The Three Act Structure: Act Three

Three weeks ago I started a series about the Three Act Structure, a writing structure, no THE writing structure, that is commonly used by writers everywhere. If you’re telling a story, reading a story, or even watching a story, in any media it’s likely that it’s there. Not everyone uses one, not intentionally, but it’s one of those key plotting tools that helps you plan your story and helps with revisions. And most of the time it sort of comes along through intuition. Sometimes you don’t even realise you’re using one.

As always what I write is not fact, it’s just how I see the Three Act Structure from what I’ve read. If you want to find out about the Three Act Structure just search it on Google and you’ll find plenty of results. My first post in the series was an introduction of sorts, my rambling view about what the Three Act Structure, as a whole, is in my mind. My second post was an in-depth look at the key plot points that I use in my First Act. And my third post, surprise surprise, was about the occasional swamp known as the Second Act. This week though I’m looking at what can be one of the hardest acts to write...

Act Three!

Why Should I Care About The Third Act?

The Third Act is one of the most important parts of your story. Then again I’ve said that about all three Acts. But I’m super serious this time. The Third Act is where all your hard work, all of the hard work of the characters, comes together and creates a big explosion that leaves the audience gasping for breath (metaphorically speaking, not literally, that could lead to lawsuits and we can’t afford those). Everything that you’ve spent weeks, months, maybe even years, working towards has finally come together and born fruit. You wrap everything up, satisfy the audience’s questions and then, if you’re writing a series, smack them in the face with another question. Either way this is the end and whether or not you want to publish your book you should be proud that you’ve reached it.

What’s The Third Act All About Then?

The Third Act is that final milestone in writing a book, it’s where everything comes together and explodes (sometimes literally) and your characters (and readers) finally get some closure. But throughout the Third Act you need to keep amping up that pressure, raising the stakes higher and higher than they’ve been raised before, putting more on the line for the characters to lose. And then let it all go in a way that the reader finds enjoyable and plausible. Or you could be a really evil person and just not give them that and have everyone die at the end. (I’m looking at you George R.R. Martin.) Questions are finally answered, plot points are finally done and everyone gets their happy ending (most of the time). If this is a series of books than the seeds that you planted back in Acts One and Two begin to sprout and you leave some sort of a cliff hanger that gets people to keep reading.

What Goes In To The Third Act?

So know you know why the Third Act is there and why it’s so important, let’s have a look at what goes into Act Three (at least in my humble opinion). Some of these points have different names that they are known by but it’s clear what exactly goes into each at first glance. As usual I want to look at each one a little more closely. But first a quick list of what the plot points are;

1. Revelations 
2. All Seems Lost 
3. Self-sacrifice/Symbolic Death 
4. Final Showdown aka Climax 
5. Denouement/Epilogue

At the end of Act Two you would have had a huge obstacle come up, just when your characters were starting to get along once more. This obstacle is defeated in the beginning of Act Three and to be honest it could just hang around for a while if you wanted it to. But whatever happens, Act Three starts with some...

Revelations

After everything that’s happened in the second act, where it looked like your characters would never pull together to defeat the Big Bad of their story it finally looks like it might happen at last. You start to think that maybe things are going to work out for them and they’ll get their happy ending right? Right? WRONG! This plot point is where things start to go tits up (if you’ll excuse the expression). The revelations of big secrets, and I’m talking government crumbling secrets here, or the start of an attack threatens to once again drive our characters apart, even if it is because the good guys have just seen the size of the enemy’s army and wants to run away. It sounds similar to the Division plot point in the Second Act. It is really but on a much larger scale. These revelations threaten to pull everything apart and I mean everything, not just our merry band of adventurers. Comparing the arguements and division that spills from these secrets to the previous arguements is like comparing World War 2 to a toddler’s tantrum, ie. They may both come from a similar source but the results are a hell of a lot worse in the first one.

The key here is that you are building up the tension, getting ready for the big climax and putting the key players and problems in place. Things cannot look like they’ll go right for our heroes, the reader needs to seriously doubt that they’ll succeed or even start shouting at the page/screen for them to just turn around and run away as fast as their little legs can carry them. This doubt only makes the next plot point more powerful, when....

