The Second Act is the middle section of a novel and usually the biggest chunk of a book. It spans from when a character is first thrust into a new situation until the immediate build toward the climax. In terms of the hero’s journey plot line discussed in previous posts, the Second Act ranges from … More Lessons from a First Novel: Supercharging the 2nd Act
Today is Harry Potter’s 37th birthday and in homage to the birthday boy-who-lived and the continuing summer festivities marking the 20th anniversary of Philosopher’s Stone, I thought I’d look at one particular thing JKR does brilliantly in her plots. Now, at 37, HP might be in a mid-life crisis buying a Nimbus 3000 or something … More The Impossible and Inevitable Potter
Happy New Year to all! We have reached the 10th and final stage of a hero’s journey plot line and a fitting stage it is for January 1st because this is the Resolution. Over the course of the hero’s journey, the character has been thrust out of their Ordinary World with a Call to Adventure … More The Hero’s Journey – Resolution
Huzzah! We have reached the Climax, the grand hurrah, the big shebang, a moment so exciting that only funny-sounding words can express it! All the same, I’ll do my best in this post to articulate what goes on in the climax of a novel or film. To see how we got to this culminating moment, … More The Hero’s Journey – Climax!
The beginning of THE END! We enter the third and final phase of a hero’s journey plot line. Act 3 Propelling Event Climax (aka Death & Resurrection) Resolution So far, we have seen a protagonist, who was living life relatively normally in ACT 1, thrust into a new situation which they must navigate throughout … More The Hero’s Journey – Propelling Event
Listen up, you! Yes—you! On we go to the 2nd stage of a Hero’s Journey plot line: the “Call to Adventure.” This is where the fun begins. It’s the event that really kick-starts the story! To review, here’s the key stages of the Beginning Phase (ACT 1) of a Hero’s Journey story: The Ordinary World … More The Hero’s Journey – Call to Adventure
Let’s begin! Authors and screenwriters often refer to the Beginning, Middle, and End of stories as Acts 1, 2 & 3. Over the next few days, using the ideas of the Hero’s Journey, we will look in more detail at Beginnings or ‘First Acts.’ The list at the end of the last post introduced the … More The Hero’s Journey–Ordinary Worlds
Storythreads 