Avart at 8:05AM, March 11, 2021

Excellent post Banes! I sometimes enjoy story which you can tell the middle point, but also the ones that you are caught by surprise and when you realize, you're near the end of the story.

theRedDeath at 8:00AM, March 11, 2021

Writing what you basically understand to be the middle sections of a story is one thing, but explicitly trying to write a "halfway point" can be tricky in a long-form story where you may know "how" it is going to end, but might not necessarily know "when" you'll get there.

Corruption at 1:53AM, March 11, 2021

I like the change (I believe "The Reversal" is the proper name for this) to be built up to in the background so it still comes as a surprise (expressly to the main cast) but is not a WTF moment for readers/viewers. This is also the middle peak on the classical 3 peak plot chart. One method thing that can lead to this, which I like in cases where subtlety is needed, is for the background sub-plots to trigger things. By not being part of the main plot, most people don't make the connection, yet when it does occur it makes them remember that the story elements are still linked together. For example, in a romance (Not my cup of tea), the male lead may be a wastral and gambler. After being beaten to a a pulp by people he owes money to he may sort his head out and be willing to be serious in life.