In a post on Writers in the Storm, Jenny Hansen identifies multiple ways your novel can reach a turning point. “A turning point is a part in the story where an event happens that throws the protagonist into a whole new place,” Hansen says.
Your first turning point occurs after the inciting incident, when the hero’s life moves out of the status quo and into instability. The second point is when things start to get worse and by the third, there is no turning back. You might find it helpful to give each turning point a title, to create milestones in your novel.
The fourth turning point is the mirror moment or dark night of the soul. “This is the crisis where both the main character and the reader lose everything,” Hansen writes. “This is the crisis the protagonist is not sure they can overcome.” This point determines the last turnign point, the resolution of the conflict and the changed world.
Hansen advises writers to wait until the second draft to identify the major turning points. “Your first draft is just about getting the big picture and the characters down,” she says. “Attempting to do the math and the pacing for your novel before you’ve gotten the story out is not likely to do you any favors. Pace the novel AFTER the first draft.”
