On Writing: Turning Points

What is a turning point, and what do they turn?

Photo by Roger Bradshaw on Unsplash

I have spent a lot of time over the last few years trying to work out the nature of various stages in the classical model of storytelling.

This model - although it is not set in stone - largely posits a big moment at the beginning of the story ( the Inciting Incident or Crossing The Threshold), another big moment, or surprise around the middle of the story ( the Mid-Point), then a further big moment two thirds through the story ( the Dark Night of the Soul). Finally, there is the Climax just before the end where the protagonists face down their enemy or antagonist in a Final Battle.

Too reductive? Obviously. Yet this sort of formulation of storytelling is still prominent the world of film, TV, drama and and novels.

There is a good reason for this. It works, even if it is predictable. Life is ordinary, then something happens that introduces a problem and the rest of the story is about solving the problem, one way or another, externally or internally.

I have a book published in June, ‘Yes! No! But Wait… The One Thing You Need to Know About Writing a Novel’. ( Swift Press) that goes into these patterns in depth. My conclusion at the end of this book is that such paradigms are useful - if you know how to use them carefully and don’t let them overpower the story.

But what I realised at the end of my research and after finishing the book, is that it doesn’t really matter what order you put these events in, or what you call them - although story theorists argue about it endlessly.

The most important thing is that your story has plenty of Turning Points ( which all the aforementioned stages in a story contain). They can be big turning points or small turning points, but to engage the reader turning points there must be.

But what is a turning point?

It is a moment of significant change - either in the psychology of the protagonist, or the situation they find themselves in.