# Which of these two plot scenarios sounds better?



## ironpony (Dec 28, 2016)

I was having some writers block on a section of my script and not sure which of these two scenarios would be better, and thought I would just ask for other's opinions, if that's okay .

For my story, basically the prosecutor wants a witness to testify in a case, but the witness refuses to cooperate. The prosecutor subpoenas her to testify at a preliminary hearing therefore, to see what she has to say.

After being subpoenaed at the police station, since talking to her was not doing any good, a cop (the main character) gives her a ride home. He then drops her off and leaves. Moments later a break in happens at her house and she calls 911 to report it. The MC, still driving, is the closest car by and turns around, and huries back to the house to respond.

When he gets there he sees that the power to the house has been taken out, as well as the back door broken into. He knows that the people breaking in may have come to silence the witness in the case. So fearing for her life, he decides to enter without waiting for back up, as the intruders could have made their way too her, or could do so any moment. He then comes into contact with her and gets her out of the house. While keeping watch and waiting for back up, the MC thinks that she may have set up the break in to the house herself in order to get the police concerned about giving her protection, since she wanted protection before, but couldn't get it. But then intruders follow and a chase ensues, or something along those lines.

Scenario #2 is similar with pretty much the same pay off, and I am not sure which would be better...

I asked a cop when writing this for research and he says that the police would not assign protection to an uncooperative witness who had to be subpoenaed to testify at a grand jury, because she wouldn't tell the investigators or prosecutor anything. So I wrote the first scenario that way, where she gets no protection.

In scenario #2 it's pretty much the same where a cop drops her off, but before leaving he waits for another cop to drive to the house, and that cop will stay and watch her for his shift, as long as he doesn't get called away on emergency. The MC drives away leaving the other cop to watch her. The break in, in the back of the house still happens the same way, and she calls 911. The MC while driving away, gets the call and turns around and heads back.

The other cop gets out and decides to go in without waiting for the MC to come back, in fear of the witnesses life and safefty. As the other cop goes in, the witness thinks that the cop might be an intruder so she attempts to attack him, but the other cop, knowing she is making a mistake stops her. Or I could write it so that she gets the drop on him in the dark even, if that's better? The MC then arrives to explain the misunderstanding and that it's a cop, not the potential intruders. The MC still believes that she may have set up the break in herself as a ruse to get the police to give her more protection. But the intruders then come to try to get her and chase/stand off ensues.

So pretty much the same pay off, but done in different ways. The second would be more expensive to shoot per say cause of another actor, and more shots therefore, but if the second scenario is better, than I can do it, if it's worth it.  Which scenario do you think is better, if any? Thanks for any advice or input. I really appreciate it.


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## bdcharles (Dec 28, 2016)

Scenario one is better. The others don't really make sense because if she is an unco-operative witness, apropos of what would the cops fritter resources on her protection. They don't know she's about to get broken in and as your police friend points out, they would be disinclined to protect her even under more favourable circumstances.

Besides, from a storytelling point of view, your additional scenarios risk introducing too many characters. Cop A, Cop, B, the woman, everybody gets lost in a jumble of names. Much valuable tightening up of stories can be achieved by merging two similar characters into one, which results in centre-staging that person a little more. So I advise scen. 1.


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## ironpony (Dec 28, 2016)

Okay thanks.  Basically they would give her an officer who was available at the time to watch the house, out of fear that they might come after her.  I mean even if she has to be subpoenaed cause she is not cooperating, they are still dangerous people that are after, who may fear what she has to say on the stand, since the prosecutor can ask her anything he wants.  As for introducing too many characters, a lot of thrillers have a lot of characters so I didn't think it was too many, unless I am wrong.  Basically I thought by adding another cop in the danger and confusion, it may give the suspense a little extra oomph, if that makes sense.


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## bdcharles (Dec 28, 2016)

ironpony said:


> Okay thanks.  Basically they would give her an officer who was available at the time to watch the house, out of fear that they might come after her.  I mean even if she has to be subpoenaed cause she is not cooperating, they are still dangerous people that are after, who may fear what she has to say on the stand, since the prosecutor can ask her anything he wants.  As for introducing too many characters, a lot of thrillers have a lot of characters so I didn't think it was too many, unless I am wrong.  Basically I thought by adding another cop in the danger and confusion, it may give the suspense a little extra oomph, if that makes sense.



