Author: Lewis Ritter

ALEX FORMS THE WOMEN’S GROUP.

                               Written by Lew Ritter –

     From the Turbulence series. Book  #2 Hidden in Plain Sight

  “ Ladies, you have nothing to lose but your aprons.” 

 This was the rallying cry of Alexandra Doherty. She was the founder of the first women’s group on campus. Alex was a woman on a mission.

Alexandra, or as she was known by her nickname  “Alex” for short was a stunning redhead with pearl-green eyes who made an impression just by showing up. Many of her dormmates did not know what to make of her. She could be quiet one moment discussing her favorite artist or passionate the next moment about her desire to give women of her day an alternative to what she called MRS Degree.

Alex was angry that many young women were determined to attend colleges like Rutgers. This was not so much to get an education to function in the outside world, but to find a suitable man, get married and live happily ever after in some split-level or ranch-style home in some suburban town just like their mother and the other women here family had done for a generation.

 She thought back to her memories of her childhood. The failed marriage of her mother and father stuck in her mind. The father had abandoned both mother and daughter at an early age. Her mother never complained, but it became obvious to Alex as she grew up that the mother regretted getting married. She had artistic talents were unfulfilled because of her need to work and take care of her only child. As her mother grew older, she would confess her deep disappointment about her life. It would be a source of inspiration for Alex to determine for herself,which path in life she would take. She felt a burning passion to be an independent woman and fulfill her dreams of working in some capacity in the art world.

These memories made Alex determined to offer the women on the Rutgers campus an alternative to what she considered the trap of marriage. She hoped that she could show them that they had choices beyond simply getting married and becoming a ”Housewife.”

Alex walked into the main floor of the dormitory clutching a fistful of fliers. She gazed at the cork bulletin board hanging on the nearby wall. The Dorm advisor looked at Alex.

     “What are you doing?” he asked.

    “Putting up flyers. “ said Alex.

The Dorm advisor grabbed a flier from her hand. He examined it for a few seconds. He frowned and barely concealed his annoyance at the contents of the flier.

       “ The dormitory has rules you know. No political stuff.”

Alex realized that she was not going to win any arguments with him. She decided to try her luck in the women’s dormitory section. She took the stairs to the second floor to the woman’s section of the floor.

She found an empty spot on the board and pinned the flyer on the board. Judy, a female student, wearing bright red lipstick and hip-hugger pants approaches the bulletin board and examined the flier. She studied it with a puzzled expression.

      “What’s this all about? ” Judy asked with a hint of curiosity.

Alex turned and smiled. She was happy to get a curious response from women and wants to engage her in conversation and possibly recruit her as the first member of the group.

    “I’ m forming a group. A Women’s Caucus,” she said proudly.

Judy has a vacant expression on her face. She does not know what to make of the group or its purpose. “If it helps women’s athletics,  I’m interested.”

   “No, it’s a woman’s discussion group,” replied Alex. with a firm conviction in her voice. Judy’s eyes narrowed. The young woman looks puzzled.

    “What do we need that for? Dating and Marriage? ”   Alex pouted and appeared frustrated by Judy’s response.

     “No, I want to discuss Women’s issues at college. Improve our status.”

The young woman remained puzzled. She was not convinced on the purpose of the group.

     “I’m not sure we need that on the campus,” she said.

Alex pressed the issue. “Do you feel treated equally to guys in your dorm?”

Before she could answer, Teddy, a lanky boy entered with a three-day-old growth and a wrinkled tee shirt entered the girls section of the dorm. He spotted Judy. She seems pleased to see the gangly young man

    “There you are, I was looking all over for you,” said the boy said triumphantly.”

Before Judy could react, the lanky young man leaned over and embraced her, and gives her a soulful kiss. It seemed to last for an eternity. Judy grows embarrassed by the boy’s fixation with her. She pulls herself apart. “Something wrong babe?” he asked innocently.

   “Can this wait, I was talking to this nice young lady,” she points to Alex.

The lanky boy was frustrated. “Hey, we have a hot date tonight. I want to come to your room tonight and we can have a terrific evening.”  The boys smirked and leered. “All Night.”

   “I’m going to visit one of my girlfriends,” Judy replied.

The lanky boy frowned and looked discouraged. “What is the matter,  I’m going to give you a night you’ll never forget.”    The boy broke into a huge grin and wrapped his arm around her petite shoulders. Judy pulled away. The boy appeared angry at her rejection of his proposal .and  frustrated by her refusal to receive his affection.

