Midpoint in a story

We have covered in our writing tip Wednesday past, the Hook, the Plot Turn, and the Clincher. Join me now as we discuss what happens to the book we are writing at the Midpoint.


In this tip, the character will face and be influenced by whatever big thing is in his or her life. In most stories this is the figure who has life and death power. This is the middle of the journey, or the Midpoint. All the previous steps have been moving to this place, and all that come after will move out from it. This section is symbolized by an encounter with someone or thing with incredible power. For the end of the story to take place, the story character (or its life as he or she knows it) must be affected so that the new story(the satisfying ending) can come into being. The midpoint is for that character to either keel over and die or move to the next level.

For example: Scarlett yaps with the Yankees, Harry Potter tussles a troll, Percy Jackson mangles Medusa, and you dear Murderer, will have to come up with something big and scary, (even if it isn't a fantasy creature) to slap your character around, too, if you want to have an effective middle. Just remember, it has to send him or her off in the right direction -- toward the ending!


Hope this helps you, dear Murderer. Come on back next time and see what I have for you!

A villain, a villain, my kingdom for a villain!

How can you create a villain character and develop him fully if you are writing in first person? This question came up on another site not too long ago and some of the answers that were given were really interesting and worth a mention once again.

I write in first person, ninety-five percent of the time. It is very hard for the reader to visualize a villain that is not in the same scene as the main character because in first person the reader only knows what the character knows (also sees, hears etc.), but it CAN be done.

Some of the ways are through the eyes of a third person. You can learn a lot from the opinion of others (wink).

Say you have a woman who is being mean to another. What better way to find out what her deal is than to engage in conversation with the guy she’s recently dumped? Oh man, he could tell you a thing or two!

Or perhaps your main character is trying to solve a murder, so he is going around asking questions about the victim. Clue-gathering, eh? He is very likely going to hear about the villain sooner or later. Why? Because that person is at the bottom of it all! Someone has something to tell your main character because not every one is honorable and sometimes characters, even minor ones, turn out to be meanies.

So… that is my thought on this subject.

What other ways can someone convey the details of the villain character if they are writing in first person and the villain remains tucked off-screen?