is two guys collaborating to write on writing and collaboration.
Monday
Mar 13, 2006
Re: Structurally Speaking: Jaws (Part II) posted by Martin
(The example subplot given in David Howard’s book is, during a story about Lindbergh crossing the Atlantic, about his wife worrying about him. Something like that. Maybe Burley can fill in the details here. Did I mention I don’t have the books in front of me?)
Not only do I got your books, I got your back too. Howard, How to Build a Great Screenplay. pgs 328-329.
Main Subplot and Main Character
After the intensity of the midpoint, there is a tendency for a story to suffer what is known as the second-act sag. This is a sense of letdown we experience after a major emotional event. Our hero has made a concerted effort and it has not had the result he and we had hoped. He might have succeeded in what he was trying to do, but that merely turned the dilemma upside down. Or he might have failed and the failure has made the predicament even worse. Either way, we have just come from a major high or low contrasting moment — the midpoint — and there is a tendency to sink, lose energy, or lose focus. The best way to overcome second-act sag is to let the major subplot take over for a while. We haven’t yet had any truly significant change or first culmination in that second most important story, so it can arrive energized, hopeful or fearful, and very tense.
The mention to Linbergh’s wife is brief and in the next paragraph:
Linbergh’s publicist or wife can now take center stage for awhile.
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