Sounds good. Go for it!


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## ironpony (Dec 28, 2016)

Okay thanks, But you said the first one made more sense.  So I am not sure which one to go with.


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## bdcharles (Dec 28, 2016)

ironpony said:


> Okay thanks, But you said the first one made more sense.  So I am not sure which one to go with.



Do the second one. I completely overlooked the fact that she is a witness, and the cops may conceivably rustle up some witness protection - which is precisely the reason I don't write thrillers or crime fiction. The thing is to make it all a good read. My personal preference is to merge characters because I otherwise end up with a world hugely overpopulated by forgettable nobodies but if you can sling in a side plot with the 2 cops then go for yer life.


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## bdcharles (Dec 28, 2016)

Although now I am leaning back towards the first one - based on your friend's assertion. It depends how much artistic license you are willing to take.


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## ironpony (Dec 28, 2016)

Well it depends on how much the police would spring the resources to give her protection, since she is not cooperating but is being forced to testify, via subpoena.  I could merge the two cops, and have the MC be the one watching her.  However, the MC was the one who rescued her from being kidnapped earlier in the story, so I thought maybe it would be an unlikely coincidence that they would assign him to protect her, since he is already involved in the case, a completely different way.


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## SystemCheck (Dec 28, 2016)

They're more or less the same, minus one fact - is there witness protection or not. 

In real life, the presence of witness protection doesn't quite matter if the witness is a right b**** shut up tighter than Fort Knox with her secrets or spilling her guts to police at the drop of a hat. Witness protection matters on a) witness's safety, cops get paid to protect not to sit on their backsides stuffing down donuts & coffee, b) on the importance of the witness, and c) the case itself [who is involved]. 

Any judge worth his or her salt would flame broil a prosecutor, with coleslaw & fries waiting on the side, if the fool did not consider witness protection and thus leave an important witness alone. Particularly if it is known, or well assumed, that that witness is a potential target. They'd throw the book at the person. Figuratively and if such stupidity caused the witness's death literally. All the while the defense would be laughing their ass off. 


As for the concept of not enough cops - private investigators are occasionally employed by police to do just that. Never heard of VP protection? Same thing in a way. If a police force is severely understaffed then they would have some private investigator doing surveillance. And unless the police force is just the sheriff and his deputy there'll be someone more than happy to be paid bucks [overtime, time and a half or more] to babysit a witness on their off days. 

Cops are people and like most people they happen to like, even love, money. I mean I worked a few years ago at a concert where our "bouncers" despite their shirts reading security were actually off-duty police officers making extra cash for example.


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## ironpony (Dec 28, 2016)

Okay thanks.  I don't necessarily have to go by real life.  However, I was told that in real life that by police that if the witness was not cooperating at all, that the police would not give her protection, even if she was supoenaed, cause they do not have the resources to do so, and it's happened all the time in real life where they didn't.  At least this is what one cop told me in my research.  The way my plot goes, though, is that I want to write it so that the MC is forced to protect the woman himself, and hide her out somewhere himself, without the other police knowing where she is, in order for the plot go where I want it to go.

So it can two ways.  Either another cop is assigned to watch her and gets injured in the attack on her house... and the police do not have another available man to take over, so the MC feels inclined to do so himself even though he is off duty and it's not his assignment...

Or she doesn't get any protection at all to begin with and the MC drives back by himself, once he gets the call to respond to the break in, and then chooses to hide her somewhere himself after that.  The pay I want is that after eluding the attackers, he is compelled to hide her somewhere, like his home, without telling the other cops, since the witness spending the night in his home is kind if inappropriate and can constitute witness tampering, which comes up later. So basically I want her to become helpless, and for him to feel compelled to hide her without telling people where.  So whichever way is best in that case.

As for hiring private investigators, I was told by the police that they couldn't afford do that either, at least not on such short notice.  Since in my story, the woman is being home invaded, right after being driven home from the station after being subpoenaed for not wanting to answer all the questions.  So I was told by the cop that they couldn't hire PI in that case, if that's true.

As for the judge throwing the book at the prosecutor for the witness being attacked and endanger, I may be wrong in my research but I was told that the judge could only penalize the prosecutor for how the prosecutor handles the case in court, and not how the prosecutor handles witness safety as the witness safety is not the prosecutor's job... so the penalization would not fall on him.  Unless I was told incorrectly?


