Save the Cat Breakdown Series - Midpoint

In the previous article, we explored the Save the Cat story beat of the B Story, and how this is where a subplot (usually a love story) is introduced. This is woven from this point on throughout the story, but really only comes into its own in this story beat. In this article, we are exploring the story beat of the Midpoint, or the climax.

What is the Midpoint story beat?

The Midpoint a single scene story beat that is the climax of the Fun and Games and usually results in a false victory or a false defeat. It is also where the stakes and tension is raised, and where your B plot converges with the main story. It typically occurs at the 50% mark, or at around 40,000 words in a typical 80,000 word novel.

After attempting to resolve their problem, the protagonist either appears to succeed, or appears to fail. This is the false victory or the false defeat, respectively. The reason it is false, is because your protagonist hasn’t realised and rectified their misbelief yet, or in other words, the story’s theme hasn’t yet been discovered and integrated.

In my upcoming novel On The Edge (working title, don’t judge me!), the protagonists compete in the first part of their national figure skating championships, the short program. They both perform well and are on a high at the end of the day, convinced that their troubles are effectively dealt with. This is a false victory because they are as yet unaware of the troubles still facing them with the next day of competition.

A false defeat, on the other hand, would be the opposite. Instead of seeming to succeed at their goal, they fail, or perhaps something comes up that makes their goal seem impossible to reach. For example, in Star Wars: A New Hope, the midpoint occurs when the Millennium Falcon comes out of hyperspace to find that Alderaan has been destroyed. This makes their mission to deliver R2 to Leia’s father impossible. They must now pivot and adapt to their new situation.

Regardless of whether it’s a victory or a defeat, the point is that there is still more to come, the tension is raised somehow and the protagonist has something they need to learn in order for them to fully succeed.

This is also where the protagonist starts to accept that they need to let go of what they want and instead start chasing what they need.

The Midpoint in Disney’s Mulan

The Midpoint begins abruptly in Mulan. Without even finishing the song A Girl Worth Fighting For, in which the soldiers are entertaining themselves with on the long march, they come across a destroyed village, the shock of which causes them to stop singing mid-sentence. The tone shifts from funny and uplifting, to dark and somber. The music becomes ominous and even the usually flamboyant Mushu is shocked and upset.

Being a Disney movie, the bodies that would normally be left in such a scene are not shown. Instead it shows Mulan finding a child’s abandoned doll, which she picks up and hugs to her chest, mourning the child who lost it. The B Story of Shang’s and Mulan’s love story begins to intertwine when he shows a moment of vulnerability to Mulan and says, his voice torn, “I don’t understand. My father should have been here.”

The tension increases when they discover that his father was there, but, judging from the battlefield they see over the rise, he lost. Chien-Po carries Shang’s father’s helmet to him, confirming without needing to directly show that his father was was killed.

Another touching moment between Shang and Mulan occurs when she approaches and says, “I’m sorry,” expressing sympathy for his lost. Shang doesn’t say anothing, but he does rest a thankful hand on her shoulder, before walking away.

The stakes are raised again with the statement that, “We’re the only hope for the Emperor now.”

Mulan uses a false defeat for their midpoint. Their task now seems impossible; a squad of soldeiers who have no true battle experience are now the only hope of protecting the Emperor and all of China from the Huns. Mulan and Li Shang’s romantic subplot is woven in more strongly, and Mulan’s goal of just becoming a soldier to protect her family has now expanded to a desire and a need to protect the whole of China, not just for her family’s honour, but for herself.

The Midpoint in Flewelling’s Luck in the Shadows

In Luck in the Shadows, the midpoint occurs when Seregil becomes inexplicably unwell, hallucinating horrors and, eventually, falling into a kind of coma where he is plagued by nightmares. This leaves Alec with the choice of abandoning his new companion and friend, or with finding his own way while carrying his sick companion. And Alec, being the active protagonist that he is, opts to do right by Seregil and ensure he gets help as quickly as possible.

Through many trials, he manages to get Seregil to Rhiminee, the capital and their ultimate destination where the ever knowing Nysander meets him and helps stabalise Seregil and gets him to the Oreska house, where Nysander lives and works.

This section, from when Alec is left on his own to handle Seregil, along with the added tension of a ticking clock in the form of Seregil’s worsening condition, follows the previous points of occurring a little earlier than the exact middle of the book, beginning at page 143 and ending at around 175, at around 36%.

Final Thoughts

The Midpoint is a single scene that is the climax of the Fun and Games. It weaves the B Story in more tightly, increases the tension, and culminates in either a false victory or a false defeat. It is where the protagonist realises they must give up what they want and instead pursue what they need instead.

Next time we are exploring the Bad Guys Close In, where the tension and threat level increases dramatically. I hope you look forward to it.