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    9Dec, 2022
    How Can Turning Points in a Story Make it Riveting?

    Please tell me, What are Turning Points in a Story? Are they necessary? What do they do? Let’s talk about it!

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    Turning Points

    Whether you are a plotter or a pantser, understanding certain components of storytelling will help you create a more engaging story, which keeps readers turning the pages. Today we’re going to talk about one of these key components: Turning Points. The simplistic explanation of a Turning Point is that something in the story changes. While that is true, Turning Points in great storytelling have layers of insight built into them, with each Turning Point taking the reader on an emotional journey alongside the protagonist. 

    Scene

    To really understand the power of Turning Points, we need to look at scene. Each scene exists both by itself and as part of the greater whole. Generally speaking, a scene is confined to a specific setting (location, duration, period, and character emotion) and contains conflict which propels the plot forward. That conflict represents change for your character. It is about goal, motivation, conflict, and disaster. 

    Within a scene, the POV character has a scene objective (goal) based on a definable reason (motivation). There is some obstacle to the attainment of the goal (conflict). The result is an action and unanticipated reaction that takes the protagonist in a new direction (disaster).

    Goal; Motivation; Conflict; Disaster 

    Goal; Motivation; Conflict; Disaster are the key elements of every scene. The point of each scene is that it causes change. If it does not do that—cause change—then it’s a flat scene that doesn’t belong in your story. The change within a scene can be minor, moderate, or major. These are the Turning Points in your story. They are built into the scenes, each serving a specific purpose, and each building insight for the POV characters, or developing character growth because they are based on the character’s choices. Whatever choice they make when faced with a decision, they must act in a way that is consistent with who they are and with what their goals are. Your protagonist will always act and decide to do what they believe to be right. Likewise, the antagonist will act and make decisions based on what they believe to be right. These opposing goals are direct conflict, which creates a push and pull between the protagonist and the antagonist. 

    The antagonist’s actions in Act II create Pinch Points. These are reminders for the protagonist about the inherent conflict they are facing because of the antagonist. It’s the antagonist reminding the protagonist of his existence. We’ll talk about Pinch Points next week.

    Back to Turning Points

    Back to Turning Points. The major Turning Points in a story are reversals. A reversal is a significant change that takes a character from a positive to a negative place, or from negative to positive place. Or from a negative (bad) to a more negative (very bad!) place. It’s an extreme change that shakes the foundation the protagonist stands on. Everything is good, then suddenly it’s not. It’s bad. Or everything is bad, but the reversal makes things good. At the end of Act II, this is a False Good, also called the Central Ordeal in the Hero’s Journey.  

    Every story needs a minimum of three major Turning Points, two Pinch Points, and several smaller Turning Points. Remember, this is a guideline, not a formula. Once you understand the purpose of Turning Points and the journey your protagonist is on and the growth that will be realized, you can play around with the conflict and Turning Points to fit your story and make Act II robust and compelling 

    Think of your book in four unforgettable scenes: 

    1. The inciting Incident (Call to Adventure)

    2. Act I (Crossing the Threshold)

    3. Act II (Road of Trials)

    4. Act III Climax (Resurrection)

    Each of these key scenes end with a significant Turning Point (Reversal), with smaller Turning Points (and Pinch Points) to keep the action strong and the narrative tight.

    Keep in mind, you can definitely have more than 3 Acts and any number of Turning Points, depending on the type of story, length of story, and how you want to tell it.

    Major and Minor

    When you think about Turning Points, think about them as Minor and Major. A Minor Turning Point leads one scene to the next. The Disaster at the end of Scene A leads to a new Scene Goal for Scene B. The major Turning Points occur at specific places in the story, and they are Reversals. They cause the character to:

    1. Be Surprised or Caught off Guard

    2. Act (Because of Compelling Curiosity or Need)

    3. Be Newly Aware and have Greater Understanding or Insight

    4. Change Direction

    Warner Bros. Announce 3D 'Wizard of Oz' Release for Next Year

     

    Let’s use the universal Wizard of Oz to look at broad examples:

    1. The inciting Incident (Call to Adventure)-Dorothy is swept away by a cyclone. She’s Caught off Guard.

    2. Act I (Crossing the Threshold)-She lands in Munchkinland. She needs to act in order to get back home-Compelling Curiosity/Need.

    3. Act II (Road of Trials)-She makes her way over the Yellow Brick Road, along with her allies, toward the Emerald City. Midpoint/Central Ordeal: Dorothy faces the Wicked Witch of the West and expects the Wizard to fulfill his promise and send her home. This is a False Reversal, though. The Wizard does not have the power to send Dorothy home. Each step of the way, she gains insight, leading to a greater understanding of her own power and inner strength.

    4. Act III Climax (Resurrection)-Dorothy’s quest is complete and she realizes her own power, summons it, and returns home. Reversal from Bad to Good. She Changes Direction—gains maturity and the ability to get herself home.

    Within Act II, there are several Turning Points:

    1. Dorothy must go to the Emerald City to find the Great and Powerful Oz in order to return to Kansas.

    2. She and her allies face obstacles: the tin man’s joints freezing, the flying monkeys, the field of poppies, for example. The Wicked Witch appearing after Dorothy and her friends have made it to the Emerald City and writing Surrender Dorothy in the sky is the first Pinch Point. Even though Dorothy has achieved her goal of reaching Oz, all is not good. She is reminded of the power of the antagonist.

