Act 2 – Part 2 An Overview

Midpoint – An Inflection Point in the Story’s Middle, Like a Second Inciting Incident

Plot Point 2 – A Change in the Stories Direction Cause by an Action the Protagonist Takes

The Muddle in the Middle – The Difficulty of Transitioning the Story through the Midpoint

What is the Midpoint?

The Midpoint is What Happens in the Middle of the Story

The Midpoint Contains a Major Confrontation in the Story

It Reestablishes the Protagonist’s Main Goal, Restated the Theme of the Story, and

Raises the Stakes

Midpoint Essentials

Allow the Protagonist to Reach their Goal, Only to Have Success Stripped Away

Reset the Protagonist’s Perspective

Remind the Reader of the Central Theme or Question

Setback the Protagonist and Refocus Them on Their Goal, Thereby Raising the Stakes

What’s the Point of the Midpoint?

The Protagonist a Goal at the Midpoint

The Goal can Be a False One: What They Want, not What They Need

The Protagonist May Think They Have Achieved They Goal – and be Wrong

The Goal Can be the Protagonist’s “False Horizon,” Revealing an Additional Goal

that Must Be Met

A Victory for the Antagonist

The Midpoint is a Dramatic Loss for the Protagonist

This is the Loss of the Battle, not the War

The Protagonist Learns a Lesson from the Loss

The Setting and the Midpoint

Interesting Places can Create Additional Hardship for Our Hero and Contribute to Their Loss

Interesting Places Benefit Our Antagonist (for Now) and Can Appear to

Assure Their Ultimate Victory

Addition

The Original Die Hard Movie

Example: The Lion King

After Years of Escaping His Pain by Living a “Hakuna Matata” Lifestyle, Simba Finds Himself Still Haunted by His Past

Rafiki Divines that Simba is Alive and Finds Him

Example: Hunger Games

Katniss Allies with Rue to Find a Way to Even the Odds Between Them and the Rest of the Tribunes

The Pair Decides to Destroy the Stockpile of Supplies Near the Cornucopia

All of These are Dramatic Events

Like the Inciting Incident, the Midpoint Signals a Change in Direction

The Dramatic Event of the Midpoint Must be “Interesting”

The Midpoint Must Cause the Protagonist to Reset Their Thinking

Warning: The Midpoint is Hard to Write

Defining the Muddle in the Middle

The Middle is Muddled when the Story Slows for the Author and Reader

The Muddled Middle Lack a Dramatic Event, a Change in Perspective,

or a Restatement of the Theme

The Muddle Usually Comes from Telling, not Showing