After tackling the lengthy and difficult-to-construct Fun and Games beat in the previous article, we now turn our attention to the Midpoint. This beat is one of the easier ones to write since it typically comprises a single scene that needs to contain just a few key elements.
Jessica Brody’s Save the Cat! Writes a Novel does a good job of clearly outlining the main points that this beat needs to hit. Therefore, this article contains more review material than other articles in this Editor’s Guide to Save the Cat! Story Structure, but I’ve still added some of my own advice. I also pay special attention to how the Midpoint alters the hero’s long-term goal, as I feel this aspect is overlooked in Save the Cat! Writes a Novel.
This article starts by defining the Midpoint based on where it occurs in a novel and what it should accomplish. It then goes on to describe the three key elements of the Midpoint as outlined in Save the Cat! Writes a Novel, along with a few other key aspects that I feel are worth noting.
What Is the Midpoint of a Novel?
According to the Save the Cat! Beat Sheet, the Midpoint, as its name implies, is typically found at a story’s 50% mark. However, the Midpoint is rarely a single point in a story. Usually, it comprises an entire scene and can even span across multiple scenes. Therefore, it's a little misleading to say that it occurs at the 50% mark. It's more useful to say that it lasts from somewhere around a novel’s 47% mark to its 53% mark.
Brody emphasizes this point in the updated Save the Cat! Writes a Young Adult Novel: “While technically yes, it is a single-scene beat and [all the necessary events] can happen in one scene, [they] can also be accomplished in several smaller scenes grouped close together. But the idea is that all of this happens around the 50% mark.”
Also, note that the Midpoint does not need to cross the novel's halfway point. An early Midpoint might start at 43% and end at 47%; a late one might start at 55% and end at 63%.
So, that explains where the Midpoint goes, but what does it do, exactly? According to Brody, the Midpoint is a beat “in which three very essential things happen: (1) the hero experiences either a false victory or a false defeat, (2) the stakes of the story are raised, and (3) the A and B stories intersect in some way.”
Now that’s the kind of thing I like: a checklist with specific instructions. However, as the next section will show, there are other items we can add to this checklist.
What Should Happen at the Midpoint?
The above list of three elements is useful for understanding the Midpoint. However, there are three other things I want to point out before we discuss this beat further.
First and foremost, the Midpoint should cause the hero to either modify their long-term goal or ditch it altogether and create a new one. Although this purpose of the Midpoint can be deduced from reading Save the Cat! Writes a Novel, it is such a critical aspect of story structure that I think it deserves being stated outright.
Second, the Midpoint very often causes the hero to shift from reactive mode to proactive mode. Many heroes spend the first half of Act 2 trying to avoid negative outcomes, but then the Midpoint motivates them to spend the second half of Act 2 attempting to generate positive outcomes. This element is not listed in Save the Cat! Writes a Novel, but this might just be because it’s a natural consequence of the elements that are listed. Still, it’s worth noting.
Third, the Midpoint is another beat where it's good to remember that the Save the Cat! Beat Sheet is based on stories with a positive character arc. If your character follows a flat arc, the false victory/defeat element may be unnecessary.
This is because one of the main purposes of the false victory/defeat is to help the hero recognize their fatal flaw. But if your hero doesn’t have a flaw that needs fixing, then this purpose of the Midpoint is negated. You might still want to include this element for other reasons—perhaps it drives the plot forward—but you don’t have to.
Instead, the false victory/defeat could be replaced by a big discovery or the gathering of critical information that changes the hero's primary goal without changing who they are.
So, to clarify, when writing your Midpoint, you should aim to do several, but not necessarily all, of the following:
Give the hero a false defeat or false victory.
Provide the hero with new vital information.
Raise the stakes.
Have the A and B stories intersect in some way.
Cause the hero to start acting more proactively.
Generate a new long-term goal or modify the current long-term goal.
The Hero Experiences a False Defeat or False Victory
As noted in the previous article in this series, the Fun and Games beat should have an overall upward or downward emotional undertone. If the Fun and Games had an upward trend, the Midpoint will contain a false victory; if the Fun and Games had a downward trend, the Midpoint will involve a false defeat.
