We’ve been discussing the elements of scenes, and I’m covering five. First was the opening hook. This post covers turning points, and next up will be response. The final will rather fittingly be the closing hook.
Definition of a Turning Point
Characters might initiate a conflict, or a disaster might occur, but in general, an ongoing situation is interrupted and demands a character’s attention. A turning point may also be called a complication, crisis, pivot, pinch point, chokepoint, reversal, or twist. It’s action or circumstance that leads the plot into a new, different, or unexpected direction.
A Turning Point is Both Internal and External
One of the key aspects of a turning point is its composition: it is both internal and external. For example, when a character learns a new truth that affects their inner goal or motivation, they make a new plan or abandon what they had been doing.
The reverse is also true. An outside event or change in circumstances motivates the character to alter their way of thinking.
A scene generally consists of a single turning point. Which type depends on where it falls in a story.
The first turning point in a book separates act one from act two. Another, stronger turning point serves as the midpoint, where everything changes and goes in a different direction. One of the last turning points foreshadows confrontations that will take place later in the book. It’s a reminder of what’s coming and also hints at what might happen.
Turning points are decisive changes. The trajectory of the story alters, revelations occur, and fates change.
Causes of a Turning Point
In a story, one character might discover a truth about the other that changes how they feel or react. For example, a man discovers his wife’s new boss is his own ex but his wife never knew he was married before. Another might be discovering that a new neighbor is the journalist whose article caused the closure of the heroine’s business and caused a downturn in circumstance.
In these turning points, the final result will not necessarily occur within that scene. It sets up a situation which enables circumstances to occur that will lead to the final result.
Other causes might be a detective’s clever deduction, a battle of wills, a secret plan, a sacrifice, a culmination of prior actions (such as being prepared when no one thought it was necessary), a gesture of goodwill (such as sparing the villain), or the generation of a specific emotion. You might tap into things that inspire awe, a humorous situation, create disgust or anger, etc.
Remember This About Turning Points
Two things happen in a turning point. The first is the creation or increase of tension. The second occurs because the character does something (or fails to) that leads to another part of the story.
Our lives consist of turning points. Why else would they be so ingrained in storytelling? The major crises, decisions, events, or happenstance in our lives are what we look back on when we remember the past. “That was the year we got married” or “that’s when the war ended” and so on.
Overall, a turning point reflects not only a change, but also a time. It creates an event that story characters will look back upon and recognize that was where everything changed.
Next month, we’ll take a look at the next section of a scene: revelation and discovery.
How have you used a creative hook to grab a reader’s attention? Feel free to leave an example and the name of the book.
About the Author
Kayelle Allen writes Sci Fi with misbehaving robots, mythic heroes, role-playing immortal gamers, and warriors who purr. She is the author of multiple books, novellas, and short stories. She’s also a US Navy veteran and has been married so long she’s tenured.
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