All Seems Lost

This is another high point of tension. There might be a few scenes before it for decompression, in fact there should be if you don’t want your readers to have a heart attack but once again the tension needs to go up ANOTHER level. Exactly as the name of the point says, everything needs to seem lost. The heroes are nowhere to be seen or they’re on the other side of the country, someone is seriously injured or they can’t find the key to the dungeon holding the alchemist that can save them all (you can tell I write fantasy can’t you). Whatever the problem is it’s got to be BAD! They have to risk losing everything. In fact, if you’re feeling particularly evil you could write two endings from this point on, making it very clear that everyone could end up in a dead gooey mess. Of course you scrap the bad ending once your done but having the idea of how things can go wrong can help you see how things need to go for the happy ending while keeping all of that juicy tension and doubt.

The reader should no longer doubt that the characters will fail, they need to know that the characters will fail. The ideal feeling here is that your reader wants to throw the book away and go do something else (possibly cuddle a bunch of puppies or bunnies) but they also want to know exactly how badly the characters screw everything up. They keep reading not because they think there’s still a chance that the heroes will win but because they want to know how the heroes fail and the consequences. Of course this is a very difficult thing to pull off and it’s not always necessary for it to be completely gut wrenchingly painful but it helps. And then things just keep getting worse as you go into the next plot point and it’s all about...

Self Sacrifice/Symbolic Death

That’s right. Someone dies. Well ok, not necessarily although it can be really really fun to kill of your characters in horrible unspeakable ways (trust me I’ve done it and it was actually a wonderful source of stress relief). But in all seriousness, this is yet another high tension moment, preferably sprinkled with a little bit of relief to take the edge off. Your characters have to sacrifice something, whether it’s their morals, their favourite sword, their innocence or yes, even their life. Something has to change, a death of sorts, before they can go any further.

This means that as your characters get closer and closer to the big battle scene, that final climax, they’re going in weaker than they were before (even if they didn’t think that was possible). They’re bruised, they’re battered, they’re scarred emotionally physically and mentally, they’re going to need therapy for decades if you’ve been an evil author (again looking at you Martin!). And they’ve done it all by choice this time.

But what this sacrifice or death has to do is seal their determination. It gives them that little extra push to beat the bad guy, flips that switch inside them from ‘for the greater good’ to ‘now it’s personal’. They have something to prove and they don’t want the sacrifice to be in vain. So all fired up they head off to the...

The Final Showdown

Did you read that in the action film voiceover guy’s voice because I did. The final showdown is exactly how it sounds. It’s the big climax, that big fight which sends the Big Bad running off into the night for good. Things have fallen into place, the tension is soaring and stuff’s going down. You can be a cruel person and have it all over quickly and simply but most of the time that’s considered an anti-climax and it will show in the reviews. In a comedy that would work but for most other genres it doesn’t really pull its weight and again readers will want to beat you with a big stick. There needs to be a struggle, the reader needs to think, even for a split second, that things aren’t going to work. You can have everything fall apart and all your characters end up dead but you need to remember that there’s a special place in Hell (or whichever realm of punishment and torment you believe in) for people who do that. It’s not nice, I hear they make you listen to Justin Beiber over and over.

You need to remember that not all your characters have to make it. In fact it’s better if they don’t sometimes and your readers are left crying in a heap on the floor or go fetal in a corner. Some of your characters, including main characters, should survive, most of them really if you can, and the characters that do die are usually side characters that people get unusually attached to or one of the main characters (again R.R. Martin seems to ignore this rule and does what he wants). This is the big wrap up point, where all the plot lines begin coming to a close and that tension is released as the Big Bad is vanquished. The characters might not come out completely unscathed but that’s all sorted out in one way or another in...

The Denouement

This is the epilogue. It can be as long or as short as you want it to be. This is the chance for you and your readers to wind down after the big battle scene. It’s the point where the characters clean up the wreckage of the last battle and start pulling themselves together again. They’re changed and the reader is changed but usually there’s some hope that things go back to normal. The characters celebrate and grab normal life once more. They get drunk, they get married, they party like they’ve survived the end of the world (which let’s face it, they sort of have). However they choose to let go of all that tension, it’s a chance for the reader to do so too before they put the book aside forever or until they want to read it again (either works).

