Lynn says we need Goals, Motivations and Stakes.
The goal is the heart of the story. It is motivated by something in the protagonist's life that had a significant impact on them. If they didn't make their goal, they feared a loss.
Goal - what does ancestor want?
Motivation - why does she want it?
Stakes - what happens if she fails to achieve it?
Lots of ideas. I wish I knew Grace. But I do know some of the things she did, and I have a few newspaper writeups about her. She has one big success that I know of. But, first she needed a goal. She was not a young chickie when she graduated from Law School; I think she was 31. I wonder how she made it. Did they have scholarships back then? Did she receive an inheritance? Did her sister support her while she went to school?
Why did Grace want to be a lawyer? I think she wanted to change the world for women. At least, going by what she accomplished, that is what she did.
What happened if she failed? I'm sure we all wondered about that sometimes. I figure, in a law office, as in any business, most days, most clients would be pretty routine. Did she get many clients? Male clients? As most of the time she appears to be on her own, it was either drum up business or not be able to pay the bills. Did she fail, when later in life she was a secretary-treasurer for a business, or was she using her legal skills at the same time, or did she just choose to give up some responsibilites as she grew older. That I do not know the answer to.
However, she did have her epiphany - her great accomplishment - her day in the sun. That is the big thing in my story, the other things will build up the story and the setting, and conclude it. And her sisters and cousin will figure prominently, as well as the courts.
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