![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mbarker posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
writercises Original Posting March 18, 2019
In the middle of trouble and complications, when the lead character takes time out to help a dog, or someone else weaker than they are, often risking their own safety… That's The Pet the Dog beat!James says this usually happens just before or after The Mirror Moment, so near the middle of everything. It shows that the main character has a heart, and helps to bond the reader to the character. It often gets the lead into more trouble, threatening or exposing the lead to danger.So, the question you need to ask yourself, is when does your lead help someone weaker, risking their own safety?Now, you may be thinking that Pet the Dog and The Care Package are somewhat similar. They are related, but The Care Package is about a background relationship, one that existed before the story started. Pet the Dog is a new relationship, often forged in the middle of the trouble and complications of Act II.Now, why do you do this? Well, just like The Care Package, we like characters who do something that shows that they care, who reach outside themselves and take a chance.James gives us some hints about how to develop this beat. For plotters, he recommends that you go ahead and make a scene, develop a new character, and move it around to where it fits. For example, you might have a high intensity scene with a cliffhanger, and follow that with Pet the Dog, where it will stretch the tension and help to make the hero more human.Pantsers or discovery writers? You have the freedom and the problem of figuring out what should I write next every day. Well, hey, introduce a new character. Build a Pet the Dog moment! Let the lead character help out someone new. See where that goes!And James finishes with a reminder, that a lead character that focuses only on themselves is not very sympathetic. Pet the Dog helps to counter that. It can be a big one, where they save a life, or it can be smaller, maybe just a kind word to someone. Either way, it shows that they really are Boy Scouts, doing a good deed every day.James doesn't include this in his description, but I think you could brainstorm several possible interruptions, new characters, incidents that could provide a Pet the Dog moment. Then pick out the one that you think works best for your character, your plot, where you are in the writing, and develop it. Dogs, cats, stray children… There are certainly plenty of possibilities out there.So, in Act II so far, we have A Kick in the Shins, The Mirror Moment, and Pet the Dog. And we're headed for the Doorway of No Return #2! Leading to Act III. Now, if you only had three beats in your middle, your Act II, it would be very skimpy. So, don't forget to put in plenty of twists, complications, side quests, and other scenery. Make sure you have the Super Structure signposts, but this is where you really get to fill in the action of your story.And look forward to the Doorway of No Return #2!
In the middle of trouble and complications, when the lead character takes time out to help a dog, or someone else weaker than they are, often risking their own safety… That's The Pet the Dog beat!James says this usually happens just before or after The Mirror Moment, so near the middle of everything. It shows that the main character has a heart, and helps to bond the reader to the character. It often gets the lead into more trouble, threatening or exposing the lead to danger.So, the question you need to ask yourself, is when does your lead help someone weaker, risking their own safety?Now, you may be thinking that Pet the Dog and The Care Package are somewhat similar. They are related, but The Care Package is about a background relationship, one that existed before the story started. Pet the Dog is a new relationship, often forged in the middle of the trouble and complications of Act II.Now, why do you do this? Well, just like The Care Package, we like characters who do something that shows that they care, who reach outside themselves and take a chance.James gives us some hints about how to develop this beat. For plotters, he recommends that you go ahead and make a scene, develop a new character, and move it around to where it fits. For example, you might have a high intensity scene with a cliffhanger, and follow that with Pet the Dog, where it will stretch the tension and help to make the hero more human.Pantsers or discovery writers? You have the freedom and the problem of figuring out what should I write next every day. Well, hey, introduce a new character. Build a Pet the Dog moment! Let the lead character help out someone new. See where that goes!And James finishes with a reminder, that a lead character that focuses only on themselves is not very sympathetic. Pet the Dog helps to counter that. It can be a big one, where they save a life, or it can be smaller, maybe just a kind word to someone. Either way, it shows that they really are Boy Scouts, doing a good deed every day.James doesn't include this in his description, but I think you could brainstorm several possible interruptions, new characters, incidents that could provide a Pet the Dog moment. Then pick out the one that you think works best for your character, your plot, where you are in the writing, and develop it. Dogs, cats, stray children… There are certainly plenty of possibilities out there.So, in Act II so far, we have A Kick in the Shins, The Mirror Moment, and Pet the Dog. And we're headed for the Doorway of No Return #2! Leading to Act III. Now, if you only had three beats in your middle, your Act II, it would be very skimpy. So, don't forget to put in plenty of twists, complications, side quests, and other scenery. Make sure you have the Super Structure signposts, but this is where you really get to fill in the action of your story.And look forward to the Doorway of No Return #2!