Everything You Need to Know About the Three-Act Structure

Everyone knows the traditional three-act structure, or at least thinks that they do. The concept is pretty simple: The first act inroduces everyone and everything, and then something happens to upset the status quo. Then the villains start putting their plan into place while the heroes scramble to deal with their personal problems while dealing with the villains. Then it all pulls together and everyone gets to the final battle.

Simple right?

This structure has been around since the Ancient Greeks, at a minimum. For those organizing a movie or play, this structure is incredible: It keeps the drama flowing, everything happens when it is supposed to happen, and it generally works for pretty much any kind of story. You can do pretty much any kind of story here, be it good vs. evil, a person struggling against his fate, or even when those moments in everyday life get to serious. Better yet, while it seems pretty simple, you can make it as complex as you need to; the structure is as adaptable as you need it to be.

Oh, and think you are limited to just three acts? Nope. You can use as many acts as you think are necessary. So have some fun here; the only limits are the ones you put in place.

How Does It End?

The first thing that you need to do is decide how it's going to end. For the pantsers out there, this does not mean that you need to decide what exactly how the story is going to end; while that's a bad idea, what we're looking at here is that you need to decide on is if the story is going to end on a positive note or a negative note. That is, the only thing you need to decide on is whether or not the main character(s) is(are) going to win or lose at the end. Either way works, but you need to keep in mind that the structure of your story needs to support that ending.

So just worry about what kind of ending you're shooting for and go for it.

[Of course, for plotters, you'll want to define how the story ends as quickly as possible. This will help you lay down the rails for that ending so that it doesn't come as too much of a shock. This doesn't mean that you can't have a surprise ending, it just means that you need to lay the groundwork so that it doesn't come out of left field. And should you decide to change something, don't be afraid to change the ending; it's not written in stone, after all, so do what you think is best for the story.]

Now You Define the Twist

A variation on the theme above, but it's something that needs to be noted: If you're going to have a really cool twist at the end, you need to make sure that it some groundwork for it to really work. There are two different types of twists: deserved twists and undeserved twists. No one likes an undeserved twist: You want a surprise, sure, but if it comes out of nowhere it's just going to tick everyone off, and the last thing you want is a ticked-off audience.

What you want is a twist that people can look back and go, "Whoa! I should have seen it coming!" You want them to have a reason to go back and read the book and be able to see the groundwork for the twist. By laying the groundwork for the twist, you can create a twist that no only shocks your readers when it happens, but also shows that some of the weirdness had a reason behind it. In short, a deserved twist adds to the enjoyment of those reading, no matter how weird it looks like.

In short, any idiot can do an undeserved twist; a deserved twist takes an actual craftsman.

Introductory Act

The first act traditionally lasts for the first fourth of the book, and you have a lot to do. You need to introduce all of the main characters, their antagonists, and the world. Not only do you need to introduce the world, but you also need to introduce what's important to the main characters (i.e., the stakes), and you need to demonstrate the status quo that you're going to disrupt. In short, you need to worry more about introducing readers to your world, and this is where you do it.

Oh, and if you're doing a series (such as the traditional trilogy) you need to realize that you're going to have to do some variation of this every book. Just because you've already established the world doesn't give you a pass here: You need to show what's happened in the previous books, how the antagonists have changed their method in order to adapt to whatever the protagonists did in the previous book, and any changes to world, even if it is just how the protagonists view it. So just because you've already established the world, there's no reason for you to skip over this part and go straight to the second act.

Remember how you had to decide on if the ending was positive or negative? If you're going for the "upbeat ending", i.e., where the heroes win, the introductory act needs to be a string of positive acts building up to the best possible option right before the instigating incident. Conversely, if you're building towards the "downer ending", i.e., where the heroes lose, the initial chain of events should get worse and worse until the instigating incident. Don't worry; we'll make up for it in the second act.

"Ten Page Limit" on Introductions

In script-writing, you want to introduce all of the main characters and the main antagonists in the first ten pages. This allows you to set up the hook up and snag your audience as quickly as possible so they don't go somewhere else. It also allows you to set up the conflict and shows that it didn't just come from nowhere. For novel writing, it just means that you need to introduce the important characters as quickly as possible so that the audience knows who's who. Try to introduce the major players by halfway through the first act and you should be okay.