    The flying monkeys leading up to the Central Ordeal or Midpoint is the other Pinch Point. This is the Wicked Witch asserting her power to attack and capture Dorothy. Her power is reaffirmed, the danger to the protagonist reestablished. Each of these are also Minor Reversals: Things are good in Oz, but the witch’s presence makes them potentially bad again. Things are hopeful leading up to confronting the witch until Dorothy and Toto are captured, making things bad again.

    Minor, moderate, and major Turning Points keep Act II robust and compelling. They are the conflicts that cause Reversals, or they are Pinch Points, which are the antagonist making their presence known. As you write, think about the Turning Points, and the Reversals your protagonist will experience. Use the timeline below as a guide. 

    Downloadable ⬇︎

    Combined Structures (The Hero’s Journey & The Three Act Structure) 

     

    Next up, a deeper look at Pinch Points!

     

    Are you ready for the next step in your writing process? Hire me as your developmental editor and partner. Together, we will take your writing to the next level!

     
     
     
     

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    16Aug, 2022
    Do you Understand the Building Blocks of a Scene?

    Do you understand the building blocks of a scene? Have you heard of scene and sequel?

    The concept and terms (confusing because there is both Scene and scene) were coined by Dwight Swain in his book, Techniques of the Selling Writer. At its core, scene and sequel are ways to control the pace of your story, and keep your plot moving forward. 

     
    Scene allows tension to build; Sequel allows the reader time to process, and the Point of View character’s actions drive the plot forward. 
     
    Looking at the big picture of your story, your ultimate goal is to create an emotional experience for your reader. Readers have to have a character they can relate to or with whom they can identify.
     
    To make the emotional response powerful, you need to amp up the emotional experience. The reader needs to feel as if they are the heroine of the romance, the sleuth in the mystery, the captain fighting a killer whale, the man barely outwitting a killer. They need to feel as if they are in the story.
     
    I ALWAYS come back to scene and sequel. They are two parts of a whole scene. Put another way, scene is the ‘cause’ and the sequel is the ‘effect’. t’s the response to the tension.
     

    What is a Scene?

    First, we have to answer the question: What is a scene?

    As I mentioned above, it’s a unit within the greater whole of your story (or a novel). A scene:

    1. Generally occurs in a single setting, at a single time

    2. Generally features the same characters throughout

    I say generally because there are always exceptions to any rule, but we’re not looking at those exceptions. We’re looking at the rule.

    Dwight Swain suggests in his book that there are two scene structures. One is called Scenes, the other Sequels. It’s kind of confusing because the word scene is used broadly, to explain every scene with a story; but it’s also used specifically to explain Scene and Sequel, which, again, are the two PARTS of a scene.

    In a Scene (capitalized, so the first half of a Scene and Sequel unit), there are three parts. We keep moving into smaller units of measurement as we create our stories.

    Within a Scene, a character:

    1. Has a goal, with motivation

    2. Faces an obstacle or conflict when trying to achieve that goal

    3. Suffers from a disaster

     

    In the subsequent Sequel (the second half of the Scene/Sequel unit), the character:

    1. Has a reaction to the disaster

    2. Faces a dilemma about what to do

    3. Makes a decision on how to proceed

    Scene and Sequel. 

    There is so much more to developing a scene and there are many ways to write a scene. Using Scene and Sequel is one tried and true method. It ensures you write a complete scene because you’ve build in the cause and the effect your POV character must face and react to.

    I go into this concept in depth in the WriterSpark Ready, Set, WRITE! course. It is one of the lessons in module 4. Check it out! It’s an amazing course.

    Did you read about my 6 questions to ask before writing a scene? Read it HERE!

     
     
     

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    2Aug, 2022
    6 Questions to Ask Before You Write a Scene
    Writing a scene takes thought. Before starting, it is a good idea to ask yourself a few questions. This will help you hone in on the core elements of the scene you are planning, and will (hopefully) make it much easier to write.
     
    Today I have 6 questions to ask yourself before writing a scene.
     
    1. What is the purpose of your scene?
    a) Will it advance the plot? If so, how?
    b) Will it introduce a new character or develop an existing   
       one? If so, how?
    c) Will it develop the romance (if there is one)?
    d) If you are writing a mystery, does it introduce a clue or
       a suspect or a red herring?
    e) does it introduce a conflict? If so, what?
     
    2. What characters will be in the scene? Try not to over-populate a scene. Too many characters make it difficult for the reader to follow.
     
    3. What is the conflict in the Scene?
    a) is it internal (throwing an obstacle in the way of the
       protagonist’s inner problem?
    b) is it external (driving the plot forward)?
     
    4. Where does the scene take place?
    a) time of day
    b) season
    c) town, city, state, country, planet
    d) location within this place (house, bedroom, kitchen,
       park, spaceship…)
     
    5. What is the mood or tone of the scene? A thriller can have comedic moment. A comedy can have serious themes. Think about the mood and tone of each scene and how they impact the other scenes.
     
    6. Transition: How will you transition this scene to the next? Will you leave the scene on a hook? With a question? What will you do to keep the reader turning the pages?
     
    Stay tuned for more about scene and sequel, the two elements that make up a Scene (uppercase!) sequence.
     
     
     
     
    Conquer your Fears. Watch this quick YouTube Video
     
     

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    Could you use some help with your scene development? Hire me as your novel editor and partner. Together, we will take your writing to the next level!