Chapter 17. Is This the Midpoint Reveal?
THE FIFTH AND SIXTH SEQUENCES
Fifth Sequence: The fifth sequence of your murder is where the subplots come to the fore. The action continues to rise toward the sixth sequence, where we will have a culminating series of events that directly impacts the main plot.
THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND:
Have you put a touch of romance into your mystery? Here’s where you need to develop it, but that development needs to be in furtherance of the overall plot.
Have you set up a major conflict between two of your main characters? How is that going to interfere with the investigation and/or resolve it?
The sequence should end with the answer to the question you’ve set up in this part of the novel—will they get together, will a fight break out, will that tropical storm turn into a hurricane?—and then pose another question to lead us into the last sequence of Act 2.
Sixth Sequence: This sequence ends in the culmination of Act 2. It’s where all of the rising action you’ve been creating till now comes to a head at the 70 percent mark of your book.
It should feel like the tension is increasing throughout this sequence, as is the pace.
THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND:
Have you given each of your main characters significant secrets? Now is the time to start revealing them!
I also think it’s important to start going through your list of suspects and convincing the reader, in turn, that each of them is a plausible killer.
This sequence will end with your main character reaching a low point—a dark night of the soul where all seems lost and hopeless.
It’s from the ashes of the sixth sequence that they’ll rise to begin to unravel the true nature of the plot they’ve been embroiled in.
This sequence should end with a NEW twist that will take us away from the solution you’ve been convincing your readers of until this point.
And also: Someone else needs to die.