Whether you’re dealing with a defeat or a victory, this event should make the hero realize that their current mindset, which is still mostly the same as it was in Act 1, is a massive hindrance. As a result, the hero will see a need for change, which represents a big step forward in their arc.
But even though the hero sees a need to change their ways, it’s still too early for them to complete their transformation. They won’t be ready to do that until they’ve hit rock bottom during the Dark Night of the Soul at the end of Act 2. The Midpoint is just the first time the hero sees that they’ve been going about things the wrong way.
False defeats
If the hero fails to accomplish their long-term goal at the Midpoint, it will turn out to be a blessing in disguise. The hero won’t know it at the time, but they haven’t simply lost what they wanted. Rather, they’ve traded what they wanted for an opportunity to get what they need.
By the Midpoint of Holes, Stanley has failed in his goal to get through his experience at Camp Green Lake with as little trouble as possible. His actions throughout the Fun and Games have left him alienated by the other campers and mistreated by Mr. Sir. And because Zero has run off, Stanley is now forced to dig two holes every day in the unbearable heat.
The Midpoint culminates with Stanley giving up on his long-term goal when he decides he’s fed up with going along to get along and steals Mr. Sir’s truck to make a getaway. This action strongly opposes what Stanley was trying to achieve in the Fun and Games. But it’s what he has to do if he’s going to become a stronger, more confident person who stands up for himself and exposes the corruption at Camp Green Lake, which is what he needs.
False victories
False victories come in two flavours: empty victories and partial victories.
An empty victory occurs when the hero gets what they want, but it doesn’t make them happy. This might be because the hero’s goal was flawed from the beginning. Or, it could be because the victory cost the hero something more important than what they gained.
Or it can be for both reasons. In the Midpoint of Mean Girls, Cady accomplishes her long-term goal of ruining Regina George’s reputation, a petty goal that was clearly never going to lead to happiness. And, in accomplishing this goal, Cady has lost her innocence and become a mean girl herself.
Meanwhile, a partial victory occurs when the hero accomplishes their long-term goal only to learn that they still have a long ways to go. The goal wasn’t flawed; it just wasn’t big enough.
For example, in Hercules, the title character defeats the Hydra, as well as several other monsters, and becomes recognized as a hero throughout Greece. And this is just what he had set out to do at the beginning of Act 2.
However, when Hercules tells Zeus everything that he’s accomplished and says he’s finally ready to rejoin the gods, Zeus tells him, “You’ve done wonderfully.... You’re just not there yet. You haven’t proven yourself a true hero.”
Unlike Cady, Hercules’s false victory is not the result of deviant actions; he just hasn’t done enough good yet.
The Hero Gains New Information
According to Save the Cat! Writes a Novel, heroes try to “fix things the wrong way” in the Fun and Games and don’t start trying to fix things the right way until after the Midpoint. However, a hero who has a flat arc instead of a positive arc will have already been acting more or less the right way since the beginning of the story.
Such heroes don’t necessarily have to face a false victory/defeat for the story to take a new direction. Instead, the Midpoint can give the plot a jolt by revealing new information.
For example, in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the plot is advanced as Harry gathers several important pieces of information throughout the Midpoint sequence. First, he learns that Snape tried to get past Fluffy and, therefore, must be after whatever Fluffy is guarding.
Then, the next day, Hermione and Ron tell Harry that they saw Snape trying to use magic to force Harry off his broom during a Quidditch match. The three of them now believe that Snape is trying to kill Harry because Harry found out that Snape tried to get past Fluffy.
Finally, Hagrid slips up and mentions that someone named Nicolas Flamel is involved in whatever Fluffy's guarding. This gives Harry and his friends the specific short-term goal of finding out who Nicolas Flamel is. And this serves as the first step toward Harry’s new long-term goal of finding out what Fluffy is guarding and stopping Snape from getting it.