This is also the final point where you wrap up all those little sub-plots that were left dangling. The hero gets the girl, the heroine gets the guy, the hero gets the guy, they have a big orgy, whatever! The characters find happiness and get ready for their ride into the sunset and their happy ever after. It’s also sometimes the place where writers like to stick in a few seeds for sequels, leaving one or two sub-plots unresolved or the seeds that were planted earlier begin to bloom. However you wrap things up is good and it’s all up to you. Just don’t leave the promise of a next book if you don’t plan on writing it any time soon. There’s nothing more evil than that (except maybe Hitler... maybe). If you’re only vaguely considering the idea of the sequel then don’t leave too many open points, just one or two things that weren’t wrapped up quite too well, for the reader to grab on to in the next (potential) book.

So there we have it. Act Three in a... fairly large nutshell. With the tension going all haywire at every point in the third act you can see why writing the Third Act can be done so quickly, the action and tension drives the writer on, makes their fingers fly over the keyboard as thought after thought flows from their minds to the page.

So If It’s So Easy To Write Why Do So Many Writers Struggle With It?

Look at all those spikes of tension, the ups and downs and downright torture that writers put their characters through in those last chapters! No human being can write so much tension for too long. It can become emotionally exhausting, mentally exhausting, hell, physically exhausting as your fingers try to keep up with your brain. I’ve written incredibly tense scenes for the climaxes before and when they’ve been done, even though the book isn’t quite finished I’ve had to ignore it for a few days, writing took that much away from it. Knowing how draining writing can be, understanding that writers draw the emotions and feelings of the book from themselves you can begin to see why writers often have to take a break from writing, why it can take so long for them to return to editing or start planning the next book. Just as a reader is exhausted reading it and needs a nice lie down, the writer becomes emotionally wiped and literally cannot spare any unnecessary emotion. They can’t wring out anything else, not even for their families and friends in real life, they are drained! They have to take the time to refill themselves.

And that’s it for this series. It’s taken a while, an entire month in fact but I’ve proven to myself that I can finish a series of blog posts with the right amount of planning and outlining, just like with writing a novel. I hope that you’ve learned something, enjoyed reading or simply wondered why I’ve not been committed yet. Whatever you take away from this I hope it’s something positive and that you can put what you may have learned into practice. And who knows, maybe I’ll have another series up soon.

But what do you think? In your opinion have I summed up the key points of the Third Act well enough for you? Are there any bits and pieces that I’ve left out? Have I gone into too much detail? Which points do you follow when you’re writing? Which leave you the most exhausted? The most energised? What do you want me to write about next? What part of the weird and wacky world of writing do you want my deranged perspective on next time? Let me know in the comments down below.

The Three Act Structure: Act Two

Two weeks ago I started a series about the Three Act Structure, a writing structure, no THE writing structure, that is commonly used by writers everywhere. If you’re telling a story, reading a story, in any media it’s likely that you use it. Not everyone uses one, not intentionally, but it’s one of those key plotting tools that helps you plan your story and helps with revisions. Sometimes you don’t even realise you’re using one.

As always what I write is not fact, it’s just how I see the Three Act Structure from what I’ve read. If you want to find out about the Three Act Structure just search it on Google and you’ll find plenty of results. My first post in the series was an introduction of sorts, my rambling view about what the Three Act Structure, as a whole, is in my mind. My second post was an in-depth look at the key plot points that I use in my First Act. This week though I’m looking at my favourite Act...

Act Two!!

But What Is The Second Act?

The Second Act is the meatiest, juiciest part of the story. It’s where the pain problems happen, it’s where there’s the most character development and the tension is constantly changing, taking the reader on a happy joyride that keeps them turning the page. The Second Act can be as long or as short as you want it to be. There can be three obstacles for your characters to overcome or there can just be the one, or there could be ten (but that can get a little boring to read). It’s all up to you.

For some reason though a lot of people have trouble with writing the Second Act, even planning it can leave them scratching their heads in confusion. More often than not the Second Act in many stories, particularly those from beginner writers, can be weak and rambling. The writer forgets to include the rising and falling tension, to put obstacles in their protagonist’s way, or puts so many in their way it starts to feel like a ‘one thing after another’ story (kind of like the end of Return of the King).

Image courtesy of this site

Why Is It So Important?

This Act is all about character development. The characters start to change, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worst. Their development isn’t quite complete though, that comes in the Third Act (but more on that another day). More often than not the character develops in slightly the wrong direction. But however the character changes, why the character changes, is all explained, or rather shown, in this Act. By the end of the Second Act there must be a clear difference between how the protagonist and other characters were when they first appeared to how they are now. Their attitudes, their ideas, their goals, all of it will have changed in some way. And it needs to be most of the characters that appear regularly who change, not just your protagonist or things could seem a little flat.

