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By Michael Schilf · April 18, 2010
It sucks being the middle child. Many experts agree that the middle child is lost, out of place, or loses direction. When you begin sequence five, you most likely will relate.
This, in many respects, is the hardest sequence to write, and the infamous SECOND ACT SAG can set in if you don’t have a strong SUBPLOT to take the ball for a while. The subplot should have been set up earlier, so go back to it now – and use it at full throttle. And since we’re not ready for the main culmination yet, it’s necessary to create a new circumstance where your main character(s) must confront yet another obstacle: more tension, more conflict, a new RISING ACTION. However, since most protagonists have already failed in their earlier attempts, he or she should now be starting to realize and execute a better method in which to solve the main tension.