#Pinch Point

[secondhandsorrows]

Plot vs. Pinch Points

In a typical 3-act story structure, there are stages called plot points and pinch points. These can be easily defined as key scenes or areas where your protagonist takes major steps that serve to drive the plot and story forward, both internally and externally. 

These story beats had taken a while for me to truly grasp, as they both come across as so similar yet so distinct from each other. In this post, I want to dive a little deeper into their differences between these two points within a story structure and how they are linked. 

Let’s take a look:

Plot Points

A helpful thing to remember is that plot points are external factors in the story. They serve as spots of action: the main decisions, incidents, or short-term goals that the protagonist makes or receives that alters the course or direction of the story. 

They are significant scenes: Plot points are pivotal moments or events that drive the story forward and mark significant changes in the narrative. 

They can be structural milestones: Plot points help structure the overall arc of the story and are crucial for maintaining pacing and keeping the reader engaged.

They also advance the plot: In essence, plot points often lead from one major moment to the next, such as the inciting incident, major revelations, climax, and resolution. 

Pinch Points

Pinch points are areas that are built off of the plot points: a-la, the internal reactions. These are places where the antagonistic force, conflict, tension, and stakes need to be felt not just by the characters, but by the reader, as well. They can also be spots of action in of themselves, but the main takeaway here is if the protagonist fails (or perhaps succeeds) as a result and what they’ve learned or acquired from it. 

They assert the antagonistic force: Pinch points re-establish the antagonistic force's presence, motivation, or impact on the protagonist's journey.

They’re used to reinforce tension: Pinch points serve as reminders of the looming conflict or threat — increasing the stakes for the protagonist.

They emphasize conflict or revelations: In a way, they act as sort of a “check-in” to see how the protagonist is faring along their journey — emphasizing their reactions to every threat and highlighting what next course of action they must take to counter them. 

In essence, plot points are major structural beats that drive the story forward externally, whereas pinch points specifically highlight or intensify the conflict and antagonistic pressures. Both are essential for creating a well-paced and engaging narrative, but they serve different functions within the overall plot structure.

Here are some useful sites that have really opened my eyes and helped me to understand plot and pinch points:

[wonieart]

Playing around with my lobster tf now that I've seen more beast wars...

[mandyraine]

Larry Brooks’ Story Structure

The day the aliens arrived, my mother was having a nervous breakdown--

The Larry Brooks story structure is one that I have used several times and find to be very useful when planning a novel. It is a structure that I will detail here in depth because – to me – it seems to be one of the more effective methods of outlining a novel. Image generated using artificial intelligence. Brooks is a writing coach, author, and speaker known for his expertise in the craft of…

[carriejonesbooks]

Pinch Me, Baby, Talking Sexy to Writers

There are some things in the writing world that don’t make a ton of sense in the world of regular humans. One of those things is pinch points. This podcast episode is going to be the start of a quick series of podcasts and regular posts about pinch points. The regular posts will be at our Substack LIVING HAPPY under the WRITE BETTER NOW publication. So, what are these little twerps called…

[sophsun1]

Interview With The Vampire 1.07 "The Thing Lay Still"

[usercelestial]

tbh i think a lot of the people saying "well both sides are wrong"/"bt stans are just as toxic" are just not exposed to other perspectives in this fandom. as a buddie fan who's been watching this show since s1, i can safely say that buddie fans have always been toxic. like as fact. to me, to say that bucktommy fans are just as harmful or just as annoying or just as bad as buddies consistently are is just. delusional. indicative of at worst a biased opinion and at best an uninformed one. buddie has been here since s2 and fans have ruthless ever since. bucktommy has been here for 3/4 of a season and for the most part, stay in their lane. i'm sure there are bucktommy fans who suck, like that's just being on the internet, but you have to be blind to ignore how insane buddie fans are and genuinely how much worse they are in comparison.

i don't want to generalize and i think constantly adding that disclaimer is annoying as hell bc obviously i'm not talking about everyone but because buddie has been here for so long and taken up so much mental space of very die-hard, passionate fans, you're going to see much more intensity on that side. after season 5, i had to step away from the fandom and the show because of how frustrating it got. it was annoying to see people swear up and down buddie will be canon by the end of s3-no wait s4-no wait s5-no wait- and ultimately it sucked my enjoyment out of a show i otherwise enjoyed because i got swept up in the Buddie Of It All and forget about why i watch the show to begin with. we've been left to stew in our theories and now we can't tell what canon and what's fanon anymore, and when the show reminds us, the disappointment and frustration kills our hopes.

i was also active in the dan and phil fandom and supernatural fandom, like ik why people think we're annoying and it's because we are. we make everything about the one thing we like, we comment on every post begging for it to become canon, we're violently disappointed when the show doesn't play into our fan theories because we've convinced ourselves buddie is going to happen by the end of the next episode or actually the end of this season or actually maybe the end of the next season. we've torn a part every female love interest, either making them boring or making them unlikeable in our fanon. all that to say is that when people call us annoying, they're telling the truth and when bucktommy fans say buddie fans are toxic, they're coming from a sincere place. i mean we can't even enjoy our own ship because we're so quick to get our hopes up and be let down about something as stupid it becoming canon. who cares if it becomes canon, just like it to like it.

