So, Act one is done. We know a lot about the character. We know how their world works. We know what their fears and secrets are. We know what they want and we know what the central conflict is. We also know what started the new journey (inciting incident, remember) and we know how she tried to avoid the problem. We also know that something big happened in the last chapter that forces our character to make a choice, and that choice is to accept the challenge, to decide to go on the journey.
And here we are in ACT TWO, Part one. It's also called the B story or the love story. And also, the "promise of the premise". It's the "love" part of the love story.
Act two is made up of two parts: the character's instinctive response to the first plot point makes up the first part (we'll get to the second part later).
So, there are 14 scenes here (14 chapters), each chapter being 1000 words. In each chapter, you are going to show how our character interacts in this new world. If it's the new relationship she was trying to avoid throughout the debate in Act 1, and she decided to step into the unknown with this guy at plot point one after the ex-girlfriend caused some disruption in the inciting incident, then Act two, part one is the exploration of this new relationship. This part is also called the promise of the premise. If the premise is that love is worth taking a risk for, then we want to see how taking that risk can pay off. This is the first kiss, the visit to the secret spot in the woods, the hand holding at the carnival, whatever. It's good. It's everything we hoped would happen when we started reading.
At 33% (page 73/74) you'll burst this bubble for a second to remind the reader that this new world, this new relationship, this new journey is not completely safe. The pinch point drives the stakes deeper. So, maybe the ex girlfriend stirs up some trouble. Maybe there's a secret that might come out.
Continue with this state of bliss until chapter 26. The characters need to do nothing more than to learn this new world, explore it and enjoy it (while it lasts, hehe). We, as readers, will also learn this new world, explore it and enjoy it with them. It is after all, the reason we started reading in the first place.
We end the first half of Act two with the midpoint. This is half way through your story. Something big must happen to take the story in yet another direction. Until now, our character is just watching and experiencing this new world without any real concern. They don't have to do anything to stay happy. They think they've achieved their goal. The hero got the girl. The girl finally accepts that she made the right choice. But the midpoint is basically forcing them to put their money where their mouth is. How do we do that?
We threaten their perfect little world. And now they have to start making decisions. The midpoint brings the last 13 chapters of bliss to an end. All the things they were afraid of and more are now rising to the surface. It's time to start acting, not just reacting. It's time to put everything that they've learnt so far about themselves, their new world, each other and the threats around them, into some kind of action.
The midpoint is not subtle. It's definite. You feel it's impact immediately.
Let's go!
P.S. how many words are you on now? Yeah, that's right - 26000!
YOU ARE READING
Story Structure
General Fiction**COMPLETED** If you want your story to flow like a good movie, you need to make sure the right things happen in your story at the right time. Story Structure will help you to plan your story and ensure that key elements of story telling are always...
