Brainstorm for Chapter One:

Beat 1 (full beat) - The Dying Frontier: The reader sees that the "Old West" is being choked out by "Progress" (train tracks, lawyers, or fences). The myth is already rotting.

- “choke” - fences, super high fences everywhere?

            - the railroad is coming, which town will it go to?  The land is perfect (for the railroad) and equal to go to either town.

- town - normal western town? Some rich families, some dirtbag families, town is becoming established, a couple generations.

- two towns?  One “hippy town”, one “capitalist town”

Beat 2 (half beat) - The Drifter’s Burden: Introduce the protagonist. They aren't a hero; they are a survivor with a specific internal conflict or a sin they are trying to outrun.

- main character a white dude?  Lizard man?  Lizard lady?  Gay lizard lady?  Evil child?

- a person from hippy town is compelled to leave hippy town and go to capitalist town, because of their “sin”.  They misbehaved in hippy town and is shunned and driven to go to capitalist town and will try and stop the railroad from going to capitalist town. 

- We see a little flashback hinting at the “sin” - a bloody knife, their mom saying “How dare you, get out of my house/this town” or whatever.

- the protagonist is working to get the railroad to go to hippy town so that they can return to hippy town a hero later on; their “sin” will be forgiven if they can make this railroad thing happen for hippy town.  At least they think that is how it will go down.