Simple Story . . . or Stop Thinking So Hard!

Us plotters love maximizing details. That’s why we enjoy writing everything down about our characters and stories to the point that it sometimes takes us longer to sort through and organize all of it than it does to actually write the novel itself.

But story is simple really, and consists of three base elements when everything else of lesser value is stripped away:

1. Protagonist

2. Goal

3. Obstacle

And sometimes it’s best to keep things vague so as to allow our brains plenty of creative room to wander through unrestricted wonderment while connecting random people, objects, places and events in unexpected ways without breaking a sweat or steaming our toiling thinker. So take out your best plotting friend, the trusty ol’ pack of index cards, and get ready to make then play your own plotting game I call Simple Story which is made up of three stacks of index cards.

The first stack is the Protagonist pack, which consists of any random occupation (or any basic description of character). Since we’re keeping it vague so as to allow our imaginations freest rein you’ll choose one-word types. For example:

1. firefighter

2. bigfoot

3. plumber

4. scientist

5. cyborg

6. mechanic

7. spy

8. janitor

9. assassin

10. hermit

The second stack is the Goal pack, which consists of any random goal you can imagine. Again, vague, so limit these to three-word types; an action verb, the, and an object or person. For example:

1. save the princess

2. hide the gold

3. find the treasure

4. catch the unicorn

5. steal the blackmail

6. survive the sharknado

7. discover the artifact

8. arrest the murderer

9. deliver the McGuffin

10. protect the family

The third stack is the Obstacle pack, which consists of any random threat you can imagine preventing the Protagonist from achieving their Goal. Remember that vagueness, so we keep it to two- or at most three-word types. For example:

1. zombie apocalypse

2. time-traveling cavemen

3. robot army

4. deserted island

5. giant lizard king

6. vampire Nazis

7. sentient murder vehicles

8. alien invasion

9. haunted mansion

10. intelligent dinosaurs

Now, to play Simple Story you just mix your three stacks of index cards into three separate piles (Protagonist, Goal, and Obstacle) then draw one from each. Try imagining the story by allowing your brain to fiddle and fondle with the information. But don’t think too hard or else you defeat the purpose! So after drawing your three cards, limit yourself to one minute of telling your story.

Here’s just one example:

Protagonist: plumber

Goal: save the princess

Obstacle: giant lizard king

Sound familiar?

Of course it does!

But I’ll extrapolate anyways with a little creative tinkering applied:

“A plucky plumber must save the beautiful princess in a magical mushroom world from the giant lizard king who kidnapped her.”

Bam!

Everyone knows Super Mario Bros!

Simple Story also makes a great game to play with your kids, or a party game with friends. I only included ten examples for each but you can make your stacks as large as you wish. Simple Story is more fun and creative when played in groups because you don’t know what’s written on all the cards until you draw then deal them.

Simple Story is also a fantastic way to teach others or learn yourself how to construct great loglines because the simplest logline is just that: a brief description of the story’s Protagonist, their Goal, and the Obstacle involved.

So gather some friends or family, hand out pens and cards, have everyone write down whatever they can think up, then shuffle and deal. Now go around the table slapping down cards while creating your Simple Story.

But let’s say you do want to complicate things a bit.

Okay, great!

We’ll do so with a little more extrapolation on our three parts of Simple Story.

1. For the Protagonist: discover their Wound, Shield, and Sword.

2. For the Goal: discover the Possession of, Relief from, or Revenge for it.

3. And for the Obstacle: discover its Motive and Opportunity for happening.

This easy three step extrapolation will help you further flesh out your Simple Story into the most basic logline. Let’s use our Super Mario Bros. example as  . . . well, as another example, and with a bit of ingenuity applied.

1. Protagonist: plumber (Wound: returning to the Mushroom Kingdom from the real world for a hot date, our horny Italian plumber Mario discovers his true love Princess Peach was kidnapped during his absence; Shield: Mario is determined but cowardly because of all the new enemies roaming the Mushroom Kingdom seeking to thwart him courtesy of Bowser ushering them forth from his realm; Sword: Mario needs to embrace his courage to defeat the gauntlet of enemies in his way and eventually rescue Princess Peach from the giant lizard king who kidnapped her).

2. Goal: save the princess (Possession of: Mario needs to regain possession of the kidnapped Princess Peach while saving her from the evil clutches of Bowser before the giant lizard king forces her into a marriage that will fully merge their realms and make of Bowser the Mushroom Kingdom’s dictator).

