Midpoint
Every episode covering Midpoint.
"I would say that the next thing to think about, and I sometimes think it’s useful to write your midpoint in the logline, because a lot of stories will actually run out of their steam by their midpoint if they haven’t thought about what it is."
— Stu Willis | DZ-106: How do you know if you have enough story?
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KEY IDEAS
Recontextualizing the Real Monster
"And then it turns out the actual monster is the action hero that they've awakened who's going to absolutely fuck them up."
— Stu Willis (00:15:15) · DZ-122: Escalating Antagonism Across Genres
The Midpoint Test for Story Fuel
"For me, often when I'm structuring stuff, the first one of the early questions for me structurally is what is the midpoint? Because the midpoint will help me work out whether I've got enough juice."
— Stu Willis (00:14:22) · DZ-106: How do you know if you have enough story?
Using Midpoint to Gauge Narrative Drive
"for me, often when I'm structuring stuff, the first- one of the early questions for me structurally is what is the midpoint? Because the midpoint will help me work out whether I've got enough juice."
— Stu Willis (00:14:22) · DZ-106: How do you know if you have enough story?
The Midpoint as Story Momentum
"I would say that the next thing to think about, and I sometimes think it's useful to write your midpoint in the logline, because a lot of stories will actually run out of their steam by their midpoint if they haven't thought about what it is."
— Stu Willis (00:13:42) · DZ-106: How do you know if you have enough story?
Midpoint as Foundation for Plot Structure
"In terms of process, which is separate from plotting, I will do a brainstorming stage and I just come up with ideas of what things could be. But when I start putting it into order, often the first tent pole or whatever you want to call it that I'm trying to put into the ground is what does the midpoint look like?"
— Stu Willis (00:17:35) · DZ-106: How do you know if you have enough story?
Refreshing Audience Engagement at Midpoint
"the midpoint is often the most structurally important thing, right, that it's effectively your- the audience is getting bored, what do you give them new, what do you give them that's new?"
— Stu Willis (00:16:46) · DZ-106: How do you know if you have enough story?
Secondary Romance as Midpoint Support
"a lot of rom-coms in the 30s and 40s had a secondary or tertiary romance that helped carry that midpoint through. And a lot of romances now, a lot of rom-coms are starting to do the same thing because that's super helpful and it helps both break it up and also can parallel and can cause other events."
— Mel Killingsworth (00:16:10) · DZ-106: How do you know if you have enough story?
