On February 17, 2024, Kasie and Rex revisited the 3 Act Structure plot design with a new resource. Here are the show notes:

Theme for the day

The 3-Act Plot

Agenda

• Quick Catch Up
• Last week we talked about basic outlines
• What is the 3-act structure

Listen to the podcast

Segment 1

So last week we talked about basic outlines and discussed the turning point method versus the beats method for figuring out the structure of the story.

We debated whether or not to write from a detailed outline in the initial draft – it provides direction, it stifles creativity – the age-old debate of planner vs. pantser. In any case, we agreed the outline is useful for knowing the trajectory of the characters and the plot.

Which brings us to the common structures for a piece. This link gives us 11 basic structures:

1. The Fichtean Curve
2. The Three Act Structure
3. The Hero’s Journey
4. Freytag’s Pyramid
5. The Five Act Structure
6. Save the Cat Beats
7. The Snowflake Method
8. Dan Harmon’s Story Circle
9. The Seven Point Story Structure
10. The Story Spine
11.  In Media Res

We covered the Save the Cat beats last week and the Seven Point Story Structure is basically the turning point structure. So this week we’ll look at the 3 and 5 act structures and then tackle some of the others next week.

Segments 2/3

The Three Act structure is ubiquitous, so it’ll seem familiar as we break it down. From this site: 

The Nine Steps of the Three Act Structure

Act I: Set up

1. Exposition: establish an “ordinary world, or a moment when the status quo is normal
2. Inciting incident: throw in an event that starts the flow of the story
3. Plot point 1: by now, the protagonist has decided to deal with the conflict. Across the “threshold,” and we move into Act 2.

Act II: Confrontation

1. Rising action: the hero is beset with various challenges that increased the stakes in the tension.
2. Midpoint: one event in particular turns everything on its head, and nearly ruins the protagonist’s chances of achieving their goal.
3. Plot point 2: following the midpoint, the main character fails at a challenge, growing everything into jeopardy, and questioning whether the protagonist is capable of succeeding.

Act III: Resolution

1. Pre-climax: there is a moment before the final climax of the story where the main character pulls themselves together and prepares for the final confrontation.
2. Climax: this is the final confrontation with the antagonist or main source of conflict, usually ending with (but not always) a success on the protagonist’s part.
3. Dénouement: 

Segment 4

When to use the 3-act structure (besides always). Here’s a deeper dive into the 3-act structure by the same author from above courtesy of kindlepreneur.com

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