Comments on: Deconstructing Avatar – The Second Half of Act II

By: Tony McFadden

Tony McFadden — Mon, 17 May 2010 07:32:25 +0000

Second pinch point should be at 62% (not 66%) and as it happens at 63%, I’d say it’s dead on.

By: Larry

Larry — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 16:22:24 +0000

@Mae — just a quick word of thanks for your kind words and feedback, totally makes my day. Thanks for hanging here on Storyfix. there’s lots more good stuff on the way.

By: Mae

Mae — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 16:15:33 +0000

Hi Larry, You website rocks. I feel like I have struck a gold mine, the treasure I’ve been looking for. I’m reading Shudder Island and hope you will continue to deconstruct movies. I bought your book and reading it over and over taking notes. I’ve tried so many blogs and workshops. Yours is the best yet. Please don’t stop. I didn’t know you relied on the posts to decide if you would continue. I will write more often. Thanks a million.

By: Lisa Miller

Lisa Miller — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 10:46:30 +0000

Larry,
Thanks so much for this breakdown of Avatar!!!
I’m revising my own novel right now and using your Story Structure book and Character book and Avatar posts to solidify what I need to happen in Parts two and three and four.
Examples make it so much clearer.
So keep those movie/story analysis coming.

By: Jeannie Ruesch

Jeannie Ruesch — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 22:04:55 +0000

Thanks for the clarification on the pinch point. I have all the posts of your story structure printed out and I’ve read the pinch point one a couple of times, and I have the book to delve into as well…hopefully by the time I’m done reading that, I’ll have a better handle on how to spot them… because for me, that makes it easier to figure out how to insert them into my stories.

I know I found it extremely helpful to sit down with the movies after reading your series and note the structure on my own. It made the concepts click in a way that just reading it wouldn’t have. Reading your analysis is just as helpful – I hope you get enough feedback to do more of them.

Thanks again!

By: Shane Arthur

Shane Arthur — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 19:47:24 +0000

Larry,

It’s fascinating how closely Avatar resembles Dances With Wolves.

By: Larry

Larry — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 19:05:59 +0000

@Ed — thanks for contributing, what you say is absolutely true and very well stated. That lull is a consistent presence in stories that stick close to the principles, and when you sense it you know the second plot point is right around the corner.

@Jeannie — pinch points can be tough to spot because the story is full of references to the primary conflict. And, they can come from any point of view. Location is the primary indicator, and it’s less important that we, the reader/deconstructor, find them than it is that the writer understand how to use them, not matter how subtlely.

The second pinch point in Avatar is actually when the Corporate boss tells the Chief to pull the trigger, which is a more dramatic return of the primary conflict than the Chief saying he’s had enough.

You mention doing a post about pinch points — you haven’t heard the last of them here, and I’ll be sure to highlight them in future deconstructions, which I’ll be doing more of. I’m not getting much reader feedback on this series, to be honest, but those I am hearing from seem to be really getting a lot out of this effort, so it’s worth it. The link below will take you to a pinch point post that was part of my Story Structure Series a few months ago. And of course, I give it a lot of coverage in my ebook. Let me know if you have specific issues or questions. Thanks for participating, Jeannie. L.

http://storyfix.com/story-structure-series-9-%e2%80%93-pinch-points

By: Jeannie Ruesch

Jeannie Ruesch — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:48:38 +0000

After reading your story structure series, I sat down with three different movies and took notes (all of which did exactly as you said they would)…but the hardest part for me was always recognizing the pinch points. I get the concept of what they are for, but FINDING them was something of a challenge at times.

So the second pinch point was the Chief reminding us of his goal: to wipe out the camp, correct?

You said: “in combination with the line drawn in the narrative sand here” as something that helps to identify a pinch point separate from other instances (besides placement in the story). So the Chief reminds us what the original story stakes were, but then his declaration that enough is enough …is that the line in the sand that identifies it?

I’m hoping (err, suggesting?) that after this is all done with, you might devote a blog post solely to pinch points?

By: Ed

Ed — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:13:45 +0000

Seems there is a good example of the “Pre-Plot Point 2 Lull” as well: Lot’s of weeping at the devastation of the fallen Home Tree, the love story goes sour, and the heroes are locked up thinking about what went wrong.

Love these posts that break down popular stories, Larry. You could keep these coming for a long time.