Struggling with the middle of your story? You’re not alone. After the spark and momentum of Act 1, Act 2 can feel like hitting a creative pothole — the pace dips, the purpose blurs, and suddenly you’re wandering through scenes that don’t seem to be doing very much. The rising action feels flat. Sound familiar?
The good news is that the middle isn’t a dead zone at all. It’s where the real dramatic movement happens — where your protagonist executes the plan they think will get them out of the problem set up in Act 1. With the right structure, Act 2 stops feeling like a swamp and starts behaving like a tightly wound spring.
This article breaks down how to reignite the energy of Act 1, shape the rising action with intention, and build toward a midpoint that feels like a genuine win — even though it secretly isn’t.
Ready? Let’s dive in.
What is the Rising Action?
In 3-act structure, Act 2 is divided into two halves: the Rising Action and the Falling Action. We’ll explore the Falling Action in a future article.
The Rising Action begins with a promise: the protagonist (main character) has been jolted out of equilibrium by the inciting incident at the end of Act 1, and now they must do something about it.
But the rising action of Act 2 is not simply a sequence of events or obstacles. It is the dramatic engine that transforms a character’s desire into action, tests the integrity of that desire, and propels them toward a midpoint that feels like triumph — but is, in truth, a beautifully engineered trap.
Act 2 is a reflection of Act 1
The rising action is when the protagonist believes they are solving the problem of the world set up in Act 1. The midpoint is where they succeed. And the moment after the midpoint is where they realise they were wrong.
Understanding narrative architecture is key for any writer who wants Act 2 to feel purposeful rather than baggy. It should reflect the tensions you built up in Act 1.
In Act 1, we set up the:
- Problem of the World (POTW): The thing that’s holding the protagonist in a half-life at the start of the story.
- Characters: Show us the characters struggling to navigate the problem.
- Conflict: The protagonist trying and failing to achieve something is a good starting point, but they don’t have to fail—just show them struggling to get it.
- Objective: The thing that the protagonists believes is going to solve the problem.
- Inciting incident: The moment that changes the world forever. The best inciting incidents involve characters making decisions that crystallise the character’s objective.
The inciting incident is the moment that propels the protagonist into the action of Act 2 with a fresh energy. The character believes they have the answer to the problem—but, essentially, they don’t.
1. The Inciting Incident as a Propulsive Wound
The rising action begins the moment the inciting incident detonates at the end of Act 1.
That incident is not merely a plot event; it exposes a flaw or lack in the protagonist’s worldview. It destabilises the world they thought they understood and forces them to form a clear, actionable objective.
Crucially, this objective is not arbitrary. It is born from the problem of the world, a.k.a.:
- The central dysfunction
- Injustice
- Imbalance
- The contradiction that defines the story’s dramatic universe
The Objective Paradox
The protagonist’s objective is their attempt to correct that imbalance, but because they are still operating with an incomplete understanding, their objective is necessarily flawed.
This is the paradox that powers Act 2:
The protagonist is trying to fix the world with the very worldview that is causing the problem.
The rising action is the long, escalating demonstration of that paradox.
2. The Purpose of Rising Action: Escalation With Direction
The rising action is often misunderstood as “the middle bit where things get harder.”
Harder is not enough, although it’s a good starting point.
The rising action must be directional — every beat must move the protagonist closer to the midpoint objective while simultaneously tightening the thematic noose.
The rising action has three core functions:
a. To test the protagonist’s initial strategy
They enter Act 2 with a plan, however naive.
The rising action tests that plan against the world.
And each test reveals something about the protagonist’s limitations, but also something about the world’s deeper problem.
b. To escalate the stakes
This isn’t just the external stakes (danger, cost, risk), but the internal stakes:
What will the protagonist have to compromise in themselves to keep pursuing this objective?
What will they have to give up to achieve their objective?
Will it be worth it? (Spoiler: no, it won’t!)
c. To build momentum toward the midpoint
Every scene in the rising action should feel like a step toward a specific, tangible achievement.
The protagonist believes that if they can just reach that goal, the world will right itself.
This belief is the dramatic fuel of Act 2.
3. The Character’s Objective in The Rising Action: Born of the World’s Problem
A strong Act 2 objective is not a whim; it is a manifestation of the protagonist’s worldview and a direct response to the inciting incident.
For example:
- In a world defined by scarcity, the protagonist’s objective might be to secure resources.
- In a world defined by injustice, the objective might be to expose the truth.
- In a world defined by emotional repression, the objective might be to win love or approval.
The key is that the objective is logical within the protagonist’s current understanding, but insufficient to address the true nature of the world’s dysfunction.
This is why the midpoint triumph is hollow:
The protagonist achieves the wrong objective because they are still the wrong version of themselves.
4. The Mechanics of Rising Action: Pressure, Choice, Consequence
The rising action is not a montage of events; it is a sequence of choices that reveal character. Each choice should:
- cost the protagonist something,
- escalate the conflict,
- and narrow the path forward.
