My Other Career

Whew… boom done. Stick a fork in it. That was rough but Act Two is all outlined and ready to go. The complete paradigm with plot points one and two, pinches one and two, the mid-point, as well as the dramatic context for part one and part two are all set and waiting for further instructions. I almost feel liberated.

Here’s what everything looks like when it’s together:

Yeah, I know, it’s a pretty bunch of things. Really, very pretty.

Here’s a shot of the complete paradigm:

Here’s how it breaks down:

First Half Dramatic Context: Learning to be “normal”

Second Half Dramatic Context: Learning to “love”

Pinch 1: Tom asks out Michelle

Mid-Point: After the date ends in disaster, John tells Tom the truth about who he is.

Pinch 2: The newspapers in Oklahoma want Tom’s strip

Plot Point 2: Michelle tells Tom she’s leaving for Seattle.

I’m pretty happy with the pacing of Act Two. Pinch one and two really helped bridge together the action for me, I’m glad Syd introduced them. I gives Act Two some nice beats and really helps move the story along.

Listen to me, I’m blathering. Bottom line, this technique really helped for me. Usually Act Two is a real pain in the ass when I write. Character development. Lots of blah blah blah. Maybe a twist in the middle. But I’ve always had problems with how to structure it. This exercise really helped me out. For the first time I feel like I have a confident blueprint. But, we’ll get to more of that in the next two posts.

Enjoy.
-Steve