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Using the Three-Act Structure in Fiction
NOTE: This is part of a series on story structure that I decided to do. I will be collecting them all up and putting them into a book once I’m finished.
Another of what I consider basic structures for telling a story is the three-act structure. The three-act structure has been around forever. According to Wikipedia, it’s been in existence since at least the fourth century, A.D.
This is just going to be a brief overview of the three-act structure. If you want more details, you can read Business for Breakfast Volume Seven: The Three Act Structure for Professional Writers.
So what, exactly, is the three-act structure?
First of all, like the seven-point plot structure, the name gives you a clue about the structure. There are three acts in the three-act structure.
The first act is the setup. It’s all about the hometown of the protagonist, what defines him/her. What their home planet is like, who their friends are, what their local, small problems may be.
The first act is where you show the character of the protagonist, possibly with some hints of what they are capable of. Even if you’re dealing with an anti-hero, you still have to make me care. Make sure that I don’t end up hating your main character in the first act. I…
