Complications

These are the list the events that temporarily keep the main character from getting to his goal or from solving their conflict. These events may also change the nature of the conflict and the characters goal.  At this point the protagonist begins to deal with the issues that have arisen because of the large log you just threw across their path. It may include the log getting bigger than they originally though it was, the log multiplying itself and giving birth to little babies that the protagonist has to jump over to get to their personal goal.

Good conflicts will often take the reader by surprise because of the sudden mini crises they throw into the works. Something will happen that the reader was not in the least bit expecting. Creating this kind of suspense means that you’ll need to create scenes that bring up emotions of surprise, shock, fear, anxiety or excitement. They keep the reader on edge. You can create suspense by introducing.

a)      A ticking clock – if the heroine doesn’t do something by a certain time life as we know it will burst into flames and make it seem like it is uncertain that the she can beat the clock.

b)      Withhold crucial information from the character but let the audience know it. Now let’s just wait for Jun to discover that his boss really isn’t dead.

c)      Keep the characters emotion on high alert (sweaty palms, racing heart …you know all those panic symptoms) as if they just know something is going to happen.  You can do this by making the setting somehow creepy.

d)      Place the characters in a situation where they are up to their eyeballs in trouble and just need to get out of it. Anything they do however just keeps getting them deeper into trouble.

e)      Change the reveal into something unexpected. The police are coming (I can hear the sirens from a distance) we know Greg is going to be caught. There’s knocking on the door – of course it’s the police. Open the door – surprise – Its just his mom. The stupid police confused the neighbors house for his and arrest that unlucky guy instead.

f)       Give it an open ending i.e. the resolution could go either way. If the police are at the door she could be arrested or direct them to the real killer who is her son or she could just make a run for it.

g)      Kill off one of your beloved characters – painful but effective

There are numerous plot twists out there including an accident, celebration interruptus, hidden relatives, someone is discovered to be evil, discovery of a secret,

You are basically throwing stones at your character at this point. He may miss a few or get hit by a few (but not enough to knock him off the tree). In this phase the protagonist and the villain are getting equal winning and losing time. The characters reaction and solution to the complications you throw their way should match the personality you gave them.

At the end of the complications phase the mini crises and are temporarily solved but there is an increasingly rising tension as the complications become worse and worse. For instance Marie loses her memory as a result of an accident, someone turns up claiming to be her lost brother, turns out the ‘brother’ is on the run from the police, Marie is charged an accessory to whatever crime, her ‘brother’ turns out dead and all the fingerprints point out to her, unexplained amounts of money turn up in her account that she deposited prior to her amnesia…I could go on and on.

The last complication is often the biggest obstacle to the character’s goal. It is unclear whether your main character will or will not reach their goal. Failing could be disastrous and cause the main character’s downfall. There’s a high likelihood that we may not make it (gasp!) but if we don’t climb this mountain the monsters chasing behind us will eat us up. It can’t be anything that we can easily resolve in fact even the reader is just as stumped as the protagonists. It will usually end in a temporary fail for the protagonist – the Black Moment.

The black moment will often force the protagonist to take some time off to recharge.