Elements of a Successful Story Part 2

In my last post, I kicked off a three-part series on the seven elements of a successful story.

Why, you ask? Aren’t there enough craft books out there pushing writing methods that guarantee successful stories? Well, yes. There are many, many craft books out there promising just that. But I think it’s helpful to look behind the curtain on all these methods. Learning to spot the building blocks that sit behind these methods can help you see the invisible architecture that is holding up your story – and where it isn’t.

 Also, because I happen to LOVE talking story structure.

 Here’s a quick reminder of the 7 Elements of Story:

Open

Inciting Incident

Act 2 Build

Act 2 Midpoint

Act 2 Low Point

Climax

Resolution

We talked about the Open and the Inciting Incident, which comprise Act 1, last month. If you missed it, or want a refresher, you can read it here. This month we’re going dive into big, messy Act 2.

Act 2 has three key elements– the Build, the Low Point, and the Midpoint. Understanding these elements can help you bring shape and structure to this act, which can often feel hazy and overwhelming.

To help writers wrap their heads around Act 2, I like to borrow a term from the Hero’s Journey writing method: the Special World. I think it’s a useful way to frame what Act 2 is all about.

In Act 1, you set up your Protagonist’s Status Quo, or their Ordinary World. Then you upended that with the Inciting Incident, which forced your Protagonist to make a choice that then propelled them out of the world they knew and into a whole new world. The moment they cross this threshold, from their Ordinary World into the Special World, you, the writer, are crossing the threshold from Act 1 to Act 2.

The first thing your Protagonist is going to do is trying to figure out where the heck they are.

Act 2 Build: What Now??

Your Protagonist has just been knocked out of their usual orbit, (usually) in a way they never saw coming. The first thing they’re going to want to do is reestablish some sort of balance. Get their bearings in this Special World.

In other words, your Protagonist is in reaction mode. They are reacting to what’s coming at them, trying to regain a sense of control that they’ve lost since leaving their Ordinary World.

This doesn’t mean they are passive! They are making choices, taking actions, dealing with consequences of those choices and actions. Learning the ropes, navigating new situations and new people, trying to figure out what to do next. They are NOT sitting back and letting the events of the story happen to them. They’ve still got that External Goal they’re chasing, which you established in Act 1. But because they haven’t yet undergone the change they need, they’re going to go after this Goal using familiar methods that have worked for them in the past.

In the Act 2 Build of The Hunger Games, Katniss has landed in the Special World of the Capitol. She’s trying to figure out if she can trust Peeta and Haymitch, sussing out the different tributes’ strengths and weaknesses, and coming up with her initial strategy to survive. In the arena, she decides to go it alone, relying on her hunting and foraging skills that have kept her alive in the past. She has a pack of supplies, can trap food to eat, even finds a hidden pond that’ll serve as a safe water supply. She thinks she’s got it figured out.

But she’s wrong.

The Build Pinch Point: You’re Not the One in Control Here

As the Act 2 Build draws closer to the Midpoint – and just as the Protagonist begins to get on their feet in this new Special World - the Antagonist steps in and upends their lives once again. This moment is called the Build Pinch Point, and its purpose is to remind the Protagonist what they’re up against. To stop any momentum they’ve begun to build. To inject more chaos, more danger, more messiness, more heartbreak.

To up the stakes.

In the Hunger Games, just as Katniss feels like she’s wrested some small amount of control, the Gamemakers force her back into danger with a barrage of fireballs. Not only does she get severely burned, but she’s pushed out into the open, closer to the other tributes who want to kill her. It’s the Gamemakers’ reminder that she is not in control here. That they pull the strings. And it’s a reminder to the reader what Katniss is up against.

Pinch points can be big – fireballs! – or they can be more subtle, like an unanswered phone call or a text. Not all stories have a Big Bad Guy, but all stories must have forces of antagonism. That antagonism needs to show up at this Pinch Point - it’s a reminder of what’s at stake for the Protagonist.

