In today’s video I’ll be continuing with Part 7 of this 7 part blogpost and video series: 7 Steps to Nail down Your novel before you Begin Writing.

If you haven’t read or watched the first six videos or read the blogposts, click here for: Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; and Part 6.

In today’s video…

I’ll share Part 7: Brainstorm and write down your story’s main foundational elements. 1)Inciting Incident; 2)Crossing the Threshold; 3)Midpoint(revelation) 4)All is Lost; 5)Act 3 “Aha Moment” for the Hero.

Just a little aside here: The ideas I share in this video seres are brainstorming techniques that have helped me to write my own novels. But it’s important to remember that all writers are unique in their own way and what works for me… might not be what works for you. I want to encourage you to experiment with different methods for brainstorming your own story ideas — and come up with a way that works best for you.

These five beats which are the strong pillars that hold up all the other beats in your story plot.

These beats also set a new direction for where the story plot is going, so once you are clear on these beats, all the other beats tend to fall in place.

Here’s a quick summary of each of these five foundational elements:

1.Inciting Incident:

This is a life changing event that happens to the Hero, which propels them into the new world they are entering. This is an action beat that should be big enough to stop the hero from being able to return to their ordinary world.

This Catalyst — is basically you telling the readers that change is critical. That your Hero staying in the status quo world isn’t an option. Something needs to happen… and the change happens in the inciting incident beat.

For example: When a dying girl meets a quirky boy at a cancer support group in the book, The Fault in Your Stars by John Green. Or when a young girl meets a stray dog in the book: Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo.
Or when Katniss volunteers to take her sister’s place in “the reaping” in The Hunger Games by Susanne Collins.
Some type of bad news or shocking circumstances that pave the way for change — these are examples of the Inciting Incident. It’s a wake-up call and a call to action for your Hero.

Conflict is what makes for good fiction and a great story.
So when your HERO is surprised or shocked and her/his response is: “I didn’t see that coming!” That’s a great catalyst.

2.Crossing the Threshold:

This is the moment when the Hero chooses to accept the call to action and leave their ordinary, comfortable world, and step into new world and new way of thinking. This is an action that the Hero chooses to make that separates her/him from their former ordinary world and where they enter the new world.

This is where the Hero breaks into Act 2 of your story.

The challenge and call to adventure have been accepted by your Hero and a new way of life has started.

If you have written your story well, you should see a big change from the ordinary world of Act 1 to the NEW and Different world of Act 2 for the Hero.

Your Hero does not have to physically go somewhere different for this beat, but they do have to TRY something NEW.

Examples: A new relationship; a new job; a new personal; a new school, etc.

Whether or not your Hero goes on a literal journey, this Crossing the Threshold moment is when the Hero leaves their old world and way of thinking behind AND step into the NEW world and new way of thinking. This is a single scene beat that shows your Hero now thrust into their NEW world.

Some examples: Katniss Everdeen enters the Capitol in the Hunger Games by Susanne Collins.
Jane sets out for Thornfield to be the new governess in the novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.

Important to note in this beat is that your HERO myst be proactive about choosing to enter this new world.

The decision to go into this New world can be mentioned by another one of your characters — but the actual choice to accept the call to adventure that waits for them in this new world… must be from the Hero.

3.Midpoint(revelation):

This is the middle of the novel. At this point, the fun and games ends up in either a false victory(where it seems like the hero has been succeeding) or a false defeat(the hero has so far been blundering and failing). In the midpoint, something happens here to raise the stakes for the Hero(which is often when the Hero has an aha moment) which pushes the Hero towards real change.

The Midpoint of your novel is the pivot point in the story. This point in the story is precisely the centre of the hero’s transformation — and it’s important to use that to your advantage and make the middle of your story as exciting as possible.

This Midpoint revelation, is a single-scene beat where 3 essential things must happen:

a)Hero experiences a false victory or false defeat.

If things are working well for your Hero — this is a false victory. The novel is halfway done … your Hero hasn’t won until she/he has learned the theme.

