6 Ways Your Screenplay’s Middle Can Save Your Story

The midpoint of a script is the point where the story either stalls and dies, or where you kick it into high gear and race toward a perfect ending.

Of course you want to do the latter. But how?

So many writers and scripts struggle with this. Today we’re going to help you get past it.

The middle of the script is where it all changes. We’ll show you how to do that.

But first…

What is a midpoint?

The midpoint is a major plot point that occurs in the middle of the script. This plot point brings the protagonist closer to (or further away from) their goal.

Take it one step further…

As you can see from our Story Map, the parts of your story you entered when you wrote the centerpiece…

1. Re-evaluate the problem – You’re in the middle. Is there another way to get it done?

2. Try and fail – The situation is starting to fall apart, can they handle it?

But how can you reassess and try and fail if you don’t know what goals to achieve?

The 6 tips

Now that you understand the midpoint, let’s look at six strategies you can use to spice up that part of your screenplay and give the reader a new experience that not only keeps them engaged, but also builds the momentum needed to keep the story moving.

Let’s get started.

6. A false ending

One strategy you can use when tackling the middle point of your story is to hook the audience with a false ending. You see everything suddenly going the way of the characters. This can make the audience think the story is almost over, and it can also pull the ground out from under their feet and change the story.

In a movie like Schindler’s Listthis is when everything goes well for Schindler and the Jews. He has them safe and working and the Germans are not testing him. Then Goethe and his regime roll up, liquidate the ghetto and put people in concentration camps.

It seems like everything is over…until Schindler starts making his list and saving people one by one.

This also works in another genre, such as gangster and crime films.

In The godfatherMichael confronts the men who orchestrated his father’s murder in a restaurant. He kills them and leaves, effectively creating an ending to the film, but really this is just the middle point that drives Michael to become a mob man.

5. A new way to win

In a lot of my own work, I think of the midpoint as a place where I like to change the story. It’s where our characters realize that if they’re going to overcome the odds or defeat an enemy, they need a new way to win.

To take Avengers: Endgame For example.

The pivotal moment is when they lose the Infinity Stones in 2012 and realize that only Cap and Tony know where they could be… New Jersey in the 70s. This dedication to achieving the same goal with a new initiative prepares us for whatever happens.

It provides a refreshing perspective on the matter and keeps the audience interested.

4. A false victory

Like the false ending, a false victory places the characters in a world where they’ve kicked enough ass in the first and second acts that we’ve been brought to safety. The audience might be ready to pack up and leave. The reader might think the story is almost over. But then you hit them with the slap in the face that changes everything.

In TitanicRose and Jack escaped their family, danced while jogging, had sex in the car, and promised to love each other forever.

Then an iceberg hits the water and everything goes off course.

From that moment on a new film begins.

One of the scenes I love is when Maximus introduces himself to all of Rome. This midpoint is badass, because you think this is it. Everyone knows he’s alive. He accuses the emperor of plotting to kill his father, and his own army sees him as their leader.

But despite this explanation of who he is and what he has seen, the pace of the film shifts into an almost political thriller, as the Emperor and Maximus work together behind the scenes to overthrow each other.

3. Who are we actually fighting against?

Our midpoint or midpoint dissection is all about new information. What can people learn at the midpoint of your script that changes everything? One of my favorite tropes here is the introduction of a new villain.

Sometimes that villain even changes the genre of the scenario.

Like how Stranger goes from space thriller to monster movie.

Some of the best twists involve uncovering the real villain. In Deadly weaponthen we learn that this is not just a run-of-the-mill LAPD case, but the story of Vietnam Special Forces operatives systematically killing people to make money in the drug trade.

And all because of the explosion of the house of someone named Dixie.

2. The WTF moment

Who doesn’t love a good WTF moment?

Want to really keep your reader or audience engaged in the story? Create a middle point where shit hits the fan in a way no one saw coming. Kill off a main character like they do in Psycho or bring one back…

(SPOILER)

…as they do in Missing girl.

Missing girl‘s reintroduction of the missing Amy is a mic drop of a moment. It was an epic part of the book and it really popped in the movie. Once we realize Amy is alive, the story takes a new turn. It’s no longer about an investigation, but about who lives and who dies.

Another great centerpiece is a way to change decades and leave us with a WTF moment.

It is the New Year’s celebration of Boogie nights.

This party involves a murder that is completely unexpected and surprising. As soon as it happens, we know that innocence is lost and the party is over. It means a change of tone with one shot.

Finally, sometimes the center just needs to move the plot and character development forward.

To achieve this, many writers use editing.

Montages are useful tools when you secretly want to capture a lot of emotional moments together. Like in any romantic comedy, where you need to see a relationship develop, or in an action movie when you’re trying to show the team preparing for a big event that’s coming up.

A lot of them happen in the middle or towards the end, like in training montage in Religious belief.

For a film like Mud, the time the characters spend together is taken to the next level and the bond between the characters is taken to the next level.

In Night owl, Here we learn that our brave characters have become good at reporting the news.

Mud by Jeff Nichols

The inciting incident is the most important thing in the first act of your film or TV script. But what is it and how can you make it memorable?