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## SystemCheck (Dec 28, 2016)

Yeah, don't know where you're getting your sources from or whom but my aunt works with Supreme Court judges and major law firms. Has for oh about twenty years. A beat cop doesn't quite know the finer details of what goes on behind closed doors, or even for that matter what happens with high profile cases, cause well the streets are calling them and that's where they belong.

No hiring private investigators. Your source has got to be some green rookie. Most private investigators ARE former police and they keep their thumb in the pie. They'd probably know that a police force needs assistance before they do. The only issue would be cost but unless this is a sticks town police force that won't matter because as said prior off duty cops would likely cover first before you get in a private investigator.


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## ironpony (Dec 28, 2016)

Yeah, you have a point .  However, for my story, I want the MC to be compelled to protect the witness and hide her, himself, after the home invasion attack. And I wrote it based on what I was told about uncooperative witnesses not getting protection.  So is this still possible?


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## SystemCheck (Dec 28, 2016)

ironpony said:


> And I wrote it based on what I was told about uncooperative witnesses not getting protection. So is this still possible?



See uncooperative witnesses, as in real tight lips, are few and far between. Often when they know if they snitch they are as good as dead. 

Most witnesses can be detained, charged with contempt of court, etc., etc., etc. that usually loosens their tongue up. Particularly if they've never been behind bars before. A real uncooperative witness is usually knocked off as an associate of the person / people in question of the crime and then the attitude generally switches to a "who cares". 

However, if that witness is the only one and the case is important enough, even if the gal superglues her mouth shut she can still be useful in the long run. So protection / surveillance would be more likely if she falls into that useful category.


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## ironpony (Dec 28, 2016)

Okay thanks,  She hasn't been charged with contempt of court yet, cause it hasn't hit court yet.  Right now she is being subpoenaed since she is not telling everything the police want to know in the interview.  I was told she wouldn't get protection, in this case, but would she?

If so, is there a way I can write it so that the MC has to watch her himself, without checking in.  Basically in order for the plot go where I want it to go, I don't want him to check in for the rest of the night after, while he is worth her, so it that possible?

Basically as for the uncooperative witness not talking, the villains do not know that and they think that since she is subpoenaed, then she is a likely liability, so they want to break into her house to find out what she told them.


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## bdcharles (Dec 29, 2016)

ironpony said:


> Well it depends on how much the police would spring the resources to give her protection, since she is not cooperating but is being forced to testify, via subpoena.  I could merge the two cops, and have the MC be the one watching her.  However, the MC was the one who rescued her from being kidnapped earlier in the story, so I thought maybe it would be an unlikely coincidence that they would assign him to protect her, since he is already involved in the case, a completely different way.



That's true, but your cop buddy already supplied you with this info. So the realism and 'researchedness' that confers is worth considering as a deciding factor. The other thing to consider is how it fits narratively. Is it in keeping with the characters' behaviours? Does it keep the pace or disrupt it? Then of course there's word count. I hear more adages about cutting stuff than I do about adding it in, but not having your WIP to hand, I can't advise what will work. Of course the joy of writing is that if something goes awry you can simply edit and rewrite. 

Your heart - and that final line quoted (Edit: and SystemCheck's handy info) - suggest, to me, that you are leaning towards scenario 2. So, for now, go for that. You can always merge the cops into one later if you need to.


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## ironpony (Dec 29, 2016)

I keep flipping back and forth between 1 and 2 actually.  In the end of my story, the MC frames the villains for the killing of another cop, that is killed later in the story.  This causes other officers on the force to think that the villains did it and to go get revenge on the villains.  This is in the third act though, and I don't want the vengeful cops coming in out of nowhere as a deux ex machina to the reader though, since the vengeful cops are not given anything to do in the plot, prior to the MC framing the villains, which is the start of the third act.  So in that case, I thought that maybe one of the vengeful cops, could be this other cop in scenario #2, and it would be a way to introduce one of the vengeful cops before the third act.

But if he is an unnecessary character in this scenario, than I don't have to...


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## Annoying kid (Dec 29, 2016)

Ironpony is this your very first script ever?


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## SystemCheck (Dec 29, 2016)

ironpony said:


> She hasn't been charged with contempt of court yet, cause it hasn't hit court yet.




How much do you know of the legal system? 

