Trigger - what pushes our protagonist over the edge
This is part three of my review of the three act structure - the trigger. This is the event in the story which finally pushes the main character over the edge and into the epiphany.
In Menu for Murder, the trigger was Jayne's arrest for murder. Up to this point, Jayne could have fumbled along without a second thought to who killed the mayor. Once she was charged, she then had to cowgirl up and decide how to get out of her predicament, which moves the story into Act Two. The trigger is an event which attacks the protagonist's flaw (Jayne's lack of self confidence) and causes a crisis.
In a plot driven storyline, the trigger might be when the hero has to decide if he is willing to sacrifice himself to save others. Up to this point, he may have spent his life in selfish pursuits, but suddenly he is thrust into a crisis where he has to put someone else's needs ahead of his own.
Let's think about four people in a high rise complex. Our hero has been working late in his office on the top floor, buying up small businesses to increase the wealth he has no one to share it with. As he leaves for the night, three others enter the elevator on different floors. Each has his or her own story of hardship. The power goes out and the four are trapped between floors as an apocalyptic storm rages outside, preventing help from arriving. One of the four is a woman nine month pregnant, one is elderly, one is a person who has just committed a crime - and then there is our hero. Our soon-to-be mother could go into labor, our elderly person might have a heart problem and our criminal might be desperate to escape. Is this the crisis that makes our hero suddenly decide he needs to stop being selfish (his flaw) and start helping others?
Watch for the trigger in the next book you read. It doesn't have to be a mystery to follow the three act structure.
Happy Trails,
Leslie
Visit my website
In Menu for Murder, the trigger was Jayne's arrest for murder. Up to this point, Jayne could have fumbled along without a second thought to who killed the mayor. Once she was charged, she then had to cowgirl up and decide how to get out of her predicament, which moves the story into Act Two. The trigger is an event which attacks the protagonist's flaw (Jayne's lack of self confidence) and causes a crisis.
In a plot driven storyline, the trigger might be when the hero has to decide if he is willing to sacrifice himself to save others. Up to this point, he may have spent his life in selfish pursuits, but suddenly he is thrust into a crisis where he has to put someone else's needs ahead of his own.
Let's think about four people in a high rise complex. Our hero has been working late in his office on the top floor, buying up small businesses to increase the wealth he has no one to share it with. As he leaves for the night, three others enter the elevator on different floors. Each has his or her own story of hardship. The power goes out and the four are trapped between floors as an apocalyptic storm rages outside, preventing help from arriving. One of the four is a woman nine month pregnant, one is elderly, one is a person who has just committed a crime - and then there is our hero. Our soon-to-be mother could go into labor, our elderly person might have a heart problem and our criminal might be desperate to escape. Is this the crisis that makes our hero suddenly decide he needs to stop being selfish (his flaw) and start helping others?
Watch for the trigger in the next book you read. It doesn't have to be a mystery to follow the three act structure.
Happy Trails,
Leslie
Visit my website
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