And it sets the stage for the next elements of Act 2 – the Low Point and the Midpoint. The Low Point and the Midpoint are closely intertwined; in some stories the Midpoint may happen first, forcing the Low Point. In others, the Low Point comes first, instigating a new direction for the action at the moment of the Midpoint’s plot reveal. In still others, they happen seemingly simultaneously. How yours plays out will be unique to your story.

However they happen to land on the page, they both usually hit somewhere around the halfway point of the story.

We’ll look at Low Point first.

Act 2 Low Point: Moment of Truth, People

The Act 2 Low Point is an Internal Arc of Change point. It’s the moment where change becomes possible for your Protagonist.

The Build Pinch Point’s reminder of what the Protagonist is up against pushes them toward a reflective moment. Call it Moment of Truth, or Dark Nigh of the Soul, or the All is Lost Moment – it’s a moment when the Protagonist finally grasps the larger truth of the conflict that has been eluding them. They realize they must let go of their original External Goal. This makes space for change, and allows them to embraces their Internal Need.

In the Hunger Games, Katniss’s Low Point is when Rue is killed. Up until this point, she has been hoping that her strategy of laying low and avoiding confrontation will work out. But it’s clear to her now that she’s not getting out of these Games alive by hiding.

Act 2 Midpoint: Things Can’t Go On Like This!

The Midpoint is a Plot Arc point. It often involves a reveal of some kind that creates a significant shift in the story.

At the Midpoint, the Protagonist learns something that allows them to change or hone their approach. Maybe it’s a clue, maybe someone gets captured or killed, maybe they realize the antagonist isn’t who they thought they were, maybe the stakes change…whatever it is, it causes your Protagonist to realize they need to stop reacting and start proactively going after what they need.

In The Hunger Games, the Midpoint is the revelation that the Capitol will allow two winners of the Games. Coming out of her Low Point with the realization that she’s not going to survive by hiding, Katniss seeks out Peeta, and they go on the offensive.

Thanks to the revelations of the Midpoint, and realizations of the Low Point, your Protagonist now has a whole new perspective on the situation. They have new information. A new skill. Maybe they have new allies. All of which means they can now start making more effective choices that will actively get them where they need to go. They’re still not in control of the situation, but control is now possible. They’re not in reaction mode any more. Now, they’re going on the offensive.

This is NOT what the Antagonist wants to see.

Midpoint Pinch Point: I’m Coming After You with All I’ve Got

Just like in the Build, the Midpoint Pinch Point (try saying that five times fast) is another reminder of just what the Antagonist is capable of. Of how much power they still have over the Protagonist. As you Protagonist becomes increasingly effective, the antagonist steps in again to ramp up the stakes and remind readers that the Protagonist’s victory is anything but guaranteed.

In response to this Pinch Point, the Protagonist begins a renewed, determined push to defeat the Protagonist, setting up the action that will drive the Climax and Resolution at the heart of Act 3, which we’ll talk about next time.

Crafting an Effective Act 2

Whether you’re it the midst of drafting or of revision, the first step to crafting an effective Act 2 is to zoom waaay out. See the big picture. Use these key Act 2 elements to find the architecture of your story.

Do you have an Act 2 Build coming out of your inciting incident? Is your Protagonist in reaction mode, dealing with what the Special World is throwing at them in ways that are familiar to them? Are they making choices, making mistakes, learning on their way to the Midpoint?

Do you have Build Pinch Point? Is the Antagonist showing up on the page in a way that reminds both the Protagonist and your readers what they’re up against?

Does your Protagonist have a reflective Low Point? Does this Low Point force your Protagonist to wrestle change?

Does your Midpoint have a plot revelation that shifts the story in a significant? Does your Protagonist walk away with new information? Does your Protagonist shift out of reactive mode and into proactive mode?

Does your antagonist show up again at the Midpoint Pinch Point? Do they raise the stakes again? And does this kick off a renewed push by your Protagonist to reach the Climax?

Act 2 is big and messy. If you’re lost in the woods of Act 2, know you’re not alone. This is often where manuscripts either go off the rails or come to a grinding halt. But the Build, the Low Point, and the Midpoint are clear hand holds you can reach for as you draft. 

In my next post, we’ll dive into Act 3.

Till next time…

Happy writing,

Erin