So far in the Developing Themes In Your Stories series at my DIY MFA column Theme: A Story’s Soul, we’ve covered three major plot points: the inciting incident, the Act I choice, and the midpoint. Today it’s time for the scene best known as the “dark night of the soul,” the moment when the protagonist experiences her worst crisis in the story and believes (mistakenly) that her story goal is out of reach. It’s also the scene that, when carefully examined, emphasizes the “why” behind the protagonist’s motivations and pulses with the story’s themes stronger than in any previous plot point.

Click here to read “Developing Themes In Your Stories: Part 10 – The Act II Crisis.”

A Quick Word about Writing Worksheets

If you’ve been following this blog for the past year, you might recall that I used to create writing worksheets for certain blog posts and the Developing Themes in Your Stories series at DIY MFA. Unfortunately, with the limited time I’ve had for blogging this year and the need to reshuffle my priorities so I can pursue my creative writing projects, I currently don’t have time to create new worksheets. And I foresee that being the case for the short term, too.

I’m sure this is disappointing to hear, especially since people have said in the past that the worksheets are really helpful. But it’s one of the things I’ve had to let go of this year because of how busy I’ve been and continue to be. So I hope you understand, and that you’ll keep visiting regardless.

As always, if you have any comments on the DIY MFA post, or if you have suggestions on theme-related articles you’d like to see in the future, feel free to share them here or at DIY MFA.