The Be Brave Project, Day 52; Three Act Structure, Act II

So we've covered Act I:

1. The Set-Up


2. The Inciting Incident


3. The First-Act Turning Point

Though I think what I wrote about the (very important) end of the First Act is somewhat lame: First, I used the phrase "internal decision", one of the silliest tautologies I've ever heard of. Secondly, I over-complicated it all while neglecting to make my point--it is election season and perhaps that's catching.

Anyway--First Act Turning Point is the first major turning point in the story, the event towards which the first act has been headed. Turns the story around in an unexpected direction and contains an element of surprise. Pushes the main character deeper into the problem. Here's what I didn't say: In response to the first act turning point the main character makes a decision and embarks on a new course of action. We now know what the heart of the movie's about--i.e. what the second act is about.

Examples: In Tootsie, will Michael Dorsay find success and happiness by becoming Dorothy? In House of Games will Margaret Ford find the adventure she craves by returning to "The House of Games"? Will Thelma and Louise make it to Mexico before the cops find them?

Act II

1. Midpoint. The middle of the second act is often a place where a pivotal moment occurs. Sometimes the main character takes an action which increases their jeopardy and makes it that much harder for them to turn back. (In On The Waterfront, this is when Terry punches out the gangster who's heckling the priest; in Tootsie it's when Michael/Dorothy becomes a national celebrity.) Up until this point the main character could conceivably go back to being the person they were at the beginning of the story. After the mid-point, the character crosses over the 50% mark. In other stories, the Midpoint takes the form of a reversal--a major setback that makes thing significantly more difficult for the main character. In Thelma and Louise, Thelma's negligence allows all of Louise's money to be stolen. In Hamlet, Hamlet tries to kill Claudius but kills Polonius instead. Not every script has a midpoint, but it is a useful way to focus a second act.


2. (Tomorrow. . .The Second Turning Point)

Okay. So the First Act Turning Point is needs to be something that would shake Augusta up, take her out of her comfort zone. I want her to go to London, so she is obviously going in search of something.

Her ex-husband.

What would make her go after him, after a considerable passage of time?

• Hearing something new about him, something that reverses her previous expectations. She always thought he had. . .died? And now it turns out he'd taken money to pretend he had? Or that he'd been bribed by a family member? Or that he was actually someone 'important' (inherited importance), and a lord or something? (That does sound like a 30's movie plot, but not a noir.)


• What would then occur or she then discover in London that would make it harder for her to turn back, and impossible that she become the person she was at the beginning of the story?

So I'm still on the end of Act I questions, but I think it's important to get these answered before moving on to the Act II questions. This plotting is a major part of the BBP--this novel is--and I need to get the pieces together before writing.

My goals for the Be Brave Project for this Winter, now to New Years are to:

1. Complete a first draft of this book.


2. Go see the doctor already.

Both scary in different ways.