Speaker 1: What's up everyone? I have a question to ask you. Ever felt that heart-stopping moment in a story where everything changes? Or that deep sigh of relief when a story concludes just right? I only ask because today is all about Transform Your Story, the Art of Midpoint Conflicts and Resolutions. Yeah, but Thomas, why is that important? Well, look, a good midpoint conflict and a strong resolution are important because midpoint conflicts and resolutions are pivotal moments in your story that can make or break your audience's engagement and emotional involvement. If your midpoint isn't elevating the stakes and your resolution isn't resolving in a satisfying way, you can lose the audience. But what is a midpoint conflict and a resolution? A midpoint conflict is a crucial turning point that raises the stakes, reveals the truth of the lie, and propels the story into new directions. A resolution is the final act where all conflicts are resolved, leaving the reader with a sense of completion and satisfaction. Now, a little caveat to that is obviously, if it's part of a series, there'll be some things that you introduce within the third act, sometimes even the first and second act, that will be explored and discovered in future books. But the book itself should have a confined beginning, middle, and end where you're like, this book has a full story. Great. Without leaving it where it's like, what happened to these people? Anyway. So today, we're going to go over what makes a strong midpoint conflict and what makes a strong resolution. Before we get into a walkthrough using, I believe I'm using Wizard of Oz. Let me see. Yeah, today is Wizard of Oz. All right. So before we get into a real time example of Wizard of Oz, I'm going to give you four tips, as always, to think about while we go over the actual lesson. So the first tip is crafting midpoint conflicts. The short of it, you want to ensure your midpoint conflict significantly raises the stakes, reveals the truth of the lie, and or introduces a major complication, challenging your characters and altering their path forever. Using the midpoint to pivot or expand the story in unexpected ways will usually help rejuvenate the plot and keep readers engaged. So basically leading up to the midpoint conflict. After that, it's almost like the story is a new story because the truth of the lie is revealed, which creates ultimately the reversal. And now they need to find a solution to the midpoint conflict so they can get out of the situation. But the long of it is the midpoint conflict elevates stakes. All right. Ensure that the midpoint conflict in one way or another introduces a significant threat or challenge that escalates the tension of the story. This could be internal or external. It could be emotional. It could be physical. They could lose their leg. They can PTSD. They could fall in love. That would right. They could be like, I'm going to be alone forever. I don't want family or kids. And then they meet somebody and they're like, this is all I want is family and kids. Right. Like it could be something positive as well. Doesn't always have to be negative, but it does indeed introduce a significant change or challenge that escalates intent. The challenge is I didn't know I want this. My whole life has been designed. I would have to change my lifestyle for this because my life has always been this. And that would become the challenge. They have to find a solution to the truth of the lie that was revealed, which is they always believe that they would never, ever in their life get married or kids. Other things is that you could basically place the protagonist in a situation where they face their biggest fear, which would be the commitment of marriage and children or encounter a major setback that seems nearly impossible to overcome. All right. They find out that they are not Batman. They are just walking around with hockey bats. OK, transformational change, but also incur. So the conflict should be pivotal enough to transform the main character's approach or direction. This can involve a drastic shift in their goals, relationships or. Self-understanding, propelling the narrative toward a new trajectory. Basically, they're seeing the truth of the lie being revealed. So they're either going to accept the truth of the lie and change completely. They're going to somewhat change the truth or they're not going to believe the lie or the truth of the lie. And they're just going to remain diligent on their original beliefs, which means they double down. So magic isn't real. And then they see magic and it is horrible things. And I'm like, no, there's some it has to be something else. And, you know, the solution is that they have to prove to themselves and everyone else that magic isn't real, whatever. Right. You also want to use the midpoint midpoint to introduce new characters, settings or subplots. That enrich the story and interject fresh energy into the narrative flow. This also could lead to, you know, twists, subvert expectations and do something different and unique. You don't have to do all these things, but some of them, you know, like mix and match whatever works for your story. But the most important thing is to craft that midpoint conflict. You need to think about what it is they believe going in and what is the truth of that lie that has revealed and changed their perspective to designing a satisfying resolution. The short of it is address all main story conflicts introduced, providing answers or conclusions to the key questions and challenges that the characters face. You want a resolution that ties up emotional arcs, giving characters and readers a sense of growth and closure. My advice is to keep track of your arcs, keep track of the story. So there's your main story arc and then there's your sub arcs or subplots. And the way I do it, if you've watched my outlining videos, is a lot of times it's all character arcs because I like writing character driven stories. And I say that because I like to watch characters evolve and then that just becomes the plot. So one is the main plot of the main protagonist or protagonists and it's whatever their main thing is, that's the main plot. And then I break it down into little things or other aspects. I keep track