The Second Act is also about conflict. In the Second Act the obstacles come from all over the place; the protagonist can be their own worst enemies and cause more problems than they fix, the antagonist can keep throwing problems at them to keep them distracted from the real problems, or another person could come along and stir things up a bit. The protagonist’s goals crash up against the goals of other characters, the bad guy’s goals conflict with the good guy’s goals. They have to fight things, overcome things, even overcome their own problems. The Second Act is all about fighting and overcoming and sometimes it keeps happening and happening, repeating itself over and over as the characters head towards that final showdown in Act Three.

So What’s In The Second Act

Now, there are dozens of plot points that can be included in the Second Act, hundreds of ways that your story can go and any number of repetitions that can be made. But I have 5 points that I use when I’m planning my Second Act, 5 points that I try to hit when I’m writing. They are;

1. New Situation
2. Transformation
3. Unification
4. Division
5. Crisis Hits

You can probably see that things get worse then get better and then suddenly get worse and worse. You’d more than likely have a couple of ‘nice’ scenes in between some of the more high tension scenes, something to help the reader calm down. But that’s your choice, for now let’s get into a little more detail with each of these points.

New Situation

This is where the protagonist is forced into a new situation and has to adapt to it in order to overcome the obstacle that blocks them from their goal. Usually this obstacle is introduced in at the end of the previous Act and the protagonist has to take a step into the unknown before they can properly overcome the obstacle that stands in their way. Ideally they should only fail once, when trying to use what is familiar and comfortable to them, and then succeed using new knowledge that they’ve gained. Too much failure can be annoying and repetitive for readers and writers alike. After a certain point it’s no longer telling a good story but more like flogging a dead dog in front of a bunch of school children; painful and scarring. While it’s true that sometimes readers love to hate the writer, having them actively despise you for something like that is a little bit pointless and only George R.R. Martin can really get away with it because he seems to enjoy being hated.

But yes, back to the topic at hand. This is an excellent chance for character development with everything being shiny and new for them. They can have their views of the world challenged, be forced to question everything that they once knew or even just learn to do something that they’re really crappy at. The character needs to change a little bit, move away from who they first were in some way, whether good or bad. Whether this change is good or bad remains to be seen but the change needs to happen in order for them to overcome the obstacle that’s in their way. That happens at the end of this plot point and leads smoothly on to...

Transformation

Like the name of the plot point says, this is all about change. The character changes noticeably here, for all sorts of reasons. The character develops and alters to fit a new mould that they have either created for themselves or that has been pushed upon them.

Also this is an excellent point to shove in those extra sub-plots; that romance line with the girl next door, new characters who want to be where the protagonist is or want to help the protagonist get to where they want to be. There needs to be conflict there though, forcing yet more change as the protagonist adapts to these new experiences. They can be mini obstacles in themselves, things that force the characters to develop as people in order to overcome them. These are little things that continue throughout the rest of the story and the series if that’s what you’re writing. This could be the perfect place to plant the seeds for the problems of the next book. They don’t need to be big or obvious but they can be there. Of course all this changing and growing can lead to...

Unification

This is the point where, exactly as the name suggests, the characters unify, coming together to fight the most important fight of their lives (at least so far). This can be done by them either talking through their problems (although this can be a bit boring if it’s just talking without any tension), fighting it out and getting over it or being the bigger people and putting aside their issues to focus on the big picture. Usually it’s the later, the characters coming together despite what they might think of each other in order to overcome whatever the big problem of the story is. There can (and should) still be a simmering resentment and anger at each other though, just below the surface lending an extra facet to all of their interactions. However they come together, all that matters is that they have done it and plan to stay united no matter what.

It’s also generally the point where the main character finally invests in fighting the problem and being the part of the solution. Sometimes they can be practically giddy at the thought of it, might believe themselves ready to take on the Big Bad, even if they actually aren’t. Or they can still be completely unsure but know that it’s something they have to do. This is often the stage where the protagonist’s biggest character flaw comes into play, sowing seeds that come to fruit in the next plot point. Which is...