Contempt of court doesn't have to actually be in the courtroom. Hiding evidence, keeping your mouth shut, etc., etc., etc. is all considered contempt of court or can be wrangled into that category or a related category. That she is subpoenaed and still keeping her mouth shut makes this a taking candy from a baby situation. Refusing to obey a subpoena _*will*_ get you in trouble. The lawyer just has to go and complain to the judge and if they do it right clang go the bars. 

Anything deemed contempt of court, or more in this potential situation obstruction of justice, can very easily get you tossed behind bars. Depending on where you are, at the lightest, that can be upwards of 72 hrs holding. 





ironpony said:


> I keep flipping back and forth between 1 and 2 actually.



What's the difference between the two again? If the witness has protection or not? 

You can certainly do _*more*_ with situation two. The concept that all goes fine & dandy despite a break in, with a witness, in what I assume is an important case is something of a letdown. _*Kill*_ someone.




ironpony said:


> In the end of my story, the MC frames the villains for the killing of another cop, that is killed later in the story. This causes other officers on the force to think that the villains did it and to go get revenge on the villains. This is in the third act though, and I don't want the vengeful cops coming in out of nowhere as a deux ex machina to the reader though, since the vengeful cops are not given anything to do in the plot, prior to the MC framing the villains, which is the start of the third act. So in that case, I thought that maybe one of the vengeful cops, could be this other cop in scenario #2, and it would be a way to introduce one of the vengeful cops before the third act.
> 
> But if he is an unnecessary character in this scenario, than I don't have to...



This doesn't necessarily make sense. 


MC frames villains. Why? MC he kills this other officer? Why? 

Now you mention the vengeful cops are sort of background noise until this murder. So are the villains sort of running around going Na-nana-naa-nah to the police beforehand? 


Are these villains the same sociopaths you were asking for clarification about in the research? If so the intent is to make them serial killers correct? If they are indeed the serial killers you got to work on that aspect a lot more. Serial killers get an emotional response from the victims' families, any survivors, general public, and most importantly the officers trying to stop them. Only the lowest ranks and most useless of officers won't feel some connection. 


You also got to work on the interactions a lot more. These secondary characters, the other police officers, in particular. 

I mean your MC is an officer too correct? So are these other officers invisible when your MC returns to the station? Does he lock himself up in his office & never come out until called? 


And after the officer is killed why are these cops running in all John McClane style? Revenge? Unless the villains of the same caliber as Avery Simpson in The Villain [1979] they should see the writing on the wall and be well prepared for such reactions. 




You indicate you have a friend and/or associate who is an officer. Or with the police in some way or another. _*Ask*_ him, or her, what police do. Even the receptionist at the front fielding questions has a clue what goes on in the day to day workings of a police station.


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## ironpony (Dec 29, 2016)

Okay thanks.  In my research, I found out that a witness technically does not have to talk to the police if she does not want to, but only on the stand, if she has been subpoenaed. If she is in an interview, but is not under arrest, she is legally free to stop answering questions at anytime.  Or this is why I was told, and I was told that she can only be forced to answer on the stand, unless of course she takes the fifth.

As far as having someone killed during the break in, I think that would take the story in too different of a direction of a different murder was being investigated at that point.  I think in order to have it go, where I want it to go, all the players have to remain alive at that point.

And yes the villains are prepared for the revenge somewhat, is that okay?
The reason why the MC kills the corrupt cop, is that it was an accident in a shoot out, involving the other villains.  The other villains get away and the MC does not have any proof as to who they are.  He knows who the leader of the gang is suspectedly, but does not have any legal evidence to back it up.  So he frames the gang leader for the corrupt cop's murder in order to get an investigation going and put a stop to this violent gang.

The villains are running around going naa naa naa to the police beforehand yes.  I don't want the vengeful cops to be background noise only, but at the same time, I don't have a lot for them to do plotwise.  Sure the MC can talk about the case with them briefly in a couple of scenes but that is not much for them to do either, plot wise.


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## ironpony (Dec 31, 2016)

Well I've been thinking about it, and if a prosecutor is worried about having the book thrown at him for not considering protection, than I could have him assign the extra cop character, if that makes more sense for the prosecutor then.


