The Midpoint Trio
Conquering an Unwieldy Manuscript
Happy Friday, friends! This is your reminder to set your timer for 25 minutes and get to work on a creative project (after you finish reading this newsletter). You’ll feel better, I promise.
I hope you like to nerd out about story structure because that’s what we’re going to do today.
But first, some of you might have noticed I took an extended break from writing this newsletter. Nothing’s wrong—I just needed to concentrate on my WIP. I thought about making the pause permanent, but that seemed drastic and unnecessary. I often default to an “all or nothing” mindset, which interferes with my progress in many areas of my life.
So, for now, I’ll be sending this newsletter less often and when inspiration strikes. Hopefully, that will lessen the strain on your inbox, which isn’t my primary motivation for cutting back but a worthy cause just the same.
Enough About Me, Let’s Talk Structure
Earlier this week, I approached the midpoint in the revision of the novel I’ve been working on. More accurately, I realized I was only about two thousand words away from what should be the midpoint word count-wise, but story-wise, I was at least ten thousand words away. Does that make sense? Put another way, I’d inadvertently loaded the first part of Act One with too much story, which meant I’d over-shot my intended midpoint by a good margin. Lots of novels clock in at one hundred thousand words or more, but this being a contemporary mystery, I need to stay in the seventy-five to eighty-thousand word range.
Going long isn’t a problem when you’re writing a first draft. In fact, it’s desirable. Working out a story often requires some meandering as you figure it out. However, I’m in the revision stage of this project, so my job is to create a solid structure. My end goal is to have a manuscript that closely resembles a finished novel. Overshooting my midpoint by ten thousand words is something I need to fix, not embrace.
Enter the Midpoint Trio
I’m well on my way to addressing the problem, but this week’s work got me thinking about what I call the Midpoint Trio. At some point in my craft-learning journey, I realized that a story’s midpoint is actually a set (not necessarily three) of scenes with a beginning, middle, and end. I tend to think of it as a trio because there’s a lead-up to the midpoint where the tension builds, followed by the actual midpoint in which your story changes irrevocably, and then a sort of decompression where your protagonist processes the events of the midpoint and prepares themself for the second part of Act Two.
Here’s what I mean:
Midpoint Trio (MPT)
1. Start—Action/Tension/Suspense Build-up
2. Midpoint—Eek! Didn’t see that coming!
3. End—Recovery/Release/Processing
In my current WIP, I’ve got a passage where my protagonist receives a vital clue. She doesn’t know what it means yet, but it’s intriguing enough to pursue. The clue launches her on a new path and thus begins the MPT:
Start—Propelled by the receipt of the clue, my protagonist goes to a location she hadn’t previously considered. There are road bumps along the way, adding tension and suspense.
Midpoint—My protagonist makes an unexpected discovery at said location. She went there looking for one thing but ended up finding something entirely different.
End—The unexpected discovery leads to information that changes the trajectory of my protagonist’s investigation and opens the gates to the second part of Act Two (in Save the Cat-speak, Bad Guys Close In).
I tend to be a plotter, so defining novel parts in such a concise way is helpful to me. But I’ve kind of been pantsing this revision, which sounds weird because, by now, you’d think I know exactly what happens. Unfortunately, I wasn’t satisfied with my last draft and knew I needed to make significant changes in the revision. So, while many parts are known to me, there have been a lot of changes, and some of them are surprises, even to me.
I say this because even when you’re a pantser, it’s helpful to keep general word counts in mind. When I reached thirty-eight thousand words, and I was nowhere near what I knew was my midpoint, I knew I needed to back up. Thankfully, there are points in the existing story that can be re-ordered and tweaked so that my MPT hits where it’s supposed to without sacrificing all the work I’ve done so far.
