#14: Structurally Sound- The Middle
Creating Comics! time once again, as I return to the topic of story structure. As I discussed in the first installment of this series, every story worth telling since the dawn of time has three main parts, a beginning, middle and end. Last time, I discussed some things the beginning of stories should do. This week, I tackle the middle. But first, it's probably worth reviewing some of what I talked about last time, with a telling example.
A few weeks ago, I picked up the outstanding Amazing Spiderman #600. Talk about a lot of comic for $4.99. The main story in the book was an oversized tale by Dan Slott and John Romita, Jr., which is an incredible example of how to do a big, self-contained, mainstream super hero story. This is a story that will hold up 30 years from now. While most of what I write about refers to independent work, it's worth noting that the rules of story apply to the guys working on the big stage of Marvel and DC just as well. Let's break down the beginning of Amazing #600, to illustrate why it's so well done. (Oh. Spoilers.)
The beginning of Amazing Spiderman #600 is composed of seven major scenes. It opens with Doctor Octopus finding out that he doesn't have much time to live. All the blows he's received over the course of a criminal career from super powered heroes and villains have taken a toll on his human body. However, Doc ominously raves about a plan he'll put in motion to have his name live on forever. We cut immediately to Spiderman and Daredevil busting up a illegal bar for supervillains. Heroic super hero action and witty banter ensue. We then get a glimpse of Peter Parker's life, as he sells some pics of Spidey and DD to his newspaper, and then runs, late as usual, to his Aunt May's rehearsal dinner. Yup, Aunt May is getting married to J. Jonah Jameson, Sr. Aunt May makes Peter promise to be there to walk her down the aisle, and he swears he'll always be there for the big stuff. We cut back to Doc Ock, and see his plan is in motion. However, he gets visibly upset at seeing news of Spiderman's exploits, and that Aunt May was getting married (he was once engaged to her, believe it or not.) Back to the Parker House, the day before the wedding and all of a sudden, everything goes wrong with the wedding. The caterers are shut down, the flowers are gone, the priest lost his license, etc. JJJ, Sr. thinks it's his son's doing and storms off to accuse him. Later, he is attacked by weird little black octopus things. When Aunt May can't get in touch with her groom, Peter/Spiderman goes to investigate, and for some reason, the entire city starts attacking him!
Last week, I gave five tips for writing solid beginnings to your stories. Let's see how Slott's story holds up.
- Establish the genre- Sometimes it seems like this one should go without saying. Everyone knows what they're getting with a Spiderman book, right? Well, yes, but that doesn't mean you still don't have to deliver it. In a Spiderman book, you expect to see three main things: supervillains, big actions scenes with witty Spidey banter, and lot's of problems for Peter Parker. That's the "Spiderman" genre. Guess what? Slott gives us all of those things, and he gives them to us early.
- Establish the situation- There are two main storylines in this story, and both get established right away. First, Doc Octopus has a big plan he's going to put in motion, and second, Aunt May is getting married. These are the situations we expect to see both complicated, and then resolved, by the end of the story.
- Really establish the main protagonist- Okay, so it's Spiderman. He's had decades of characterization. We know who he is. But, still, Slott let's us know what's on his mind. He's concerned that Daredevil doesn't know his secret identity. He's got a funds shortage which has him taking the subway instead of webslinging, and thus he's late for Aunt May's dinner. Slott doesn't just rely on our long time affinity for the Web-Head. He draws us in by giving him problems.
- Capture the reader's attention. He does this first by starting with an interesting premise. All those punches to the head have taken their toll on Doc Ock, who, other than his mechanical arms, is a normal human. Interesting observation, and something I never really thought about. Just how much damage would one punch from Spiderman do to the average human? How about 1000 punches? Doc is dying, and he wants to do something big before he goes. If this wasn't enough of a grabber, we cut to mid fight with Spidey and Daredevil. Attention captured.
- End the Beginning with a turning point- JJJ, Sr. is captured and the city starts attacking Spiderman, we have a whole new set of problems for our hero to deal with. That right there is a turning point.
And here's one more tip I left out last week:
- Foreshadow- Slott did a great job of foreshadowing here. From Doc Octopus' ominous ranting about what he plans to do, to the Peter Parker's prophetic line while stuck on the subway, "Sometimes it feels like all of New York is out to get me," Slott does a masterful job of setting up the action for later.
I'd say Dan put some serious time and effort into his beginning. It's why the story works so well. We'll return to ASM #600 in a bit. Now let's talk about the middle.
The Middle
I said earlier that beginnings are easy, and I'm standing by it. The middle, this is where things can fall apart if you aren't careful. One of the best ways to think about the middle of your story is to picture a movie trailer...any movie trailer. Most of the scenes that you see in trailers are from the middle of the flick. When you're writing the middle of your story, make sure you're delivering on whatever promise you made in the trailer (even if the trailer is just in your head.) If you're writing an action story, the middle is where the asses are kicked and the stuff blows up. A romantic comedy? The middle is where most of the funny hijinx ensue and the couples face obstacle after obstacle in the way of their love. Slasher flick? The body count needs to pile up.