and it makes sense why there's perceived "toxicity" on the bucktommy side. our energy is being matched; the obsession, the passion, the surge in fandom. if you don't like it or even just find it annoying, i suggest you guys look back on your own posts and comments and behaviors towards other people in the fandom and other characters and unbiasedly compare it to the Toxic Bucktommy Shippers you're claiming you hate. if bucktommy fans are obsessive, it's because we've set the stage for that. if bucktommy fans are getting aggro and defensive, it's because buddie fans have been on the opposition and don't know how to turn it off. we've gone from underdog to bully somewhere in the last 6 seasons.

[aurorangen]

Next thing you know, Riku is playing Cupid. "Dude, wh- just why? What are you even talking about?" Oscar was confused about his way of thinking; Riku had just friend-zoned her and now he was trying to set them up. "Oh c'mon I think you'd be a perfect match!" Riku teased him, "Hah look at your face!" It's gonna take some convincing from Riku and most importantly, he's trying not to reveal her identity! It's all about the surprise, isn't it?

[a-spacecadet]

Oh no what have I done I meant to make them cute but not that cute AGGHH GO BACK CTRL-Z CTRL-Z!!!!

-

Jokes aside I wanted to make a chibi version of them and this was the result~

(Do people use ‘chibi’ anymore? I grew up in the early 2000’s and chibis were all the RAGE back then)

[laughhardrunfastbekindsblog]

A few thoughts about Crosshair's and Hunter's argument on Barton-IV in "The Return" -

- I completely sympathize with Hunter reaching his breaking point and demanding answers. Unlike us, Hunter had no idea what Crosshair had been through - the last he had personally seen of Crosshair before the prodigal brother unexpectedly turned up with Omega, his brother had been acting violent and unpredictable (to say the least), and had literally said that if the rest of the squad didn't join the Empire, he considered them his enemies.

- At the same time, Hunter had no idea what Crosshair had been through that led him to Tantiss, and he pushed before Crosshair was ready to talk... With the result that Crosshair, understandably, became angry and defensive and lashed out. (Come on, Hunter, what else did you expect?)

- When first watching the episode, as Crosshair began blaming Hunter for Omega's imprisonment, I was bracing myself for the inevitability of Crosshair blaming Hunter for Tech's death... And was so relieved but also very surprised that he didn't cross that line. Now, I am convinced that the reason Crosshair didn't hold Hunter responsible for Tech's death, was because Crosshair completely blamed himself for it.

- Given the above, I'm also wondering if that's why Crosshair was so quick to find a way to change the subject when Echo mentioned Tech, yet spent a meaningful moment honoring Mayday: painful though Mayday's loss had been, Crosshair had done all he could to save him. But he hadn't been there to help the squad and try to prevent Tech's death - indeed, he was the main reason (not the only reason, but the main reason) the squad had been on Eriadu in the first place. (You know one thing that would have made this interpretation of events even clearer? One small moment (a Mayday moment, if you will) of all Tech's brothers honoring him at the end of the show, where Crosshair and the others finally get some real closure over Tech's death. And no, I'm never letting this point go. Ever. Mini-rant over.)

[thechaotichorselord]

gay kizz

under read more because i’m shy

[canisalbus]

I just recently started following you so i don't have the full lore of your murderous gay religiously traumatized doggos, BUT, from my understanding, they are Italian and i don't know what part of Italy they are from, yet i can't help headcanoning Vasco as Tuscan, while Machete is probably from some part of Veneto. And as an Italian who has heard Tuscans and Veneto dialet, well it's an hilarious mental image.

Vasco is indeed Tuscan, Florentine to be specific. He comes from a wealthy and influential noble family that has lived in Florence for centuries. He's proud of his roots, and it's usually easy for strangers to tell where he's from. He's a resonably successful politician and has worked as an ambassador and representative of Florence on numerous occasions.

Machete is originally Sicilian (ironically about as far from Veneto as possible), although he was taken to mainland at young age and has lived in several places since then, before ending up in Rome. The way I see it, he exhibits very little local color, his demeanor and (even though Italian hadn't become a standardized language yet) way of speaking are formal, neutral and scarcely give away any hints about his personal history, at least in the 16th century canon.

[fisheito]

here's your accursed tier ranking

17

sex yakumos that i had to meticulously screenshot and edit into slottable little squares

4

times i redid this list (over the course of several days)

The tiers (in words):

😔👌: Unfortunately, I Am Into That Shit (☆•̀‿•́): i quite enjoy these 🤔( ͡ಠ_ಠ)🔎: some parts i like, some parts i don't ¯\_(ツ)_/¯: ehh i'd rather watch something else

i COULD rearrange these rooms over and over and over (especially the middle tiers)

but we are nOt GOing to because if i spend ANY MORE TIME sliding yaku's horny squares around i'm goign to fmkkin lose it (it being my peanuts) I could end up rambling about specific rooms at a later date..... but not today. Today we will Restrain Ourselves.

