Do you want to create amazing stories people will love?
Are you looking for objective ways to analyze your story to make sure it's working, or figure out why it's not?
Are you curious about different ways of outlining editing or outlining a story?
...
Commandment number 6: Thou shalt turn thy story/act/chapter/scene/beat
The Turn is something which many scholars of story speak about, but don't always include as a necessary element of story. I think it's definitely necessary and it's one easy way to figure out if each element of your story is working.
It must Turn!
What do I mean by this?
Well as we've seen before Stories are shaped in a bell curve;
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This basic structure goes up and then comes down. At the top, it "turns." Whatever happened in the beginning half now has the mirror opposite happening in the second half. (Note these do not have to be directly 50/50 splits - the Turn can often come closer to the end)
The hero, once struggling to overcome their flaw, now has the means to do so and puts their newfound abilities to use, succeeding where they previously failed.
This is the global version of the Turn, but there are smaller versions which are imperative to each element of the story. These tend to hinge on the positive v negative aspects of beats or scenes and chapters, and often (though not always) correspond with the climax of that story part.
On a basic level a Turn moved an element from
+ to - 😕 or - to + 🙂 or - to - - (double negative) 😭 or + to ++ (double positive)😁
If a scene has started on a positive note for your MC in relation to your novel's theme, then it should end either doubly positive or on a negative note.
This doesn't mean that your character is happy or sad - the Turn is not about emotion, though it is often tied to that. The Turn is in relation to your character's arc and your story theme.
For example: My current WIP has the following theme: What situations could cause someone to completely change their beliefs?
I have two MCs - one who is more prominent than the other, but both have their own arcs.
Character 1- is moving from atheism/agnosticism to belief in one religious version of God.
Character 2 - is moving from blind belief in God to doubt and dissolution with her church.
These are their internal character arcs - theme: questioning their previously held belief systems.
Their external arcs are their main goals -theme: discovering and fulfilling their destinies/ discovering the truth of the universe
Each of my scenes needs to turn either positively or negatively along the lines of the internal and external goals/themes of my characters. When they are in scenes together then the scene needs to turn in relation to both of their arcs - both internal and external arcs.
