How is your NaNo going?

Mine was going really well, then I got behind. To be fair, I’m at a little over 17K, but I am supposed to be at 25K by tomorrow and there is no way I’m going to manage that. I had a busy weekend and so much to catch up on that I just couldn’t find the time to make the writing happen. I also tried to write today, but I had to work, so I only managed 1060 words. I fought for those words too. I wrote 400 words when I got up at 5:00 a.m., and I wrote the other 660 on my lunch break while subbing for a sixth grade class. Alas, my week is (again!) far too busy, and that’s part of the problem. I planned time to write, but the busyness is making it hard to keep at it.

I’m going to keep at it, though.

If you’re discouraged, I want to remind you that you don’t have to win NaNo. Yes, make your best effort—fight for those words!—but give yourself grace if your effort isn’t producing as many words as you had originally hoped to produce. It’s all good.

Plus, any words are better than none, right?

So we’re nearing the end of the year and the end of the story structure for the Grow and Author series. Today I’m going to briefly touch on what Blake Snyder calls “Break into Three.” This is a scene at the very end of Act Two that pushes the hero into Act Three and the big finale.

Your hero has just suffered through the All is Lost moment and the Dark Night of the Soul, and now he needs to get ready. If the Dark Night of the Soul made your readers cry, the Break into Three scene makes them sit up straight and scoot to the edge of their seats. It’s time to give your readers a scene that gets them excited about the final battle that’s coming. This is when your hero takes everything he’s learned over the course of the story and uses it to win. 

But what does that look like? It can look very differently and still accomplish the same purpose. Here are some examples:

A moment of understanding/forgiving oneself: In The Lion King, Nala, Timon, and Pumba have already ganged up on Simba to tell him he needs to fight back. But it’s the scene where Rafiki leads Simba to the water and he sees his reflection, then sees his father in the night sky—that helps him find the courage to rise up and say, “I’ve got to go back!”

Rallying the troops: In Miss Congeniality, Gracie Lou shows up a total mess for the last night of the pageant. The other contestants gather around her and help her get ready. This both validates Gracie Lou, gives her confidence and assurance in knowing that she matters to these girls. She is beautiful and has friends! She’s ready to finish this case.

Coming up with a plan: In The Princess Bride, the following conversation is part of the Break into Three scene that transitions our heroes into the finale.

Defeating the villain: In Toy Story Three, since the big finale is going to be the toys making their way back home, the Break into Three moment is when the characters work together to defeat the bad guy, Mr. Lotso. Woody tells Lotso that that his child still cares about him and that he’s going back. Then the toys distract Lotso and manage to escape.

The Break into Three scene can be many different things as long as your hero is using all he’s learned in the story and is teaming up with his full cast of allies to get ready to face that final battle.

Do you have a Break into Three scene in your story? What kind of a moment is it? If you know, share in the comments. And if you don’t know, don’t worry! It will come to you when the time is right.