Act Two - the crisis
This is the fourth part of my blog on the three act structure. Act two begins with the crisis for the protagonist. This is an emotional moment where the reader can clearly see the impact of the trigger on the main character's flaw.
The last piece of act one was the trigger. It's the event which pushes our protagonist into the crisis and sets the stage for change to commence. The character cannot grow without this ingredient and without growth the reader would get bored. What's worse than someone who never changes? I have known people like this who lament their circumstances but keep doing the same thing over and over and wonder why the outcome is never different. Eventually everyone gets tired of this person because he or she never hits that crisis which forces the change.
Whereas much of act one can be plot driven the crisis is all about the character and the story. Here's an example of where crisis might push someone in a new direction. Think about a gambler who desperately needs a big score to pay off his debt to the loan shark. He swears this last bet will do it for him. He bets everything - his house, his car, his family life - on this one chance. When it doesn't go as he hoped, he loses everything - the trigger. Now he finds himself with nothing left. His family have left him, he is homeless, no job and not even a car to sleep in. This is the crisis that will either make him change or he's done. We want him to wake up and fix his situation. We want something good to come from the bad.
I loved Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum character but after about book 12 I gave up on Stephanie ever growing or learning anything about herself. She never changed. She never hit the crisis and picked on man to love and got her act together. You can only have so many blown up cars before you need to open your eyes. You can get way with this in a series for a few books but eventually the readers want some resolution.
Keep in mind that this structure is not used only in the mysteries but in all genres. Watch for it in the next book you read. Grab that "aha" moment when the crisis occurs.
Happy Trails,
Leslie
Visit my website
The last piece of act one was the trigger. It's the event which pushes our protagonist into the crisis and sets the stage for change to commence. The character cannot grow without this ingredient and without growth the reader would get bored. What's worse than someone who never changes? I have known people like this who lament their circumstances but keep doing the same thing over and over and wonder why the outcome is never different. Eventually everyone gets tired of this person because he or she never hits that crisis which forces the change.
Whereas much of act one can be plot driven the crisis is all about the character and the story. Here's an example of where crisis might push someone in a new direction. Think about a gambler who desperately needs a big score to pay off his debt to the loan shark. He swears this last bet will do it for him. He bets everything - his house, his car, his family life - on this one chance. When it doesn't go as he hoped, he loses everything - the trigger. Now he finds himself with nothing left. His family have left him, he is homeless, no job and not even a car to sleep in. This is the crisis that will either make him change or he's done. We want him to wake up and fix his situation. We want something good to come from the bad.
I loved Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum character but after about book 12 I gave up on Stephanie ever growing or learning anything about herself. She never changed. She never hit the crisis and picked on man to love and got her act together. You can only have so many blown up cars before you need to open your eyes. You can get way with this in a series for a few books but eventually the readers want some resolution.
Keep in mind that this structure is not used only in the mysteries but in all genres. Watch for it in the next book you read. Grab that "aha" moment when the crisis occurs.
Happy Trails,
Leslie
Visit my website
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