3. Obstacle: giant lizard king (Motive: Bowser kidnaps Princess Peach to force her into marriage so their two realms can merge and he can take over ruling the Mushroom Kingdom; Opportunity: Princess Peach is alone and unprotected during Mario’s absence in the real world).

So what’s the simple one-liner logline of this all?

“Cowardly plumber Mario must embrace his courage and save the kidnapped Princess Peach or else Bowser will force her into a marriage that will merge their realms and make of him the Mushroom Kingdom’s dictator.”

See how easy it is to extrapolate our Simple Story with a little creative tinkering?

Now go make your own deck of cards and have some fun!

Lake Plotsalot . . . or the Ten-Sentence Pantser Plot Outline

Writers exist on a broad spectrum.

At one end are Pantsers, those who write by the seat of their pants and never plan ahead because they enjoy the wonder of the journey over its final destination. At the other end are Plotters, those who plan everything out in meticulous detail before writing it all down because they look forward to the journey’s satisfying end the most.

Most writers exist somewhere in the middle of this spectrum as some combination of both, and here we’re going to focus on Pantsers who wish to dip their curious toes into Lake Plotsalot but have no intention of diving in for the wonderful swim.

The most basic plot is simple, really.

Act 1: Introduce the story’s central conflict.

Act 2A: Develop the story’s central conflict.

Midpoint: Complicate the story’s central conflict.

Act 2B: Intensify the story’s central conflict.

Act 3: Resolve the story’s central conflict.

And so is the most common subplot that is typically the Love Story.

Act 1: Boy meets Girl.

Act 2A: Boy gets Girl.

Midpoint: Boy and Girl have sex.

Act 2B: Boy loses Girl.

Act 3: Boy gets Girl back.

If you’re a Pantser who wishes only to plot by the slightest margin then those two plots interwoven are all you really need. But how do you utilize them? Write one concise sentence describing each plot point, interweave them as according to their Acts, and voila you have just plotted the most basic outline imaginable.

And if you’re unsure what story you want to write? Then here’s an old and proven standby, the Classic Quest Plot: an object to obtain and limited time to obtain it.

Don’t like that one? Then toss it aside for another method of discovering your story because every protagonist seeks one of three things:

1. Possession of something.

2. Relief from something.

3. Revenge for something.

There you have it, Pantsers, the most basic of everything you need to write your next great novel courtesy of plot.

Happy writing!

Babypuncher . . . or Why your novel's Title needs impact

The entire point of a novel’s title and cover is to do one thing: elicit as much of a reaction and response as possible from a potential reader. Period.

Perfect example: I chose the title of my book ‘Punching Babies: a how-to guide’ for this specific reason. It’s sold tons of copies over the years because people read the title and most of them laugh with curiosity while others get furious or disgusted.

I’ve actually received death threats over that title, as well have received many negative reviews from people who have never even read the book while telling me I should be ashamed of myself for ever insinuating someone to punch a poor, defenseless, adorable, sweet little baby.

Ironically, on its back cover and on its second page is the logline of the book: how to make writing your novel as easy as punching babies!

I even explain in the book why I titled it so, and nowhere in the book do I ever suggest literally punching a baby.

Punching Babies is an obvious twist on the age-old line, ‘Like stealing candy from a baby’, or translation: something very easily accomplished. But that phrase didn’t contain enough impact for me, and I also have a dark sense of humor. So I thought, What’s easier than punching a baby that can’t possibly fight you back? Ah-ha! And my book teaches the aspiring author how to write their novel in just as easy a way . . . though more specifically how to plot it with the greatest of ease (*I’ve since published two more books on this subject, Pen the Sword and On Writing Well, all three of which I recommend to every aspiring author looking to improve their writing craft, especially so their plotting technique).

The first thing a potential reader notices is your book’s cover. Then its title. Then they turn it over and read its back cover blurb. If they’re still curious they may flip through it and read a few passages before deciding to invest their money and time buying and reading it.

So you want your book’s cover and title to have impact.

Stop worrying about offending people because . . . who cares?

If the great tragedy of someone’s life is that they are offended by an author’s book cover and title then I envy them. Though I pity those who actually take the time not to read the book but instead rush to log on to Amazon or another website and proceed to waste their time giving my book a negative review all based upon their pwecious wittle feewings being offended by the title.

