High-concept storytelling in Gone 2: Meet the heroes

Yeah, I was going to guess that

Remember what was said before about group dynamics? It’s time for some dialogue that shows everyone’s relationship to each other.

“She was writing the word ‘polynomial,’” Astrid said in a church-voice whisper.

“Yeah, I was going to guess that,” Sam said dryly.

“I had a polynomial once,” Quinn said. “My doctor removed it.”

Astrid ignored the weak attempt at humor.

Gone(2008)

It’s only four lines, but it shows a lot.

  • Astrid is spooked. She’s smart (‘polynomial’). She looks to Sam for opinions.
  • Sam and Quinn are good friends that like sharing a joke. They’re not as school smart as Astrid, and they tease her for it.
  • Astrid’s either used to this sort of teasing, or super focused on the situation, or she ignores bad jokes. Possibly all three.

Having three characters with similarities and differences make for good group dynamics - in this case, it’s Astrid’s brains vs. Sam and Quinn’s friendship. In other parts of Gone, it’s Sam and Astrid’s reasoning vs. Quinn’s emotional reaction, or Sam’s leadership vs. Astrid and Quinn’s… non-leadership.

Can you find the same pattern in these examples?

“Hang on. We haven’t lost all the electricity if we can still hear the music. It must just be the light fuse that’s blown,” said Noah.

“Oh, you’re an electrician now?” Eve laughed.

“Your boyfriend’s a genius,” deadpanned Heidi.

“She’s not my… oh forget it,” Noah sighed, deflated. If Heidi-the-Grumpy-Checkout-Chick is dissing you, he thought, you know you’ve hit rock bottom.

“You should check that rose garden, Trix,” said Hunter. “If it’s a three-toed footprint, that’s evidence for a t-rex.”

“Trix and Trex,” Trixie said. “I’m not counting toe-prints. The evidence for a t-rex is seeing a t-rex twice. So let’s go. I’m waiting.”

“Ugh, this stupid valve thing!” said Bron, chucking her bike pump on the ground. “Hunter, can you do this for me?”

Hunter rolled his eyes and switched over to her bike.

Write your own variation.
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