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## DaBlaRR (Jan 3, 2017)

ironpony said:


> Okay thanks.  Basically they would give her an officer who was available at the time to watch the house, out of fear that they might come after her.  I mean even if she has to be subpoenaed cause she is not cooperating, they are still dangerous people that are after, who may fear what she has to say on the stand, since the prosecutor can ask her anything he wants.  As for introducing too many characters, a lot of thrillers have a lot of characters so I didn't think it was too many, unless I am wrong.  Basically I thought by adding another cop in the danger and confusion, it may give the suspense a little extra oomph, if that makes sense.



First off, out of the two I'd vote for the first scene.

Secondly, based on your response to bdcharles, you already made up your mind. So why ask?


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## ironpony (Jun 25, 2017)

Oh I haven't made up my mind yet and still deciding.  I was just wondering, why is the first one the best?  That way I know for why for when I write it.


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## plawrence (Jun 25, 2017)

Here's my half-a-cent. The second scenario forces a more professional response unless the two cops know each other. In the first scenario, you can have the MC grow attached to the witness, which would explain why he goes out of his way to protect her.  The second scenario seems strange to me. I don't understand why the witness would get a drop on a cop unless the witness is a bit shady themselves. Most people don't keep guns handy in their houses. Also, I would think the cop would announce himself when he entered, so why would she draw on him anyway.

IMNSHO, the first scenario has much more potential for additional color and twists in the story. For example, MC falls for the witness, hears her story, believes her and encourages her not to cooperate. Then volunteers to stay at her place for protection, which leads to involvement, etc., etc., etc.


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## ironpony (Jun 25, 2017)

Okay thanks.  Well basically I wanted the MC to grow and care about the witness, but that can happen at two stages.  It can either happen after he comes back and sees the break in, or he could care about her before it happens.  Either works, it's just at slightly different times.  So not sure which is better.

As for the witness getting the drop on the cop, she does have an alternate agenda but I can write it so that the cop doesn't even have to be there in the first place, and it doesn't really matter, plot wise, it just presents another obstacle in the story.

Or, I could write it so that he comes back to save her, and the other cop is still there watching her, and the gang gets the drop on him and knocks him out.  Does either of those ones sound better?  But even if you say the second one does present more twist options, every option you mention can be done in either scenario as long as the other cop is taken out of the gang later, can't it?


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## plawrence (Jun 25, 2017)

Yes, if the other cop is out of the picture, all the options I described are still available. I like the idea of the cop having feelings for her (whether out of love or concern for her well-being) because it explains why he's guarding her even though the department wouldn't normally pay for such a thing. I can understand why the department wouldn't want to for a couple of reasons; 1) she's not cooperating, so they have no guarantee she ever will and 2) it gives them leverage - talk and we'll protect you - remain silent and you're on your own. The "rogue" cop fits that scenario quite well.


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## ironpony (Jun 25, 2017)

Okay thanks.  But I don't want the cop to have romantic feelings for her cause he already has a love interest that is a different character.  I just want him to be concerned for her well being.  But it seems to me that even if the other cop is still in the picture, the other options are still available, cause after he is taken out of the picture like from being knocked out and going to the hospital, she is then still on her own, and the main cop feels compelled to protect her still.  So wouldn't both scenarios still lead to him being compelled to protect her himself?


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## plawrence (Jun 25, 2017)

Of course they would, but that's because the other cop is out of the way - dead, injured, given up, whatever.


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## ironpony (Jun 26, 2017)

Okay thanks.  So you're saying it's best to not have the other cop at all then?


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## am_hammy (Jun 26, 2017)

If you're still undecided, why don't you try writing out both scenarios and see which one you developed more cotent for or which one sounds better for the story, or why flows better for you and to continue on with it? Serves as good practice as well. Just a suggestion =)


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## plawrence (Jun 26, 2017)

plawrence said:


> Of course they would, but that's because the other cop is out of the way - dead, injured, given up, whatever.


No, I'm saying that, if there is another cop involved, he needs to be out of the picture at some point for the story to develop the way you seem to want it to develop.


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## ironpony (Jun 26, 2017)

Yep for sure. The other cop is taken out of the story, right away, during the break in, and then MC gets the call on his radio and then comes back to save her. He then begins to care about her more, and decides to keep her safe for the rest of the night.

However, if the other cop is only watching her for like five or ten minutes of the plot, during the break in, I am wondering if he adds anything at all, if he is taken out right away...  As oppose to the MC driving her home, leaving her by herself, and then getting the call about the break in and coming back.  What do you think, if that's the case?


