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who performed the robbery, etc. The characters are on
their way.
ACT II -THE CONFRONTATION
At the middle of your story is a series of Scenes held
together by the dramatic context of your plot. This act
takes up the majority of your plotline, usually over 50%,
and is known as the confrontation. This is because in Act
II, your Main Cast members confront and overcome (or
not) all obstacles, in order to achieve their dramatic need.
Each character's dramatic need is equivalent to what she
wants to win, gain, or get. To create each Scene, start by
finding the purpose for that Scene, ie. its context, then
choose the place, time, and action for that Scene, ie. its
content. Determine the components, or elements within
each Scene that create conflict, expand dimension, and
generate drama.
Drama is conflict. If you know your Actors' needs,
then you can create obstacles that generate conflict. The
Actors must experience this conflict in achieving their
dramatic need. Your job is to create situations, and then
let your Actors and Supporting Cast members react to
each other. Presenting your Actors with a major problem,
or dilemma, and then adding minor problems, is what
brings out the abilities of your Actors. It's what makes the
adventure an adventure. Confrontation takes up the bulk
of every good story.
During the confrontation, your story should move
forward step by step, Scene by Scene, towards the
resolution. Each Scene should reveal at least one ele­
ment of necessary story Information. When creating each
Scene, ask yourself ...
¢ What is this Scene's purpose in relation to
the plot?
¢ How does it move the story forward?
¢ What happens in the Scene?
¢ When and where is it Staged?
Every plot needs at least 5 specific Scenes during
the confrontation. These Scenes break the confrontation
up into usable segments of drama. These segments are
so useful, that we'll now look at the confrontation in light
of its relationship to each of these Scenes.
THE CONFLICT EXPLODED
The chart below gives a visual representation of the
progression of a story. You may refer to it as we move
through the rest of this chapter.
ACT I
Plot Turn I
INTRODUCTION
in order ...
ACT II
Pinch I Pinch II
Midpoint
Plot Turn II
CONFRONTATION
ACT Ill
RESOLUTION
The 5 necessary Scenes for each confrontation are
¢ Plot Turn I
¢ Pinch I
q Midpoint
q Pinch II
¢ Plot Turn II
Plot Turn I separates the confrontation from the
introduction, and begins the conflict involved in your
dramatic context. Pinch I holds together the first half of
the conflict. The Midpoint introduces some vital change
into the conflict, turning it towards the resolution. Pinch II
holds together the second half of the conflict. And Plot
Turn II marks the end of the conflict, and the start of the
resolution. We'll now take each of these Scenes and
delve into more detail. If you follow this paradigm, and
include these Scenes in your plotline, then you'll be
guaranteed a good solid piece of work.
PLOT TURNS
The purpose of a Plot Turn is simply to move the
story forward. It's an incident, or event, that hooks into the
action, and spins the story around into another direction.
This 'spin' is usually some unexpected action, or revela­
tion, that helps push the story towards its conclusion.
Each of your stories should have a strong organic
structure, with Plot Turns clearly defined.
Plot Turn I serves to move the introduction into the
confrontation. This Scene begins the conflict that will take
up the bulk of the story. This is a time for dramatic action,
either mental, physical, or emotional, to help thrust the
Actors into the confrontation. Plot Turn I acts as a sign
post that the conflict has started.
Plot Turn II serves to separate the confrontation
from the resolution, and acts as a sign post that the
resolution has begun. This Scene will lead into Act Ill,
wherein the characters fulfill at least part of their dramatic
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