Welcome to Day 8
You’re officially working on the architecture of your story now!
Before we get into today’s lesson, there are two important bits of housekeeping to cover.
Our first live Q&A is TONIGHT
Tonight is our first live Q&A, happening at 8pm UK time, right here on Substack.
If you can make it live, that’s wonderful. You’ll be able to drop questions into the comments as we go, and I’ll answer them in real time.
If you can’t make it, that’s completely fine. There will be a recording available afterwards.
That said, I strongly recommend submitting your questions in advance if you can.
Many of the questions that come up in challenges like this are quite specific to your book, and having a little time to look back at what you’ve been working on helps me give you a much more thoughtful answer.
On the form, you’ll also see a box asking what name you’d like me to use. If you’d rather stay anonymous on the live, just write “anonymous.”
Make sure you have your book blueprint worksheet
By now, you should be actively filling out your Book Blueprint Worksheet as we go.
If you haven’t downloaded it yet, there was a button below to get it.
Before you download it, there’s a very short video (about three minutes) explaining how we’re using the worksheet during the challenge. Please do watch that first; it will save you confusion later.
(Also: my puppy makes an appearance in that video because he refused to be put down, so it’s both instructional and mildly chaotic.)
Today’s lesson: the Destabilising Moment
Today we’re talking about what is traditionally called the Call to Adventure.
I use a slightly different term for this: the Destabilising Moment.
The reason is simple:
“Call to adventure” sounds quite upbeat—like a fun invitation. But structurally, this moment is not a gift. It’s a problem.
This is the moment when your Hero’s Ordinary World—the world you’ve just spent time building—is broken.
Something happens that destabilises everything they rely on. Something that means staying put is no longer an option.
When I say Destabilising Moment, I’m talking about what the Call to Adventure does, not how it sounds.
This is the moment where:
the Ordinary World is thrown into upheaval
the Hero is given a problem they cannot ignore
the story truly begins
And it happens fast…
…usually in one moment.
And it’s often something you can describe in one sentence.
What this moment actually does in your story
The destabilising moment is where you hand your hero a problem.
The rest of the book is them trying—and often failing—to fix it.
It’s the moment that makes not acting impossible.
This is why it’s so closely tied to your Hero’s core flaw.
A good destabilising moment presses directly on the thing your hero is most afraid of.
A few clear examples
Here’s what this looks like in stories you already know (in one sentence):
Finding Nemo: Nemo is taken.
The Princess Diaries: Mia is told she’s a princess.
Harry Potter: Harry receives his Hogwarts letter.
The Hunger Games: Prim’s name is called at the Reaping.
Life of Pi: The ship sinks.
Each one of these changes everything and makes the old life unsustainable.
That’s what you’re aiming for.
Your task for today
In the comments below, I want you to write one sentence:
What is the destabilising moment of your story?
In other words: What is the single event that breaks your Hero’s Ordinary World and creates the problem they must try to solve?
Writing this in one sentence is part of the challenge ;)
Today’s reflection prompt
I’ll post this in the chat, but you’re welcome to answer it in the comments if you prefer.
If your hero refused to take action after this moment, what would they lose?
Think about:
their ordinary world
their core flaw
what they believe keeps them safe
This question is doing important structural work. It helps you test whether your destabilising moment is strong enough to carry a whole book.
A note: these reflection prompts are an important part of your work in the challenge. They’re designed to train you to think like a story architect. So be sure to take your time with them and discuss them in the chat.
That’s it for today.
This is one of my favourite days of the challenge, and I cannot wait to read your destabilising moments.
Be sure to post them below, submit your Q&A question if you have one, and grab your blueprint worksheet if you haven’t already.
I’ll see many of you tonight at 8pm UK time!
Talk soon,
Shelly
