The Midpoint

What is supposed to happen in the middle of your story?  What are some ways to construct the middle of it?

    The middle of the story, or the midpoint, is the turning point for the story, where a major shift takes place and the trajectory of the story changes. A way to think of it is that the character(s) have a clear goal in the first half, which gets derailed at the midpoint and the second half is their reaction and recourse until the story resolves. Another good way to construct the midpoint is to use Dan Harmon's Story Circle, where the midpoint is around numbers 5 and 6 where the character gets what they want, but pays a price for it. There are two major questions which can help you write the midpoint: 1) what does your character want and 2) what major cost will come when they get what they want.