Note From KMW: One of the first writing teachers I remember learning from was James Scott Bell. When I started religiously reading the Writer’s Digest magazine as a young writer, Jim’s regular column always spoke to me. He had a knack for naming high-concept ideas in a way that always felt accessible and practicable. Years […]
October 27, 2025 by 22 Comments PodcastThe Real Purpose of the Second Act (And Why You Can’t Skip It)
What would stories be without their long, uncertain Second Acts? Imagine if characters stepped straight from their first challenge to their final revelation, skipping all the struggle and the wandering in between. Would the thematic Truths they discover carry the same weight? Would we even believe them? Although the Second Act may look like “just […]
October 20, 2025 by 14 Comments Podcast“Who Am I?” The Midpoint as Self-Recognition in Story Structure
“Who am I?” is the question that echoes beneath every character arc. At the story’s Midpoint, that central query rises to the surface. This central beat—this all-important Moment of Truth in story structure—functions most symbolically as a moment of self-recognition. It is a mirror held up to the protagonist, often by the antagonist, that reveals […]
September 2, 2024 by 19 Comments Plotting Your NovelThe Midpoint (Secrets of Story Structure, Pt. 7 of 12)
Halfway through the Second Act, something marvelous happens. There you are, minding your own business, toiling in the seemingly endless desert of the Second Act, when everything changes all over again. Legendary director Sam Peckinpah talked about how he always looked for a “centerpiece” on which to “hang” his story. That centerpiece is your Second […]
November 29, 2021 by 41 Comments PodcastThe Two Halves of the Midpoint
The Midpoint is unique among the major structural turning points. Not only is it made up of its own two individual halves—working together to create a scene arc—but the Midpoint also marks the dividing line between the two halves of the entire story arc. As we explored last year in our series on chiastic structure […]
October 26, 2020 by 51 Comments PodcastThe Midpoint as the Swivel Point of Your Story’s Linked Structure
The “saggy middle” of a story is one of the biggest challenges writers face. The Second Act is twice as long as the other two acts and yet is often less clearly defined. What’s a writer to do to keep the pacing just as tight and the events just as interesting over the long haul […]
October 12, 2020 by 71 Comments PodcastThe Link Between Your Story’s Pinch Points
Of all the paired structural beats in a story, the Pinch Points are perhaps the most obvious. There are only two of them, they have the same name, and they perform essentially the same function in both their first and second iteration. They’re also perhaps the least known and most confusing of all the major […]
July 8, 2016 by 73 Comments Structuring Your NovelHow to Transform Your Story With a Moment of Truth
Part 4 of The Do’s and Don’ts of Storytelling According to Marvel “How can I fix the saggy middle of my story?” I love it when writers ask me that. Why? Because the answer is so incredibly juicy–and it all revolves around the Moment of Truth that needs to occur at every story’s Midpoint. The Second […]
May 31, 2015 by 39 Comments Structuring Your NovelA Reactive Protagonist Doesn’t Have to Be a Passive Protagonist! Discover the Difference
One of the stickiest questions any writer is likely to face is: What’s the difference between a reactive protagonist and a passive protagonist? If you’ve been studying story structure with me, then you know I talk a lot about how your protagonist needs to be reactive in the first half of the book. But this idea […]
May 17, 2015 by 67 Comments Structuring Your NovelHow the Perfect Midpoint Moves Your Protagonist From Reaction to Action
I have to thank the Marvel movies for a lot of things–like my Captain America shield pillow, my Iron Man socks, my Spider-Man poster, my Hulk thumb-wrestler. Ahem. Where was I? Oh, yes, talking about being a writer, not a fan-girl. One other, slightly more important thing for which I have to thank the Marvel movies […]
