Comments on: Story Structure Series: #9 – Pinch Points

By: Suspense fix: Arm the antagonist » Jordan McCollum

Suspense fix: Arm the antagonist » Jordan McCollum — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:08:03 +0000

[...] strength. In Larry Brooks’s Story Structure, for example, Act II contains two “pinch points” that are designed to raise the stakes by showing us just how bad the villain is. Even the [...]

By: Keeping the suspense in the middle of your structure » Jordan McCollum

Keeping the suspense in the middle of your structure » Jordan McCollum — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 22:06:35 +0000

[...] these things. In Larry Brooks’s Story Structure, for example, Act II contains two “pinch points” that are designed to raise the stakes by showing us just how bad the villain is. Even the [...]

By: 43 Most Inspiring Writing Advice Posts of 2009

43 Most Inspiring Writing Advice Posts of 2009 — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:18:29 +0000

[...] Story Structure Series, post #9: Pinch Points [...]

By: Overview of Larry Brooks’s Story Structure » Jordan McCollum

Overview of Larry Brooks’s Story Structure » Jordan McCollum — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:27:22 +0000

[...] the middle of this part (about 3/8s of the way through your story), comes Pinch Point 1. Brooks defines a pinch point as “an example, or a reminder, of the nature and implications [...]

By: Larry

Larry — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 20:53:00 +0000

With a series, you have two concurrent “plots” going at all time — the primary focus of the book-in-hand or the episode, and the larger overriding context of the series itself. Each episode must deal with, structurally, and resolve the conflict you’ve introduced at the First Plot Point of that specific entry. So the structure is the same.

You ask if it’s more flexible… it’s always very flexible, there is a world of options for the writer. But in term of creating your own structure, of if there’s a special structure for series… the answer is no. Each entry must stand on its own.

But what of the overriding story arc of the series? Well, think of that as a sub-plot in each entry. But this sub-plot doesn’t get resolved. You move it forward to keep interest up, but you leave it hanging, hopefully with a twist.

Remember that old TV show The Fugative? David Jansen was always seeking out the one-armed man, and he was always being chased by the cops (because he’s an escapee). That never changed. But it was always contextual, a sub-plot (with sub-text). The specific episode always focuses on another, more compact dramatic through-line, which was resolved (with the same criteria as for stand alone stories). The, next week, on to the next episode-specific story, and on to the evolved overriding series context, which takes a back seat (as a contextual sub-plot) to the drama at hand.

Hope this helps. You may see this in a post on Storyfix soon, as you’re not the first to inquire about it. Good luck with your writing!

By: Syhalla

Syhalla — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 19:58:34 +0000

I am loving this whole series. Having these concrete milestones is making me reexamine some of the concepts floating around in my head in a much more practical manner. I’m starting to feel like these stories might ACTUALLY happen! Thank you for that.

I’d be interested in you thoughts on story structure as it relates to to more episodic content with an epic scope. As an (albeit nerdy) example, the television show Babylon 5 was written as a five year epic. 22 episodes each season which all had to fulfill their own stories, while also slowly conveying a greater story arc for the season and the show as a whole. Does the story structure become some sort of fractal, showing the same shape at each level of zoom? Or does the greater scope allow for more flexibility?

By: janice

janice — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 16:42:24 +0000

Writing books and coaches may all say the same thing in different ways, but not all writing mentors get us visualising Ice Man swaggering/waddling off in his towel!

There’s something about pinch points in novels and films that makes them memorable. Maybe it’s because we’ve seen something unpleasant we can’t share or control or help with. Loads of them just flashed into my mind as I read this.

By: Larry

Larry — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 15:24:58 +0000

The craft of screenwriting gets this structure stuff, it’s entry level. Novelists and creative writing teachers focus on character and theme, and structure seems to be a softer issue. You’re right, many don’t get it at all, they don’t see it this way, or won’t admit that they do. What’s interesting, though, is that when you not only deconstruct stories to discover this all in place, you’ll also find this structure architecture at the heart of virtually every writing workshop, book and lecture, only with a different set of clothing and wording. We’re all saying the same basic thing, because it is what it is: a story flows in a certain way, period. All the conversation about character and theme and arc and dramatic tension and inner vs. outer conflict… it’s all valid and good, but it’s also the meat that hangs on the bones of these structural foundations. Even though an agent or an editor may not get it, they’ll get your story if you build it this way.

By: Shirls

Shirls — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 14:34:35 +0000

Hey I like the picture of the clothes pin. I’ll be walking round all weekend muttering “Hook, tentpoles, pegs”…

By: Shirls

Shirls — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 14:28:08 +0000

It’s hard to believe, that after all those years of studying the novel in college and all the thousands of books I’ve read, that this structure has never jumped out at me. The structure of poetry was examined in detail so why did our professors never call our attention to this? Maybe they didn’t know it either?