For Writers

Use Four Acts to Get Through the Murky Middle

Focus on the Midpoint

When I outline a novel or graphic novel, I love to reference Save the Cat. If you’re not familiar with this plotting method, it’s based on screenplays and breaks a movie into Act 1 (the first 25% of the book), Act 2 (the next 50%), and Act 3 (the last 25%).

I more or less stick to this, except I put even more emphasis on the midpoint.

A strong midpoint not only gives the reader a high-impact scene to break up the long slog of the middle, but it’s a great chance to change up gears. In fact, I try to make this moment so huge that it effectively breaks that long Act 2 into two acts, so each of the four acts is 25% of the book.*

Act=Goal

To do that, I think of each act as a goal for the MC. Act=goal.

So, in a sense, the flow of a novel could look like this:

  • Act 1: the MC is pursuing a goal, one that makes sense for their ordinary world. Then a catalyst happens to either put that goal in jeopardy or catapult it forward.
  • Act 2: Reacting to that catalyst, the MC sets forth to achieve a new goal. Then another catalyst happens (the Midpoint) that either puts that goal in jeopardy or catapults it forward.
  • Act 3: repeat, bringing us to the All is Lost moment, which is the catalyst for the last act.
  • Act 4: reacting to the All is Lost, the MC makes a final goal.

Sometimes the catalyst in each act is subtle. Sometimes it’s an accumulation of things learned in the act up to that point. Sometimes it’s huge, like a bombshell of information. Whatever it is, each catalyst prevents the MC from continuing to pursue the goal that they are currently on; they have to change gears.

Examples

Star Wars

Let’s look at how this works in Star Wars: A New Hope.

Act 1

  • Goal: Set up droids on the farm.
  • Catalyst: Ben Kenobi asks Luke to go with him to Alderaan and Luke’s aunt and uncle are killed, making his Act 1 goal of getting the droids set up on the farm irrelevant.

Act 2

  • Goal: Get the plans to Alderaan.
  • Catalyst: The Death Star blows up Alderaan and captures the Millennium Falcon.
image from Star Wars: A New Hope. Standing behind Han Solo, Obi Wan looks tense, gazing at something in front of them, saying "That's no moon."

Our Star Wars heroes are about to discover that they cannot achieve their Act 2 goal.

Act 3

  • Goal: Rescue the princess from the Death Star
  • Catalyst: They escape, but the Death Star follows them to the hidden rebel base.

Act 4

  • Goal: Destroy the Death Star to save the rebel base.
  • Result: Luke destroys the Death Star.

Other Examples

Movies:

  • Raiders of the Lost Ark (this goal shift is huge, as Indy’s goal goes from finding the Ark to getting it back from the Nazis; in fact, the entire second half of the movie is Indy trying to get and keep the Ark from the Nazis)
  • Monsters, Inc. (this is subtle, but Sully switches from wanting to save his career to wanting to save Boo, a goal shift that causes conflict with Mike)
  • Lion King
  • Up

Books: The Last Mapmaker and A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat are great examples of the main character’s goal shifting in at the midpoint.

Does It Really Matter?

I don’t think it matters to the reader whether you outline your story with a goal change in the middle, as long as the story moves along. But as the writer, I find splitting up that long middle to be incredibly helpful for getting through the murky middle. Basically, it’s chunking up a huge task into two more manageably sized tasks.

For example, imagine you’re writing Star Wars. Woud it be easier to plot if you had a list of goals for Luke that were:

  1. Set up droids on the farm
  2. Get plans to the rebel alliance
  3. Destroy the Death Star and save the rebels

Or:

  1. Set up droids on the farm
  2. Get plans to Alderaan
  3. Rescue the rebel princess and escape to the rebel base
  4. Destroy the Death Star and save the rebels

You could interpret Star Wars either way, but personally, I would find the second to be much easier to build a story around. The specificity helps me to keep the middle of the book moving along. It would give me something more concrete to write toward.

I can think of many stories that do not approach the Midpoint this way. (I can think of many that don’t even really have a Midpoint shift). But if you’re stuck in the murky middle, try breaking that long Act 2 into two goals, and give each a catalyst that disrupts that goal.

*For more information on four-act stories, click here to read about Joyce Sweeney’s plot clock.

NEW AGENT: Meet East/West Literary Agent Jim Averbeck

We are thrilled to welcome Jim Averbeck to the Agent Spotlight on The Mixed-up Files of Middle Grade Authors today. Jim Averbeck is NEW to agenting as of his September announcement, but definitely not to #kidlit. He is looking to represent picture book author/illustrators as well as middle grade and YA authors. The first client to join him was the NYT #1 bestselling, critically acclaimed author Ellen Hopkins. We are excited to hear all about his new venture with East/West Literary Agency. 

