Design by Summary: Secondary Turning Points
Last week, I identified the five most important parts of the story (you can read that article here). The beginning, the end, and each of the three major turning points. These five items are the basic framework that supports the rest of the story.
As you recall, we ended last week’s post with an outline that head the five major turning points in place. It looked like this:
Act 1
Act 1A:Introduction
Martin is in the middle of a much deserved vacation when he’s called back to the office on an emergency
Act 1A Turning Point: Inciting Incident
Act 1B
Act 1B Turning Point: First Major Turning Point
Martin discovers irregularities in Clarissa’s accounts
Act 2
Act 2A
Act 2A Turning Point: Second Major Turning Point
Robert proposes to Clarissa
Act 2B
Act 2B Turning Point: Third Major Turning Point
Martin discovers Robert is a thief and blackmailer
Act 3
Act 3A
Act 3A Turning Point: Dark Moment
Act 3B
Act 3B Turning Point: End of the Story
Martin is attacked by Robert and fights to save his life and his reputation
This week, I want to continue the process of evaluating Fine Lines by taking a look at the secondary turning points.
Secondary Turning Points
There are two secondary turning points in the basic framework. The first comes early in the story and it’s most often called the inciting incident.
That term – inciting incident – has always caused me confusion, since I tend to think the inciting incident should be what gets the story started. It should – according to my way of thinking – either be the first scene or the scene that propels the lead out of his or her normal world and into the story world. I’ve spent weeks and sometimes months trying in vain to identify the inciting incidents in more than one story.
Then I read The Moral Premise by Stan Williams. He calls the inciting incident by another name. He says this is the point at which the lead character is offered an opportunity, but turns it down for one reason or another. That made sense to me and I was subsequently able to more accurately place the inciting incident by thinking of it as “opportunity rejected” in my story framework.
The other secondary turning point occurs late in the novel. Somewhere between the third major turning point and the end of the novel. This is the turning point that leaves the hero – and hopefully the reader – thinking all is lost. It appears there is no way the lead character can possibly win or no way to win without catastrophic loss. It is the dark moment.
Identifying the Secondary Turning Points
Once the major turning points have been identified, you can place or identify the secondary turning points. What opportunity does your lead character reject in the first act? What happens in the third act to throw your lead character into his or her dark moment?
Let’s take a look at Fine Lines.
Act 1B The Inciting Incident/Opportunity Rejected
I have to go no further than the inciting incident/opportunity rejected to discover the most glaring problem with Fine Lines. Why? Because I don’t have a clearly defined idea of the inciting incident and there is no apparent rejection of an opportunity.
The closest Martin comes to a rejection in the first act is declining the audit. But he doesn’t do that because it’s not his nature to decline an assignment.
Another difficulty is that the first major turning point, the first disaster, happens about 15% into the story. That’s too soon. The first disaster should ideally happen somewhere in the first fifth to the first quarter of the story (20 – 25%).
As a result of the placement for the first disaster, I have no clear inciting incident and now place to add one as the story is currently written. That’s not good, but it’s not a disaster, either. Quite the contrary. It flags the first area to work on if I decide to revisit this manuscript.
Act 3B The Dark Moment
Let’s turn now to the dark moment for Fine Lines and Martin. This secondary turning point is easy to identify. I know it has to fall somewhere between Martin learning Robert is the bad guy and his final confrontation with Robert. What could happen in that part of the story that would leave Martin defeated and thinking it’s all over?
Martin’s dark moment comes when he is waylaid by Robert in his own home. His effort at escape is in vain and he quickly realizes that his life and his reputation is forfeit if he does what Robert is demanding and that Clarissa’s life is forfeit if he doesn’t do what Robert is demanding. A classic no-win situation.
Bringing it All Together
With the secondary turning points (or the lack thereof) identified, the story framework now looks like this
Act 1
Act 1A:Introduction
Martin is in the middle of a much deserved vacation when he’s called back to the office on an emergency
Act 1A Turning Point: Inciting Incident
Yet to be identified
Act 1B
Act 1B Turning Point: First Major Turning Point
Martin discovers irregularities in Clarissa’s accounts
Act 2
Act 2A
Act 2A Turning Point: Second Major Turning Point
Robert proposes to Clarissa
Act 2B
Act 2B Turning Point: Third Major Turning Point
Martin discovers Robert is a thief and blackmailer
Act 3
Act 3A
Act 3A Turning Point: Dark Moment
Robert gives Martin a choice: Do what Robert wants and torpedo his professional reputation or resist Robert and risk Clarissa’s life.
Act 3B
Act 3B Turning Point: End of the Story
Martin is attacked by Robert and fights to save his life and his reputation
Not only do I now have a clear diagram of where the framework is working, I know where it needs work.
If I were to continue with the summary, the next step would be filling in Martin’s responses to each of the turning points (Act 1B, Act 2A, Act 2B, Act 3A).
A more likely course of action given the framework diagrammed above would be finding stronger major turning points and strengthening the first act. I would, in fact, spend a time with the first act, since the manuscript already has a stronger second half than first half. When the first act was strong enough to support the second half, I would begin fine tuning the story as a whole.
Working through a story act by act and turning point by turning point is beneficial whether you have a completed manuscript or are just getting started. Even if you hit a roadblock partway through a story, this exercise can be helpful in determining what might happen next.
Until then,
P.S.:
If you have a story idea you’d like help with, email me.
Related Articles:
Using Story Summary to Evaluate New Ideas
Design by Summary: Major Turning Points