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Step-by-Step Guide to Implementing the 7 Point Story Structure.

You must have heard about the seven-point structure and how it enhances your storytelling process. Well, all you heard is the truth. This story structure divides your story into points that hold the crucial elements of any story. These points are:

1. The hook introduces the fascinating characters and their intriguing universe.

2. The first plot turn is where the protagonist enters his adventure.

3. The first pinch brings in the pressure of the protagonist's newfound adventure.

4. The midpoint is where the protagonist chooses the attacker's approach.

5. At the second pinch, everything falls apart.

6. In the second plot turn, the protagonist thinks outside the box and finds a possible (or even crazy) way out. 

7. The resolution is where the conflict ends, and the protagonist is victorious (or not).

Knowing all these points is not enough. A grasp on how to implement them is also necessary. And below is a step-by-step guide to help you out.

1. Start at the end. It is best practice to start mapping out your story from the resolution. Decide how you want the story to end and who the characters will become at the end. Knowing this helps you determine how to begin, fully aware of the direction your story is going. 

2. Begin at the Opposite of the End. After deciding what your resolution would look like, begin your story in the opposite direction of the end. If your story is about war and ends with the protagonist coming out victorious, your hook may be a few weeks or months before the war when there is no prospect of victory. If your protagonist ends up brave and victorious, you can introduce him as a coward, living in defeat. 

3. Divide the Story into Two Parts at the Middle. After concluding the starting and ending points of your story, decide where the middle position will be. This point should be where your character changes tactics from reactive to proactive. So, this should be a point where there is a radical shift of actions, outcomes and suspense into a higher gear.

4. From Resolution to Midpoint, Decide the Climactic Moment. Now is time to flesh out the remaining points of your story. You can choose to determine any other plot point from here. I recommend you start from the bottom. You can begin from the resolution upward and decide what your face-off moment (the second plot turn) will entail. With the earlier scenario of a war story, the face-off moment can be the protagonist going one on one, on the battlefield, with the antagonist.

5. No Hope in the Second Pinch. Put your protagonist in a dead-end at this point. Let it appear that he has nowhere else to go, and victory is farfetched. "The higher the stakes, the higher the reward" also applies to storytelling. If the likelihood of success isn't zero at this point, the reader will not be keen to know how it ends. Using our war story, this could be the point where the champion on our protagonist side dies, and everyone else is badly injured.

6. From the Hook to the Midpoint, Define the Inciting action. Now that you know how the second half of your story plays out, it's time to prepare your protagonist and his circumstance to bring him to those plot points. First, what is the inciting action? Create the situation that makes the protagonist decide to take up the challenge; either he has no choice, or something compels him to choose. Back to our war story, here our protagonist is conscripted into the army according to the law of the land, and he can't dodge the draft.

7. Apply Pressure at the First Plot Turn. The first plot turn should bring in the heat. Let your protagonist begin to feel the pressure of what he has gotten himself into. This point can introduce the antagonist or some of his accomplices or the initial hurdles of the adventure. It could be the tedious training process or non-corporative teammates. Looking at our war story, this is when our protagonist goes to training camp and feels so out of place, overwhelmed and intimidated.

Written by Readers’ Favorite Reviewer Frank Stephen