The Stakes Are Raised
Raising the stakes is a crucial part of the Midpoint. For one thing, it makes the external plot more exciting. Additionally, raising the stakes gives the hero reason to start acting differently. In a well-crafted story, the increased stakes motivate the hero to take actions that align more with what they need and less with what they want.
I like Brody's explanation of this Midpoint element in Save the Cat! Writes a Novel because it provides four specific ways that you can apply this storytelling technique in practice:
Love stories ramp up
Time clocks appear
A game-changing plot twist occurs
There is a big party, celebration, or public “outing"
Love stories ramp up
It’s one of the great, terrible ironies of life: you can’t experience the euphoria of falling in love without accepting the risk that your heart might get broken. This makes ramping up the love story a great way to raise the stakes in a novel. Once the hero becomes deeply attached to their love interest, they may be forced to act in ways they wouldn’t have before the Midpoint. This is because the hero now feels they must avoid losing their love interest at all costs.
For example, throughout the Fun and Games of Everything, Everything, Madeline and Olly spend time meeting (and falling for one another) in secret. Madeline’s mom can’t know they’re meeting because Madeline has been diagnosed with “bubble boy” disease and, therefore, risks her life by engaging with the world beyond the walls of her house and the people who live in that world.
At the beginning of the Fun and Games, Madeline is enjoying her time with Olly. But she's not so attached to him that it would be tragic If her mom were to find out about him and put an end to their relationship.
But that changes at the Midpoint, when Madeline and Olly kiss. Olly suddenly means much more to Madeline. She narrates, “He tastes like nothing I’ve ever experienced, like hope and possibility and the future.” He’s more than just a boy Madeline likes. He now represents everything Madeline wishes she could get out of life. On some deep level, she needs him.
If Madeline’s mom were to find out about Olly now, it would feel like the end of the world. Or at least the end of the possibility of a world worth living in.
Time clocks appear
Reducing the amount of time a hero has to accomplish their primary goal is a simple but effective way of increasing the stakes. Putting the hero in a time crunch probably won’t cause them to completely change their long-term goal, but it will change how they go about accomplishing it. A skillfully implemented time clock makes the hero more desperate, which motivates them to take uncharacteristically risky actions.
In Free Guy, Millie spends Act 1 and the first half of Act 2 trying to find evidence that Antwan stole her code to make Free City, a highly successful video game. During this part of the story, the negative consequence of Millie’s failure would be that Antwan would continue to make money from something Millie created. It’s a sucky situation, but it’s not like Millie’s life will be ruined if she fails. Also, she has all the time in the world to find the evidence she’s looking for, keeping the urgency level low.
However, at the Midpoint, Millie's suspicion about Antwan stealing her code is confirmed. In addition, her code has generated a video game character (Guy) who is the “first true AI.” Guy could win Millie a Nobel Prize and maybe even change the world.
So, the stakes have been raised by enhancing the positive outcome that Millie will experience if she succeeds. However, this isn't the most effective way to increase the stakes since it doesn’t add any tension. We still need the threat of a big loss. Therefore, Millie also learns that her code will be permanently erased from Free City when Free City 2 launches. And then extra pressure is put on Millie and when it's stated that the launch is scheduled to take place in 48 hours.
A game-changing plot twist occurs
The hero might be blindsided by unexpected news, a shocking betrayal from a close friend, or some other unforeseen incident. If the plot twist is written well, it will be obvious that the hero must immediately make drastic changes to their long-term goal.
In Shadow and Bone, Alina spends much of the Fun and Games honing her magic powers so she can help a powerful mage known as the Darkling destroy the Shadow Fold, an extremely dangerous sea of darkness inhabited by ravenous monsters known as volcra.
However, at the Midpoint, Alina learns from Baghra, her trainer, that the Darkling doesn’t intend to use her to destroy the Shadow Fold at all. His true intention is to expand the Fold into neighbouring territories. Baghra explains, “With the Fold in his power, he will spread destruction before him. He will lay waste to the world, and he will never have to kneel to another King again.”
