Write Your Novel From the Middle: A New Approach for Plotters, Pantsers and Everyone in Between

by James Scott Bell

The timing of the first pillar should be before the 1/5 mark of your book. In movies, it's common to divide the acts into a 1/4 (Act I) 1/2 (Act II) and 1/4 (Act III) structure. But in novels it's better to have that first doorway happen earlier.