It also amuses me they don’t realize that I don’t care.

I have novels to write.

Because losers focus on winners, winners focus on winning.

That’s why I’m continuously publishing novels as an award-winning and best-selling author while they’re sitting at home and wasting their time complaining online about the title of a book they’ve never even read.

As well they’ve forgotten the old adage: “Sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me.”

Here are two negative reviews of Punching Babies taken from Amazon as example:

1 star review by ‘Offended’: Title is Offensive!

Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2021

“The title of this book is offensive and needs to be removed from Amazon. I can’t shop here knowing that you encourage this kind of talk!”

*note: not only is this person an unverified purchaser (which means they never bought and so most likely also never read my book), but apparently they specifically made their Amazon account, ‘Offended’, just to give my book this negative review).

1 star review by ‘Compulsive Reader’: Desperate for attention

Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2015

“Man, what is your problem? Was this title really necessary? Are you that desperate for attention?”

*note: also an unverified purchaser of my book, though at least ‘Compulsive Reader’ posted their review from a real account.

Now here are two positive reviews by actual purchasers and readers of my book:

5 star review by ‘Graeme Kent’: A 100 Page Encyclopedia for all Writers.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 13, 2019

Verified Purchase

“This is a gem of a book for writers at all stages of their development. I would not have believed that so much practical information could be encapsulated in so little space. This is easily the best writers’ guide I have ever read. Buy this book and use it as your essential guide to a novel writing career.”

5 star review by ‘Lee Man’: My new bible!

Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2019

Verified Purchase

“This book takes all the books I’ve ever learned from and combines them into an easy, concise doctrine with examples from a well known movie. I love how he took elements from the snowflake method, Save the Cat, Dwight Swain’s motivation/reaction units, Joseph Campbell’s Hero Journey and much more and united it with concrete examples from the movie The Matrix. Very well done!”

It warms my writerly heart that both Graeme Kent and Lee Man not only enjoyed my book but that they learned something valuable from it which may help improve their own writing . . . unlike Compulsive Reader and ‘Offended’ who are probably still toiling away upon unfinished drafts of unpublished novels.

Graeme Kent and Lee Man understand not to throw the baby out with the bathwater and I wish them both much success in their writing careers, whereas and ironically Compulsive Reader and ‘Offended’ let the baby swallow down the drain because they couldn’t look past an innocuous book title and so let their oversensitive emotions get the best of them.

I hate to break it to the latter two but if you are so easily offended then pursuing a writing career (a field in which everyone judges your work) is definitely not for you, and I don’t want to be around for the childish outburst when someone is kind enough to critique any of your writing . . . if, that is, you ever finish it while being so busy cutting your own nose off to spite your face.

Sadly we now suffer an entire generation of these easily offended people who were coddled by their enabler parents and raised into blue- or pink-haired Social Justice Whiners that pout because of micro-aggressions which don’t exist and cry whenever anyone looks at them wrong. They run around screaming false accusations of Racist! and Racism! at anyone who dares hold a different opinion than theirs, regardless the subject, in the desperate hopes of canceling them without realizing they are psychologically deflecting from their own racist tendencies on a subconscious level.

News flash: if you see racism everywhere it’s because you are the racist!

The legendary Dee Snider did a wonderful job of pointing out this psychological proof during his 1984 senate hearing when he was brought before congress to explain the ‘offensive and explicit’ music of his rock band Twisted Sister. Al and Tipper Gore claimed to hear horrible and offensive things such as sadomasochism and bondage in Dee’s songs, to which Dee intelligently pointed out that art is subjective and they have those awful thoughts because that’s what they want to hear.

The ensuing torrid roar of silence after Dee’s rebuttal is priceless.

I suggest every writer fondle into Google’s naughty little search engine “How Twisted Sister Outclassed Congress” then watch the short video for a great time and a little lesson on why some people will project their darkest thoughts onto your art regardless no connection involved but for their own private perversions they keep closeted away while blaming your art as the conduit excuse.

Our current Cancel Culture is a plague of bratty children pretending to be adults. They live with their parents into their 30’s and embrace Socialism because they want the government to take care of them after their parents die or finally get tired and kick them out of the basement.

You know what I say?

Screw ‘em.

And so should you when considering the cover and title of your next book.

