The Catalyst for Character Change: The Dark Night of the Soul

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

The worst moment for your protagonist is one of the best moments for your reader.

A character who truly earns their victory—whatever that may be—is one readers will root for and remember. That’s often why they read the book in the first place. They want to watch a character struggle and overcome their problems and learn something from the experience.

Even if that something is, “the best weapon to put down zombies.”

Typically, the change is more character-focused and draws from the protagonist’s emotional core, but a Dark Night of the Soul happens in plot-heavy novels, too. It just takes a slightly different form and teaches slightly different lessons.

No matter what path your protagonist takes—emotional or intellectual, internal or external, plot driven or character driven—they have one thing in common.

Story Structure: How the Act Two Disaster Works in a Novel

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

The act two disaster shows readers what your protagonist is truly made of.

Since I enjoy putting my characters in terrible situations, the act two disaster is always a lot of fun to write. Writers who want to protect their characters probably won’t find it so entertaining, but remember—this is the moment that allows your poor protagonist to become the person they want to be. So it’s good for them.

All through the middle the protagonist has been trying and failing, feeling the pressure, ignoring their flaw and the lessons the plot has been trying to teach them all book. Just when things are the most dire, something happens that causes catastrophic failure—often something they did, or didn’t do but should have. (Adjust this to fit the scale or scope of your story. What’s catastrophic in a science fiction epic is different from what’s catastrophic in a romance).

In cliché speak, it’s the darkness before the dawn. It all becomes too much and the protagonist feels like giving up, but finds the strength to carry on. They realize the only way to succeed is to face the problem head on and do what they’ve been scared to do all along.