of that. So as I'm writing, I map out what it is I'm adding and if I'm representing that arc in any way, shape or form. And then ultimately I get to say how often did I represent this? Did I conclude it? Is there a conclusion? So I keep track of all that. And I recommend you do it too. I recommend you just keep note. If you write a chapter and you don't outline, just go back and read it and be like, all right, what plot points or character arcs are being represented in this chapter? And then you just write a little note to yourself. And then you don't have to do that and be like, all right, I have to make sure I add all this. But as you keep taking those notes, by the time you get to the end of the book, you could go back and look and be like, oh, I didn't really give a lot of time to this character arc or this plot. I should go back and add little touches, little seeds to that. The long of it is all major plot lines and conflicts and characters arcs really, if they're introduced, they need to have a resolution. And that resolution should be consistent with the story world and character development. They should logically follow the actions, decisions, and changes that characters have experienced. And ultimately, the resolution should reflect a sense of fulfillment or evolution for the characters. Even if the ending isn't traditionally quote unquote happy, it should feel right and true to the journey the characters have undergone. Ultimately, you should reward the reader. Not that you have to give the reader what they want, but it's what they deserve. Those are not the same thing. Okay? What they want might be like, I want them to end up together. And what they deserve is a satisfying ending that shows that they didn't end up together. And that's okay if they don't end up together. All right? Whatever it is, just make sure it's the deserved ending. All right? Number three, you should be diagnosing your midpoint issues. If your midpoint, or the short of it, if your midpoint doesn't change the course of your story or the stakes aren't visibly heightened, it might not be serving its purpose. You want to monitor feedback on your own sense of engagement and lackluster midpoint can often lead to a sagging middle. I hate when that happens, where readers or you might lose interest. So this will happen when you have your alpha readers go through it. It might happen also when you have your beta readers going through it, but your alpha readers are looking at the fundamental elements of writing, you know, like they're looking at the mechanics of it, whereas the beta readers are experiencing the emotions of it, you know, like what is their reading experience, whereas alpha readers are going, fundamentally, what's happening, what's not happening, you know, the long of it is give yourself time to assess the midpoint conflict, take some notes. And if you need to alter and adjust where and when is important. All right. Remember, it just because what you wrote, just because you wrote it doesn't mean that that's what it is, like you're allowed to change it and changing it does not make you a bad writer. Great writers rewrite. All writing is rewriting. You know what I'm saying? So you have to, you have to embrace the process and you have to be confident enough that your stuff may need work. That's why there's line editors, because we're writing through the lens of our abilities and perspectives. But a suggested change in a line does not mean you're a bad writer. So just a change in a plot point does not mean you're a bad writer. A bad writer is someone that refuses to write a second draft and doesn't believe they know their story needs any work. And I'll tell you right now, working in the industry, every script I've ever written needed work. Every book I've ever worked on needed work. That's just how it is. Every successful writer, including Brandon Sanderson, who just made eight point something million dollars on doing his Kickstarter for his Casimir role playing game. He needed work. If you don't believe me, go read the original Way of Kings that he has on his website that he gives out for free. And he's like, this is terrible. Enjoy. Anyway. OK, and also you should be evaluating your resolution, you know, is it predictable or is it surprising? You know, you want to balance that. OK, you want to strive for a resolution that strikes a balance between meeting reader expectation based on the story set up. OK, and delivering unexpected yet plausible twists or revelations that elevate the story's impact. Again, don't cheat your audience just to cheat your audience. Seeding allows for things to play out and be earned. Foreshadowing, you can do red herrings, but foreshadowing predicts what could happen. And don't break your promise. If you say there's magic, have magic. If you say there's berserkers, have berserkers. If you say there's there's a secret water monster, they got to see the secret water monster. OK, even if the secret water monster doesn't fight them, you got to see it. OK. And also ensure that each major character arc reaches a satisfying conclusion. This might involve not only resolving their internal conflicts, but also showcasing their internal development and how they've changed or what they've learned. All right, before we get into the walkthrough, if you've been enjoying this lesson or other lessons and you haven't done so already, please like, comment and subscribe. Hit the bell icon so you don't miss out. Now, first thing we're going to talk about is the midpoint conflict of the Wizard of Oz. All right. In the Wizard of Oz, OK, in the Wizard of Oz, the midpoint conflict occurs when Dorothy and her friends finally reach the Emerald City and meet the wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz. All right. We're off. We're off to see the wonderful Wizard of Oz. OK. They discover that the wizard is not the all powerful being they believed him to be, but rather a regular dude hiding behind a curtain. This, by the way, is the truth of the lie being revealed. So the truth of the lie is revealed. It is revealed. Their lie is that they are a there's a wizard of Oz who is all powerful and can get Dorothy home. And then she has to accept, and she does, that I am going to be trapped here. I have to start