Division

Yup that’s right. You’ve just got all your characters playing nicely together when suddenly they start fighting again. Isn’t that just the way? Yet another obstacle appears, the group separates and everything seems that little bit harder to overcome. It all links together really. Secrets or resentment finally boil over and the characters are driven apart, overwhelmed with negative feelings for each other. This division can create a problem, another obstacle in the way to their overarching goal and because they can’t work together and play nice they just can’t get over that obstacle. It threatens to be the end of it all. Sometimes it can even be the obstacle which causes the division. Even though they get past it eventually, another problem comes up and because they’re too busy being mad at each other they just can’t crack it. This threatens to become an ever repeating circle, obstacles driving them further and further apart and the reader might seriously start to think that they will fail.

This is where the story really starts to pick up pace. The tension is gearing up towards the final confrontation and our characters are beginning to realise that they really weren’t as ready as they thought. In fact sometimes this can be where the protagonist loses all hope that they will succeed, doubts every single move that they make, but will keep trucking through because that’s what has to be done. And eventually, when they stop behaving like big babies they reunite and finally beat that problem, cheering like heroes and the reader’s there cheering right with them. Things start to look up for your characters and the reader starts to believe that the characters might actually succeed. But then...

Crisis Hits

This is the big point, that boiling point, right at the end of Act Two where it’s do or die, things are going down and it’s not really clear if all of your characters will make it. It isn’t THE Climax though, the final confrontation between the good guys and the bad guys, the Big Bad versus the White Hats. No, that moment comes later, in Act Three. This is like a practice game, the match a team plays to get ready for the final game. The stakes are still high though, the other team is still tough and they still have important things riding on the match but it’s not The Match.

Don’t get me wrong though, this is an important point. It’s a chance to show that the characters have grown, that they are one unit once more and that they can kick serious ass. It’s that point in any chick flick where the leading lady puts on her big girl pants and starts making those changes that she’s been hoping someone else would make for her. This can be the point, when yet another obstacle comes up, that the protagonist and his band of merry men pull up their trousers and decide that they’ve had enough and they’re going to ride out and face it head on. This is the Turning Point, where characters have changed, mostly for the better, but they’re not all the way there yet and they’ve got this next obstacle to overcome in whatever form it takes. Whatever the reason they take it on and come out the other side, bruised but not beaten and ready to enter...

ACT THREE.

But that’s another post so keep an eye out for it soon, where I talk about Act Three and all the lovely gooey bits that go into it as you wrap up your story and finally get some closure. Maybe you’ll understand why some writers suggest starting from Act Three, knowing the ending before going to the start. Perhaps it’ll shine some light on why you felt so drained after finishing your book and explain why so many writers have to take a break after finishing a book. Finally you might see why so many writers take so long to finish even though they have the first two acts complete. Whatever you might learn I hope that it’s useful.

I hope that this post was useful too. Maybe it’s got you to think about the Second Act in a different way, given you some ideas to get over the dreaded second act slump or just fired you up to re-plan yours. Whatever you take from this I hope it’s something positive. Let me know in the comments below. Are there any points that you think still need to be included? Do you think that I’ve focused too much on some points and neglected others? Do you use a completely different structure for your second act? If so would you care to share? Is anyone actually reading this? Let me know and I’ll try to get back to each and every one of you.

The Three Act Structure: Act One

NA: This was supposed to go up yesterday but I hit a bit of a bad patch over the last few days and took some time away from my computer for some much needed R and R.

So last week I started a series about the Three ActStructure, a writing structure that is commonly used by screenwriters and writers everywhere. Not everyone uses one, not intentionally, but it’s one of those key plotting tools that helps you plan your story and helps with revisions. More often than not you use a Three Act Structure of some sort when writing without even realising it. As always what I write is not fact, it’s just how I see the Three Act Structure from what I’ve read. If you want to find out about the Three Act Structure just search it on Google and you’ll find plenty of results. My first post in the series was an introduction of sorts, my rambling view about what the Three Act Structure means to me as a whole. Now it’s time to look a little more deeply into it, starting with...

The First Act

What is the First Act All About?