Alert: Spoilers Ahead
Having studied story structure for so long, it’s impossible for me to read/watch/listen to any story without analyzing its structure. Sometimes, it makes me crazy, but I try to reframe it as work without really working. Here are a few examples of the MPT in action (these don’t make sense out of context, but the stories will be familiar to many people, so I hope they help):
MISERY by Stephen King
Start—Annie falls into a deep depression, revealing an even more deranged side of herself. This is the real Annie.
Midpoint—Annie suggests that she and Paul both kill themselves. Paul realizes that he’s closer to death than he’s ever been in his life.
End—Paul now understands that Annie will never let him leave. This changes Paul’s focus. It’s time for him to get serious about escaping Annie’s clutches, and Misery Chastain will help him do it.
FAITHFUL PLACE by Tana French
Start—At a gathering on the night of his brother Kevin’s death; Frank is reminded of the reasons he left Faithful Place all those years ago.
Midpoint—Frank escapes to his ex-wife’s house and tells her about Kevin. His daughter Holly overhears the conversation and becomes inconsolable. She knew her Uncle Kevin despite Frank’s efforts to keep his daughter away from his dysfunctional family.
End—Frank discusses what happened with Holly and tells her a little bit about his childhood, something he’s never done before. But he’s beginning to realize he’ll need to come to terms with his past in order to solve the mysteries of Rosie’s disappearance and, now, Kevin’s death.
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (English language version) Screenplay by Steven Zaillian based on the novel by Steig Larsson
Start—Lisbeth discovers that the numbers in Harriet’s diary correspond to passages in Leviticus. She emails Blomqvist to notify him, and he learns the passages are all about killing women for various sins. He arrives at Vanger’s house to question him just as an ambulance is taking Vanger to the hospital.
Midpoint—Vanger’s had a serious heart attack, but he asks Blomqvist to continue his investigation into Harriet’s death. Blomqvist tells Vanger about the email he received, and Vanger reveals the work that Lisbeth did for Milton Security. Blomqvist asks Lisbeth for help.
End—Lisbeth arrives at Blomqvist’s cottage. She puts up copies of the bible verses, and she confirms that they’re up-to-date. The investigation has turned a corner, and now, they’re in this together.
KNIVES OUT (screenplay) by Rian Johnson
Start—The family has gathered for the reading of Harlan’s will. Walt reveals his son overheard Ransom tell Harlan, “I’m warning you.” Ransom confirms that Harlan told him he’d cut him from the will. Later, the dog brings back the wood piece, and Blanc realizes it’s from the trellis. Upon inspection, the secret window is revealed. While the family fights, Blanc asks Marta to show him the trick window from the inside. He examines the carpet and sees the dried mud. Someone who didn’t want to be seen entered the house and broke into Harlan’s room.
Midpoint—Before Harlan’s will is read, Blanc and Elliott tell the family they all need to stay in town until the case is closed. During the reading, the lawyer reveals that Harlan altered his will the week before he died. He’s left everything to Marta. The family turns on her.
End—Marta leaves, and everyone follows her while Jacob videos it. Her car won’t start, and Ransom drives up and coaxes her into his car. He takes her to a restaurant, and they discuss Harlan’s decision to leave her everything. He knows she can’t lie without throwing up—here’s his chance to get the truth.
There you go. I hope this discussion of the Midpoint Trio helps you plot your own stories.
Friday Distractions
I’m a big believer in saturating our living spaces with inspiration and imagination, but this nautical-themed house in Redlands, CA, might go a few steps too far.
I recently finished listening to Catriona McPherson’s A GINGERBREAD HOUSE. I’ll never look at a fairytale cottage the same way again.
I’ve never heard of a mini-beer shot before, but this intrigues me.
Anthony Award nomination ballots are out. I’m eligible in two categories this year. Best Short Story: “Tell Me No Lies,” appears in THICKER THAN WATER, edited by Ron Earl Phillips; and Best Anthology: KILLIN’ TIME IN SAN DIEGO, edited by me.
My husband bought me a poison ring for Valentine’s Day, and it’s my new favorite thing.
That’s it for this week! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
Holly xx