If you’ve researched story structure at all, you know there are many models out there, and they’re all slightly different. The most popular forms tend to follow the three-act structure, which resonates with many readers regardless of genre or format.
- Act 1 sets things up for readers by establishing the protagonist, their story goal, the setting, and all the basics.
- Act 2 builds on that information, introducing escalating conflicts (both internal and external) that block the character from their objective.
- Act 3 resolves the story conflict in a showdown that determines whether the protagonist succeeds or fails at achieving their goal.
Within this simple framework, certain events need to happen not only to progress the plot, but also to encourage the character to become more self-aware, make positive internal progress, overcome setbacks, and so on. This journey is essential if your character is to progress realistically from Once upon a time to The End. It’s not an easy path, though, and sometimes characters balk; they’d rather stay where it’s comfortable and safe, thank you very much. The status quo may be stagnant or even unhealthy, but it’s what they know.
But a stalled character means a stalled story—which is death for reader engagement. At times like these, your protagonist needs a nudge (or a full-fledged shove) to reach the next important story event. This is where amplifiers come in.
An emotion amplifier is a specific state or condition that influences what the character feels by disrupting their equilibrium and reducing their ability to think critically.
Distraction, bereavement, illness, and exhaustion are examples of amplifiers that create friction.
To illustrate how amplifiers get characters moving while also supporting story structure, let’s examine a popular (and my favorite) model: Michael Hauge’s Six-Stage Plot Structure, which is beautifully explored in his book Writing Screenplays that Sell. In the right order and at the right places, these points move the character through the story in a logical fashion without sacrificing pace.
Six-Stage Plot Structure Model
Setup: The protagonist is living in their everyday world, but they’re emotionally stuck or dissatisfied in some way.
Opportunity (Turning Point 1): Called the catalyst in other models, this point consists of a challenge, crisis, or opportunity that pushes the protagonist into pursuing a certain story goal. That decision sets them on a journey that sweeps them out of their ordinary world and into a new one.
New Situation: The protagonist is adjusting to their new world, figuring out the rules and their role while dealing with obstacles that crop up. At this point, the character is largely unaware of their own faults and how they contribute to a lack of fulfillment.
Change of Plans (Turning Point 2): Something happens that creates an awakening for the protagonist, clarifying what they need to do to achieve their goal. They begin moving purposefully in that direction.
Progress: Fully conscious of their goal and their new plan, the protagonist takes steps toward success by gaining knowledge, honing skills, or gathering resources and allies. Although they may be growing in self-awareness, they’re not yet able to fully comprehend the depth of internal change that needs to occur.
Point of No Return (Turning Point 3): The protagonist’s situation becomes more difficult than ever as a death or significant loss pushes their goal seemingly out of reach. Forced to face what’s holding them back (their flaws, fears, lies they’ve embraced, and so on), they commit to changing their dysfunctional methods and evolving in the pursuit of their goal.
Complications and Higher Stakes: Though dedicated to personal change and healthier methods, the protagonist is assailed by escalating conflicts and increased stakes that make it more important than ever to reach their objective.
Major Setback (Turning Point 4): The protagonist experiences a devastating setback or failure that makes them doubt everything. Their plan forward will no longer work, and all seems lost. Finally rejecting any beliefs, biases, or doubts that were holding them back, they adapt their plan.
And so on…
Amplifiers in Story Structure
The flow of a story seems logical when seen through the lens of plot structure, but guess who really dictates this little road trip? Your characters—who don’t always cooperate.
Characters tend to resist change, especially the internal kind. An emotion amplifier pushes them from one point to the next with opportunities for decisions that add volatility, increase vulnerability, and make the situation worse. As the story progresses, particularly in the second half, amplifiers can also begin revealing growth as the characters adapt to new challenges and make better choices.
Look at how amplifiers have been used to this effect in some popular movies and books:
Inebriation: In Sweet Home Alabama, Melanie, who has spent years creating a new life for herself in Manhattan, returns to her hometown to get a divorce, which her estranged husband is reluctant to grant. Frustrated by her lack of success, she gets drunk during the Progress stage, turns nasty, and outs her best friend. This leads directly to the Point of No Return, when she awakens in a hungover stupor and realizes that her horrible behavior has caused her husband to finally sign the divorce papers. She should be excited to be able to put her past behind her and fully recreate herself, but she realizes she’s been pursuing the wrong goal all along.
Instability: The Nostromo vessel is floating in outer space, light years away from help, when an alien makes its way onboard (Alien). In the Complications and Higher Stakes phase of this classic movie, as crew members are picked off one by one, the captain is forced to pursue the alien into the air ducts to try to kill it. He fails, leaving protagonist Ripley as the senior officer with an enhanced security level that enables her to discover the Nostromo’s true mission, which has rendered her and her crew expendable (Major Setback).
Hunger: In Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, a father and son travel to the coast in a hard, post-apocalyptic world. During the Progress stage of the story, the father’s hunger drives him to enter a building he otherwise would have avoided. What they find there sends them running for their lives, questioning humanity’s right to survive. They stick to the woods, wet, cold, and hungrier than ever. A quote explains the father’s mindset at this point: “He was beginning to think that death was finally upon them.” Their foray into the house of horrors, driven by extreme hunger, has propelled them to their Point of No Return.
In each of these examples, an amplifier is used to drive the character from one turning point to the next, a technique that could work just as effectively for you. Once you’ve created a basic outline for your project, explore amplifiers that could be placed strategically to propel the character into the various stages of their story.
Choosing the Right Amplifier
Your story’s theme can deliver the perfect amplifier for informing a character’s choices and actions. It may be the same one employed repeatedly (as isolation is used in the movie While You Were Sleeping), or a variety of amplifiers that circle the overall message. If you know the theme for your story, consider options that reinforce it while also steering the plot events.
Genre can also provide ideas. A bleak, post-apocalyptic story like The Road is a natural setting for hunger, cold, and exhaustion. Likewise, attraction and arousal are common amplifiers in romance plots and subplots. Thrillers and action stories often include multiple instances of danger, stress, and mortal peril.
Additional Research
Looking for more information on amplifiers? Check out The Emotion Amplifier Thesaurus. With it’s easy-to-use list format and comprehensive how-to front matter, this resource can show you how to use amplifiers to motivate your characters, add meaningful conflict, and further your story.
You can see all the entries in this book here.
Becca Puglisi is an international speaker, writing coach, and bestselling author of The Emotion Thesaurus and its sequels. Her books are available in five languages, are sourced by US universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world. She is passionate about learning and sharing her knowledge with others through her Writers Helping Writers blog and via One Stop For Writers—a powerhouse online library created to help writers elevate their storytelling.
Almost helpful post. Thank you, Becca.
Excellent post! This will help with my WIP.
I’m so glad it helped!