Make sure they possess impact, because impact is what gains your book attention and potential readers.

You can’t please all of the people all of the time so don’t bother trying. In fact, sometimes it’s fun to go in the opposite direction and feed those Cancel Culture trolls, because they provide you something valuable: free P.R. for your novel with every complaint they make!

Happy writing!

To and First . . . or what the Inciting Incident really is

As writers we’ve had it pounded into our heads that an Inciting Incident must be cataclysmic or apocalyptic or world-shattering to ensure maximum excitement at the beginning of our story.

Sure an Inciting Incident can be worlds colliding but it doesn’t have to be. It can be a major or minor event all depending upon your particular story and your particular protagonist.

Because of this, many writers often confuse what the Inciting Incident really is, or even just don’t know, so I’ll give you the proper definition now: the event which happens to the protagonist and presents their first awareness of the story’s central conflict.

Take note of the two key elements: 1. that it happens TO your protagonist, and 2. that it presents their FIRST awareness of the story’s central conflict.

If either of these is missing (To or First) then it is not an Inciting Incident.

For example, in the movie Jaws by Steven Spielberg, ask a room full of people what its Inciting Incident is and many will tell you that it’s obviously the opening scene where the shark brutally kills and eats the swimmer. And they will claim that’s because if not for the shark attack then the rest of the story wouldn’t have happened.

Wrong!

The Inciting Incident of Jaws is not the opening scene of the shark attack because the protagonist, Sheriff Brody, is not present, so it doesn’t happen to him nor does it present his first awareness of the story’s central conflict. If we wanted to make it the Inciting Incident then all we’d have to do is place Sheriff Brody on the beach to witness the shark attack.

Instead, the Inciting Incident of Jaws takes place several scenes later and is a minor event when Sheriff Brody first learns of the shark attack because this happens to the protagonist as well presents his first awareness of the story’s central conflict. He then reacts poorly, as all flawed protagonists do, by trying to keep the matter hush-hush and not shutting down the beach because their little island town thrives on tourism, but that’s neither here nor there yet.

So what makes a good Inciting Incident?

I’ll do you one better!

Here are the five most common Inciting Incidents:

1. A Telegram Arrives: the protagonist is invited into an extraordinary adventure or mission, or an adversity outside of the protagonist’s current worldview forces them from naïveté to maturity through the process of reflecting on his or her life while making changes.

2. A Great Crime: a personal or impersonal crime occurs which spurs the protagonist to seek revenge or justice (or hunt for/escape from the monster).

3. Forbidden Temptation: the protagonist stumbles upon something (a place, an object, or even a person) they know they shouldn’t interact with but they choose or are forced to do it anyway, or a new temptation requests the protagonist to betray their conscience for the sake of some benefit or greater good.

4. Meet / Split: the couple meets for the first time and an emotional connection is made whether romantic or platonic (either eventual sexual relations or a ‘buddy love’ duo) / or the couple already exists and some kind of betrayal occurs, usually an infidelity, so that they separate (the severing of a sexual relationship or best friendship).

5. The Proving: entry into some kind of tournament or competition for the performance of some skill or talent, whether team or individual, though told through the protagonist’s point of view.

*Notice that every example contains multiple versions of the Inciting Incident, and that’s because there exists numerous ways in which you can twist them to fit your particular story. For example #2: A Great Crime. A personal crime could be something like the protagonist coming home from work and discovering their murdered spouse lying on the floor. The impersonal crime twist on this is that the protagonist is a detective and discovers a stranger’s dead body by happenstance while investigating the scene of a police call. The former may spur the protagonist into seeking revenge, while the latter motivates the protagonist into seeking justice.

Inciting Incidents kick off your story’s central conflict, and they should happen as soon as possible, but you don’t want to begin your story with the Inciting Incident because we the audience need to be invested in the protagonist first. That’s why Inciting Incidents work best as a three-part sequence of events as follows:

1. Save the Cat, then Kick the Dog: first the protagonist performs an admirable act to establish likeability (Save the Cat), then they suffer an undeserved misfortune to establish sympathy (Kick the Dog). Likeability + Sympathy = Empathy. Protagonist empathy must exist, which is why you should always start your story with it, otherwise we won’t care when the Inciting Incident happens and that removes its impact.

2. Inciting Incident: the event that happens to your protagonist and presents their first awareness of the story’s central conflict.

