Before I
cover turning points I need to go over short definitions of external and
internal as it relates to fiction. Simple definitions:
External is
tangible.
Internal is
intangible.
External is
the gun pointed at the heroine’s head.
Internal is
the fear the heroine feels though she’s starting to feel a little courageous.
External is
the heroine grabbing for the gun.
Internal is
the way heroine feels now that she has finally stood up for herself.
In a story
the external conflict feeds into the internal conflict. Same with plot points.
You not only have to look at what happens, but how the character feels while
it’s happening.
What does
that have to do with turning points?
The
mainstream definition of a turning point is a point in a story when the
character’s path is redirected in a new and unexpected way. It’s a good core
definition, but what does a turning point consist of?
The basic
ingredients: an action and a reaction. A turning point is an external change
that creates an internal change. It’s the point of the story when Dorothy makes
a cameo to say, “We’re not in Kansas anymore.”
So, turning
points can also be thought of as points of no return. Once a character has
passed them she can never go back. In every sense, Dorothy couldn’t go back
home. She couldn’t un-see in color again. It's like graduating from high school
or being at your high school weight—it's never going to happen again.
The
Touchstone To Turning Points:
Again, the
core understanding of a turning point is that it's a changed action that
changes the character’s reaction. Something happens in the story and the
character reacts to it on the page.
Like most
structural tools, it's a step by step progression from point A to point B. How
the character would react on page 1 is not how they would react on page 350.
Turning
Points Serve Other Functions
1. Turning
Points raise the stakes.
At each
interval a turning point threatens the character’s want. In The Mummy,
the heroine wants greater recognition, specifically from her intellectual
peers. The heroine cannot get that if she believes in curses and mummies. If
they do exist, she can’t get that if she were the one to actually release the
plague against humanity. Oh wow, curses and mummies do exist and now she has
bigger troubles–saving all of humanity. If she can save the world how could her
intellectual peers not give her the accolades?
2. Turning
Points helps your pacing.
The
dreaded, sagging middle didn’t get its name because it’s pleasant for everyone
to write. (Yes, I’ve met some authors who love to write the middle.) Doesn't
matter if you're writing 30,000 or 100,000 words, the middle is an oasis of
words. If you're building toward a changed action and reaction it can serve as
a guidepost.
How
exciting could a trek through the desert be? As with The Mummy it can
turn out to be a horrifying experience. The heroine watches as the villain sets
out to kill the hero and her brother. Not only that the mousy, clumsy librarian
can be more than a damsel in distress. She can attempt to distract the villain
so that the hero and her brother can get a chance to defeat the second plague
on Earth.
3. Turning
Points show progress within the character.
Series can
be frustrating because it can seem like the character has learned absolutely
nothing from their experiences. If you read book 1 you're reading the same type
of character in book 6.
If you're
reading a novel that stands alone it can feel the same way if the character
doesn’t change. Unless that is the author’s purpose. Stasis can be very
frustrating to a reader. Turning points serve as checkpoints to the character’s
growth. Turning points show the reader how the character is striving for what
they want and the obstacles they're facing to get it. Each change should show
the progress the character is making to who they need to be.
What Is The
Action and Reaction?
This is the
hardest question to answer, because it depends on your character and where they
are in the story.
Imagine her
(insert your character’s name) in front of a locked door. Your character has to
open it. There are a million things she would do, except one.
Under any
other circumstances the character would walk away, but what's behind that
locked door is what they have to have. It’s the universal question of what do I
have to do in order to get what I want? For you, the author, it’s showing what
the character needs to do and them refusing to do it. What is the million
things they would do? What is the one thing they will never do? That never
is what the character fears the most. It's the fear she faces at each turning
point. It’s the need of her overall goal.
Example:
The
commitment-phobe would have to face committing. This fear can be embodied as
inheriting a house from her beloved mother. If a cousin had willed the heroine
the house she would have sold it without an ounce of guilt. So, she bargains
with herself. I'll stay for X amount of time to clean it out so I can rent
the house, then I'm out of here.
Let's call
that the established reaction. It's what the character would normally
do. Also, let's call this character Mel. This house is in a small town where
she grew up.
1st turning point: Mel finds
out the house is in disrepair. It needs to be fixed before she can get a decent
price for rent. The established reaction would be to bulldoze the home and sell
the land for a pretty penny.
The problem
is it's her mother's house. The same house Mel grew up in. Under these
circumstances she can't make that choice. Mel's reaction is to repair the
house, but no way is she staying for a minute longer.
2nd turning point: Though
Mel has tried to avoid making friends, or connecting with old ones, she's
really starting to like the people in town. Mel starts to understand why her
mother stayed here until she died. Still that doesn't mean she's not leaving.
She's enjoying herself. That's all.
3rd turning Point: The
repairs on the house are almost finished. She finds a photo album that brings
up old memories of why she left in the first place, and why she doesn't need to
commit to this town or house. Despite being faced with her reasons for the established
reaction, the stirring to stay gets stronger.
4th turning point: The house
is ready. She has potential renters in sight. The plane ticket out of there
is burning a hole in her pocket. Where Mel's headed no one who knows her. No
one who would care to bring her chicken noodle soup if she's sick. Can she go
back to that existence?
*****
I'm going
to stop here and let that disgust for a bit. Next up will be figuring out what
IS a turning point within your story. There's a big difference in knowing what
a turning point is and pointing at one and say that's a turning point. Some
writers, bless them, make it clearly obvious. I have a love/hate relationship
with those writers. Yes, it's great I can see your turning point, but I've
stopped reading the story to go Hey, there's a turning point. As a reader I
like my stories to be seamless. I don't want to see the man behind the curtain.
But, of course, I love to see the character is progressing.
I digress.
That's for
the next blog post. As usual I'm more than open to questions or outright
disagreement. Do so in the comments.
[I've got a
rambling turning point break down for The Mummy and Back to the Future. Other
people may see the turning points differently, but these are the ones I think
the story hangs on. Follow the Google Doc link. ]
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