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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/33930
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/33930
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

You say "the first quarter of the story". That is close enough to ACT I, the setup, and it **ends** with a crisis that propels the character into ACT II, in your case, capture by the government. You are probably writing to the [Three Act Structure](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-act_structure) instinctively; we absorb this by examples of the tens of thousands of commercial stories we listen to almost every night (TV, movies and books).

That's a good thing.

In the first Act, we establish the normal world of your hero; her day to day life. So it is okay if we begin with her normal world being on the run evading the law. You begin "in the middle" which is good, provides action, and makes your character reasonably competent and (hopefully) proactive in trying to escape.

The end of the first act ends in a turning point moment, when the characters life will never be the same, and a major failure is very common. It is not the only thing; a plane crash or other accident is common too, being victim of a crime is common. But her major failure of being captured, failing her goal of escape, is a good one.

And the rest of your story follows that: **Eventually she does escape,** by working for her freedom by completing her indentured servitude to the government. (Which I hope is very dangerous work.)

The solution to your problem is giving your character either false goals, or sub-goals, she is pursuing during Act I. Here is the synopsis of ACT I of Die Hard:

> New York City policeman John McClane (Bruce Willis) is visiting his estranged wife (Bonnie Bedelia) and two daughters on Christmas Eve. He joins her at a holiday party in the headquarters of the Japanese-owned business she works for. **But the festivities are interrupted** by a group of terrorists who take over the exclusive high-rise, and everyone in it. Very soon McClane realizes that there's no one to save the hostages -- but him.

Note that McClane has a "false goal" in the beginning of his story, his marriage is on the rocks, he has daughters he has to go someplace to visit. This establishes he has something to lose if he doesn't fight, but otherwise has nothing to do with the main plot of the story, stopping ruthless terrorists. (Maybe we show them once in awhile to reinforce the stakes so he doesn't give up, I don't recall.) I believe in the end McClane's "false goal" of a better relationship with his wife and kids is achieved, by credit for his heroism.

Your fugitive does have a goal, a life of freedom, which seems interrupted but is ultimately achieved even though her life is changed. That is what you need to reinforce, **that** her goal is to escape and find a place where she won't be constantly on the run.

You do that with a series of Try-Fail cycles in the first Act.

- She tries one thing, it fails but she easily escapes. She learned something that leads her to another goal.
- She tries, it fails. The law has more men after her this time, and she narrowly escapes! That gave her a different idea.
- She tries. It fails, and the law has even **more** men and more competent in the bargain, and she narrowly **misses** escape. She is captured.

We escalate in these cycles; Escape was [Easy, Hard, Impossible]. The law men are [Few, Many, Overwhelming].

- Your **villain** in ACT I is **The Government** and law enforcement.
- Her goal is freedom, both from prison and pursuit.

You need to make her very good at something (which is why the government is willing to bend the rules and employ her instead of imprisoning her), and that needs to be on display in her exploits to escape and find some sanctuary. Being good at something is one component of a likable character; another is to not just be constantly reacting to problems, but find a way for her to initiate actions to solve them. She must have her own ideas and pursue them.

Original score: 23