The first act is where the story begins, where the problem is set up and the characters are introduced. It’s also usually the easiest to write because you’re still full of all that enthusiasm that steered you towards writing that particular story in the first place. Act One is full of the juicy meat of the story. It’s where you establish your world (hopefully avoiding those info dump conversations or monologues that instantly make a reader want to turn away and go do something else), you lay out the rules of your world and let readers know what to expect. Even if your setting is contemporary based rules need to be set. Not every reader knows what it’s like to climb a mountain in Yemen (do they even have mountains in Yemen? Anyone?) or have to run from a sudden rainstorm in England. It’s your job as writer to give them an idea of what the world where your characters live is like.

You introduce your characters too, showing them as they are before the big problems happen and you torture them so badly it’s a surprise that they don’t go mad. The reader needs to care about your characters, to root for them to get through this and come out the other side happy and alive, or at least alive. The readers get to see personality flaws that could cause problems later on and have some idea of what motivates the characters to actually do what they’re doing as opposed to say sitting down and covering their ears with their hands and going lalala. You also set the stakes, showing what characters risk losing or need to become in order to overcome their problem.

Finally it’s where you put in place the problem. That key thing that the characters are trying to find or avoid or overcome, it’s the thing in the story that causes the action to happen in some way. Everything about the first act is showing the reader about the problem, showing why the characters might resist the problem and show them taking their first steps towards overcoming that problem.

What Does the First Act Include?

Now, there are plenty of plot points that you can use when planning out your Act One, the most important of these being the Inciting Incident but more on that later. For me, for the version of the Three Act Structure that I use, there are five. They are;

• Opening Conflict
• Protagonist’s Daily Life
• Inciting Incident
• Resistance
• Point of No Return.

You will notice that the Inciting Incident doesn’t happen straight away. It takes a while before it comes up. This is because the first two points are an introduction of sorts, where you show the reader the world, the characters and their lives. But let’s go into a little more detail about each of these points.

Opening Conflict

Part of the problem is set up. It could be considered a prologue of sorts but it doesn’t have to be. In fact it’s usually better if it isn’t because for some reason a lot of people really hate prologues. Personally I don’t mind them that much but I always have been a little odd. It’s that scene in films, right at the beginning, where there’s all the illusions to what the problem might be. For instance, in National Treasure it’s the story of the treasure that Ben Gates is told by his grandfather. The viewers know that there’s a treasure out there and that the Gates family is known about and mocked within the scientific community.

Something else that’s good to remember about this scene or plot point because sometimes it can cover more than one scene, is that the protagonist doesn’t even have to be in it. Sometimes in fact it’s better if they aren’t. For example, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. In the very beginning we don’t really know what’s going on, we’re just following around a fat and grumpy man with a dislike of anything different. Then Dumbledore appears and leaves Harry on the Dursley’s doorstep. The problem is also revealed then, namely that Dumbledore is not convinced that Voldemort is actually dead and gone for good. But Harry doesn’t appear until the very end of that scene and he does absolutely nothing (then again he is a baby so he has a valid excuse). The story continues without him until that point and he has no direct role within the narrative.

Protagonist’s Daily Life.

This is the plot point where the reader sees who the protagonist is, what their life is like before everything goes wrong. They get to see them how they were before the story begins. For Harry it would be a kid who sleeps under the stairs and has to look after the entire family. For Ben Gates it’s chasing the clues to the treasure around the world. And I think that the National Treasure example is a good one. It reminds you that this scene or plot point doesn’t have to be boring. In fact it shouldn’t be. No one likes to read that ‘he woke up, he got dressed, he thought about what had brought him to this point for twenty minutes while he walked to work’ sort of thing. Remember this is not the place where you info dump the entire character’s backstory. In fact you should never info dump the backstory but just weave it in.

By saying that you show the protagonist’s daily life I’m not saying show the minutia of it. It’s more about establishing who the protagonist is and how they see the world. It’s about creating the relationships with the people around them and showing their character and personality. Basically you’re showing the reader exactly what is at stake for the character should they fail, what they stand to lose or why they’re working so hard to reach their goal. The most important thing to remember here is DON’T BE BORING! This is the first really meaty bit of the Act, the bit that readers are drawn in by and what makes them keep reading. It’s their introduction to the characters and hopefully the point where they begin to wonder what’s going to happen and start to care for the protagonist, even a little. If they don’t care they won’t keep reading.

