ACT 1

HOOK
INTRODUCTION TO PROTAGONIST’S INNER CONFLICT

The hook is internal conflict, which is simple: desire vs fear. Despite popular
belief, the internal conflict starts long before the inciting incident shows up to destroy
your protagonist’s life. In fact, that conflict has been boiling just below the surface this
whole time — otherwise, your inciting incident wouldn’t matter. See, external conflict
(the plot) is all about what happens; but internal conflict (the story) is about why it
matters.
PROMPT:
Ask yourself:
- What does my protagonist think will bring her true happiness or contentment?
And how is her fear stopping her from going after it?
- What is my character’s misbelief and what happened in their past to create
this misbelief?
- How can I show my audience in the FIRST FIVE MINUTES why “what’s
happening” MATTERS to my protagonist, given their desire, fear, and misbelief?

INCITING INCIDENT
PROTAGONIST IS PUSHED OUTSIDE COMFORT ZONE

This is the event that really sets your story in motion. Your inciting incident
doesn’t have to be some big, epic, crazy call-to-adventure. It just has to be something
that pushes your protagonist outside their comfort zone. A conflict surfaces —
something the protagonist has to face head-on. It’s really as simple as that. Don’t
overcomplicate it, as many writers do. If you know why the inciting incident matters to
the protagonist and you let them react to it as a normal person would (running for cover
because of their fear!) CONGRATULATIONS. You nailed it.
PROMPT:
Ask yourself:
- Why does this inciting incident matter to my protagonist? How does it push
her outside her comfort zone?
- What internal conflict is going to arise for my protagonist in wake of the
inciting incident?
BUILD-UP
THE IMPOSSIBLE QUESTION

Protagonist is going to have to face this thing head on. The reader can now see
what the protagonist’s internal struggle really is, and how this whole situation is going to
be especially tricky for her to navigate.
PROMPT:
Ask yourself:
- What is the “impossible choice”? Your protagonist must be faced with options:
stay inside their comfort zone and risk NEVER getting What They Desire, or venture
into the unknown and accomplish their goal while STILL avoiding their fear.

FIRST PLOT POINT

PROTAGONIST MAKES A DECISION WHICH DETERMINES WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

Your protagonist is a conflicted person — torn between desire and fear. So when the
inciting incident steps in and shoves them outside their comfort zone, their fear takes
over and they respond based on their misbelief, which sets up more obstacles for the
rest of the book. The human brain makes decisions by avoiding the most pain — so
what is the LEAST painful option, in the long run? Venturing into the unknown and
risking some danger… but ultimately getting what you have always desired.
PROMPT:
Ask yourself:
- How is my protagonist going to react to the inciting incident, given their fear and
misbelief about the world? What decision are they going to make now to avoid the
most pain? (And get what they want while steering clear of the thing they’re afraid of?)

FIRST PINCH POINT

OPPOSITION/ANTAGONISTIC FORCE LOOMS IN THE DISTANCE

You can have a pinch point even if you don’t have a “villain” character in your
story. It doesn’t have to be a villain — it doesn’t have to be a person. It just has to be
something that is ultimately going to come back to haunt the protagonist later. (It can
even be the protagonist’s misbelief.)
PROMPT:
 Ask yourself:
- What is the opposition/antagonistic force my protagonist is going to have to
face head-on later? How can I show the reader that it’s already looming in the
distance?

ACT 2

PRE-MIDPOINT REACTIONARY HERO

PROTAGONIST PURSUES THEIR FEAR-BASED GOAL

Thanks to the decision your protagonist made at the end of act one, they are now a
man (or a woman) with a plan. They have a goal now that they are actively pursuing.
Essentially, they’re going after the thing they think will make them happy while still
steering clear of the thing they’re afraid of. Whether they’re running away from
something or running to something, their motivation is the same: avoid as much pain as
possible, and get to the finish line where (their idea of) happiness awaits.
PROMPT:
Ask yourself:
- How is my protagonist going to execute their plan (achieve goal, avoid fear)?
- What is their step-by-step plan for making this happen? (Even if they don’t know
every step themselves).
- How can I show my reader the REASONING behind my protagonist’s actions (aka:
how their every decision is fundamentally based on their misbelief)?

GAME-CHANGING MIDPOINT
PLOT TWIST!

A game-changing midpoint doesn’t have to be some epic and crazy twist of fate.
In fact, the only thing a game-changing midpoint has to do is surprise the protagonist
and shift their goal. (Bonus points if you can surprise the reader at the same time!) It
can be as dramatic as “everything protagonist believes is actually a lie” OR as simple as
“protagonist realizes they are falling in love with their nemesis.”
PROMPT:
Ask yourself:
- What unexpected thing is going to upend my protagonist’s plan (and entire
life)?
 - Why does it matter to my protagonist, given their desire and fear?
- How is it going to change the game for my protagonist?

