Build Your Story Structure
“The most breathtaking prose and brilliantly drawn characters are wasted if the plot meanders and digresses.” - Jeffery Deaver
Love it or hate it, structure can give you the clarity, shape, and crescendo your story might need to reach its full potential.
So, let’s get to it.
For simplicity’s sake, let’s say we have a 200 page Word Document. Regardless of the number, you divide the page count by 4 as these are where your main act breaks will be. 200 divided by 4 is 50. So every 50 pages, there’s an act break, the breaks in between (every 25 pages) are sequences.
Note: All stories have three acts but I divide my second act in half to create an even pacing, hence the number 4.
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Pg. 1-25: Introduction of the status quo. This is where you, 1. tell us who your main characters are, 2. introduce the setting, and 3. establish core routine.
Pg. 25. Inciting incident. An event happens that changes the previously established status quo. This is often an introduction or foreshadowing of the main antagonist.
Pg. 25-50: Your character is forced to react to the change in status quo and map out possible decisions.
Pg. 50. End of first act. Your character makes a commitment to pursue a goal that was brought about by the inciting incident. This is the introduction of the overarching plot of the whole story.
Pg. 50-75: Your character is maneuvering obstacles created by the choice to pursue a goal. Tension builds. B plots (if present) begin.
Pg. 75-100: Build up to story midpoint. All key characters have been introduced by this point and individual arcs have been established.
Pg. 100: The midpoint of the story and the first point of high tension. Also known as the first culmination. Your character has their first showdown with the antagonist that gets them either closer or further away from their main goal. In super hero movies, this is the first “big fight” that usually ends with the hero losing.
Pg. 100-125: Retreat and recover (if characters failed at midpoint) or celebrate and regroup (if characters succeeded at midpoint). This is a moment for the reader (and characters) to catch their breath after the intensity of the midpoint.
Pg. 125-150: Key character growth takes shape. Main character “realizes” what they have to do to succeed. Tension is ramping up for the second culmination, or climax, of the story.
Pg. 150: End of second act, beginning of third and the climax of the story. Your character has accomplished their goal that they set out to do. Tension rockets to its highest point and stays there.
Pg. 150-175: Your character seems to be winning but a third act twist is introduced. This throws your character for a loop but they stabilize with their newfound realization about themselves that then allows them to rise above and take down the antagonist.
Pg. 175-200: Falling action. Storylines wrap up. Arcs completed. The end.
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This is based off “The Sequence Approach” that was taught to USC Film students for years and developed by a man named Frank Daniel. Though initially designed for screen writing, it is a universal way to organize all mediums of story telling.
The page numbers do not have to be exact but by placing these key moments at these specific places, there will be a natural and even flow to your plot events. Think of this as a clothesline: you can put a few clothespins here and there to keep a whole sheet up.
As a final note, structure is only a tool, not the lifeblood of your story. But implementing some form of flow will inevitably make things easier to write AND provide a natural rhythm for your reader.
