The Three Act Structure

 What is the three act structure? (definition)

 

"The three act structure is a narrative model that divides stories into three parts — Act One, Act Two, and Act Three, or rather, a beginning, middle, and end." Screenwriter, Syd Field, made this storytelling technique unique for screenwriters in 1978 with the publishing of his book 'Screenplay'. He labels the three acts:

 

Act 1 (beginning) : Setup

The setup involves introduction of the characters, their story world, and some kind of ‘’inciting incident,” typically a conflict that propels us into the second act. It’s usually the first 20-30 minutes of a film. 

 

Act 2 (middle) : Confrontation or Build

The middle of your story should raise the stakes, you want the audience to keep watching. This is the main chunk of the story and often leads us to the worst possible thing that can happen to the character.

 

Act 3 (End) : Resolution or Payoff

And the end should bring some kind of catharsis or resolution, (regardless if the ending is happy or sad).

 

 

This is not the same thing as story structure, it is an organizational tool to help build your story. There is no predetermined formula for knowing exactly when the critical events should occur within the acts. Most of the time, big events like the inciting incident or resolution will obviously, and naturally, happen in their intended acts, but the specifics should come from the organic nature of your story, not a formulaic page count or act break. 

 

If we look into the history of the Three Act Structure we find the book 'Aristotle's Poetics', which is the first playwriting mis that annual on record. His theory is that all stories must have a beginning, middle and end. These represent the three acts in the Three Act Structure.

 

The most important takeaway of the 3 act is understanding that one event must lead to another and then to another — this unifies actions and meaning and creates the semblance of a story. A beginning, middle, and an end, isn’t a formula. It brings cohesion to otherwise random events. It’s what makes a story, a story.

 

This is the diagram today's writers often refer to when discussing the structure:

 

 

 To learn more about the Three Act Structure watch this YouTube Video:

Three Act Structure video