Owing to these substantially raised stakes, Alina must sneak out of the kingdom and hide so that she can avoid helping the Darkling enter the Shadow Fold. As such, Alina’s goal for the Bad Guys Close In directly opposes her Fun and Games goal, which is a sign of a well-constructed plot twist.
There is a big party, celebration, or public “outing”
This Midpoint element is essential in stories where the hero has been hiding their escapades in the UDW from the characters of the SQW. Or, conversely, they’ve been hiding parts of their SQW self from the characters of the UDW.
Either way, at the Midpoint, the hero gets found out, or at least there is some suspicion that they’ve been acting deceitfully. Because of this, they risk losing their place in one of their two worlds. To avoid this, the hero must start acting differently.
In Yellowface, June is a struggling aspiring author in her SQW. But, in her UDW, she is living out her dream as a New York Times bestseller, but only because she stole an unfinished manuscript for a novel called The Last Front from Athena Liu, her successful author friend who recently died.
Throughout the Fun and Games, June keeps her “inspiration” for The Last Front a secret as she basks in the admiration of her fans and enjoys her newfound financial prosperity.
But then the Midpoint puts June’s dream life at risk when an anonymous Twitter account claiming to be Athena’s ghost exposes June for stealing The Last Front. The increased stakes are made clear through June’s introspection when she sees the attention this account is getting:
It’s all over. People know. The whole world is about to know. Daniella will find out, Eden will fire me, I’ll lose all my money…. And not a single word I write will ever be published again.
In this passage, we also see June’s UDW self clash with her SQW self:
Why in God’s name did I publish The Last Front? I want to kick my former self for being so stupid. I thought I was doing something good. Something noble—to bring Athena’s work into the world the way it deserved. But how could I ever have imagined this wouldn’t all come back to bite me in the ass?
Throughout the next half of Act 2, June’s goal is no longer to simply hide the truth that she stole Athena’s book. She doubles down on her lie and now must vehemently deny the accusations being made against her. Otherwise, the UDW community will find out that she is still the same unsuccessful, untalented, unremarkable June that she was in Act 1.
The A and B Stories Collide
Having the A and B stories intersect at the Midpoint can, as Brody states, “visually cue the reader that we are shifting from the wants (the external A Story) to the needs (the internal B Story).”
While the collision of the hero’s two worlds may not always directly impact the main plot, it should create a turning point in the hero’s character arc. And this turning point will then impact the hero’s decisions throughout the Bad Guys Close In, thereby indirectly influencing the plot.
At the Midpoint of Cars, Lightning McQueen doesn’t physically return to the SQW, but he does find multiple Piston Cups—symbols of his A Story goal—in Doc’s storage garage in Radiator Springs. But Doc tells Lightning that the trophies are just “a bunch of empty cups.”
In Lightning’s SQW, winning the Piston Cup meant everything, but the Piston Cup means nothing when viewed through the lens of the UDW. This makes Lightning see for the first time that maybe there's more to life than winning the Piston Cup. This occurrence is the first in a series of events that motivate Lightning McQueen to put his A Story goal (what he wants) aside in favour of the new B Story goal of helping the cars who live in Radiator Springs and putting their town back on the map (what he needs).
The Hero Shifts into Proactive Mode
In the Fun and Games of many stories, the hero recognizes they are in a difficult situation, and they primarily play defence as they try to prevent things from getting worse. The events of the Midpoint should make the hero realize that they can’t keep being reactive. They need to start playing offence and try to change their situation.
We saw this in the above example from Holes, in which Stanley spends much of the first half of Act 2 trying to stay out of trouble at Camp Green Lake. His main concerns are avoiding getting on the bad sides of X-Ray, Mr. Sir, and the Warden.
However, after Zero runs away at the Midpoint, Stanley is motivated to start being proactive. Now, as he digs his holes, he tries to think of a plan to rescue Zero. Two days later, in an uncharacteristically bold move, he steals Mr. Sir’s water truck to go after his friend. And throughout the Bad Guys Close In, Stanley continues to push forward despite the threat of dying of thirst. His goal no longer includes the word “avoid,” a big clue that he is being proactive.