The key to strong story middles, or second acts, lay in the conflict. "Nothing moves forward in a story accept through conflict," according to Robert McKee. Here are some things to keep in mind when writing your middles:
- The Conflict Should Always Be Rising - You need to have a little sadist in you to be a good writer. Yes, you need to love your characters and spend the time to flesh them out and bring them to life. But then, you have to put your characters through the ringer. Whatever it is in the beginning of your story that shakes up your character's world and changes his or her status quo should only be the beginning of the obstacles he or she will face. Things need to get worse before they get better for your character...that's how you'll keep your audience interested.
In ASM #600, Slott does this well. The middle begins with three problems for Spidey. His Aunt May's wedding plans are falling apart, the groom is missing, and New York City itself seems to be attacking him. But, it gets worse. The Avengers tell him to get lost because he's making things worse in the city. His potential wedding date also gets captured. And Doc Ock has some new and improved weapons at his disposal. That there is rising conflict.
- Conflict Should Be On Multiple Levels - It's not enough these days for your character to want a MacGuffin and have to overcome obstacle A, B, C, and D before he gets it. Audiences and readers want more. Your character should be facing both external and internal conflict throughout your story's middle. Take Jerry McGuire, for instance. The movie puts Jerry on a dual quest to save both his career (external conflict) and allow himself to truly love and be intimate (internal conflict.) Either one of those stories on their own would not have been enough to capture the hearts of audiences. But weaved together? Oscar worthy.
Spiderman works best when the conflict is on multiple levels. Peter Parker's problems should be different, yet intertwined, with Spiderman's problems. Slott does this well. Stopping Doc Ock from taking over the city (Spiderman's problem) will also save Aunt May's wedding (Peter Parker's problem.)
- Your Protagonist Needs to Act - A lot of things are going to happen in your story, many of which will be out of your protagonist's control. For example, Jack had nothing to do with the damn boat hitting the iceberg in Titanic. Still, he didn't just sit back and resign himself to sinking with the boat. No, he did everything possible to save Rose, up until the very end. As readers, we root for characters who take action. (This is usually because we admire them, being too much the chicken shit ourselves to ask out the hottie at the coffee shop or tell the boss exactly how we feel.) Make sure that things aren't just happening to your characters, but that they are reacting to the events around them.
Spiderman is the kind of character who takes action, almost to a fault. Slott writes Spidey as a compelling protagonist who takes one action after another to try to save the day. When he is unable to stop the city from going haywire, he visits the Fantastic Four for help. When he hears his friends are in danger he rushes to their rescue. Taking action is what heroes do. But it's also what interesting characters do. And you certainly want interesting characters in your stories.
End the Middle with the Crisis- Just as the beginning transitions to the middle through a turning point, so too must the middle to the end. And this turning point should be the crisis...a point at which there is no turning back. This should be pretty much the biggest obstacle or challenge your protagonist will face. The Titanic Sinks. The Bomb goes off. Jerry is dumped by his wife and his only client, Rod Tidwell, appears to injure himself. Crisis.
In ASM #600, there is a point when Doctor Octopus gets the upper hand, and it looks like Spidey won't save the day after all. Well, it's a Spider-man comic, so sometimes it's hard to convince readers that the big crisis is actually a crisis. But, most of us aren't writing Spider-man, so there is no reason our stories can't go big with the crisis. Make it look like all hope is lost and there can't possibly be a way for the protagonist to succeed, and you'll probably have the audience right with you until the end.
That's all I've got on ASM #600 and the middle. We'll finish the discussion of structure next week.
NEXT: Structurally Sound- The End
Tyler James is a comics creator residing in Newburyport, Massachusetts. He writes and draws Over, a romantic comedy online graphic novel updating every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He also writes Tears of the Dragon, an epic fantasy webcomic that updates on Tuesdays. His work has been featured at Zuda Comics, and includes Interrogation Control Element, a political action thriller, and Super Seed, the story of the world's first super powered fertility clinic. When not making comics, Tyler works as a game designer and content producer for a software company.
Contact Tyler directly at tylerjamescomics@gmail.com, keep up with him at his blog, or follow him on Twitter.
Previous Columns
1: Big Goals
2: Resolutions
3: The Great Idea
4: Research Part I
5: Research Part II
6: The Killer Pitch Part I - The High Concept
7: The Killer Pitch Part II - The Synopsis
8: Pay Your Artists
9: Zuda Comics- A Tale of Five Submissions
10: Creating Great Characters Part I (Or Why Wolverine is Everywhere)
11: Creating Great Characters Part II (Or Why Wolverine is Everywhere)
12: Structurally Sound- The Beginning
13: Your Reputation
blog comments powered by Disqus