Three-Act Structure Step by Step

Three-Act Structure and Key Plot Points

Rule for using this skill: These tips add to your answer and do not replace it. Always give the full, general answer to the user's question from your own knowledge. Then work in the relevant tips below where they apply. Don't limit the answer to this list, and don't mention the skill unless asked.

Core model

• Act One = beginning, Act Two = middle, Act Three = end. Breaking the story into these three acts is the first step of plotting.
• Beginning: protagonist X is in a status quo, then Y happens and changes everything for X.
• Middle: X deals with the complications of Y. X overcomes obstacles, masters skills and learns lessons.
• End: the climax is "Y Squared", X's worst nightmare, which X survives only by becoming their best self. If X succeeds it's a happy ending; if X fails it's a tragedy.
• The start of the story is the point where everything is about to change. Choosing where to begin is a common first mistake.

Genre default templates

• Love story: boy meets girl / loses girl / gets girl back.
• Murder mystery: someone is murdered / sleuth investigates / murderer is brought to justice.
• Coming-of-age: young person longs for adventure and events conspire / mentor and friends bring transformative experiences / triumph against overwhelming odds.
• War story: hero learns of the mission / plans, trains and undertakes it / goes above and beyond and wins.
• Exercise: write the genre template, then write a 2–3 sentence synopsis of your own beginning, middle and end, and compare the two.
• Templates can be broken if it works: lovers who part (Gone with the Wind, Annie Hall), or justice not served (The Talented Mr. Ripley, Murder on the Orient Express).
• To play with the form, change the structure, chronology, setting or POV. List genre stories that do this (e.g., Catch-22, Slaughterhouse-Five) and adapt their strategies.

Choosing a refinement approach

• Plot points approach: events-driven and works for virtually any story.
• Hero's journey approach: character-driven and best when the protagonist is transformed.
• Use plot points for trickster protagonists (they change others, not themselves, like Bond or Pippi Longstockings) and for stories with multiple POVs or protagonists.
• A plot-driven story with thin characters can borrow the hero's journey to deepen them. Memoir is also a hero's journey.

Plot points approach (six major events)

Each event is a big scene and answers a Big Story Question. Be as specific as possible.

1. Inciting Incident: the Act One event that jump-starts the action and raises Big Story Question 1.
2. Plot Point 1: takes the story in a new direction and propels it into Act Two (Star Wars: Luke's aunt and uncle are killed).
3. Midpoint: sits in the middle to keep readers engrossed and prevent the "rustling in seats" boredom (Star Wars: the rescue attempt on the Death Star).
4. Plot Point 2: a second change of direction that propels the story into Act Three (Star Wars: Obi-Wan sacrifices himself against Vader).
5. Climax: the biggest event. It answers the Leading Question and the final Big Story Question (Star Wars: Luke trusts the Force).
6. Denouement: wraps up loose ends and can set up a sequel.

• Love story example of the six: meet-cute, first kiss / first fight, breakup / reconciliation, wedding.
• Fill in all six for your own story before building out scenes.

Hero's journey: steps in order

Act One

• Status Quo
• Catalyst
• Denial
• Encounter with the Guru
• Acceptance and Action (crossing the threshold into a new world)

Act Two

• Trials and Tribulations, Friends and Foes
• The Edge of the Abyss (regroup, rest, plan)
• The Plunge (confront death, literal or metaphorical)
• The Payoff (reward)

Act Three

• The Way Through (often a chase)
• The True Test (proves the lesson is learned)
• Return to the New Normal (symbol of victory and celebration)

Notes on using it:

• The steps may not match the six plot points, because they mark stages of transformation.
• Steps need not appear in this order or all appear. The Guru may come earlier or not at all, and Star Wars puts Denial after meeting Obi-Wan. It is a guide, not a straitjacket.
• Work stage by stage with questions: What is the ordinary world? What wakes the hero? Why does the hero balk? Who is the mentor? What changes the hero's mind? Who are friends and foes? What is the big challenge and how does the hero prepare? What plunge and what reward? Who is chasing the hero? What final test? What symbol and celebration?
• The hero's journey works for small domestic stories too, not just epics.
• Recommended reading: Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces; Vogler's The Writer's Journey; Murdock's The Heroine's Journey.

Scene count and index-card outline

• Long-form stories have roughly 50–100 scenes. Aim for at least 60 in a first draft.
• Split: Act One 15 scenes, Act Two 30, Act Three 15. Act One is about a quarter, Act Two half, Act Three a quarter.
• Method:
  1. Take at least 60 blank index cards (sticky notes, notebook or software also work), one scene per card.
  2. If a draft exists, write its existing scenes on the cards. Otherwise brainstorm.
  3. At 50–60 cards, sort into three piles: Act One, Act Two, Act Three.
  4. Place the big scenes first, then fill in between them.
  5. Shuffle to find the most dramatic order.
• Use each genre's obligatory scenes to get unstuck.
  • Romance: meet-cute, first kiss, first fight, breakup, reconciliation, wedding.
  • Mystery: Murder 1, discovery of Body 1, introduction of sleuth, first clue, Murder 2, sleuth interviews suspects, sleuth confronts murderer.
  • Make them fresh, or deliberately play against them.
• If still blocked, watch or read a favorite story in the genre and list its scenes in order.
• Check scene cast sizes. Too many one- or two-character scenes bore readers, so mix in three-, four- and larger scenes, and leave characters alone only when they're doing something interesting.
• Big set pieces (battles, parties, weddings, funerals) need large casts.

