Filling in the Sticky Notes: Act II: Throw Rocks at Him

"Get your character up a tree, throw rocks at him, get him down."

--quote on three-act structure that has been attributed to many people

This is the third followup post to my Mapping the Plot course.

Post 1 HERE
Post 2 HERE

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Your character has entered the New World of Act II and looked around. You've filled in maybe half of one of the two "Act II" columns on your posterboard. Now she's going to be encountering some obstacles. Rocks will be thrown.

Continuing with some of the texts we've been looking at:

In Hemingway's "Indian Camp," this is where Nick encounters the woman in labor and hears her screams. And things get worse from there. (Note that Nick is pretty passive as a main character; mostly an observer. In general, it's good to have your character take action to propel the story forward. But like every rule, that one can be broken.)

In the Mrs Maisel pilot, it's where Midge learns Joel has stolen his act from Bob Newhart. And things get worse from there: he bombs, he tells her he's having an affair, he leaves her, she gets drunk . . .

In DuMaurier's "The Birds," it's where Nat gets his first wound: bleeding knuckles from the bird at the window. Things quickly get worse from there.

In Atwood's "Stone Mattress," many complicated things happen in this section. One is that we see the backstory of Verna at 14 with Bob . . . and things definitely go from bad to worse within this story. One the one hand, this is exposition-- it's not happening in the present and it provides a foundation for what will happen in the present. On the other hand, the story of Verna at 14 and Bob is unfolded for us as story, not as an information dump, but as a narrative of its own. As the memories that surface go from the basic facts, to the more and more painful details, we trace the evolution of Verna's emotional state in the present: the state that is building and pushing towards the climax of the story. The way in which the backstory is told mirrors the way in which Verna is recalling the various details in present time, so in essence this describes her present experience.

In The Wizard of Oz, this is after Dorothy sets off down the Yellow Brick Road. Even though she has some positive experience, picking up friends on the way, tension does build as she encounters the dangers of this new world-- the angry trees and, especially, the witch who's out to get her.

A common theme for this "throw rocks" section, is that each rock hits a little harder than the last . . . until the really big hit in the middle of Act II that is the Act II climax. (Next post.)

In this section you'll want to use Coats' Pixar Rule #6:

"What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?"

If your character has retreated from the chaos of war into a private life-- throw war-like chaos at him. If your character has protected herself from the trauma and vulnerability caused by Bob-- throw Bob at her. If your character has never known anything but Kansas, throw Oz at her. If your character is used to a planned-out perfect life, have that life fall apart.

TO DO:

Fill in the remainder of your first Act II column with "rocks" that get thrown at your character. Sketch three or four scenes that show some sort of trajectory: e.g. difficulties increasing, tensions building. If you have an antagonist (witch, birds, Bob) then tensions are likely building, here, between your protagonist and antagonist.