Writing Update
Scenes Arranged: 8
Total Scenes: 66
It’s funny how as I put scenes together, I find deficiencies in the plan I have jotted down for the broad strokes of the second eighth. One cool thing that happened today, though, was that I was driving down the road to the bridal show (see Personal Update below) and an entire scene popped in my head. Then, as I thought on it and ran through things, I was able to add characters and their motivations to the mix. Next thing I know, I have put together one of the most character-dense scenes I’ve ever written. And I love it. I can’t wait to write it in detail. For now, more and more sinew is coming together. There isn’t a cohesive narrative through this portion of the book yet, but it’s coming.
Reading Update
Vengeful: 46%
No reading to speak of yesterday (not that I expected any). Soon. Very soon.
Personal Update
Today my wife and I spent the meat of our anniversary sandwich (our dating anniversary is the 9th and our wedding anniversary is the 11th) at a bridal expo drumming up business. We met lots of wonderful brides and couples today and I think we have some solid leads for new clients. I’m excited to see what comes from the next week or so of my wife working with these potential clients. (In case you forgot, I’m so dang proud of her!)
Discussion Topic
The Eighths
Part Three
Yesterday we covered the First Act. Today, we cover the Second.
Again, as a disclaimer, everything I’m writing here I have learned and adapted from K.M. Weiland’s books. She’s amazing. Check out her site. And her books, both fiction and craft. And her blog. And her Twitter for tips and thoughts and general insight.
The First Act ended with the main character accepting their Call to Adventure and engaging their Truth vs. Lie issue. The Second Act sees the character turning toward the main conflict and starting to move from reaction to purposeful action.
This, of course, is not without its issues which brings us to the third eighth, the First Pinch Point. This is the moment when the antagonist shows up to remind the main character (and the reader) of their power, hostility, and the overall threat they pose. This is usually some kind of conflict, but it is clear that the main character still is not ready to engage the antagonist.
The MC moves on from this conflict still trying to gain enough understanding of the conflict to affect it. Not long thereafter, they come to the fourth eighth, the Midpoint. This is also the Second Plot and is, in my opinion, one of the biggest, most difficult turning points to write in the entire story. The MC permanently turns from reaction to action, beginning to take the fight to the enemy. At the same time, though, they have what is often called their Mirror Moment. This is the point in the story where the MC looks in a metaphorical mirror at what could happen or who they could become if they fail. Alternatively, your main character can see how different they would be if the slight differences between them and their antagonist did not exist.
It’s a big moment.
After that, the MC starts turning the tide against the antagonist, making decisions that directly counteract the conflict and show their growing mastery over things. They are acting instead of reacting. Then this comes around to the fifth eighth, the Second Pinch Point. Similar to the First Pinch, the antagonist rears their ugly head again, pointing out not only the MC’s inability to overcome the antagonist and the conflict, but their remaining reliance on the Lie they tell themselves. The MC bounces back, renewing their efforts to overcome. For me, the sixth eighth of the book is like the main character taking their deep breath. They’ve come through another altercation with their enemy and they’re determined. Even THEY know they haven’t had the final confrontation yet.
And then comes their Dark Night of the Soul, what I call their Darkest Moment, the sixth eighth’s endpoint. This comes after some small victory that lulls the MC into a false sense of security and then WHAM! They get knocked right on their butts. The Darkest Moment is characterized by some manifestation of death. I write fantasy. It’s rarely a metaphor in my mind. Nothing symbolizes death like death. However, it can be any kind of loss whether of a job or an opportunity or even just giving up something they thought they wanted. It is them losing or releasing something to square themselves for the final fight. The reason they are ABLE to prepare in this way is because the REAL death underneath it all is their death to the Lie. They have accepted the Truth and are ready to wield it as a weapon against the conflict and the antagonist.
Often times the death aspect and the acceptance of the Truth are separate moments and I intended to separate them (hence why the original plan had today slated as 3 1/2 eighths instead of the 4 it has turned into) into the Darkest Moment and the Third Plot Point, but here we are.
So there is the Second Act. It is ALWAYS the longest by its very nature, but the Third Act neither makes sense nor has sufficient punch without AAAAAAAAAAAAAAALL the build up from the Second Act. Tomorrow we’ll cover the Third Act to close out the series.
And Tuesday I’ll discuss how familiarizing yourself with this structure will make it pop off the screen at the movies.
May the tide carry you to safer shores.
BSG