The First Plot Point - The Point of No Return (Plotting Through Backstory #10)
This is it! The point at which your main character cannot look back. They are fully engaged—both physically and emotionally—and once they’ve passed through the First Plot Point, there will be no making a u-turn. They’ll have no choice but to plow forward.
The First Plot Point is a biggie—it serves as the transition between Act 1 and Act 2. It includes an event that fully brings your main character into the story.
Your character will have to decide to be part of the story. To fully engage in it.
Let’s go back to the scenarios we tossed out last week.
Romance
Remember this one? Emma’s moved to a small town to renovate a bookstore she’s inherited. Her meet cute has her crossing paths with Jack, a local carpenter. Sparks fly until…
First Plot Point: Emma learns Jack is leading a local group—which includes business leaders—to preserve the historic aspect of the small town. But Emma’s plans involve bringing her shop into the 21st century. Now, they’re gearing up to go head-to-head…
Mystery
Jack the detective has been hired by Emma, who has seen her sister on surveillance footage outside her bookstore. But…her sister died five years ago. Jack soon discovers the sister’s alive, using an assumed identity. Remember, our detective also once helped a friend change her identity in order to escape an abusive relationship.
First Plot Point: Jack heads to the sister’s last known location, which turns out to be a rundown motel. When he enters the room, he discovers a dead body—but not the missing sister’s. It’s the body of a former detective, one who has left a note: “They were never twins.” This case is suddenly far bigger than Jack could have suspected—and now, he’s wondering who Emma is, and why she really hired him…
The First Plot Point can be super fun to write—mostly because we get to see everything we’ve introduced so far converge together.
In my experience, this plot point is actually more fun than the climax. But don’t get so wrapped up in the events that you forget the most important thing…
You know I was going to say it. Backstory.
In our romance described above, we have a theme emerging from backstory—community good vs. individual. This plays into Jack’s hurt at being left by a fiancée because Jack’s small town wasn’t enough. (Perhaps being left this way has made Jack all the more determined to preserve the town, make sure its history is honored and not erased.) It also plays into Emma’s independent spirit, her determination to make this bookstore her own, while simultaneously being drawn to the love she’s beginning to feel for Jack and her adopted hometown.
In our mystery, we’re seeing themes of identity bubble up to the surface, especially considering Jack’s previous involvement with his friend, and now the idea that maybe the sisters were never who they claimed to be, even before the disappearance.
Go ahead—brainstorm your own First Plot Point. Remember, this should be something that your main character cannot turn away from. It raises the stakes physically, but it’s always an emotional reason that makes the main character decide they’re all in. To find that emotion, tie it right back into that backstory.
Tip: We did delve into theme a bit while we were brainstorming the overall arc of the book, even before we started breaking the book into acts. You might find here that the theme you want to explore is different than the theme you wrote down initially. That’s absolutely fine! You’ll revise your outline as you go along. But revising an outline is soooo much easier—and less time consuming—than revising a book-in-progress! That’s the beauty of plotting / outlining.
Next week? We’ll review the entirety of Act 1. This will give you the opportunity to tighten up that first quarter of your book. Then it will be on to Act 2!
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