      “Chicks, all the same. Never satisfied, ” growled the young man.

He stalked off in a bad mood and slammed the door as he makes his way out of the dorm section. He pounded the wall in the other section and with a thud an object crashed to the ground.

     ‘Sorry you had to witness that,” she said in a soft remorseful voice. A tear comes to her eyes. Alex plucks a tissue from her pocket, and she looks triumphant. She has made her point.

Judy grabbed the flier and smiled breathing a sigh of relief. “Sign me up.” 

Alex had walked into the dorm with a mission, and it appeared that she had successfully convinced her first convert. Both women were quite different, but Alex felt that the common bond of being a woman at Rutgers had been created between the two women.

Welcome to Rutgers University, 1970.  This New Jersey college campus, like others across the country, is a microcosm of the turbulent times that would  transform America forever.

• The Seventies come roaring back to life as six students struggle with the political and social movements of  the decade that would change America forever. The novel deals with the personal lives of six students as they collide amidst the Student Protest Movement on the Rutgers campus in the late 60’s and early 70’s.

• Danny Watkins is the student advisor to a dormitory full of Freshmen students.    His driving passion is to become a famous journalist.   He works on the Daily Targum, the student newspaper.   Standing in his way is Jim Morris , his mercurial editor,  who doubts Danny’s ability to succeed.  The editor keeps  assigned  Danny stories that do not match his ability.

After an important news story goes disastrously wrong,   Danny is fired from the newspaper and loses his scholarship and risks being drafted into the Vietnam War.   He risks everything in a last gasp trip to NYC effort to recruit Abbie Hoffman, a controversial activist ,to speak on the campus.   If he fails, he must drop out of school and face being to serve in the unpopular the  unpopular war in Vietnam.

Through the eyes of these college students, we see the political and social upheaval that defined this decade: the Vietnam war, civil rights movement, women’s movement, and sexual revolution.  It was an era of peace, love, and war, and all three came together in universities like Rutgers. 

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Lewis Ritter

Many times, when writing a script or a novel, you might consider the task of creating strong secondary characters for granted. That is, you have created a unique and interesting Sci-Fi world or main character that drives the action in your novel or screenplay.

This drives the main character to overcome major obstacles and emotional challenges in order to achieve their goal by the end of the movie or novel. Their “Need” or “Desire” to achieve their goal is paramount to achieving a satisfactory conclusion of the story.

However interesting the main character might be, he or she is not friendless. They don’t exist in a vacuum; they need secondary or supporting characters to react to their problems and provide opposition or emotional support. Many times, the secondary characters will have issues or struggles of their own that will create subplots that will affect the main character.

The supporting character’s subplot is often crucial to the emotional struggle or development of your main character. They may sharpen the conflict and provide challenges for the main character on the way to the resolution of the story. It will provide numerous moments of internal reflection and an emotional pathway forward for your main character.

In the classic movie Officer and a Gentlemen, Zack earns the friendship of Sid, another trainee at the base. Sid’s struggle and eventual suicide at the end of the movie propels Zack to transform from being the selfish loner that he was at the beginning of the movie. He has learned the value of teamwork and learns that he needs other people’s friendship and love to survive.

Subplots are not the main plot of the movie or novel, but they add to your story. The main character needs allies or friends who support or conflict with the main character. They must have adversaries with their own issues to resolve or plot to thwart the goals of the main character. Their purpose is to interact in a way that creates challenges and pushes ahead to resolve the story.

In addition, secondary characters enrich the plot of your story. A well-developed supporting character will have their own fleshed-out story that intersects with the main character.

For example, in my novel Turbulence, my main character Danny Watkins is the student advisor in a dorm filled with college freshmen. One of the students is Barry Lipkin. He is ambitious and politically aware. He wants to be a leader in the protest movement and constantly barrages Danny with radical literature. His innocent invitation to a dinner party held by Bennett Andrews, leader of the student protest, leads to events that help Danny evolve and change his political views. Bennett Andrews developed from a one-dimensional speech maker at the student protest to a multi–level caring guy who befriends Danny. He befriends Danny at crucial moments in the story and helps Danny grow as a character.

Thus, secondary characters help the main character see multiple perspectives in the world. It helps them with their struggles and helps develop them as characters. They also provide multiple viewpoints to influence the main character and provide different paths for development within the main story.

Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments below!