how to use three act structure in your writing
Ah, three act structure! While I learned about this in a screenwriting workshop as a method for constructing screenplays, the model has worked wonders for every fiction piece I’ve written and just about any modern story is constructed in this way. If you’re struggling in finding the arch of a story, this outlines it very well!
First of all, let’s cover the structure itself:
i. status quo: how things are at the beginning of the story, before things change. Doesn’t have to be included in the novel/screenplay/etc explicitly, but is the ‘before’ circumstances.
ii. inciting incident: this is where your story really starts! It’s the thing that makes things change, like your protagonist finding out they have super powers or that their best friend is in love with them.
iii. plot point one: this is where the story transitions from the beginning to the middle section. After the inciting incident, the character reacts to that change, and this is the reaction. It’s usually a decision made by the main character and their final goal is introduced.
iv. complications: fairly straightforward. When a goal is set, there are complications that come along the way. A good model to follow is three main complications, though it isn’t so strict.
v. midpoint: the midpoint is usually the most emotional point in the story, aside from the climax. It can be either an extreme high or an extreme low, dependent on the ending; a story with a happy ending has an extreme high in the middle, but a bad ending has a very low point. For example, a superhero story where the protagonist changes the world’s midpoint might be a montage of the hero rescuing civilians, while a more disappointing superhero story would show our hero in a funk where he’s unable to save anyone. In modern film, a lot of midpoints are montages, but that’s not a set rule.
vi. more complications: don’t think our characters are getting a break just yet! Generally, three more complications will happen post-midpoint– usually either continuations of earlier complications, or problems that happen as a result of solving those.
vii. plot point 2: circumstances change yet again! This time, a big decision is made to resolve complications. It can be thought of as the inciting incident of the climax. Transition from middle to end.
viii. climax: the most intense part of your story. This is where every complication, including the main complication, comes to a point and either gets resolved all at once.
ix. new status quo: same as the status quo, it isn’t always directly shown. It’s the way things are now, how things settle down after the journey our characters went on earlier. Should be different from the original status quo.
Act One: Before plot point one. It’s the beginning of the story, when things are beginning to change but haven’t yet.
Act Two: Between the first and second plot points. The middle of a story, where action is happening and the story is in rapid progression.
Act Three: Post-plot point two. The end. Things are settling down into how they’ll be in the new status quo.
For an example, here is a basic love story told through three act structure:
i. status quo: character A and character B are best friends.
ii. inciting incident: character A accidentally discovers character B is in love with them.
iii. PP1: character A decides they have to make character B stop loving them.
iv. complications: 1— character A doesn’t want to lose their friendship. 2— character B doesn’t know why A is being distant. 3— A isn’t completely sure of their own feelings, and is feeling intense jealousy in their attempts to set B up with someone else.
v. midpoint: character A realizes they have a crush on character B, shown via a montage of closeness and internal panic of character A.
vi. more complications: 1— character A doesn’t want to ruin their friendship, now for different reasons. 2— character B doesn’t know why A is acting so weird. 3— A struggles to hide their crush well, even though character B is completely oblivious.
vii. PP2: character A has enough of this, and decides to just tell B everything they know.
viii. climax: character A arrives and character B’s house and confesses everything; they kiss.
ix: new status quo: characters A and B are happily together.
Act One: Character A and B are best friends, but A knows B’s secret.
Act Two: Character A decides how to deal with B’s secret. In the process of dealing with this, A discovers a secret of his own.
Act Three: A confesses to B, and B’s reaction is positive.
Status quo and new status quo’s difference.
How the inciting incident leads into PP1, same with PP2 into the climax— I’ve heard it described as the inciting incident/PP2 being the pulling back of the slingshot and PP1/the climax being the releasing of it.
PP1 and PP2 are both decisions being made by our protagonist.
The similarities between the first and second set of complications. Essentially: 1– character A doesn’t want to lose B. 2— B is confused. 3— A is also confused.
If you set up your story with this structure, there will be drama and change. The main problem I find in the structure of new writers’ works is that either there is insufficient conflict, the conflict is too short compared to the story, or, after the solving the conflict, everything is completely normal again. With this method, it’ll be very easy to prevent that; if your story doesn’t fit this, it likely needs altering. The structure can honestly be difficult to understand, but watch a few films or reference previous things you’ve watched/read and find the structure— eventually, you’ll be doing it subconsciously every time you consume any media it applies to!
On implementing it effectively:
All three acts shouldn’t be given equal screen time. Generally, the ratio of Act One:Act Two:Act Three should be about 1:2:1 (aka, in a 100k word novel, 25k Act One, 50k Act Two, 25k Act Three), but that could altered (like in the case I stated— 25k of act one? No thank you). All the time, though, Act Two should be at least as long as the first and third act combined. All three acts are necessary, but I’ve seen some films with less than ten minutes of Act One where it helps the story.
When your story’s introduction requires much explanation or backstory, such as building a fantasy world or even a vital relationship between characters, it might be on the longer side, while a love story between two characters who are only just meeting might take shorter— it’s extremely dependent on the narrative itself and requires you, as the author, to gauge the situation and decide how it should be. Even with a structure as formulaic as this, writing is still an art that can never have any general rules applied to fit all situations.
Good luck in your writing! My DMs and ask box are both open!
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