3. Reaction and Response: the protagonist’s reaction and response to the Inciting Incident, and in a ‘wrong’ way because of their dominant character flaw, which only worsens the Inciting Incident’s influence upon their ordinary world no longer ordinary until they cannot ignore it any longer and decide they must do something about it.

I suggest making these three events the first three chapters of your novel for good reason. The first chapter establishes reader-to-protagonist empathy, a must in order for us to care about the protagonist and what happens to them. The second chapter introduces the story’s central conflict not only to the protagonist but also the reader; this is, if asked what your novel is about, the story the reader will describe. And the third chapter shows the protagonist’s flawed reaction and response to conflict though also displays their need for and possible willingness to change because of their dominant character flaw’s opposite virtue, providing us a glimpse of who they may become by the story’s end if:

1. Triumph: they eventually abandon their dominant character flaw for its opposite virtue and achieve their true potential through character growth, thus living a more satisfying existence than when they started because of it.

Or . . .

2. Tragedy: they eventually regress deeper into their dominant character flaw while rejecting its opposite virtue, thus living a more miserable existence than when they started because of it (or maybe even earning literal death).

Both of these (Triumph or Tragedy) are decided during the Rubicon that takes place at the end of Act 2, and which of the two the protagonist chooses (either flaw or virtue) will become their new dominant character trait for the rest of the story that is Act 3 . . . because Act 3 exists to reward the triumphant protagonist for choosing virtue over flaw which ends with the ultimate reward that is the story’s Climax, or to punish the tragic protagonist for choosing flaw over virtue which ends with the ultimate punishment that is the story’s Climax.

Point being, all Inciting Incidents introduce conflict. And all conflict falls into two categories:

1. Internal Conflict (within): the protagonist struggles with their own opposing desires or beliefs.

2. External Conflict (without): the protagonist struggles against an outside force, someone or something beyond their control.

*Remember: both Internal and External conflicts are necessary for an interesting story and believable protagonist.

And there exists six different types of conflict you can use to propel your story:

1. Person vs. Self: the protagonist struggles to discern what the moral or ‘right’ choice is, or it may also encompass mental health struggles.

2. Person vs. Person: the protagonist’s needs or wants are at odds with another character’s and they struggle for victory over the other.

3. Person vs. Society: the protagonist (alone or in a group) fights against injustices within their society, whether the government, a cultural tradition, or societal norm of some kind.

4. Person vs. Supernatural: the protagonist is pitted against phenomena (whether extraterrestrial, metaphysical, or technological) to create an unequal playing field while often raising poignant questions about what it means to be human.

5. Person vs. Fate/Destiny: the protagonist discovers an imposing fate or destiny and struggles to accept the sacrifices that come along with it.

6. Person vs. Nature: the protagonist is set in opposition to the weather, the wilderness, or a natural disaster, often battling for survival against the inexorable and apathetic force.

Inciting Incidents are simple really, and can be pretty much anything (surprising news of changing circumstances, a clue discovered to something known or unknown, a sudden turn of luck or misfortune, an ally becomes an enemy or an enemy becomes an ally, something of value is lost or stolen or broken, someone is kidnapped or killed, blah blah blah . . .) so long as it happens to the protagonist and presents their first awareness of the story’s central conflict.

The key is to take your beloved protagonist then inject something they’ve never dealt with before into their life that influences their ordinary world no longer ordinary in as permanent a way as possible and cannot be ignored while also relating to their dominant character flaw as well possesses a link to the antagonist.

Just remember the To and First rule and you’ll never question your Inciting Incident again.

Happy writing!

The Rubicon . . . or the Most Crucial Moment in your story

The Midpoint of your story serves a very special purpose because it’s when your protagonist achieves their full dedication to resolving the story’s central conflict by shifting them from Reaction (not in control of the conflict) to Proaction (taking control of the conflict). This is what is meant by ‘Midpoint Reversal’ because it’s a reversal of circumstances. The hunted becoming the hunter so to speak.

Before the Midpoint the protagonist is not fully dedicated to the cause. After the Midpoint the protagonist becomes fully committed because the Midpoint is a hefty no turning back point while raising the story stakes and making it too personal to ignore or abandon any longer.