Inciting Incident

If you don’t want to plot many points, want to keep your outline to one point per act THIS plot point is The One. It is key to the First Act. The inciting incident is that moment where everything changes. For example, with National Treasure the inciting incident is that moment where Ben Gates decides to steal the Declaration of Independence in order to prevent Sean Bean’s character from stealing it and destroying it. It’s that pivot point, the part of the story where the character learns some or all of what he or she is up against and that they need to stop the great problem from getting worse. Let’s face it though, it usually gets much, much worse. This is the part of the story where the goal is laid out, where readers finally know what the protagonist is aiming for and where the story is going. It’s what makes them want to keep reading.

Another thing to remember is that this problem has to conflict with what the protagonist wants. If the problem doesn’t... well it’s going to be one fairly boring story. There needs to be conflict to create that tension that keeps readers turning page after page. You can’t really have a protagonist who goes ‘sure I’ll take on the giant man eating monster, no problem’. They need to fight against it, or not see where they come in to the bigger picture. Without that fight there’s no tension, no drive. It’s all one big reaction.

Resistance

The plot point is the perfect place to establish what the protagonist wants, really wants, from life or their life at this point. But it has to conflict with the problem of the story, whatever that might be. Usually they just want to go home, like Dorothy in Wizard of Oz. How you establish this is up to you. The protagonist could cry, rant, have a huge arguement with another character. As long as the reader realises that what the protagonist wants and what the story needs to happen are two conflicting things they’ll keep reading. Don’t spoon feed it to the reader though, don’t shove it in their face and go ‘oh no, So-and-so wants this but actually they need to do this and here’s why’. Readers do not like that and also... it’s really boring to write. Your character’s wants can be anything though. It might be that they just want to turn around and go home, pretending none of what happens so far has happened or they might want to get to the ice cream shop and eat some waffles. The protagonist needs to do whatever they can to avoid fighting the problem, to ignore the problem.

The key thing here is conflict. The characters goals must conflict with the goal of the story, the protagonist must fight in some way with the person who’s trying to help them or sees the truth of the situation. The character does not want to help, does not want to go on a great quest to find the long lost city of Atlantis in order to save the world from giant dodos (actually that sounds like a pretty fun story to write. DIBS!) The protagonist should go out of their way to avoid involvement in the problem. This can essentially be the moment in the story where your protagonist sticks their head in the sand or their fingers in their ears and goes lalala.

Point of No Return

By this point the protagonist should decide to actually take part in the story, to work towards ending the key problem that is covering the entire three acts. They can do it grudgingly, still not seeing the point but realising that maybe they should do it because the smart lady said so. Or they can do it with a smile on their face and a song in their heart, or as a very angry individual because they’ve just seen their entire family killed and want revenge. However you get to this point it’s just important to remember that the character is now working to fix the problem. Now that they’ve taken those first steps towards their ‘destiny’ there’s no way for them to turn back. What they’ve learnt and seen can’t be unlearnt and they’re a part of the story. And it’s all their own choice.

Another part of this point is that by the end of it is the introduction of the first obstacle. The protagonist has seen sense and is jumping into their challenges with both feet but then there’s a spanner in the works and things are no longer as they seem. To go back to the dodo story the crazy scientist might have found the lost city of Atlantis only to discover that it’s ruled by a race of evil cyborgs that lock him in the dungeon. Now not only has he got the main problem to fix (saving the world from the giant dodos) but he’s also got to get free of the dungeon and overthrow the evil cyborgs in order to do it. These obstacles, which often link to the main problem in some way (but don’t always have to) are key to helping build the tension. The characters can’t easily overcome them and they need to be used as learning experiences. But the learning doesn’t come until the next Act.

Now What?

And that’s it. Act One in... a very rambling way. I hope you understand the first act a little better now, I certainly do. There are dozens of structures out there and outlines that you can use, just Google it and pick the ones that appeal to you the most. This is only a rough guide, not a sure-fire way to write an amazing novel. It’s all opinion, the opinion of a slightly crazy English woman with a fondness for tea and an increasingly annoying smoking habit. You can take it or leave it, it’s up to you.

Next up is Act Two, the doughy middle bit that can make or break a story and most writers struggle to get through. Keep an eye out for that next post.

Let me know what you think. Do you have certain points that you like to plot out in your First Act? Is there a point that you think I may have missed? Do you think I’m just talking a load of boo-hickey? What do you think should go in Act Two? Do you have an outline structure that you think works way better for you? Let me know down in the comments, I love to hear from everyone.