This does not mean that you can't introduce more characters later on; it just means that you need to focus on the ones that the plot revolves around as quickly as possible. The important takeaway here is that audiences hate it when you introduce the main villain halfway into the story, or later; they want to be able to hate on the villain as quickly as possible and they should be allowed to. Also, it does not mean that you need to actually have your important characters show up; you can get away with just dropping names and building reputations, as long as you introduce them somehow.

The MacGuffin and Chekov's Gun

Any item you introduce in the first act should make some sort of appearance by the end of the book; this is generally referred to as "Checkov's Gun". Not only does this make your audience happy, as they like to have all the pieces in play as quickly as possible, but it also helps you better focus on what pieces you have to play with. As with characters, this does not mean that you can't introduce new items later on or that you need to have the item make an actual appearance; you should always be introducing new items and you can get away with just mentioning it. And if you're going have some item that the plot revolves around (aka, the MacGuffin), you need to introduce it as quickly as possible for it to start building in importance; if you wait too long, it loses any power you were hoping to gain from it.

Instigating Incident

You've established the main characters on both sides, set up your MacGuffin and Chekov's items, and have done some basic world-building. Nice status quo you have there; too bad you need to slap it around. The instigating incident takes your status quo and wrecks it; it forces your main characters into whatever quest you have set up for them. Now, you need to take everything that you've set up and see what they can do.

The nature of the incident depends on which ending you've chosen. If you've chosen the positive ending, this incident needs to be seriously negative; death in the family, the new house is revealed to be haunted, the breadwinners lose their jobs. Things are only going to get worse from here. On the other hand, if you've chosen the negative ending, this is where something really cool happens: there's a new addition to the family, the family gets a better house, the breadwinners get a promotion. For these people, life is only going to get worse.

Second Act

So, now we're about a quarter of the way in and now it gets weird. First, the second act as a whole is going to be where the villains get to strut their stuff while the heroes get it together. This should take up the next two quarters of the book (yeah, I could say "half" but some of you would get confused) and is where most of the plot happens. There's really not a lot to say about the second act, except that you should see a lot more world-building, a lot more exposition, and generally a lot more "and then". Just have some fun, but remember that you are trying to build towards a crescendo and that you should be laying more groundwork for the plot,

Just like the first act, the second act's general thrust is determined by the type of ending you are shooting for: If you are working for a positive ending, then the second act should see the protagonists encountering problem after problem; even when they get something that they need or there is some other positive effect, they should have to struggle to get it. Nothing should come easy. Conversely, if you are heading towards disaster at the end, then the antagonists should be having it relatively easy; sure, they should encounter problems, but they should small affairs. Don't worry; they'll be paying for it.

Sub-Plots

The second act should see all sorts of subplots. You want at least two sub-plots; these are useful for allowing character growth, allowing you to explore the characters' characters, and have some fun with them. It can be seen as irritating, sure, but they can add so much to your characters. Better yet, if you some sort of theme going on, they can be used to emphasize that theme, as well as allow you to explore the world a bit, or even the backstories of your characters.

The basic subplots are:

• Romantic: Two (or more) characters are attracted to each other and must find a way to get together despite all of their problems.
• Romantic Triangle: Two characters are attracted to the same character. The two need to resolve this conflict and hopefully obtain romance with the third character. Of course, the two can fall in love themselves or the target of their affection can rebuff both.
• Revenge: The character needs to avenge someone or something.
• Expository: The subplot is just there to feed the reader information.
• Conflict: Two protagonists have a conflict that needs to be resolved.
• Personal Quest: The character has some sort of personal goal that needs to dealt with, and may help in the overall plot.
• Personal Conflict: The character has some sort of conflict that needs to be dealt with, and that once dealt with the character is stronger.
• Redemption: The character starts off as evil but becomes good and must do some sort of penance for his/her past sins.

Note that not all of your characters need to have their own subplots and may participate in other subplots. Also, keep in mind that each of these subplots will have a parallel structure to the story as a whole (that is, their individual three-act structures will match that of the story itself).