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## plawrence (Jun 26, 2017)

ironpony said:


> Yep for sure. The other cop is taken out of the story, right away, during the break in, and then MC gets the call on his radio and then comes back to save her. He then begins to care about her more, and decides to keep her safe for the rest of the night.
> 
> However, if the other cop is only watching her for like five or ten minutes of the plot, during the break in, I am wondering if he adds anything at all, if he is taken out right away... As oppose to the MC driving her home, leaving her by herself, and then getting the call about the break in and coming back. What do you think, if that's the case?


That depends. If he reveals something new about the witness, or about her opponents, then yes, it's a useful tool.  For example, when he enters the house, you can use his entry to display her emotions or to put her into some action that reveals something about her motivations. Or you can have him interact with the actors who broke in, revealing something about their motivations. IOW, he's not superfluous if he moves the plot along and exposes more of the characters' desires, actions, emotions, etc.


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## ironpony (Jun 26, 2017)

Okay thanks.  Well basically her character wants HIM to protect her and not any other cop.  So I was thinking, she would fake the break in, leading the other cop inside, and then she would get the drop on him and knock him out... then act like it was accident and she thought he was an intruder, and then no other cops can watch her accept for the main character, cause he thinks that someone actually broke in to get her, but then scrammed when the other cop responded.

So would her doing that to try to manipulate the MC into being the cop to watch her, make enough sense and say something about her character, to have the other cop in?


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## ironpony (Feb 15, 2018)

Well after coming back to the story, if a woman's house was broken into and a chase, gunshots ensued, but the woman escaped with the cop's help, would the police still not protect her and just put her up in a hotel alone, since they cannot afford protection?  Or would they make a special exception, now that an attempt on her has actually been made with shots fired and all?

Basically I want the main character cop to feel compelled to protect her himself, cause no other cops will, but is that possible, if an attempt on her life has been made?


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## NathanielleC (Feb 15, 2018)

I feel like you would work out an answer for yourself if you went back over this entire year's worth of thread posts. 

People take time out of their day to give thoughtful answers to your questions but then you spring some other thing that you didn't mention and expect the same people to respond to that. 

It'd be like if you were a restaurant owner on Kitchen Nightmares. Only instead of taking advice from Chef Ramsey to improve your cooking, you just kept asking him to come back.

Seriously, you should have way more than enough research now to answer your own questions and write your way out of your own contrivances.


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## ironpony (Jun 7, 2018)

Yeah that's true, it's just I have two different sources telling me different things, in which the police tell me, that they would not be able to afford to dish out protection of someone who is a potential target, where as a person on here, told that the police are wrong cause they are rookies and do not know better, so I'm still stuck on how to proceed since I do not know what would happen in that situation.


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## Birb (Jun 7, 2018)

If you have two sources telling you two different things....just pick one....


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## bangers (Jun 8, 2018)

Or use both sources' points of view and say which one you think is more reliable


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## ironpony (Jun 9, 2018)

Well I'm not sure really cause I get that the police do not put someone in a hotel and watch them cause they cannot afford it and it goes against protocol, which sort of works for my story cause I want the woman to be on own her sometimes, without the police constantly watching her... but, would the police risk an innocent person be killed, just to preserve protocol... even when it's going to embarrass them and make them look completely heartless and incompetent.  So I find that it's a 50/50 dilemma.  And just not sure.  Maybe I could meet in the middle and have the police do drive bys at her house when they are free too, and the villains can come for her, when there are no police around.


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## Ralph Rotten (Jun 10, 2018)

If you are still at this juncture it is likely because none of the paths you envision are particularly enthralling (or you would have written them already.)  When I find myself in this situation it usually means that I need to up my game, the indecision is just my subconscious telling me that all of my current ideas are underwhelming.  

So back it up one scene and ask yourself: is there another, better way to tell this part of the story? Can I come at this from another angle, or maybe just have the bad guys break down the door while the cop is still there.  Don't ever feel like you are locked into a storyline.  This is Myst, and you can write any world you want here.


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## ironpony (Jun 10, 2018)

Okay thanks, that's probably the reason, is that I don't find it enthralling enough.  After putting the story away for a while and then looking at it with fresh eyes, I see it in a different way and I think... that's it?  I feel that more could happen or something better could happen.

I thought of the cop still being there when they break in, but then I thought maybe that wouldn't make sense for them to do that, and wouldn't they wait for the cop to leave, because then they do not have to shoot the cop?


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