Viewing: Blog Posts Tagged with: crossing the threshold, Most Recent at Top [Help]
Results 1 - 2 of 2
How to use this Page
You are viewing the most recent posts tagged with the words: crossing the threshold in the JacketFlap blog reader. What is a tag? Think of a tag as a keyword or category label. Tags can both help you find posts on JacketFlap.com as well as provide an easy way for you to "remember" and classify posts for later recall. Try adding a tag yourself by clicking "Add a tag" below a post's header. Scroll down through the list of Recent Posts in the left column and click on a post title that sounds interesting. You can view all posts from a specific blog by clicking the Blog name in the right column, or you can click a 'More Posts from this Blog' link in any individual post.
There is the holy trinity in the Christian religion, the holy trinity as a culinary term in all sorts of cuisine and, I hope it is not sacrilege, the holy trinity in stories. Perhaps it's a bit wacky to use the term in plot... what can I say?
The three cornerstone scenes in all novels, memoirs and screenplays are:
However, there is another trio that is my very favorite in the
Universal Story because of the power these three scenes produce in stories and in our lives as writers and people.
I've been admonished for being a bit heavy-handed in these three videos. Please forgive me. My passion often overtakes me.
Click on green highlighted plot concepts for further explanations via video. Each time a concept is referenced you are directed to new information.
Take advantage of every moment your protagonist crosses from one symbolic place to another. Every threshold has the potential to alert the reader, audience that the character is transitioning from the known to the unknown = creates excitement, expectancy, and an element of fear of the unknown in both the character and the reader.
The use of crossing a threshold is especially effective when the character moves from the Beginning (1/4) to the Middle (1/2). After the scene that represents the End of the Beginning, the character crosses over into the Middle. This is a big moment and often comes as the character leaves her world over everyday ordinary for the exotic world of the unknown.
Another symbolic moment is when the character leaves the Middle and moves into the End (1/4). You will likely find other thresholds or transition to take advantage of in your story.
This moment of crossing over the threshold deserves a emphasis with the use of pacing and introduction of authentic details and "showing" (not telling) the character's emotional anticipation of the moment of crossing, the actual sensations as it happens, and possibly the reaction when the action is complete and the character understands there is no turning back.
The character will likely be confronted with Threshold Guardians, but for now, go through your manuscript and locate any sections that could constitute a threshold. Rewrite that section to give it the significance it deserves.
For more on Crossing the Threshold:
There is the holy trinity in the Christian religion, the holy trinity as a culinary term in all sorts of cuisine and, I hope it is not sacrilege, the holy trinity in stories. Perhaps it's a bit wacky to use the term in plot... what can I say? 
For some reason I have not yet found these videos, but now I have :) I am so glad I have, too, and I'm very excited to go through them and learn everything I can. Thank you for doing this!
Sarah Allen
(my creative writing blog)
hmmm, I worry why you had not found these videos. This is all new to me!
I'm glad you're finding the plot series helpful!
Nothing better than feeling like a support to writers following their dreams...