats”) that take place in most of the stories we know and love.
Chapters 9-12 align with beats #12-15: Dark Night, Break into 3, Finale and Final Image.
Note: For a more detailed understanding of the purpose of each of the four beats below, read Jessica Brody’s descriptions of the “beats” (each of the four beats below is hyperlinked to lead you to the beat description) before reviewing the corresponding The Other Side of the Ocean scene summary.
Beat #12: Dark Night (chapter 9): In this chapter, Hailey is recovering from having her secret—her visits to the school counsellor to cope with anxiety—advertised to the whole school. Put on the spot in front of the entire grade, she not only accepts her anxiety—she elaborates on it and defends the school counsellor. She also finally realizes that her anxiety resulted from avoiding what she fears: leaving her comfortable, familiar high school environment and entering a new postsecondary realm. She realizes that she denied this to herself and hid her anxiety, which only made her struggles even more difficult. She truly embraces the truth and chooses not to hide it anymore. (We find out later that, that night, she even chooses what to do next after high school.)
In the process, Hailey inspires Sandra and Almira to open up about their struggles as well. By speaking up, Hailey, Almira and Sandra help create an environment that is more conducive to conversations about supporting students’ mental health.
Beat #13: Break into 3 (chapter 10): Now, similar but not quite the same as in chapter 4, we’ve entered into a new realm, or a new act. Hailey has acknowledged and accepted the source of the problem that we were introduced to in chapter one, and now she is ready to face what she feared at the end of chapter one: talking to her parents about a subject that could affect their relationship that she values so much, because she cares about them so much.
Hailey approaches her parents to discuss the letter she found in their room and—through the conversation that follows with her mom—Hailey clarifies that she doesn’t need to know about her dad’s family history after all. Instead, she seeks to understand her own history, which her mom sheds some light on.
Hailey also opens up to her mom about her struggles with anxiety, visiting the school counsellor and deciding what to do after high school, and her mom responds supportively.
Beat #14: Finale (chapter 11): Hailey continues the healing, discovery-filled conversation with her parents. Her dad comes back into the room and the three of them talk about what she read in the letter, which lifts a weight from Hailey’s parents’ shoulders and floods each of them with the deep love they all share.
Hailey opens up to her father about her struggles and her decision for what to do post-high school, and he responds supportively. After sharing her good news that she chose a school and a major and she’ll be staying at home, she basks in the simple joy of just being with her parents, talking and spending time together.
Beat #15: Final Image (chapter 12): Hailey has now completely addressed the mistaken beliefs and struggles that she was experiencing at the beginning of the story. In this scene, we really see her recognize and articulate that through her conversation with Almira and the thoughts that accompany it.
Here, both Hailey and Almira strengthen the friendship they bravely opened themselves up to. And Almira, too, learns and grows: she recognizes the step she took speaking up in front of her classmates, and she announces that she’s going home to share her feelings with her family.
When Hailey steps back inside, she remembers that moment weeks before when she came home, full of fear of anxiety regarding asking her parents about the past. Now, instead, they’ve discussed it, explored it and became stronger through it. Hailey looks at her parents, feels their forever love, and finally, with the support of her loved ones, feels ready for her next step.
Summary: Chapters 9-12
In summary, in chapters 9 to 12, we see Hailey:
realize what caused her anxiety in the first place
face her fears
take action to pursue what she wants
open up to her classmates and her parents
feel ready and even excited about the thing she was avoiding
We also see:
Almira grow and decide to take action to pursue what she wants
Hailey’s parents find comfort in something that worried them
Sandra open up and embrace her experience
Every character who had a problem solved it, and grew and learned in some way, strengthening their relationships and growing through their inner journey.
Dear readers, I hope that this in-depth look at the strategy that went into creating a story outline for The Other Side of the Ocean helps you, too, as you craft compelling stories and character journeys. If you have any questions or want to discuss storytelling strategy, you’re welcome to post in the comments section below!
This is the last post in the Behind the Scenes series for The Other Side of the Ocean, which is now available in full for free online.
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Additional Reading