POST-MIDPOINT ACTION HERO

PROTAGONIST APPROACHES THEIR GOAL FROM A DIFFERENT ANGLE

Figure out how your protagonist is going to handle the plot twist. It’s sort of like
another inciting incident, shoving them further outside their comfort zone and
presenting a new and unexpected challenge. Give your protagonist a plan going forward
– and a sense of where this is going. Your readers want to know what happens next
because they can foresee what MIGHT happen.
PROMPT:
Ask yourself:
- What is my protagonist’s NEW plan going to be, based on the game-changing
midpoint and what it means to them?
- How does my protagonist think their new plan is going to actually work and bring
them to their goal while STILL avoiding their fear?

SECOND PINCH POINT

OPPOSITION/ANTAGONISTIC FORCE GETS CLOSER

Remember, your “opposition” doesn’t have to be an actual villain or even a person

— it can be the protagonist’s misbelief always looming in the background, getting ready
to attack them come act 3. Whatever the major “opposition” your protagonist is going to
face off with at the climax of your story, that’s what you want to give the reader a taste
of at this story beat.
PROMPT:
Ask yourself:
- How can I show the opposition/antagonistic force now getting closer to
disrupting the protagonist’s life?

ACT 3
SUPPOSED VICTORY
PROTAGONIST THINKS THEY HAVE OVERCOME

Making progress with their new-and-improved plan, the protagonist feels

confident they will be victorious. Or perhaps they have already overcome the smallest of
the challenges and feel pretty good about their plan. Little do they know, disaster is on
the way. (NOTE: this plot point is optional, but awesome.)
PROMPT:
Ask yourself:
- Why does my protagonist think they will be victorious?
- What’s happening to make them feel SO CLOSE to achieving their goal and
finding happiness at last?

DISASTER
EVERYTHING GOES WRONG

Bring your protagonist to their knees by rooting the disaster in their greatest fear
and misbelief. It might be something that’s terrible for anyone to experience, but go
beyond that and make it something especially bad for your protagonist because of their
fear and misbelief. Every decision they have made throughout the story has led them to
this moment…which means they are to blame for their own ruin.
PROMPT:
Ask yourself:
- What does this disaster specifically mean to my protagonist?
- How does it force them to realize that they’re the one to blame for this crisis?
- How does it completely disarm them and make them face off with their fear and
misbelief?

DARK MOMENT
PROTAGONIST IS HOPELESS

It’s always darkest before the dawn. Your protagonist needs a rock-bottom
moment in order to have an “aha” moment — and that’s what makes the revelation so
satisfying. But right now, in wake of the disaster, your protagonist is feeling utterly and
completely broken, confused, lost, and disappointed.
 PROMPT:
Ask yourself:
- How is my protagonist forced into the ring with their kryptonite?

AHA MOMENT
RENEWED HOPE

This is the biggest pivotal moment in your whole story. After your protagonist has
been brought to their knees by the disaster, they have a revelation — an aha moment.
They can suddenly see how their fear and misbelief has led them to make the wrong
decisions about everything. They realize how wrong they were — but most importantly,
they see that they’ll have to overcome their fear/misbelief and make the RIGHT decision
in order to achieve their goal: true happiness.
PROMPT:
Ask yourself:
- How is my protagonist going to overcome their fear and continue to the climax,
therefore developing as a character?
- What lesson are they going to learn (and simultaneously teach the audience?)

CLIMACTIC CONFRONTATION
PROTAGONIST FACES THEIR BIGGEST CHALLENGE YET

This is the moment everyone has been waiting for, where the protagonist is going to
face their most difficult challenge yet. It’s a true test of their character — and how they
respond to the confrontation is the proof that they’ve TRANSFORMED…as a result of
their journey. So your protagonist has already won the internal battle (in their “aha”
moment) but now it’s time for them to win the external battle (which of course will force
them to face off with their greatest fears.)
PROMPT:
Ask yourself:
- How does my protagonist prove their transformation by crushing their misbelief
and facing their greatest fear with courage?
VICTORY
PROTAGONIST OVERCOMES

This doesn’t necessarily mean the protagonist wins the external battle or that things
turn out exactly how they hoped. But the protagonist does experience a personal victory
— because they overcame their fear and destroyed their misbelief. Here’s my rule of
thumb: if your reader doesn’t know how the character has transformed as a result of
their journey, you need to rewrite your book until they do.
PROMPT:
Ask yourself:
- How has my protagonist changed as a result of their journey?

RESOLUTION
WRAPPING UP LOOSE ENDS

This is the part where all the loose ends are tied up. The reader should be left
with no missing information or silent questions. If the book is part of a series, then you
may want to end on a cliffhanger by swapping out the “victory” story beat with another
“plot twist.” If the book is a standalone, make sure the reader’s questions are answered
when they reach the final page.
PROMPT:
Ask yourself:
- Where will my protagonist go from here?
- What does their life look like, now that they have overcome their misbelief?