And by the Midpoint at the latest the protagonist and antagonist must recognize that they are each other’s true obstacle standing in their way to achieving their goal and must be removed in order for them to succeed. This is often why in many stories at the Midpoint the protagonist and antagonist come to literal face-to-face for the first time, prompting this necessary recognition of conflict.

Think of the movie Gladiator with Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix. Russell’s character Maximus is enslaved and dons a mask while fighting after being betrayed by Joaquin’s Commodus. At the Midpoint of the story, Maximus and Commodus literally come face-to-face in Rome where Commodus demands of the unknown gladiator to remove his mask and reveal himself. Maximus does, shocking everyone in the arena as well Commodus who presumed the famous general dead. This gives us a little taste of the protagonist vs. antagonist showdown that will happen by story’s end while letting us know that confrontation is now inevitable as well that once it happens the story is over. This also signifies that Maximus and Commodus now truly recognize each other as the main obstacle in their way to victory.

Midpoints also serve another special purpose because they help define whether your story is one of protagonist triumph or protagonist tragedy.

But how do you know which?

Easy.

Act 2A

Midpoint

Act 2B

Act 2A of a triumphant protagonist story is more successes than failures toward resolving the story’s central conflict. The Midpoint is where they achieve their biggest success yet called the False Victory (an All is Joy moment in which the protagonist is at their highest point in the story so far). Act 2B is more failures than successes because Acts 2A & 2B are opposites. Act 2B ends in an All is Lost for the protagonist, or the False Defeat (in which the protagonist is at their lowest point in the story so far).

-Triumphant Protagonist-

Act 2A: more successes than failures leading to the False Victory (all is joy)

Act 2B: more failures than successes leading to the False Defeat (all is lost)

To change their story from triumph to tragedy all one needs to do is switch Acts 2A & 2B as well switch the False Victory and False Defeat each leads to.

So Act 2A of a tragic protagonist story becomes more failures than successes. The Midpoint is where they suffer a major misfortune, or the All is Lost of the False Defeat. Since Acts 2A & 2B have been switched, Act 2B becomes more successes than failures, which ends in the All is Joy of the False Victory.

-Tragic Protagonist-

Act 2A: more failures than successes leading to the False Defeat (all is lost)

Act 2B: more successes than failures leading to the False Victory (all is joy)

Either way, what happens next is the most crucial moment in your story because after the All is Lost of the False Defeat, the triumphant protagonist abandons their dominant character flaw for its opposite virtue. And after the All is Joy of the False Victory, the tragic protagonist regresses deeper into their dominant character flaw while rejecting its opposite virtue.

Both of these determine your entire Act 3 and its outcome.

1. The triumphant protagonist confronts the antagonist and defeats them because of their virtue.

Or . . .

2. The tragic protagonist confronts the antagonist and is defeated by them because of their flaw.

Because . . .

1. A False Victory Midpoint (all is joy) gives you a triumphant protagonist during the story’s Act 3 Climax.

And . . .

2. A False Defeat Midpoint (all is lost) gives you a tragic protagonist during the story’s Act 3 Climax.

I call this most crucial moment of decision the Rubicon because it’s the most defining stage of protagonist change as well a point of no return. The Rubicon is the linchpin which connects Act 2 and Act 3 together. It’s the moment the triumphant protagonist truly realizes their flawed Shield for the burden it is and throws it aside to brandish their virtuous Sword. Or the moment the tragic protagonist rejects their virtuous Sword and regresses deeper behind their flawed Shield (I go more in depth upon this here: Wound, Shield, and Sword).

The Rubicon is the most important decision your protagonist makes in their story because it represents their defining moment of true change. And Act 3 is all about the rewards (if they abandon their dominant character flaw) or consequences (if they embrace their dominant character flaw) of their decision as well how they then apply it to its fullest potential (virtue) or detriment (flaw).

But remember, change is never instant. The Rubicon is more so the protagonist’s acceptance of (flaw abandoned for virtue) or surrender to (virtue rejected for flaw) this defining moment of change. And during Act 3 they may slip in the opposite direction a handful of times along the way while adjusting to this change before they fully embrace it then wield it against the antagonist during the final battle of the story’s Climax.

