The midpoint – where your story gets personal

We were pootling along in the car the other day and Dave said 'where's the mid-point in Blade Runner?'

My memory does the very opposite of total recall, so I hazarded that it was where Roy finds Pris again and they discover they are the last replicants left alive. Or was it the scene where Rachael comes to Deckard's apartment, they have a heart-to heart about the fact she's a replicant and other things transpire. Or was it both – as each significant character should have their midpoint… and for a finale I swerved to avoid an oncoming tractor.

Back home, we checked. The Roy/Pris scene is way past the middle. The actual middle is the scene where Deckard's boss tells him he's going to have to kill Rachael, even though she's not one of the renegade bunch. We'd both forgotten the scene where Deckard kills Zhora and feels unexpectedly bad about it – another turning point. Or the scene where Deckard is nearly killed by Leon and is rescued by Rachael (who has previously made it clear she'd never visit the kind of scuzzy areas where Deckard hangs out). Midpoints galore, it seems.

Midpoint, schmidpoint

Backtrack for a moment. What's the midpoint anyway and why do we bother to identify it? It's a moment where the story significantly shifts gear. Readers (and moviegoers) seem to have an internal clock, and generally like it if this shift comes roughly half-way through the story.

What does a midpoint look like? Here are some typical forms a midpoint can take.

It can be a false victory – perhaps the main character has apparently got what they wanted and discovered it was a shallow goal or has got them in big trouble. (Deckard has after all just managed to shoot the first of the replicants he is hunting.)
It can look like the original quest went horribly wrong and now they have to sort out a much more involved mess.
It might be an echo of a scene from much earlier in the story, but done for different, more serious reasons.

Whichever it is, at the midpoint everything turns grave. It is a moment when the conflict and journey become internal as well as external. The character's need is deeper, truer. The consequences become more significant. The characters pass a point of no return.

Blade Runner again

The reason Dave and I were having trouble identifying the midpoint of Blade Runner - apart from fuzzy memories – is that there are significant shifts for the characters all the way through. The movie is a continuum of internal change. The characters are transforming inside all the time, discovering deeper needs, acting in the grip of impulses they have never faced before, getting into deeper trouble and discovering profounder joys – which increases what is at stake. Also, there are two protagonists. This is one of the reasons the story has such momentum and pace. It builds and builds, propelling the characters towards what will be the most significant moment of their lives.

If you build a story so that every scene commits the characters more deeply, drastically and personally to their path, it will be engrossing.

Thanks for the pic, Neeta Lind

Let's look at our favourite books or movies. What's at the midpoint – and was it hard to choose? Share in the comments!

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