Running Gag

You're going to want some sort of running gag, or continuing joke, possibly a couple of them. The cool thing about a running gag is that it can help lighten the mood a little, something you may need if the story is a little heavy. Keep in mind the Rule of Three (you can usually only repeat a joke three times before it gets more annoying than amusing, and the third repetition should end differently than the other two). Otherwise, it can be as dark or twisted as you want as long as it's at least worth a chuckle.

Pacing

• In a basic way, this is another reason to have subplots. You're going to want to break your plots into bits so that they can be re-organized into a more interesting plot. You'll also find that all of these different beats allow you to do some fun things. Basically, when you start putting the beats together, you'll want to do one of five things:
• Align scenes with parallel or complementary structures. This will serve to heighten both scenes.
• Allow for the passage of time. If you have a situation where the characters are going to be stuck for a bit doing nothing, go to another bit of the plot or another subplot.
• Change in emotional weight. Even as the act may be generally positive or negative, individual scenes may be more positive or negative than the general arc; if possible, a negative scene should follow a positive one and vice versa.
• Exposition for the audience. A neat trick, when you can pull it off, is to tag team two subplots where the action is happening in one while the other provides an explanation for what's happening. This allows the audience to focus on the action but also avoid confusion and allow the to see exactly what the stakes are.
• Shore up other plots. Inevitably, you're going to hit points where one of the subplots or plot as a whole will drag. That's fine; use a subplot to keep the action going and make it less of a slog for the reader.

Climax

Eventually, you will hit the climax. This is where you flip the script again: Things have either hit the their nadir but the protagonists have finally got it together and are ready to strike back, or things have hit the zenith and it's time to start that death spiral. This the climax. At this point, you need to start resolving all of the various subplots (if you haven't already) and the main plot itself. This should end in the classic FINAL BATTLE, where the protagonists take everything that they have learned and gained and deal with the antagonists.

Avoiding the Deus Ex Machina

The biggest problem you will have in the climax is avoiding the dreaded deus ex machina (literally, "god from the machine"). It used to be that this was actually the desired end, when a deity would literally come down and deal with everyone, but people hate that kind of ending, unless you're doing it for the comedy. For plotters, this is easy because you set up the end of the antagonist from the beginning and now you're finally delivering on that promise. Pantsers may not have it as easy because too many get caught up in the story and forget to craft a decent end.

The easiest way to avoid a DEM is to just plan for the defeat or victory of the antagonist from the beginning. On the other hand, if you're setting up a sequel, letting the antagonist win at the end of one book and then deal with the fallout in the next may not be a bad way to end the book. It may even be sort of fun that the antagonist may actually be the real hero, but make sure that you've laid out clues it was going to happen as early as possible. Just try to have some sort of endgame and you won't need a DEM.

Denouement

After the final battle, you may have some small details that need to be dealt with; there may even some subplots that needed to be resolved after the final battle. This is where you resolve them. This is also where final rewards and punishments are given out: If you went positive, then protagonists will be rewarded for their actions, even if it's the satisfaction of a job well done, and if you went negative this is where everyone gets their just punishments.

And, if you want to be really obnoxious, this is either where you throw out a cliffhanger or otherwise set up that there's a sequel coming. Just make sure to deliver on either threat in the next book or you will have a lot of unhappy fans.

Additional Acts

You should not feel limited to just three acts. However, if you do decide to add more acts, you should keep it to odd numbers; for some reason, having an even number of acts just isn't satisfying to your readers; your final act needs to end on the same note as the first act was reaching for (i.e., they need to both be positive or negative) as the first act was a promise of sorts and you need to deliver on that promise. Otherwise, treat them as extended second acts and you should be okay.

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As you can tell, the three-act structure can have a lot of moving parts. Wrestling with those parts, however, allows you to craft an incredible story. If you can somehow juggle all of these different parts and put them together in the best possible manner, however, you should be rewarded with something that is particularly awesome and can be proud of. It may look hard, but it's a lot easier to deal with than it looks. This is why so many writers start with an outline; it just makes life that much easier!