The Hero Alters Their Primary Goal
As a goal-formation beat, the Midpoint should catalyze a new long-term goal or cause the hero to modify their current goal. There are a few avenues you can take when adjusting your hero’s goal at the Midpoint:
The hero keeps their original long-term goal, but they must take a new approach to accomplishing it.
The hero keeps their original goal, but their attention is temporarily directed toward a more immediate goal.
The hero realizes their original goal can’t give them what they need, and so they discard it and replace it with a new one.
The strategy for achieving the original goal is modified
In some stories, the goal the hero chases in the first half of Act 2 aligns with what they need. In such cases, the hero doesn’t have to drastically alter their goal; they just have to tweak their approach to accomplishing it.
The Midpoint in Free Guy (as described under “Time clocks appear” above) is an example. Until the Midpoint, Millie had been trying to find evidence of her code in Free City mostly by herself. However, the introduction of a time clock causes Millie to take more drastic actions to attain what she wants. Most notably, she must tell Guy (the AI she created and who has become her friend) that he isn’t real so that he can help her find her code. She knows this will devastate Guy, but if she doesn’t tell him, then his world will be destroyed.
A new goal is added to the original goal
This is similar to the previous case in that the hero formed a worthwhile goal in the Break Into 2 and, therefore, shouldn’t scrap it in exchange for a new goal. But in this case, the original goal cannot be accomplished until another, more pressing matter is addressed. In these stories, the Midpoint causes the hero to temporarily push their original goal to the background while they spend the second half of Act 2 focusing on a new one.
At the beginning of Act 2 in Back to the Future, Marty finds himself in 1955 and forms the long-term goal of returning to 1985, which remains his primary objective throughout the film. However, at the Midpoint, he learns that his interference with his parents' initial meeting means he will cease to exist in 1985 if he doesn’t fix his mistake. Therefore, his primary goal of getting back to the future is pointless if he doesn’t first accomplish the new goal of getting his mom and dad to fall in love.
A new goal replaces the original goal
In many stories, the hero’s flaws cause them to form the wrong goal in the Break Into 2 since their decision was based on what they want, not what they need. As a result, the hero ends up chasing the wrong thing throughout the Fun and Games. In these stories, the Midpoint makes the hero see the need to adopt a new goal, one that will lead them toward true happiness.
In the first half of Everything, Everything, Madeline’s primary goals are to stay alive despite her illness and to not be a burden on her mother. But the Midpoint creates an emotional downturn when Madeline’s mom finds out about her secret meetings with Olly and puts a stop to them.
After this, Madeline realizes that “ever since Olly came into my life there’ve been two Maddys: the one who lives through books and doesn’t want to die, and the one who lives and suspects that death will be a small price to pay for it…. The second Maddy knows that this pale half life is not really living.”
And very shortly after having this realization, Madeline forms her new long-term goal: she decides she must risk her life by sneaking off to Hawaii with Olly so she can finally do some real living.
The Midpoint in Everything, Everything causes the hero to ditch her old long-term goal rather quickly. However, in some stories, the new goal is added to the old goal, and the hero focuses on both goals throughout the second half of Act 2 and most of Act 3. But they’re ultimately forced to choose between them at the story’s climax.
From the first scene in Cars, it is established that Lightning McQueen’s primary goal is to win the Piston Cup. Although the Midpoint doesn’t cause Lightning to drop this goal, he begins focusing less on getting to California for the Piston Cup race and more on his new goal of helping out the cars of Radiator Springs.
Then, during the Finale, one of the other race cars crashes, which forces Lightning to choose between winning the race (fulfilling his original goal of attaining personal glory) or stopping to help out a car in need (fulfilling his new goal of putting other cars’ needs ahead of his own).
Closing Remarks
I hope this article has helped reinforce the lessons about the Midpoint taught in Save the Cat! Writes a Novel. I also hope it has clarified the importance of shifting the hero’s long-term goal during this beat.
Next up, we’ll be looking at the Bad Guys Close in and All Is Lost beats. Don’t forget to join my mailing list below to be notified whenever I post new blogs.
Thanks for reading!
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