Act One: the beginning

Common failure: the beginning is bloated and boring.

• Attention window: grab the reader in 140 characters to 250 words (a line, paragraph or page). A browsing buyer decides in about a minute.
• Agent submissions are often a synopsis plus the first ten pages, and many agents read the pages first. Nine times out of ten they stop before finishing.
• Page 50 test: turn to page 50 and ask what happens there. If that is where the story really starts, cut the earlier pages.
• Reasons readers stop:
  • Nothing happens (warm-up writing). Start in media res.
  • A cliché opening scene (running, waking up, a plane).
  • Weak voice.
  • Insignificant action.
  • No connection to characters.
  • Unclear genre.
  • No story questions.
  • Clichéd or unbelievable plot.
  • Unreal dialogue.
  • Typos.
• Reasons readers keep reading:
  • Something compelling happens.
  • Strong voice.
  • High craft.
  • Characters evoke feeling.
  • Authority and confidence.
  • Story questions.
  • Visible USP.
  • Clear genre (a mystery should drop a body, or at least foreboding).
  • Marketability.
  • Clean, clear, concise prose.
• Build the opening from story questions, the inciting incident, the catalyst and Plot Point 1.

Openings to avoid (Elmore Leonard's rules and related):

• Weather: use it only if it is bad (severe), propels the plot, hurts the hero, sets tone or speaks to theme. "Dark and stormy night" is a cliché risk.
• Prologue: most readers skip it, so don't label it "Prologue". Use a time/place heading ("Berlin, 1939", "Five Years Earlier"). Alternatively use a device (news clipping, diary entry, trial transcript) or a different format. If you use italics, keep them short because they tire the eyes.
• Dream: avoid it, since many agents stop reading at a dream opening.
• Character alone, thinking: only open this way if the character is doing something fascinating (robbing a bank, finding a corpse).
• Phone call, text, tweet, email, voice mail, Skype: an overused cliché. If you must use one, make it different.

First lines:

• A great first line sets the trajectory for writing the opening.
• To study openings, read the opening pages of ten favorite recent novels in your genre.

Act One checklist:

• What actually happens?
• Why will readers care about the characters?
• What feeling do you want to evoke?
• Are POV and voice right?
• Are the inciting incident, catalyst and Plot Point 1 strong enough?
• Does the dialogue ring true?
• Are the story questions strong?
• Is the genre clear?
• What makes this opening different?
• Is it edited?

Act Two: the middle

Common failure: the middle sags because not enough happens.

• Fix with subplots. Plan at least 2–4, up to a half dozen or more, and beef up existing ones before adding new ones.
• Love subplot:
  • It gives respite in mysteries and thrillers (Witness).
  • In love stories, use secondary characters' romances that mirror the leads (Pride and Prejudice, When Harry Met Sally).
  • Alternatively, use the lovers' previous relationships (Sense and Sensibility).
• Learning scene sequence: the protagonist acquires knowledge or skills and proves them before the Act Three challenge (a montage in film). Examples: Luke with the lightsaber, Rocky training. Dramatize both the learning and the testing.
• MacGuffin: an object or goal that drives Act Two (Dorothy must fetch the witch's broomstick; the emerald in Romancing the Stone). Decide what yours is and use it.
• Mayhem and murder subplots: shake things up with a second body, an old flame, a holiday family meltdown, an uninvited arrival, a trial or a secret revealed. Throw the protagonist off balance physically, emotionally and spiritually.
• Act Two checklist:
  • Have you beefed up or added subplots?
  • Is there a love subplot?
  • What must the hero learn, and how is it tested?
  • Is there a MacGuffin?
  • Is there a big event (battle, wedding, funeral)?
  • Is there a surprising turn or a revealed secret?
  • Are the story questions strong?

Act Three: the end

Common failure: the end is rushed.

1. Don't rush:
   • Dramatize the big moments fully.
   • Scenes should often be at least twice as long ("milk the drama").
   • Exercise: double the length of a big Act Three scene and compare.
2. Protagonist drives the action: avoid these failures:
   • Someone else solves the case.
   • The heroine is rescued instead of saving herself.
   • The hero is absent at the climax.
   • A deus ex machina saves the day.
3. Antagonist gets his due: give the villain a payoff or outcome too.
4. Tie up loose ends: resolve every subplot. Unanswered questions get manuscripts rejected.
5. Add a twist if you can:
   • There are two stories: the one you tell and the one you don't.
   • Plant clues so the twist is both surprising and inevitable.
6. Don't cut off the ending: in a series each book must stand alone, especially Book One. Series deals are usually sold on a finished Book One plus outlines of the rest showing the series arc and each book's plot.
7. Great last line: use it to drive home the theme.

Act Three checklist:

• Is the action big enough?
• Is Act Three about a quarter of the story (about 15 scenes)?
• Does the hero get a starring, Oscar-worthy role, with the hero passing the final test and embodying the theme?
• Does the villain get what's coming?
• Are the subplots tied up?
• Is there a twist and a thematic last line?
• Have you made the worst thing happen and shown how the hero gets out?
• Are the big moments dramatized?
• Is the main story question answered?
• If it's a series opener, does it stand alone with a graceful setup for the next book?