Welcome to the official Day 2 of the challenge. Before we get going, can I just say that I’ve been a little overwhelmed, in the best way. I only sent one email ahead of time, so I honestly thought it might be a small handful of us. Instead there are so many of you here and engaged, and I recognise so many of your names and your stories.
I had around 20 submissions yesterday, first drafts of your destabilising moments, and reading them was the best part of my day!
So please, please take advantage of these 5 days. I very rarely do something like this, and I’m not sure I ever have in a big public way, where I say send me your writing and I’ll give you real feedback on it. So use it. Submit on the day things are due so that I can get your feedback back to you and help you shape your story.
Today: crossing the threshold
By now your Hero has lived in their ordinary world, had it broken open by the destabilising moment, and dug in with a moment of refusal, wanting to stay where it’s safe.
Crossing the threshold is where that resistance ends and they commit. It’s the point of no return, a Rubicon moment: they make a choice, they cross, and the door closes behind them.
This is the scene where your plot actually begins. Everything before it is setup. And here’s the lovely part, it’s short. Done well it can be two or three sentences, and it shouldn’t run more than a page. As your Hero crosses, the question in their head shifts from should I do this? to how do I survive this?
How to write it
Five things to decide, and then you’re away:
1. Nail the choice. Your Hero makes a distinct decision to cross, even if they’ve been pushed right to the edge of it. Katniss volunteers as tribute, but she doesn’t truly cross until she chooses to walk into the arena.
2. Give them a beat to say yes. We need to see the commitment happen, even a small one, so the crossing reads as their decision. And the way they cross, reluctant, reckless, or terrified, tells us who they are.
3. Close the door behind them. Something has to make going back impossible. They step onto the plane, the doors seal, and they can’t get off.
4. Know the new rule. The flaw that kept them safe won’t protect them here. For Katniss it becomes kill or be killed; for Neo, nothing he trusted is real. You don’t have to state it on the page, but you need to know it.
5. Land the shift. Move the question in their head from should I do this? to what now? or how do I survive this?
Most of you will have a physical crossing—an actual boundary your Hero steps over: swimming out of the reef, walking into the arena, taking the pill and being pulled out of the Matrix.
If your story is more internal and literary, the line can be crossed in a conversation at a kitchen table, as long as we feel it. Either way, think about the symbol of it, the river, the doorway, even a line on the floor.
One test before you send it: if you cut this scene, could the rest of the book still happen? The answer has to be no. Nothing that follows works until your Hero crosses.
Your challenge for today
Write your crossing the threshold scene. Keep it short and sharp—a paragraph or a few sentences is perfect—and make sure it has all of it: a choice, a commitment, a crossing, and a door that closes behind them.
To send it to me:
write it in a Google Doc with the permissions open
click the button below, and pop your name and the link into the form.
Then come back here and comment to let me know that you’ve submitted, and close your doc.
Once I’ve left your feedback I’ll like your comment, and that’s your cue to open it back up and read.
This is same-day only, so get it to me before midnight tonight. If you’ve submitted, I’ll have your feedback back to you by 8am.
Any questions, leave them in the comments below.
See you tomorrow at 5am, when we move on to Day 3 and the midpoint!
Xx Shelly
