The Second Half of the Second Act is where you cue the hero music in character arcs. Thanks to that major personal revelation at the Midpoint, the protagonist now gets it. The puzzle pieces are falling into place. The light bulbs have flashed on. He sees what he has to do to win the conflict. […]
April 20, 2014 by 43 Comments CharactersCreating Stunning Character Arcs, Pt. 10: The Midpoint
In a positive change character arc, your protagonist will have spent the First Half of the Second Act blundering around in foreign territory, making mistakes based on false assumptions, and getting his hand slapped for his every wrong move. But he’s also going to have been slowly—maybe even subconsciously—learning his lesson and figuring things out. […]
April 13, 2014 by 28 Comments CharactersCreating Stunning Character Arcs, Pt. 9: The First Half of the Second Act
In the structure of character arcs, the First Half of the Second Act is where your character ventures (or is thrust) into uncharted territory—and gets lost. He may not quite see it that way himself, but this is where he begins to discover that the old rules (the Lie He Believes) no longer apply. This […]
April 15, 2012 by 12 Comments Structuring Your NovelThe Secrets of Story Structure, Pt. 8: The Second Half of the Second Act
Now that we’ve passed the midpoint, things are starting to heat up in our story. The second half of the second act is where your plot really starts popping. Your main character caps the dramatic event at the midpoint with his decision to stop reacting and start acting. Almost always, this is born of a personal revelation, even […]
April 8, 2012 by 44 Comments Structuring Your NovelThe Secrets of Story Structure, Pt. 7: The Midpoint
Halfway through our stories, something marvelous happens. There we are, minding our own business, toiling along in the seemingly endless desert of the second act, when—whap! bang! shazam!—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 major plot point, the […]
