The Next Great Novel

Chapter 1: Introduce Sally and Jim.

● Childhood friends who grew apart during high school. Haven't seen each other in five
years, since graduation. Both are now 23.
● Sally, the shy nerd turned successful grad school student, home on break.
● Jim, the popular athlete who got a blue-collar job after high school graduation and still
lives in the same town.
● The reunion occurs unexpectedly in a public location. Jim doesn't recognize Sally. Sally
becomes angry and storms away, leaving Jim—who still doesn’t recognize her—feeling
confused.

Chapter 2: Flashback to Sally and Jim's past.

● Neighbors and close friends from age 4 through 12.
● Upon entering junior high, things changed. Puberty made things awkward, and the two
were no longer friendly in public. They met frequently in a secret spot in the nearby
woods, however. Lasts from age 12 through 15.
● Upon entering high school, things changed even more. Sally became more serious
about her studies—aspiring to go to college—and became self-conscious about her
appearance. Often hid behind unfashionable clothes. Jim became an athlete. Not a star,
but popular. As he made new friends, he gradually made less time for Sally. The bridge
was burned when Sally overheard Jim joining others as they made fun of Sally behind
her back.
● Sally decides to take advantage of the fact that Jim doesn’t recognize her. She plots
revenge.

Chapter 3: Sally begins her revenge plot against Jim. The two begin to date.
● She tracks him down and apologizes for getting angry before, saying she had merely
been having a bad day. He is skeptical, but after some humorously awkward attempts to
flirt, she finally convinces him to trust her.
● He asks her out on a date, and she agrees sweetly.
● When alone, she brainstorms on how to get him to fall for her.

Chapter 4: Jim starts falling for Sally.

● Their first date goes well and leads to a second, which leads to a third, and so on. Soon,
they are spending nearly every day together.
● Sally gets to show her newly confident side off. Even when things seem to go wrong—
minor embarrassments, and so on—Sally finds herself surprised to see that Jim
becomes more enamored.

Chapter 5: Sally starts falling for Jim. Begins to regret and forget about her desire for revenge.
● When she tells him about her goals, he makes a remark that he once had a friend who
had similar goals. The remark surprises her, and she quickly changes the subject, but
not before he says that he admires goals like that.
● Sally gets to see a more mature side of Jim. She also gets to see kindnesses that she
hadn’t seen since they were kids.
● The two share a brief, sweet kiss. Sally realizes that her feelings have turned and
wonders how to reveal her identity to Jim without hurting him.

Chapter 6: Jim finds out about Sally’s true identity. The two part ways on bad terms.
● He catches her at her parents’ house when he goes there by chance.
 ● He overhears her talking on the phone with a friend about the revenge plot. Comes in on
the wrong part of the conversation.
● They argue. Lots of door slamming involved.
● Another week passes, and Sally goes back to grad school.

Chapter 7: Sally is unable to forget about Jim. Tries to contact him, but fails.
● Sally goes through life at school as normal, but feels something amiss.
● She tries to call him, but the number she dials is out of service.

Chapter 8: Jim is unable to forget about Sally. He starts to realize how hurt Sally was by his
actions in the past.
● He can’t stop replaying memories in his mind—of their childhood and of the time they
just spent together.
● He happens to meet with another high school classmate. Through conversation, he
learns that Sally overheard him talking badly about her. He begins feeling guilty. Also
starts to feel guilty for not recognizing her.

Chapter 9: Jim goes to meet Sally. Sees her with someone else and retreats.
● With encouragement from Sally’s parents, he makes the long drive out to her grad
school. Practices what to say the entire time there.
● When he arrives at her door, he sees her with a guy in front of her apartment. Feeling
defeated, he drives away back home without stopping to say hello.

Chapter 10: Sally goes back to her hometown. She meets Jim. The two reconcile and get
together.
● Sally finds out that Jim went to meet her while talking to her parents on the phone. She
feels hopeful, so she decides to head back home in order to try meeting up with him
again.
● The reunion happens at their “secret base” from childhood.
● Sally clears up the misunderstanding, explaining who Jim saw her with when he visited.
She also apologizes for her previous actions. Jim also apologizes.
● The two confess their true feelings, kiss, and walk back into town—but not before
spending some valuable alone time in their favorite place.