The protagonist feels increasingly committed to their objective, even as the audience senses it is flawed. This creates dramatic irony: the protagonist is winning battles that the audience suspects are strategically meaningless.
The rising action should therefore be structured around:
a. Progressive complications
Obstacles that grow in complexity, not just size.
Each complication should force the protagonist to adapt their strategy, revealing both ingenuity and blind spots.
b. Reversals
Moments where the protagonist’s assumptions are challenged. These reversals are not failures; they are recalibrations that push the protagonist toward a more extreme version of their initial plan.
c. Escalating moral or emotional cost
The protagonist must pay for progress. The rising action is where they begin to compromise, rationalise, or double down. These costs foreshadow the collapse that will follow the midpoint.
Ultimately, the rising action is a sequence of yes/no/maybe questions, and the outcomes affect the protagonist’s journey towards achieving their goal.
There should be setbacks and moments of reversal, as well as small triumphs, on the path to the realisation of the objective.
5. The Midpoint: Triumph as Trap
The rising action culminates in the midpoint of Act 2 — the moment where the protagonist achieves their objective. This is not a minor victory; it is the fulfillment of everything they have been striving for since the inciting incident.
However, the midpoint is the illusion of success.
It is the moment when the protagonist believes they have solved the world’s problem. They have:
- won the competition,
- exposed the villain,
- secured the relationship,
- found the missing piece,
- or achieved whatever goal they believed would restore balance.
The Midpoint is a turning point for the story
The midpoint is a hinge. It is the moment where the story turns — not because the protagonist fails, but because they succeed.
The midpoint triumph is designed to reveal the protagonist’s worldview’s inadequacy. It is the moment when they discover that:
- The victory doesn’t change the world,
- The world doesn’t care,
- The problem is deeper than they realised,
- Or the cost of the victory has created a new, worse imbalance.
This is the emotional and thematic purpose of the rising action:
to build the protagonist up so the midpoint can knock the truth into them.
6. Why the Midpoint Triumph Is Typically Short
The triumph at the midpoint of the 3-act structure is intentionally brief. It is a moment of euphoria followed by a drop.
The brevity is essential because:
- The protagonist’s worldview is still flawed,
- The victory is built on incomplete understanding,
- and the story must pivot into the deeper conflict in the Falling Action.
A long victory would dissipate tension. A short victory sharpens it.
The objective didn’t solve the POTW
The protagonist’s realisation — that the objective they achieved does not solve the problem of the world — is the emotional fulcrum of the entire narrative.
It is the moment where the protagonist must confront the limits of their current self.
This is where Act 2 transforms from pursuit to reckoning. We’ll explore how they address this newfound problem in a later article.
7. The Rising Action as Emotional Architecture
The rising action is not just plot; it is emotional engineering. It must:
- build hope,
- build investment,
- build belief in the protagonist’s plan,
- and build the audience’s anticipation of success.
Only then can the midpoint deliver its devastating truth:
The protagonist has been climbing the wrong mountain.
The emotional architecture of the rising action ensures that the midpoint lands with maximum force. The audience must feel the protagonist’s triumph and their disappointment. They must understand why the protagonist believed this objective would fix everything — and why it doesn’t.
8. The Rising Action’s Relationship to Theme
Theme is typically not declared; it is revealed through action and structure.
The rising action is where we test the story’s thematic argument.
For example:
- If the theme is about the cost of ambition, the rising action shows ambition working — until it doesn’t.
- If the theme is vulnerability, the rising action shows the protagonist avoiding it — until that avoidance collapses.
- If the theme is about power, the rising action shows the protagonist gaining power — until power reveals its limits.
The midpoint is where the theme snaps into focus.
9. The Rising Action as the Engine of Transformation
The rising action of Act 2 is the crucible in which the protagonist’s initial worldview is tested to destruction.
It begins with the inciting incident and ends with the midpoint’s revelation. It is the journey from naïve certainty to painful clarity.
The protagonist achieves their objective, but the objective doesn’t solve the problem. And that disparity leaves a new wound—a more profound one that sets up the fascinating drama of the second half of Act 2: The Falling Action.
The world’s problem remains unsolved at the climax of the Rising Action. And now the protagonist must confront the truth: to fix the world, they must first change themselves.
This is the purpose of the rising action.
This is why the midpoint triumph must be hollow.
And this is why Act 2 is the heart of dramatic storytelling.
Top of the Stack: Act 2–our new course
I hope you’ve found this article useful and interesting. Structure is one of the things I’m most passionate about as a playwright and writing tutor.
If you want some help applying these outlines to your story, you’re in luck. We have a new course, Top of the Stack: Act 2, starting at the end of March.
Or if you want help starting your play, find out more about Top of the Stack: The First 10 Pages.
Additionally, find out more about Act 2 in our podcast.
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