If only there was so much information out there on how to craft the perfect three-act structure, Why is it so difficult to implement it in your own script? Why is it so hard to know how to fill the 50-60 pages in Act II?
There are nearly a million different theories about the three-act structure, and the confusion is easy to understand.
Should you use Christopher Vogler’s Hero’s Journey or John Truby’s 21 Steps to build your script? Or should you go with the classic three-act structure of Save the Cat Beat Sheet or Syd Field?
In today’s article, we’ll show you why you should stop worrying about plot, page numbers, and all the different structural theories. and what to focus on.
we will show you Advantages and Disadvantages of the Three Act Structure And the right way to deal with it so that it enhances your creativity rather than stifles it.
Here’s what’s coming:
• What is the three-act structure?
• Why the three-act structure works
• Problems with this structure
• A better way
• How to write a story by first forgetting the three-act structure
• So, do you really need a three-act structure or what?
So let’s dive right in.
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What is the three-act structure?
The three-act structure is defined as a narrative pattern that divides a plot into three parts. As we’ve already mentioned, there are many different theories of screenwriting structure. However, they all fall within and are consistent with the so-called “classic” or “traditional” three-act structure.
Here’s a quick breakdown The classic/traditional three-act structure in a movie script:
The script should be roughly 90-110 pages long.
One page is equivalent to approximately one minute of screen time. So the sweet spot of a 110-page script is a 1 hour and 50 minutes long movie.
Apply a three-act structure to divide these pages/minutes as follows:
• Act 1: First 25-30 pages/minute
• Act 2: Second page 50-60 pages/minute
• Act 3: Page 3 25-30 pages/minute
Or like this:
• Act 1: Start/Settings
• Act 2: Medium/Confrontation
• Act 3: end/resolve
Or, as the saying goes:
• Act 1: Have your protagonist climb a tree
• Act 2: throw stones at him or her
• Act 3: knock them down again
More details on the classic three-act structure.
• Act 1 (beginning) It sets up the story world, the protagonists and villains, and what’s at stake – the problems/crises they have to solve over the course of the story, in direct opposition to each other.
• Act 2 (Part 2) Shows the protagonist and antagonist striving for this goal—the stakes in the story. Things become more and more complicated for the protagonist as the antagonist discovers new obstacles and challenges them to a greater extent.
• Act 3 (End) The story is resolved when the protagonist or antagonist wins the final battle, and what’s at stake is either victory or defeat.
As the protagonists move through the three-act structure paradigm, they encounter multiple crises that constitute major turning points in the story. For example, call to action, first act turning point, midpoint, etc.
Why the three-act structure works.
There’s a reason this three-act structural paradigm has stood the test of time, from Aristotle all the way to Frozen 2…
Because it so effectively mimics real life and its recurring situations 3 rules.
think:
• birth/life/death
• sunrise/day/sunset
• Son/Father/Holy Spirit
• Departure/journey/return
• Essay/Opposition/Synthesis
etc…
Even on a day-to-day level, almost everything we do boils down to three act structure paradigm.
Let’s say you get a call from your doctor asking you to get a scan because they found something abnormal in your blood results.
• Act 1 What may be considered is the initial blood test and phone call from your doctor asking you to have a scan (settings).
• act 2 What may be considered is the scan itself and any rising conflicts and trauma that arise (confrontation).
• Act 3 You may be worried until you get your results, but the final results will let you know you’re okay (solve).
In other words, there is a negative conflict with the thing that is at risk (you climbed the tree). Conflict occurs when you take action (someone throws a rock at you). And got a positive result (you came down from the tree).
Now that we’ve covered the basics of the three-act structure and why it resonates with audiences, let’s look at some of its shortcomings.
The problem with the three-act structure.
The three-act structure is a very useful tool when plotting a screenplay. The same goes for the various structural theories that fit within it. However, when overemphasis Putting them on them too early in the story’s development.
When preparing to write a first draft of a screenplay, professional writers don’t usually sit down with a “Save the Cat” beat sheet and carefully consider the “Bad Guy Approaches” section between pages 55-75.
Aspiring writers, on the other hand, do this all the time.
Some people make the three-act structure central to their writing process and spend a lot of time focusing on its finer details, like “What events need to happen on this page?” and… “How should This happened?
This is an excerpt from John Truby Story analysis In which he lists the “Revelation 1 Sequence” alien:
• Revelation 1: The crew realizes the aliens are using the vents to move around the ship.
• Decide: They decide to rush the aliens into an airlock and vent them into space.
• Desire to change: Ripley and the others want to kill the aliens.
• Motivation for change: They must kill the aliens or die.
