LOST writing class #14: The second plot point
You’ve come to the end of your second act. Things are in place for the final showdown. Your hero is poised to take on the last challenges before reaching his goal. So jump into the third act, right?
Not so much. At this point of your story, you need to put another doorway or path in front of your hero. This time, his decision and actions will affect EVERYTHING that happens next in the story because the stakes are higher. This should not be the darkest moment before the dawn of the conclusion (we call that the black moment, and that will be discussed in a few weeks), but it’s pretty close.
What kind of doorways could they be? What if his goal is in sight but because of a wrong choice, it seems further away than it did at the beginning of your story? What if she can taste victory but it’s bitter? What if her biggest supporter is suddenly against her plans? What if he seems to be on the right path toward his goal and discovers he’s been wrong this whole time? Any of these are big doorways that affect how the hero will behave in the third act.
In one of my stories, this second plot point occurs when the hero pours his heart out on live television to the woman he loves and she rejects him. In another story, it’s when one sister discovers that the other has been lying to her for eleven years about their mother. This doorway is usually (but not always) about discovery and can change how the hero then pursues his goal.
Let’s use season 3, episode 7, “Not in Portland”, to illustrate what I mean. This is a Juliet centric episode and occurs just after Jack has cut Ben’s kidney sac during surgery. We get to see the how and why she came to the island. The first plot point (end of the first act) is when Juliet orders the Others to track Kate and Sawyer down before they can escape. She calls Jack’s bluff and insists he won’t let a patient die. Where does the second plot point (end of the second act) come in? When Juliet talks to Ben and agrees to help Kate and Sawyer escape. Notice the parallel between the first and second plot points: both are about Juliet’s actions towards Kate and Sawyer’s escape attempt. In the first, she wants to thwart them. In the second, she’s helping them. Why is this a significant point of the story? Her decisions (and the consequences of them) affect the rest of the story and the pursuit of her goal (to get off the island). She believes that she must do what Ben wants in order to appease him and earn her way off the island. And she makes a deal at the second plot point (that by letting Ben live then she can leave) in order to achieve her goal.
Plot points are nothing more than some of those tent poles we discussed last week: strong events that hold up the story at strategic places in the narrative. The stronger and more effective you make it, the more your story will hold together.
Next week, we’ll begin to look at the third act (conclusion) and what it means to tie up all those loose ends.
Not so much. At this point of your story, you need to put another doorway or path in front of your hero. This time, his decision and actions will affect EVERYTHING that happens next in the story because the stakes are higher. This should not be the darkest moment before the dawn of the conclusion (we call that the black moment, and that will be discussed in a few weeks), but it’s pretty close.
What kind of doorways could they be? What if his goal is in sight but because of a wrong choice, it seems further away than it did at the beginning of your story? What if she can taste victory but it’s bitter? What if her biggest supporter is suddenly against her plans? What if he seems to be on the right path toward his goal and discovers he’s been wrong this whole time? Any of these are big doorways that affect how the hero will behave in the third act.
In one of my stories, this second plot point occurs when the hero pours his heart out on live television to the woman he loves and she rejects him. In another story, it’s when one sister discovers that the other has been lying to her for eleven years about their mother. This doorway is usually (but not always) about discovery and can change how the hero then pursues his goal.
Let’s use season 3, episode 7, “Not in Portland”, to illustrate what I mean. This is a Juliet centric episode and occurs just after Jack has cut Ben’s kidney sac during surgery. We get to see the how and why she came to the island. The first plot point (end of the first act) is when Juliet orders the Others to track Kate and Sawyer down before they can escape. She calls Jack’s bluff and insists he won’t let a patient die. Where does the second plot point (end of the second act) come in? When Juliet talks to Ben and agrees to help Kate and Sawyer escape. Notice the parallel between the first and second plot points: both are about Juliet’s actions towards Kate and Sawyer’s escape attempt. In the first, she wants to thwart them. In the second, she’s helping them. Why is this a significant point of the story? Her decisions (and the consequences of them) affect the rest of the story and the pursuit of her goal (to get off the island). She believes that she must do what Ben wants in order to appease him and earn her way off the island. And she makes a deal at the second plot point (that by letting Ben live then she can leave) in order to achieve her goal.
Plot points are nothing more than some of those tent poles we discussed last week: strong events that hold up the story at strategic places in the narrative. The stronger and more effective you make it, the more your story will hold together.
Next week, we’ll begin to look at the third act (conclusion) and what it means to tie up all those loose ends.
Labels: Lost, writing class
posted by Syndi Powell @ 9:00 PM
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