 

Welcome Jim. Are you ready for some questions?

ED: Your #kidlit resume includes so many “chapters” –from award-winning author/illustrator/ middle grade author, SCBWI RA, to mentor and conference critiques and editorial feedback. How might these experiences influence your approach to agenting?

Jim Averbeck: Thank you for featuring me today. As a middle grade author, myself, I have always appreciated this blog.

ED Fun fact: Jim’s mg A HITCH AT THE FAIRMONT (Atheneum) is mentioned in a MUF post: https://fromthemixedupfiles.com/cope/

Jim Averbeck: As for your first question, I think the biggest influence on my agenting style will be the mentoring/editorial work I’ve done (and still do) with authors who want to make their manuscript the very best it can be.

I’ve had more than a dozen people thank me on social media for helping them polish their manuscript in a way that resulted in them selling their first book.  They, and many others, have said they are grateful that I was able to see into the emotional heart of their stories and was able to identify the way to bring it to its best. So I hope to bring that ability to my clients.

ED: How important is the query letter? 

 Jim Averbeck: It’s an opportunity to give some insight into what is unique about your story and why you are uniquely suited to write it. But ultimately the work has to shine on its own.

ED: In addition to repping picture book author/illustrators, your E/W Literary announcement states: In middle grade, YA, and graphic novels, Averbeck is interested in science fiction, low or historical fantasy, and literary fiction with memorable, quirky protagonists and steadfast supporting characters who break stereotypes and tropes. Are there published examples that come to mind, or books that you wish you had agented?

Jim Averbeck: Great question! Here ’s a list of published books I like:

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

The City We Became by NK Jemisin

The Parable of the Sower by Octavia E Butler

A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck

Those books by Laini Taylor about the fierce little fairies (I was super-bummed they didn’t catch on so the series could continue) …

Anything by Neil Gaiman

Anything by Steve Sheinkin

Anything…you know what? How about I just take pictures of my bookcases. Most of what is on them survived the “cull” when I moved 3 years ago, so I probably like the books shown.

Click the photos for an Inside Look at what’s on Jim Averbeck’s shelves!

 

 

Jim Averbeck: As for my TBR pile, I just received a copy of Ellen Hopkins’ latest, SYNC, and can’t wait to dig in.

ED: Claudia, one of the main characters in E.L Konigsburg’s book Mixed Up Files… for which our group is named, is a stickler for grammar. Would you stop reading a submission if it has a few typos, grammatical errors, or misspelled words?

Jim Averbeck: Typos and misspelled words tell me the author is careless so maybe I’d stop if the work wasn’t immediately brilliant. Grammar could have been tossed in service to character or author voice so that probably wouldn’t stop me.  That said, I really hate it when people can’t get lie vs lay straight!  So much so that whenever anyone says “I’m going to lay down” I mentally add “my troubles” to stop from squirming uncomfortably.

ED: Do you plan to notify all who submit to you—both the yays and the nays?

Jim Averbeck: That’s the plan. It would be somewhat rude to leave people hanging. That said, my current system still has a few kinks so it might take a while before it is all running smoothly.

ED: What was your favorite book as a child? What’s on your TBR pile right now? (Besides manuscripts.)

Jim Averbeck: My favorite book as a child was Kathryn Jackson’s and Richard Scarry’s “365 Stories: One for Each Day of the Year”  It’s had a number of titles over the years. I still have the same copy I had as a child – a very worn, very torn copy.

ED: Are you interested in being invited to writer’s conferences?

Jim Averbeck Yes.

ED: And now for the question all our readers have been waiting for: How should authors submit to you? Is there a link?

Jim Averbeck: Folks should go to jimaverbeck.com/agenting. There is a button there for submitting a query, as well as information on what to submit.

Endless Thanks to Jim Averbeck for letting us celebrate his new AGENT hat today.

Wishing you great success, Jim.

Let the querying begin!

It’s Freak Out Season! An Interview with Dr. Carla Naumburg

It’s back to school time! For many students, teachers, and parents, this part of the year brings a mixture of excitement and anxiety, so it’s the perfect time to dig into a middle grade selection all about dealing with those “freak out” moments. Dr. Carla Naumburg was kind enough to chat with me about her new book, How to Stop Freaking Out: The Ultimate Guide to Keeping Cool When Life Feels Chaotic. Carla is a clinical social worker and the author of five books, including the bestselling How to Stop Losing Your Sh*t With Your Kids and its middle-grade companion How to Stop Freaking Out. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, CNN, and Mindful Magazine, among other places.

