In this article, we look at a fundamental method to structure a story in literature called the 3-Act Story Structure.
Read on to learn how you can apply it to your novel.
1. Begin with normality.
How it helps
The opening pages of Act I should introduce the reader to the protagonist and their life before the story takes place. Depicting the normal, everyday life of the protagonist in Act I shows the reader what is at risk and allows them to understand the protagonist’s feelings and emotions throughout.
How to include it
Spend the first third of Act I depicting a typical day in the life of the protagonist. Introduce the reader to the characters, places, and ideas that are important to the protagonist. Make the reader familiar with the protagonist’s normal life so they can wonder what part will change and how.
You can also use this part to drop hints to the upcoming conflict. For example, in the first Iron Man film, the opening scenes show Tony Stark interacting with his assistant and making comments about how he’s too well-known and well-connected to ever be in danger. This was foreshadowing of his abduction 20 minutes later and eventual love for said assistant at the end of the film.
2. Use Act I for world-building.
How it helps
World-building in Act I is as important as depicting the protagonist’s normal life: it’s what gives readers a sense of reality by giving them a place to imagine. Readers need to know what the normal world looks like in order to believe the protagonist’s normal life. This is especially true for those stories with worlds vastly different from the present day, such as fantasy or science-fiction.
Describing the world throughout Act I, especially if it’s going to change in Act II, gives the reader the sense that these characters are real, even if they don’t exist in our world in the present day.
How to include it
Throughout Act I, include descriptions of the environment. This could be in a natural way by having the characters or omniscient narrator comment on how the neighborhood looks or what the government is like. In 1984, the protagonist spends the first third of the book describing his daily routine and job duties, allowing the reader to imagine what it must be like to live in such a vastly different dystopian world.
World building could also be done explicitly by providing an overview of the world and the landscape. The beginning of the Lord of the Rings books and films start with grand depictions of the Hobbits and the idyllic Shire in which they live. This makes the reader all the sadder for Frodo and his friends when they leave it for the story’s main journey.
3. Act I should end with a ‘point of no return.’
How it helps
Ending Act I with the protagonist leaving their normal world shows the reader quite literally that the story is moving on. It becomes a natural cliffhanger and forces the reader to continue into Act II to find out how the conflict will play out. Readers will also get to see the story’s impact on the protagonist at this point: are they happy to leave their home forever or will they choose to return when their reason for leaving is resolved?
How to include it
Introduce the inciting event or person in the last third of Act I. This should be convincing enough to make the protagonist almost immediately want to venture out of their normal life and into the story’s events.
In Lord of the Rings, for example, it is the arrival of Gandalf and the discovery of the Ring in Bilbo’s house that sends them on their journey. In Iron Man, it’s the abduction and imprisonment of Tony Stark that sets him on the path to develop the Iron Man suit.
4. Ramp up the tension in Act II.
How it helps
Act II is where the story happens. The protagonist responds to the inciting event at the end of Act I by leaving and attempting to resolve the conflict. Act II is where the misdirections and twists are revealed that push and pull the protagonist to near failure. The reader is left on the edge of their seat because they don’t know what will help the protagonist succeed or if they will succeed.
How to include it
Don’t rush the protagonist’s journey at this point. Act II should start with a false sense of progress; the protagonist should feel like they are going to succeed quite quickly and easily. Then, around the middle of Act II (and the middle of the whole story), there should be some major catastrophe that effects the protagonist on a very personal level and even makes them falter a bit. In Iron Man, it’s when Stark returns home to find out his abduction was ordered by his close business partner in an effort to steal Stark’s company. He almost gives up the Iron Man suit because he feels so betrayed and alone.
This setback should eventually motivate the protagonist to carry on in their quest and adds another level or dimension to the original conflict. In Iron Man, the setback becomes as much about defending the world from Obadiah’s evil Iron Monger suit as it is about reclaiming the company from his greedy hands.
5. Act III should begin with the end.
How it helps
Act III should start with the events that lead to the climax or end of the story’s main conflict. This is usually done by showing the protagonist working to defeat the main antagonist. The reader should know exactly what the protagonist will do to the antagonist and why. There should be no doubt as to what will happen next.
The middle of Act III should be the climax itself, with all its ups and downs, followed quickly by the resolution. All tension should be gone by the end of Act III and the reader should know for sure who has won and why.
How to include it
If you’ve ended Act II with the protagonist making a final decision to confront the antagonist, then Act III should just be the continuation of that plan. Show the protagonist assembling the materials and/or people necessary to execute the plan. Include any resolutions to subplots here so that the rest of the story is focused on resolving the main conflict covered in Act II.
After about a third of the way through Act III, begin the main event. The climax should last a full third of Act III. For excitement and tension, there can be a back-and-forth between the antagonist and protagonist, but by the end of that third of Act III, there should be a clear winner.
The final third of Act III should be about coming to terms with how the story’s events have changed the protagonist’s everyday life introduced in Act I. Does the protagonist return to their normal life or has everything changed?
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