So for now, here's 1 thing about each room that i like (same order as above)!!

Crimson Phantom R5: i can be uyuor devil

Dark Nova R2: THE FOFKIN COLLAR

Ocean Breeze R2: the way he tries to keep his voice down thru his pathetic little whimpers

Fateful Aegis R2: ENSLUTTIFICATION BEGINS **NOW**

Story H scene: ok.,, but he actually stopped. when eiden said slow down. tha't's unheard of in typical yaois

Cocoa Liqueuer R5: eiden purposely chooses the wrong dialogue option at every prompt and i'm laughing so sahgrd

Cocoa Liqueuer R2: yaku's stupid blissed out face *grips my glass so hard it shatters*

Shadow Lineage R5: *adds Snake Bondage [Quantity: 999] to cart*

Incognito Cafe R5: HOLY SHIT HE OBTAINED DICK RESTRAINT

Dark Nova R5: SNAKE TRAITS SNAKE TRAITS MONSTER TRAITS LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

SR R5: something about those big doe eyes staring up at eiden while pounding into him

Shadow Lineage R2: yeah sure crush me against a wall

Ocean Breeze R5: the ECHO 🤣

Fateful Aegis R5: eiden predicting yaku's AssPoundXXXL initiation sequence with the foreboding "i'm sorry"

OG SSR R2:

Crimson Phantom R2: b. bite.

OG SSR R5: eiden worrying about getting yaku's ceremonial robes dirty and yaku's response is an instant I Don't Care 😳 (tbhypothetical if i were wearing an intricate cosplay that i spent foREVER on, all handstitched and made of expensive silks and crafted by my own labour,, and i was about to fuck someone against a wall? I am DEFINITELY taking that thing off. NO ONE is getting cum on that. you will sit there in horny silence while i safely store this garment out of range of the Splash Zone. so for yakumo to have no regard for his FANCY CEREMONIAL OUTFIT? to IMMEDIATELY focus on sloppy makeouts with eiden? that either speaks to his textiles skill or all-consuming horny.)

~~~ and if, for some reason, u want to know why the lowest 3 are , well, the lowest 3:

OG SSR R2: the room itself is aight, but it is unfortunately a near copy of the story H scene. Ahhh, death by comparison. This one gets shrugged to the side simply because i like more things about its twin.

Crimson Phantom R2: yaku is not having a good time, y'all. he is not in the right headspace and his evident suffering is a boner killer. if i were ranking based on character development and lore, this one would rank higher (thank you, surprise tragic stories about yakumo's childhood), but. he's kinda fighting a losing battle against his self-hatred so can eiden give him that hug pls

OH!! and no lie-- his voice unsettled me here. i know he's playing big into the roleplay thing but that Uncharacteristic Vocal Behaviour mixed with Big Sad spiralling is uhhhhhhh . so where's that Eiden hug??????

OG SSR R5: i unlocked this waaay late so it had to (unfairly) compete against newer rooms that I unlocked before it.

it's similar to when I played FF/X-2 before trying FF/VII (original PS version)?! i wish i had played the older one when it first released. that way, i would have appreciated it properly? BUT!! because i played out of order, i was spoilt with modern graphics and improvements that made the old game impossible to finish. I was too warped by then...

and that's what happened with this room. although i liked the concept + their dialogue, the art was too off-model for me to fully engage. i kept fixating on the anatomy or eiden's face. sigh... it was one of the earliest rooms so of course the art's improved since then!! but i was unlucky and watched it too late :( i could not enjoy its full splendour :(

[mourningcape]

some old silly snaps circa 2000 from officialdamned.com (via the wayback machine) :')

[mxtxfanatic]

MDZS Spooky Edition: Courage

The horror—child abuse:

Jiang Cheng went to her side. Madam Yu squeezed his arm with her slender fingers, then slapped his shoulder loudly, scolding, “There’s isn’t any improvement in your cultivation at all. You’re seventeen already, yet you’re still like an ignorant child, fooling around with others all the time. Are you the same as others? Who knows which sewers other people will be splashing in, but you’re going to be the leader of the Jiang Sect!” Jiang Cheng stumbled from the slap, head lowered, not daring to protest.

—Chapt. 51: Courage, exr

[pletoric0]

for the cancelled riddlebat zine

[galoogamelady]

Hey, might be a bit of an odd question. Have you had a chance to dive into Starfield? Will there be a Buttons IN SPAAACCCCEEE!?

I'll be honest, I've seen a bit of Starfield (Cam bought it) and I'm not impressed. Can't say I've expected anything different either unfortunately, with how Bethesda has been conducting business lately. I don't feel any particular way about it and I doubt I'll be playing it anytime soon.