Chapter 49: The Lows

Over the last two chapters, you’ve planned the wonderful high points of your novel—those scenes that will see your Sleuth knuckling down and committing everything she’s got to solving the case. Your next step will be to give your Sleuth a reason for that thoroughgoing commitment. You’ve got to throw an obstacle in her path—and it’s got to be a big one.

Why? Well, given her choice, your Sleuth would waltz through this case taking the easy road, never pulling out all the stops—and never finding out what she’s really made of. If you want her to Go the Hard Road, you need to force her onto it. And in order to do that, you need to hand her a solid defeat.

This chapter will deal with planning the two beats that precede Go The Hard Road: A Grave Setback, and Down & Out.

These beats are strongly interlinked—they flow almost seamlessly together, and could even happen in the same scene. In the first, your Sleuth will suffer a terrible defeat. And in the second, she’ll take a moment to react to it. Together, these two beats will allow your Sleuth to understand what Hard Road she needs to walk—and make her desperate enough to do it.

A Grave Setback

This beat is the greatest defeat your Sleuth will suffer in her quest for the truth. I call it “A Grave Setback” because it’s common for someone—a witness, a second Victim, one of the Sleuth’s allies—to die at this point. But killing a character is far from your only option. A Grave Setback is also a great place for: