A “pinch” might sound more like a wrestling move than a screenwriting term. But it’s actually a crucial plot point that can take your script’s tension from mild to white-knuckled.
In this guide, we’ll break down exactly what a pinch is, when and how to implement it, and mistakes to avoid. Master the art of the pinch, and you’ll have the skills to grab audiences by the throat and never let go.
What is a Pinch in Screenwriting?
A pinch is an event that drastically changes the protagonist’s situation in a film or television script. It often forces them to take urgent, decisive action.
Specifically, a pinch happens in the middle of the second act, around halfway between the midpoint and climax. Up until this point, the protagonist has been reacting to external events and making some progress toward their goal.
The pinch aggressively turns the story in a new direction. It represents an unexpected crisis, revelation, or challenge for the protagonist that makes achieving their objective even harder.
A pinch typically has the following dramatic functions:
- Raises the stakes substantially
- Introduces urgency and tension
- Compels the protagonist to take immediate action
- Spurs character development by testing them under pressure
- Accelerates the story towards its climax
In short, the pinch takes the existing central conflict and intensifies it tremendously. It’s like a vice grip tightening on the protagonist. This creates suspense and momentum to propel the story forward.
Effective Pinches in Popular Movies
Let’s look at some examples of strong pinches from hit films:
Raiders of the Lost Ark: After Indy survives several death-defying stunts, the pinch arrives when the Nazis capture and threaten to kill Marion. This raises the stakes, forcing Indy to rescue her.
The Dark Knight: When the Joker turns Harvey Dent against Batman and Gotham, it represents a pinch that reverses much of the protagonists’ progress against crime.
The Matrix: At the midpoint, Agent Smith ambushes Morpheus’ crew, leading to a vicious fight where Morpheus allows himself to be captured to save his team. The pinch radically changes the mission.
Inception: Mal shoots Fischer, threatening the whole mission. This pinch forces Cobb into limbo to continue rescuing Fischer and planting the inception idea.
Casablanca: When Strasser threatens to find an excuse to close Rick’s cafe, it’s a pinch that accelerates the third act’s conflict and climax.
Each pinch turns the story upside down for the protagonist. Let’s analyze the dramatic functions.
How a Pinch Twists the Story
An effective pinch should feel like an “all is lost” moment for your protagonist. Just when they think they’re making progress, the pinch introduces a new complication, revealing they have much further yet to go.
Pinches often result in a shift in location or scenery for the protagonist. For example, in Wonder Woman, the pinch occurs when Diana arrives at the front with Steve, thinking she’ll swiftly end the war. But the pinch shows her how the war is far grimmer than she realized.
In other cases, the pinch might reveal new information about the antagonist or the rules of the fictional world that force the protagonist to reconsider their approach.
Whatever form it takes, the pinch should irreversibly alter the trajectory of the story. It’s a point of no return that locks the protagonist on course towards the climactic showdown.
After the pinch, your protagonist can’t resolve the conflict the same way as originally planned. The pinch might even render their original plan totally unworkable, requiring them to improvise an entirely new strategy.
This unpredictability is part of what makes pinches exciting. Audiences think they know where the story is headed, but the pinch pulls the rug out and subverts expectations.
When to Implement the Pinch
Screenwriting gurus like Syd Field and Blake Snyder map out highly specific page counts for plot points in a script. But in reality, the timing of a pinch is flexible based on factors like genre conventions and script length.
However, there are some general guidelines:
- The pinch typically arrives around halfway between the midpoint and climax.
- In a 120-page screenplay, that often equates to pages 60-80.
- In a pilot episode, it tends to occur about 3/4 of the way through.
- In short films, the pinch may hit much closer to the midpoint due to time constraints.
The key is that the protagonist is deep into their mission when the pinch forces them to radically alter their plan. If placed too soon after the midpoint, we won’t feel the whiplash of the changed circumstances. Too late, and it won’t give enough time to escalate into a climax.
Aim to plot your pinch at a point of maximum tension where the audience is fully invested in the protagonist’s objective. Then drop the pinch to pull the rug out and send the story careening in a new direction.
Making the Pinch Feel Like an Urgent Crisis
Within a scene, the pinch often occurs just when everything seems to finally be going the protagonist’s way. But it swiftly reverses their fortune.
The arrival of new antagonists, a ticking clock, or a revelation that their goal is impossible can all provide that gut punch of a pinch. The protagonist’s emotions shift from confidence to panic, forcing them to react.
Sometimes a pinch builds gradually, like growing suspicions that reveal the protagonist has been betrayed. Other times, it’s brutally sudden, like a violent ambush that kills allies.
In Inside Out, Joy finally reaches headquarters with the core memories, only for a pinch to hit when the other emotions reject the memories, eject Joy and Sadness, and send Riley into depression.
Whatever form it takes, quickly establish the new conflict the pinch introduces and how it obstructs the protagonist’s plan. The audience should feel their heart sink and immediately wonder how the hero can possibly prevail now.
Use cliffhangers, dark plot twists, and raising the consequences of failure to make your pinch feel like an emergency for the protagonist to scramble against. This propels the story into the final act.
Pinch Variations by Genre
While pinches serve similar dramatic functions, their specifics will vary across genres:
Action – The villain ambushes the hero’s team and seizes a critical weapon, forcing a daring counterattack.
Drama – An ethical compromise the protagonist made comes back to haunt them, testing their morality.
Thriller – Just as the truth seems within reach, the pinch twists to reveal the conspiracy goes deeper than realized.
Comedy – An earlier lie the protagonist told to impress a love interest gets exposed at the worst possible time.
Horror – A false victory against the monster only angers it and puts victims in graver danger, revealed by a pinch.
Lean into conventions of the genre – like higher stakes, dilemmas, surprises, chaos – to make the pinch pack a punch.
Mistakes to Avoid When Crafting Your Pinch
It takes skill to execute a pinch well. Here are some common mistakes to avoid:
Arriving Too Early or Late
Placement is key. Too soon after the midpoint won’t create the spiraling tension you want. Too late provides insufficient time to escalate to a satisfying climax. Know your target pages.
No Connection to Central Conflict
The pinch always needs to relate directly to the protagonist’s central goal and conflict. If it feels tangential or random, it won’t have dramatic impact.
Predictable Plot Twists
The pinch depends on an element of shock and surprise. If the audience sees it coming a mile away, it falls flat. Keep them guessing.
Deus Ex Machina
When a pinch arrives entirely out of left field with no foreshadowing, it risks feeling contrived. Plant subtle clues to pinches ahead of time.
No Consequences
A pinch needs real consequences to work. If the protagonist escapes the pinch unscathed, the story loses tension and meaning. Make it hurt.
Overstuffing the Pinch
Trying to cram too many new plot points into the pinch muddies the impact. Keep the pinch simple and focused for maximum punch.
A pinch should feel surprising yet inevitable in hindsight. Use foreshadowing and emotional investment in the protagonist so the pinch lands firmly within the story.
Use the Pinch to Drive Your Story Forward
When executed well, the pinch makes the rest of your story cascade forward with urgency. Raising questions, stakes, and unpredictability through a pinch will leave audiences breathless.
After the pinch, ratchet up the action and conflict scene-by-scene to capitalize on the momentum. Show your protagonist making difficult choices with long-term consequences as they contend with the pinch.
You can reveal new dimensions of their inner struggle and character relationships under pressure. For example, in The Dark Knight, the pinch exposes cracks between Batman, Gordon, and Dent that heightens the drama.
Let the pinch push your protagonist to their limits, both physically and mentally. The central conflict should feel increasingly insurmountable. This sets up the major turn in the third act when they rally for a final attempt at resolution.
The pinch often aligns with the protagonist’s “darkest hour” where all seems lost. Use it as a crisis point to test and deepen their motivations. Why does your hero keep going when all is hopeless? Answering this can provide powerful story catharsis.
Assessing Your Pinch
Review these questions to assess whether your pinch works:
- Does the pinch irrevocably change the trajectory of the story?
- Is it impossible for the protagonist to resolve the conflict as originally planned?
- Does it force urgent action from the protagonist?
- Are the raised stakes strongly tied to the core conflict?
- Does it thrust the protagonist out of their comfort zone?
- Does it have an element of surprise while feeling inevitable in hindsight?
- Most importantly, does it escalate the conflict and create suspense?
If you can answer yes to the above, your pinch is likely effective. Keep tweaking until the pinch hits all the right story beats.
Master the Midpoint Pinch
Whether you’re writing an indie character drama or a big budget action bonanza, an electrifying pinch can propel your story from an 8 to a 10. Savvy screenwriters know how to use this crucial plot device for maximum impact.
Aim to shock audiences with your pinch while keeping it anchored within the narrative and characters. Let it escalate the conflict to a thrilling, emotional climax.
For more tips on nailing plot structure and engaging audiences, check out our blog. And best of luck with your next draft! The pinch is the perfect place to make it unforgettable.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the pinch in a screenplay?
The pinch is a plot point that occurs in the middle of the second act of a screenplay, usually about halfway between the midpoint and climax. It represents an unexpected crisis or challenge for the protagonist that raises the stakes and forces them to change their approach.
What is a pinch point in story writing?
A pinch point is a moment in a story that irrevocably alters the protagonist’s path and escalates the central conflict. It adds urgency, suspense, and new complexities forcing the protagonist to act. Pinch points are crucial turning points in the narrative.
What is an example of a pinch point?
Examples of pinch points include when the Joker turns Harvey Dent against Batman in The Dark Knight, the T-Rex escaping its enclosure in Jurassic Park, and when Rick’s cafe is threatened with closure in Casablanca.
What’s the difference between a plot point and a pinch point?
Plot points are the major story turns that separate acts and fundamentally shift the narrative, usually the inciting incident, midpoint, and climax. Pinch points are less drastic but still force major change, occurring in the middle of an act to escalate conflict.
What are the three C’s of screenwriting?
The three C’s of screenwriting are: Character, Conflict, and Change. Well-developed characters facing meaningful conflict that causes inner change create compelling screen stories.
What is the #1 rule when writing a screenplay?
The #1 rule is to make your audience care about the characters. Empathetic characters that audiences become invested in emotionally are the foundation of great screenwriting.
How do you make a pinch point?
Make a pinch point by raising the stakes, putting urgent pressure on the protagonist, revealing new information, introducing ticking clocks, pitting the hero and villain directly against each other, killing allies, exposing secrets, and more.
What is another term for pinch point?
Other terms sometimes used for pinch point include crisis point, plot point II, reversal, complication, and the point of no return. But “pinch point” is the most common term.
What is the first pinch point in a romance novel?
The first pinch point in a romance novel usually involves a betrayal of trust, a misunderstanding causing conflict between the lovers, or external circumstances forcing them apart when they just found each other.
