Writing Act II: The Third Quarter Drop Dead

In the next few weeks we’ll be breaking down the essential components of Act III of your book or script: The Final Battle.

But before we move on, there’s something else I’d like to point out about Act II: Part 2, the third quarter of your story. I find that right about now is very often when writers hit the wall and abandon their books or scripts.

Let’s face it; it’s easy to write an Act I. It’s new, it’s fresh, it’s exciting—it’s like the first flush of being in love. You’re so high on endorph...