finding a solution to get home because I don't want to be trapped here. But what we thought was the solution is no longer the solution. This revelation significantly raises the stakes and introduces major complication. She can't get home. All right. And Dorothy and her friends must now find a way to fulfill the wizard's demands to prove themselves worthy of his help. All right. OK, now the midpoint conflict, it does a couple of things here. It elevates the stakes by challenging Dorothy and her friends and their beliefs and goals and what they wanted. One wanted a brain, one wanted a heart, one wanted bravery, all these things. It introduces a transformative change in their understanding of the wizard and their quest, revealing the truth of the lie. And it reinvents the. Oh, yeah. Reinvents the narrative by subverting expectations about the wizard's true nature. All right. So if you've ever seen the movie, they're going to the wizard with hope. They leave the wizard with despair. And also, don't get me wrong. Don't get which of the West starts starts being a little a little punk. So the resolution in The Wizard of Oz is Dorothy discovers that she had the power to return home all along, thanks to her ruby reds. And those are my sister's slippers. OK, the scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion also realized that they possessed the qualities they saw from the wizard. This was seeded by their choices and their actions throughout the story. Now, the resolution addresses the main conflicts introduced throughout the story, providing answers and conclusions to the key questions and challenges faced by the characters. Oh, I'm melting. I'm melting. So. Well, everybody had something and everybody got a resolution to it. We learned a little bit more and then we realized it might have all been a dream. We don't know. Anyway, the resolution is it resolves the primary conflict of Dorothy's desire to return home and her friends quests for a brain, a heart and courage. And I'll get you a little dog, too. The second thing is that it provides emotional satisfaction by showing the characters growth and the fulfillment of their desires through. So each character realizes, oh, I always had the power inside to do what it is I desired. I was always smart. I was always brave. I was right. I can always get home. And it also offers a surprising yet plausible twist that the power to achieve their goals was within them all along. Because it's seeded their bravery, it's seeded, you know, the courage and the heart and the brain, like figuring out things, it was always, always there. All right. I hope that helped. This is a quick video today. Question. Think of your favorite book or movie. What did you think about its midpoint and how it resolved?

Speaker 2: Did it keep you engaged? Let me know in the comments below. And as always,

Speaker 1: if you haven't done so already, please subscribe and hit the bell icon so you don't miss out. Now, a real quick final thought. Midpoint conflicts and narrative resolutions are not just elements of structure within your story. They are strategic tools that shape the reader's experience and the overall impact of your tale. A well crafted midpoint conflict serves as the story's fulcrum, pivoting the narrative into unexpected territories and reinvigorating the reader's interest. Meanwhile, a thoughtfully constructed resolution gathers all the narrative threads you've spun and weaves them into a cohesive, satisfying conclusion. Effective use of a midpoint conflict and a resolution deepens the narrative by challenging characters in ways that test their mettle and resolve. The midpoint should thrust characters into deeper waters, forcing them to swim against tides of emotional and physical or and or physical adversities, which in turn carves their arcs into richer narratives. They need to find a solution to the midpoint conflict, to the truth of the lie being revealed. On the other hand, though, the resolution is your opportunity to showcase how these trials and tribulations have transformed them, offering closure not just in terms of plot, but also in character growth and thematic resolution. Now, the power of a narrative often lies in its ability to invoke emotions. So a gripping midpoint conflict should raise stakes enough to make the heart race, while satisfying resolutions should allow for a release of built up tension, providing relief or catharsis to the reader. You know, basically, look, I want the emotional pacing of this experience to be a crucial element to your writing, because if it's too much or too little, you might fall short. And that's why it's crucial to balance or fulfilling reader expectations with delivering surprises, allow the midpoint conflict to be something that should disrupt the story's status quo, defying expectations in a way that compels readers to revise their predictions for the story's outcome. Basically, you're setting up everything in Act one to be challenged at the beginning of Act two. But those challenges lead to the midpoint conflict, which then basically, the reader should be saying, I think the story is going to end this way. And then the midpoint conflict happens and they're like, okay, all right, I don't think it's going to end the way I thought it was going to end now. And similarly, the resolution should deliver on the promises made by the story in the beginning, tying up loose ends in a way that is both unexpected and inevitable, leaving readers feeling that the journey was definitely without a doubt worthwhile. So there you go. And I also think you should keep challenging yourself to push your boundaries on the narrative, try different things. Because remember, just because you wrote it down doesn't mean you can't change it. So it's okay to see like, well, let me see how crazy I could go. Anyway, with that said, next video in the series is dialogue tags. Choose appropriate dialogue tags. Basically, an example is said, asked, proposed, ejaculated. A quote unquote famous author used that. Anyway, and we'll basically go over how to use them effectively to avoid distracting the reader. There you go. All right, I'm done. As always, you know, peace and harmony, truth and action, and keep developing the right mindset. I'll see you next time.