#3-act structure

A Few Writing Tools I Use As A Beginning Writer

Late last week I finished the main story arc of my novel. I am now going back and rewriting and editing what I have written. I will also complete some sub-arcs for minor but important characters intending to lead into a second novel. I have learned through participation in the local writing group, (ACFW Colorado Springs (acfwcosprings.com)), and reading various books on the subject (How to Make a…

I think it’s the Last Act (which is not the same as last arc) of a 3-act storytelling structure, and it may be one long or (more likely) one long and several shorter arcs. 

Just for comparison:

Act 1 - Ch.1. - Ch. 95 (End of the Beginning, Beginning of the End) - Fandom Wiki calls this the “Beginnings Saga”

It is about 100 chapers and includes: Entrance Exam + Quirk assessment (7 ch) , Battle Trial (4 ch), USJ (10 ch), Sport Festival (23 ch), Stain (15 ch), Final exam (10 ch), Forest Training Camp (14 ch), Kamino arc (12 ch) (depending on how you count them, it’s 7-9 arcs, 1 medium long, the rest pretty short arcs). 

And it packed a lot in terms of story-telling: Origin Trio origin chapters, BKDK conflict set-up, Todoroki family back story, Iida-focused storyline, Momo-highlight chapter, Uraraka-highlight, intro of all League characters, the Bakugou kidnapping and rescue, All Might’s last stand vs AFO

Act 2 - Ch. 96 - 306 (The Final Act Begins) “Rise of the Villains saga”

It is about 200 chapters and includes: Provisional Licensing Exam (26 ch), Overhaul (41 ch), Remedial Course arc (6 ch), Culture Festival (15 ch), Pro hero arc (10 ch), JTA (24 ch), MVA (23 ch), Endeavor Agency (12 ch), war arc (54 ch) (so it’s 9 arcs - 2 long arcs, 3 medium arcs and 4 short arcs). 

So I think what we are starting now is Act 3 - which I think will be again close to 100 chapters like Act 1. I’d expect 1-3 short arcs to lead into it, then a long arc of a final battle with +/- 50 chapters and a short epilogue. 

What do reading and watching movies have in common? More than you think! Read "On balancing books and movies" to learn how watching movies can make you a better writer!

Stephen King once said, “Books and movies are like apples and oranges. They both are fruit, but taste completely different.” Stephen King also insists in On Writing that no one – absolutely no one – can be a writer without reading A LOT. Writers should read and write every day; there’s no way around it.

I agree with King’s sentiments. After all, I just wrote an entire post about reading more…

We've looked at the first 2 acts in the 3-act structure. Time to understand the ending. #Writetip

There is a natural instinct that exists among most writers about where to put the tension beats in, where things need to change, when the reader needs a break from all the action. That is because most writers read a lot, or watch a lot of movies, or… Well, we just spend a lot of time in a fictional world somewhere. When we do that, we do start to see the patterns, even if we don’t…

Let's carry on with our breakdown of the 3-act structure for story-telling. #writingcommunity #amediting

Must of what a writer does when crafting a story is based on instinct, weaving in the rise and fall of action. The same can be said about a developmental editor. Every story is different, so there is no strict formula that can be applied.

Tools like the traditional 3-act structure are only diagnostic tools, designed to help us understand why something might not be working.

In the first post…

It's time to break down the 3-act structure for story-telling. #writingcommunity #amediting

Most writers have a natural instinct when it comes to story structure and plot. We do so much reading, or we see so many movies, that understanding pacing is just part of our makeup. Even new writers, still learning their craft, have this instinct.

We know that if we have action scene after action scene, eventually we need to have a calm scene that gives us the chance to breathe. We know…

Eight points vital to a story synopsis, following the three-act structure:

Where are we; where/when does the story take place?

Who are we following in the story (the protagonist) and why them?

Who or what force is opposed to the hero of the story, and why are they in opposition (the antagonist)?

What do these characters want to accomplish; what is at stake for them?

What is the ensuing conflict, and why does it exist?

How does the action rise; how do things get more tense?

What is the final crisis, and how does it play out?

About Screenwriting Rules [And The 3-Act Structure]

When How To Train Your Dragon was released, some people learned to their horror that the film was written following Blake Snyder’s beat sheet. How could such a successful – and critically acclaimed – film be written by the numbers??

Creatives hate screenwriting ‘rules’. So they should. But it is also helpful to understand what rules really are, and what they do.

Observe And Study

All Blake Snyder…