For example: In the movie, The Martian, Mark Watney is harvesting his potato crop and it looks like he’ll have enough food. It looks good, but his larger external goal of getting off the planet still needs to be figured out… and the same goes for his internal goals of conquering his fears.

b)The stakes of the story are raised.

When you raise the stakes of the story — you are essentially telling your Hero — your time is almost up no more messing around.

You are forcing the hero into a new course of action that will lead to the change they are so desperate to have.

Some examples of raising the stakes:

Romance: love stories ramp up — a declaration of love; a proposal, etc.
Thrillers: a time clock appears and the Hero needs to rush to meet the deadline before someone is killed or the world ends.
Mystery/Crime novels: A big game-changing plot twist.

In all of these examples of Midpoints — you can notice a subtle shift from wants to needs.

In the third important midpoint element…

c)The A and B stories intersect in some way.

This is when your Hero begins to let go of what they want to focusing on what they really need.
When the stakes are raised you hero realizes they are missing something… and something needs to change.

 

4.All is Lost: This is the Hero’s lowest point.

This is an action beat where something happens to the hero that pushes the hero to rock bottom. Also the Hero faces his biggest wounds and internal fears.

This is where your Hero has reached rock bottom.

In other words, your Hero has tried everything else and most likely they have lot almost everything that’s important to them… and they can’t see the true path.

Before our Heroes can find that true path to real transformation — they have to reach such a low point — that they have no other choice but to change.

To make this beat as moving as possible… add something that hints at death — either physical death, psychological death, death of an idea etc.

For example – when Rue is killed, for Katniss that is a big “all is lost moment.” In The Hunger Games.

All is Lost moment is where the old world/characters/way of thinking finally dies so a new way of thinking can be born.

Whatever is happening in the All IS LOST moment should be in some way your Hero’s fault.

Why? Because your Hero still hasn’t learned the theme.

The hero must be in some way responsible. Otherwise there’s no lesson to be learned… and that’s the point.

5.”Aha Moment” for the Hero.

At the start of Act 3, the Hero has an aha moment — where she/he realizes what they must do to fix all the problems that were created in Act 2. However, it’s more than fixing the problems from Act 2, it’s also about the Hero fixing themselves. The Hero’s transformational arc is nearly complete at this point in the story.

At this point in your novel, your Hero has a breakthrough moment.

Thanks to the struggles they’ve faced and lessons they’ve learned,
Your Hero finally realizes what they need to do to fix all the problems they’ve caused in Act 2.

This is at the start of Act 3 — and your Hero is finally figuring out how to fix things the right way.

They’ve lost everything now, and they’ve hit rock bottom… and now they know what they have to do.

For example: In The Martian, Mark Watney must figure out how to get the Ares 4 to the site of the rocket… without NASA’s help.

As your Hero enters Act 3 — there is a NEW realization for your Hero: It was always Me that needed to change… not the others around me.

For your Hero… up until this point win the story your Hero has done their best to avoid the real issues in their life.
They’ve chased after what they wanted — instead of what they need. And they’ve tried to fix what was wrong in their life the wrong way — and failed. And they’ve blamed everyone else for what went wrong in their lives.

At the start of Act 3, your Hero realizes :

I have made big mistakes. But now that I can face that truth, I can fix it.

Above are the five foundational elements to brainstorm and our Final step to Nail your Novel’s beginning before your start writing.

Working through these steps and asking deeper questions(of characters, setting, etc) as you brainstorm, are the first steps to convert an idea into a story.

If your idea is not fleshed out, you will find it tough to work with and you’ll lose a ton of time trying to begin writing your novel. Or worse, you won’t finish your novel at all.

So, I encourage you to be purposeful as you begin your novel. Take the time to flesh out the seven key steps above, before you begin writing your novel.

Something to Try:

1)Read through the summary of your story.
2)Next, brainstorm and write down ideas for each of the five foundational elements above. It will help to give you clarity if you review and write down what your Hero’s deep wounds and fears along with their big goals and desires.

As you work through each of these foundational elements, I think you’ll be surprised at the new ideas that will come to you about your characters and story that will help you understand your story and the theme even better.

Thanks for joining me today and I’m excited for you as begin your journey to write amazing stories!

Happy Writing! 🙂