-Triumphant Protagonist-

Act 1 (show the flaw and hint the virtue)

Act 2A (more successes than failures)

False Victory (all is joy)

Act 2B (more failures than successes)

False Defeat (all is lost)

The Rubicon (flaw abandoned for virtue)

Act 3 (the rewards of the virtue applied)

-Tragic Protagonist-

Act 1 (show the flaw and hint the virtue)

Act 2A (more failures than successes)

False Defeat (all is lost)

Act 2B (more successes than failures)

False Victory (all is joy)

The Rubicon (virtue rejected for flaw)

Act 3 (the consequences of the flaw applied)

Act 2 is well known for causing writers trouble because it is the meat of the story and requires much juicy beef layered between the two slices of Act 1 and Act 3 story bread, so let’s simplify by visualizing a mountain and a valley:

1. A triumphant protagonist’s Act 2 is a mountain (^) with Act 2A the first and ascending side (more successes than failures) and Act 2B the second and descending side (more failures than successes), its highest peak the Midpoint (the All is Joy of the False Victory).

And . . .

2. A tragic protagonist’s Act 2 is a valley (v) with Act 2A the first and descending side (more failures than successes) and Act 2B the second and ascending side (more successes than failures), its lowest dip the Midpoint (the All is Lost of the False Defeat).

You can build your entire story around its Midpoint because the Midpoint determines everything else that happens before and after it.

But what if you don’t know the Midpoint?

It’s all good muh babies if you know the Climax, because the Climax is a more intense version of the Midpoint.

1. Triumphant Protagonist: the True Victory Climax is the All is Joy of a False Victory Midpoint on steroids. And between them is the All is Lost of the False Defeat before the Rubicon.

Or . . .

2. Tragic Protagonist: the True Defeat Climax is the All is Lost of a False Defeat Midpoint on steroids. And between them is the All is Joy of the False Victory before the Rubicon.

We’ll use Gladiator again as the perfect example of how the Midpoint and the Climax parallel each other:

During the Midpoint, Maximus and Commodus come face-to-face though do not engage in battle, only talk and threaten. During the Climax, Maximus and Commodus come face-to-face again and this time they battle to the death.

(*note: Though Maximus is classified as a classic Greek ‘tragic hero’, his story is not one of tragedy but triumph.

Antagonist Commodus’ dominant character flaw is cowardice ((first proven at the movie’s beginning when he arrives late to the opening battle on purpose)) so before the climactic final battle, Commodus visits a chained Maximus and literally stabs him in the back while hugging him to ensure he’ll win then orders the wound covered before they fight to the death in front of all of Rome in the arena.

Maximus tragically dies from the mortal wound, true, but only after triumphantly killing Commodus.

Protagonist Maximus’ dominant character flaw is selfishness ((he cares little for helping Rome over inflicting revenge upon Commodus)), but during his Rubicon he embraces its virtue opposite of selflessness while coming to grips with the tyranny Commodus is imposing upon Rome that will only worsen.

Before Maximus dies after killing Commodus, he orders Senator Gracchus reinstated and expresses Marcus Aurelius’ final wish: that Rome be a republic again. Maximus’ death thereafter reunites him with his murdered family in the Elysian Fields of afterlife as reward.

Maximus is an anti-hero, and the true measure of the anti-hero is that they first reject a cause for selfish reasons ((as does Maximus to Marcus Aurelius then Commodus at the beginning of the movie)) then they eventually take up and almost always self-sacrifice to the cause they now believe in for selfless reasons.

If Maximus would have accepted Marcus’ offer then he and his family would still be alive, and when he kills Commodus in the arena it’s for the selfless higher purpose of saving Rome from Commodus’ tyranny instead of selfish revenge for his murdered family . . . though that latter is a bonus).

But what if you don’t know your story’s Climax either?

The easiest way to have your story plot itself out for you is from the Rubicon. Once you discover your flaw vs. virtue argument (your true story when everything else of lesser value is stripped away), the next step is to decide what your protagonist chooses during the Rubicon at the end of Act 2 (which then becomes their dominant character trait for the remainder of the story). If they choose virtue over flaw then they are a triumphant protagonist. If they choose flaw over virtue then they are a tragic protagonist. Either way, the decision they make at the Rubicon determines your story’s entire Act 2 and Act 3. Find your Rubicon and you’ll automatically find your Midpoint and Climax.

Simple as eating cake.

Knowing your Rubicon then writing from it makes plotting the rest of your story a warm and gentle breeze instead of the turbulent tornado many writers often consider it. So discover your Rubicon and you’ll discover the rest of your story.

Happy writing!