Commandment number 6: Thou shalt turn thy story/act/chapter/scene/beat

The Turn is something which many scholars of story speak about, but don't always include as a necessary element of story. I think it's definitely necessary and it's one easy way to figure out if each element of your story is working.

It must Turn!

What do I mean by this?

Well as we've seen before Stories are shaped in a bell curve;

This basic structure goes up and then comes down. At the top, it "turns." Whatever happened in the beginning half now has the mirror opposite happening in the second half. (Note these do not have to be directly 50/50 splits - the Turn can often come closer to the end)

The hero, once struggling to overcome their flaw, now has the means to do so and puts their newfound abilities to use, succeeding where they previously failed.

This is the global version of the Turn, but there are smaller versions which are imperative to each element of the story. These tend to hinge on the positive v negative aspects of beats or scenes and chapters, and often (though not always) correspond with the climax of that story part.

On a basic level a Turn moved an element from

+ to - 😕
or
- to + 🙂
or
- to - - (double negative) 😭
or
+ to ++ (double positive)😁

If a scene has started on a positive note for your MC in relation to your novel's theme, then it should end either doubly positive or on a negative note.

This doesn't mean that your character is happy or sad - the Turn is not about emotion, though it is often tied to that. The Turn is in relation to your character's arc and your story theme.

For example:
My current WIP has the following theme: What situations could cause someone to completely change their beliefs?

I have two MCs - one who is more prominent than the other, but both have their own arcs.

Character 1- is moving from atheism/agnosticism to belief in one religious version of God.

Character 2 - is moving from blind belief in God to doubt and dissolution with her church.

These are their internal character arcs - theme: questioning their previously held belief systems.

Their external arcs are their main goals -theme:
discovering and fulfilling their destinies/ discovering the truth of the universe

Each of my scenes needs to turn either positively or negatively along the lines of the internal and external goals/themes of my characters. When they are in scenes together then the scene needs to turn in relation to both of their arcs - both internal and external arcs.

Scenes where it's just one of them needs to turn on that character's arc. Either they are positively progressing toward understanding and fulfilling their destiny and changing their beliefs (+ or ++) or their flaw or the antagonist is getting in their way (- or - -).

This is much easier said than done of course.

In Outlining
For those who are intense plotters, this may be a good way to outline your scenes such that you're making sure from the very beginning that each scene is designed to turn on the external and internal character arc.

In Editing
One way to catch where your story isn't working in editing is to go through each scene and mark where it begins and where it ends. If it's ending on the same value (+/-) as it started then it hasn't turned.

If your scene starts out positively and ends positively - a family is set to meet for a nice brunch and they have a nice brunch and then leave having had a nice brunch - your scene hasn't turned.

Perhaps there were progressive complications and a crisis and climax, but if your character didn't learn anything important which moved the story forward, and just ended up at the resolution of the scene right where they started out regardless of what happened in the scene, it didn't Turn.

This is a good indication that either the scene needs to be tweaked to include a turn, or it's an unnecessary scene and should be deleted.

Depending on the genre you're writing, a Turn could be anything from the entry of an ex to complicate a love story, to a monster you thought was dead popping back up, very much alive. As always, make her your story elements are appropriate for your genre.

Some literary examples of good Turns:

Harry Potter
Book 1, chapter 2 (progressive complication)

Beginning: Harry can't believe his luck that he gets to go to the zoo. He gets a lemon pop and doesn't have to stay with Mrs. Figg. It's going excellent, until...

Ending: Harry getting his longest punishment ever because he somehow made the glass disappear at the boa constrictor cage.

This is clearly a positive to negative turn in the story. It also is a negative value shift for the character's arc because the more he's out in the world, the closer he will be to finding his destiny. He can't do that from his cupboard.

Pride and Prejudice
The scene where Mr. Darcy proposes to Elizabeth (Act 2 Crisis)

Beginning - Mr Darcy is sure that Elizabeth will accept his proposal despite delivering it in an insulting manner and Elizabeth is blissfully unaware of his regard for her.

Ending - Mr. Darcy's confidence is gone after Elizabeth not only refuses him, but accuses him of causing her sister and Mr. Wickham pain and grief. Elizabeth is now made aware of his regard in the most shocking manner and also has confirmation that he did ruin her sister's chance at happiness.

Her belief in her superiority is at its height here - her pride and prejudice which in the next chapter will be completely upended by his letter to her. She is poised for an internal fall from grace in other words.

This scene is his own internal and external fall - the major global Turn for his character arc. He goes from positive to negative in internal and external value shifts as his goal seems impossible to achieve at the end, where it seemed impossible to fail in the beginning.

Hunger Games
Book 1 last scene (Global Resolution)
Beginning - Katniss and Peta have won the games and are poised to go home in love - all seems right with the (very messed up) world.

However, Katniss is told that she's going to have to really play up being in love with Peta because it's her one ticket to being let go by the president, who is furious with her. She is told Peta already understands this, and her doubt about her feelings begins to grow as they get closer to home and Gail.

Ending - Peta is hurt by her inconstancy and thinks she been playing him this whole time and refuses to speak to her except in public where they have to maintain their facade.

The Turn of this scene, though the last scene of the resolution, is from positive to negative. This is often a good way to treat a last scene of a book that is expecting a sequel. Ending on an ambiguous and negative emotional note propels the reader into the next book because they want to know what's going to happen next.

Diamond Water - my entry for the National Geographic Planet or Plastic contest - see link.
https://my.w.tt/8chCwT0YOT

Beginning - The main character's day starts out with her normal work routine, everything is fine and dandy.

Ending - She's being eaten by the very substance which has been engineered to clean up the oceans because she has so much micro plastic in her body.

This is just a 500 word short story but like a scene in a novel, it has a Turn where things go from normal and good to abnormal and deadly. Pop on over and check it out if you're interested and see if you can spot the moment it turns.