Her newest book is a fantastic read, with plenty of tips and tricks we’ve already put to good use in my house! Our interview is below, and be sure to check the book out here — its out everywhere tomorrow!

Chris: Thanks so much for taking some time to talk with me! Let’s start with your background as a clinical social worker…how did you make the leap from that career into writing?

Carla: I would actually say I made the leap from writing into clinical social work. I’ve wanted to write books since I was eight years old… or maybe younger! I took a psychology elective in high school, which led to a psychology degree in college, which led to my masters and PhD in clinical social work. But I never stopped thinking about writing books, and when I became a mother, my clinical background and parenting experience led to the publication of my first book in 2014… and I haven’t looked back since!

 

Chris: I get it! When you have a writer inside you, it always finds its way out eventually! So this book is actually a middle-grade companion to a book you wrote for grown-ups with similar themes. How did this project evolve from that original concept?

Carla: How to Stop Freaking Out explores the same information, ideas, and practices for managing your emotions as the parenting book you linked to above, but without the salty language and with many more illustrations! The idea for this book came from my amazing agent, Gillian MacKenzie. The minute she suggested a middle-grade version, I knew she was right. Kids freak out just as often as adults, and we all need help figuring out how to stay calm when life gets overwhelming.

 

Chris: Most of us probably have our own personal definition of a “freak out”, but how would you explain freaking out as it relates to the ideas in the book?

Carla: I use the acronym F.A.R.T. to help readers figure out if they’re freaking out. Our explosions are fueled by strong Feelings, they’re Automatic and Reactive, and, perhaps most importantly, our freak outs go Too far. I go into more detail in the book, but hopefully this silly acronym can help readers identify their freak outs and remember not to take themselves too seriously.

 

Chris: You can never go wrong with fart references in middle grade — love the acronym 🙂 As a lot of our readers know, writing and publishing can sometimes feel chaotic and stressful. Have you ever had to use any the techniques from the book in your life as an author?

Carla: All the time! Some of my favorite habits for preventing freak outs include: doing whatever I can to get enough sleep every night, exercising or moving my body every day, and ending the day by watching a TV show that makes me laugh (our current family favorite is Abbot Elementary!) When I’m trying to stay calm when life gets chaotic, I focus on breathing (and noticing that I’m breathing), going out to the front porch for a few minutes (and breathing some more), dropping my shoulders (which are almost up by my ears when I’m stressing out), and turning on a song that makes me happy.

 

Chris: Awesome thanks for sharing those tips! I’ve been reading through a really interesting book by Jonathan Haidt about the rise of anxiety in young people since the advent of the smartphone. Are there portions of this book that could be applied specifically to technology and social media?

Carla: I haven’t read that book, but yes, smartphones and social media are definitely related to freakouts! The posts and videos on social media can trigger adults and kids alike in a variety of ways, making us more prone to flipping our lids. In addition, if we pull out our smartphones every time we feel bored, anxious, frustrated, and otherwise unhappy, we’ll never figure out what our feelings really feel like and how to respond to them in skillful ways — rather than just losing ourselves in posts and videos that are likely to trigger us further!

 

Chris: Good call — I find myself often fighting the temptation to jump to my phone whenever I’m bored…love the idea of figuring out what my feelings really feel like! Okay, so what’s next for you as an author? Can you give us any clues about new projects you’re working on? 

Carla: I always have a million books bouncing around in my brain. Currently, I’m considering another self-help book for parents, another non-fiction book for kids, or maybe the ever-elusive novel… who knows?

 

Chris: We’ll be excited to see what comes next! Okay…as always, I like to do a lightning round of questions, so here we go…

Favorite place to write?

My office, preferably with two cats and a seltzer on my desk and a good police procedural playing on my iPad. (I always write with the TV on!)

Favorite authors?

In no particular order: Larry McMurtry, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, and Sandra Boynton, but I reserve the right to add to that list!

Best desert?

Coffee ice cream with Oreo chunks.

Do you have any pets?

Yes, two rescue cats: Gertie and Gittel. They are incredibly annoying and I can’t even tell you how much I love them.

Favorite elementary school memory?

Garbage Pail Kids, of course! I collected the cards, and they even had one named Carla. Nobody ever has

anything named Carla (except my parents, I guess)!

Favorite piece of advice for other writers:

It’s impossible to write a book that everyone will love, so don’t worry about that. Write the book you love!

 

Many thanks to Carla for taking some time to chat with the Mixed up Files! You can learn more about Dr. Naumburg on her website, and of course check out How to Stop Freaking Out when it’s released on September 10th. As always, happy reading!