beware:
this
lab
contains
advanced
experiments
Don't let the MIDDLE of your story get saggy and flabby and boring.
Click on the worksheets below to turn up the heat...
ACT TWO
Even our youngest writers know that we often tell our stories in three acts; we call them the beginning, middle, and end. In the 3-act structure, there’s a moment at the end of act one--a Turning Point–where a big change takes place.
Click on the ACT TWO WORKSHEET to discover your turning point.
THE BIG BADDIE
It's about time we talk about your Big Baddie–or Antagonist. In some stories, this character really will be a legitimate evil dude–or at least a big jerk. In other stories, the antagonist may be someone who isn't working against the protagonist on purpose–maybe it's a friend who's being a jerk. Or maybe it isn't a person at all–maybe it's a natural disaster that everyone is working against.
Click on the THE BIG BADDIE WORKSHEET to develop an Antagonist that is worthy of your main character.
THE POINT OF NO RETURN
Writing isn't a math equation, but there are many milestones that most stories have in common. About mid-way through your story, think about crafting your character's Point of No Return. This means that he/she can't go back to the way things were at the set-up. In The Matrix, it's when Neo takes the Red Pill and is flushed out of his life as a battery and wakes up in the Real World. He very literally cannot go back to being a battery. Your Point of No Return doesn't need to be so literal, but once your hero makes The Choice, whatever will be will be...
Click on the MIDPOINT WORKSHEET to craft a decisive moment from which your main character cannot turn back.
THE LOWEST OF THE LOW
In the old Story Mountain diagrams, the craggy climb went up and up and up–to the Climax. Not so fast! Let's have a little fun, or...let's let the antagonist have a little fun. There's a little thing called The Crisis we need to deal with first. This is the highest point for the antagonist and the lowest point for the protagonist. In fact, it may seem like it's all over for the protagonist.
Click on the CRISIS WORKSHEET to discover the absolute lowest moment for your protagonist...that will lead him or her to the climax.