This is absolutely correct. But it also tends to allow writers to impose structure About the story Rather than letting it come naturally.
If you try to develop your plot while getting bogged down in the weeds of revelations, decisions, desires for change, etc., your mind is unlikely to be free enough to come up with a good story.
Overall, starting a script with a three-act structure and having such complexities at the forefront of the writing process almost always does the character and story a disservice.
It usually results in a script not much emotion or narrative sense, where events happen randomly rather than organically due to the events of the previous scene.
Now, we are not saying that it is Impossible Put John Truby’s 21 Steps or Save the Cat beat sheets in your head to write a great screenplay.
But if you really want to unleash your imagination to write the best story possible, it’s best not to start in the weeds of three-act structure theory.
A better way to handle the three-act structure.
First, stay away from books.
Remember: People don’t leave the theater thinking, “Oh my gosh, I loved the way the first act intermission went at 25 minutes.”
Furthermore, these three-act structure theories are the result of people analyzing a story that was (probably) written without these same theories in mind.
In the second part of this article, we’ll show you how all of these theories fit into the three-act structure, but for now put them behind you.
Instead, focus on what matters most: your characters and story.
How to write a story by first forgetting about the three-act structure.
The mistake many aspiring screenwriters make is trying to create structure before writing. In fact, Structure occurs naturally When things happen to your characters, they make decisions and take actions. Just like in real life.
As we have already discussed, 3 rules is inherent in human experience. When applied to your screenplay, this means that the process of writing a story will naturally lead to a beginning, middle, and end.
Instead of approaching the story in terms of index cards, “key points,” and page numbers, focus on the character’s goals and aspirations and The funniest way you can show them.
Write your story.
Getting started is easy: throw all three-act structure theory out the window and write your story in prose form.
As you do this, it may be useful to ask yourself the following questions:
• What’s the most natural and realistic thing this character would do next?
• If I were this character, what would I do next?
• Is this scene a direct result of the previous scene?
• What’s the funniest, most surprising, most exciting thing that could happen next?
• How do I make my protagonist actually suffer?
• How can these scenes have the greatest possible impact on the audience?
• How would I feel if I watched these scenes in a movie theater?
As you write your story in prose, keeping these questions in mind is a great way to let the story unfold naturally. As a result, your characters will start to behave more naturally and the story will feel more natural. feels more organic.
At this stage, it doesn’t matter if your turning points and intermissions aren’t “where they should be.”
What matters is that your story is compelling. You should be able to read this prose version aloud to someone and have them on the edge of their seat wondering how it all plays out.
If not, you’re a long way from worrying about which page you’ve reached at your midpoint.
Focus on how your protagonist changes
The events your protagonist experiences and the choices they make should profoundly affect change their humanity When the story ends.
You may have heard this referred to as “Character Arc” However, at this stage it is important not to connect the dots of the arc too strictly within the three-act structural paradigm.
Simply put the following questions in your mind to focus on the protagonist’s journey:
• How do the events in my story force my protagonist to change from one state of mind to another?
• How do they get them to go from taking one set of actions at the beginning to taking a completely different set of actions at the end?
• How do the scenes in my story logically illustrate this evolution?
think of all highs and lows You can let us experience your protagonist’s ultimate victory or defeat.
Doing this should allow your story to flow naturally into a beginning, middle, and end (acts one, two, and three), rather than focusing on plot points and page numbers that chart the changes in your protagonist.
(notes: Of course, not all of the movies feature major changes to the characters, but most do. And, as an aspiring screenwriter, it’s well worth sticking to this paradigm. Unless you write a horror movie traditionally, the protagonist doesn’t really change that much because the flaws are attributed to society rather than the individual hero.
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in conclusion.
In the second part of this post, we’ll break down several three-act structure theories as they apply to movies up in the airshowing that they were all saying roughly the same thing.
All of these theories—from Blake Snyder’s beat sheets to John Truby’s 21 Steps—can show you how to enhance an existing great story to make it even better. Not how to write a great story from scratch.
No one can really do that because it comes from in your imagination. It comes from letting your imagination go and seeing where it takes you, rather than worrying about how it fits into a three-act structure.
Remember to always start from the same place——Characters and stories– You’ll be fine.
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What do you think of the three-act structure? Did you forget this when you were writing the first draft, or was this something you consciously considered from the beginning? Let us know in the comments section below.
Like this article about three-act structure? Please click on the link below to read more…
Script structure and sequence: what they don’t tell you
Character Arc: Showing the Secret to a Hero’s Growth
How to Write a Screenplay: Secrets to Beyond the Ordinary
[© Photo credits: Wikimedia Commons / Unsplash / Pixabay]
