How Many Turning Points Can You Have in a Novel?

[@authoratlas3228]

YAY! You're BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You were one of the first folks on Authortube I really watched. So glad you're back to making content again. =)

[@magdamoller6118]

I love your books... i'm a newbie author and have been struggling to get my stories out there in a structured format. It's becoming much easier now that I'm studying your books. Every available moment that I get, I read and reread them😅, hoping something will stick.

[@Jason-yw2ow]

glad to see you making YT content again :) hope you're well

[@andyclark3530]

it is good to see your smiling face again! Thank you for the kind words. So many questions in writing come back to "it depends." You always do a good job of saying that rather than pretending that there are set rules in complex stylistic areas.

[@joevaldez6457]

Terrific video, Katie. I'm starting the second draft of a 90,000 word thriller structured in three acts and after watching your video, tested my structure for eight equal parts. I had them. I didn't diagram what my turning points would be or worry where they would go, I stole the structure of Lawrence Kasdan's screenplay for _Body Heat_ and got the same results.

[@sivabalamanigandansivbaals6634]

Forever K.M ❤

[@brucebenkoii1043]

I’ve been listening to audible versions of your books and I am really making progress because of your help. I was wondering if you have any advice and tips on foreshadowing. A book on it would be helpful too!

[@levvellene570]

Guilty question that is not really related to this post: How would you feel if you created lovingly crafted dialogues and actions, and it turned out many readers just ignored and skipped over both/either, yet still love your story? That happened to me (from a reader's perspective) with R.A. Salvatore's Dark Elf novels, and with David Weber's Honor Harrington novels. I quickly skipped the carefully crafted fight scenes of Salvatore, that could last for many pages (I just dipped in here and there to see how it went...), and Weber's dialogues about spatial directions during space fights just went over my head, even if it was something his characters understood readily... And yet I still love both those series to death! :D

[@mageprometheus]

Thanks 🌹

[@benjaminharmon6541]

I have learned so much from your book on character arcs, it was like taking a college course on structure, and it's given me so much confidence. I can't thank you enough for your book and your excellent blog. I've bought your latest book on archetypes and I'm excited to dig into it. I do have a question, if you feel like answering it. I'm planning a sequel to a previous story (novella) in which the protagonist has two main focuses: his new mission to uncover corruption in his own organization which was assigned to him by the leader of that organization, and his own personal investigation into the root causes of a traumatic event that had happened in a previous story. My genre has up to this point been a dark brooding fantasy with lots of action sequences, but this new story looks to be turning into a mystery. In terms of plot importance, his personal vendetta is central, and the mission he's been assigned would act as a mirror reflecting his mental state and ability to handle the tasks he's been given. At the same time, I don't want to reduce his mission to a mere subplot, because this is his entire job, and this job brings him into close contact with a colleague that he has a complicated relationship with. How he treats this colleague reflects his place in his character arc--which is where his vendetta plays in. It's a lot to juggle, which is why I'm a little unclear on some of my story beats, especially in the first act. Should the inciting incident be about being assigned his task, or should it be when he first raises the question he wants to personally investigate? Should there be two inciting incidents? Both of them involve some initial resistance, hearing another perspective, and then deciding to pursue them. Is it possible to have two, or should I be trying to combine them as much as possible?

[@prathapchinuri9578]

what is the difference between first plot point and the first pinch point.? is it possible to write a first plot point and first pinch point only in a single beat?

[@yourenotthatguy2284]

Hi, I've done an essay recently on dramatic irony and because of the research I've done on it, I'm consciously seeing it everywhere now. (The examples I used in the essay were the opening scene from Inglorious Basterds, and the whole general plot of Parasite). I was wondering, what do you think is the most optimal use of dramatic irony? i.e. in what kind of situations, and the effects it can produce?

[@Jason-yw2ow]

hey, great vid as always! do you by chance also do story coaching? like a paid service for people looking for feedback on their work? or are the only resources the books (which are great btw)? thanks so much

[@KMWeilandAuthor]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the vid. :) I do not currently offer coaching or one-on-one services.

[@Jason-yw2ow]

@@KMWeilandAuthor no worries, thank you - keep up the good work

[@markhanson6563]

I have to ask - was that black strap supposed to be showing?