This week, we’re looking at the First Pinch Point—which occurs at 37%, midway through Act 2.
Hey, Schindler, you’re thinking. Way to jump forward. Last week, you gave us an overview of Act 2, and now you’re jumping right into the middle of it? What gives? How do I start Act 2?
All in good time, my friends…
A couple weeks ago, I spent some time discussing the antagonist / antagonistic force, because it’s the easiest way for me to think of shaping Act 2. I really do think Act 2 and 3 are tough—because they’re just so loosey-goosey. Too few guardrails means you can wind up off the cliff.
(A note here to those who are new to this series, thinking that so many beats would only hinder you, hem you in, make you less creative: I often say I think of novel structure in the same way I think of pop songs. Anyone who has ever tried to write a song knows most of the decisions are made for you before you even get your guitar out of the case. You know the structure will be: verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus. You know it will be built on three major chords. And chances are, the subject matter will be love. Should be easy, right? Plug-and-chug? There is nothing easy about writing a pop song. Nothing. If it were easy, we would never have one-hit-wonders.)
Anyway…
Like I was saying. Act 2. The First Pinch Point.
To me, that First Pinch Point is all about the antagonist or antagonistic force.
You have several options:
You can introduce the antagonist.
You spent so much time on your protagonist in Act 1, this may be the first time the actual antagonist walks onto the page. Or it might be that the protagonist knows about the antagonist, but this is the first time the two of them meet. Alternatively, you don’t have to have a face-to-face conflict at all. Your protagonist can simply learn of the antagonist’s true plan (this happens frequently in mysteries). Your reader can still feel the antagonist’s power even without a face-to-face conflict.
You can let the antagonist be the star of the scene (no protagonist in sight).
It can absolutely be done! You can let your reader watch the antagonist make plans—plans that will impact the protagonist. But your main character might not be aware. Giving your readers information that your main character doesn’t have is Hitchcock’s definition of suspense!
What if it’s an antagonistic force?
You can, in fact, involve a plan if the force is, say, something like a storm—you can show how the strength is building, for example, or how the path of the storm begins to veer toward a more densely populated area. You can also illustrate a force’s potential impact on the larger world or on those close to the protagonist. So the danger isn’t something that would necessarily just be imposed on the protagonist—it’s a danger that threatens the protagonist’s entire world.
Demonstrate the antagonist’s strength.
It doesn’t matter who becomes the star of the scene. The antagonist or the protagonist. It doesn’t matter if the two characters meet up face to face. It doesn’t matter if it’s a force of nature. The point is, you need to demonstrate the antaonist’s strength.
By showing the antagonist’s strength, you:
*Raise the stakes.
*Foreshadow future conflict.
*Illustrate the protagonist’s current weakness (which will, in turn, make the reader wonder how this main character—who they currently feel empathy and affection for, thanks to your setup)—will get out of this mess.
That last one’s the biggie. It shows why the First Pinch Point is so important. It will propel the story forward. Keep your reader turning the page.
What is the source of our protagonist’s current weakness?
Come on—you knew I would ask. And you knew what the answer would be.
Yup. Backstory.
Your main character’s arc, remember, is tied to backstory—to a previous wound, to a self-protective lie built up around that wound. Here, that lie and that wound come to the surface. The main character is forced to acknowledge it. And that character is forced to consider that this lie, this lesser way of living, is holding them back. That it will prevent them from getting what they want—which, right now, is conquering the antagonist or antagonistic force.
See what I mean? Act 2 is really where the antagonist shines.
Next week? We’ll look at the Midpoint. In Plotting Through Backstory.
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