A Plot Structure

The three-act structure is perhaps the most common technique in the English-speaking world for plotting stories — widely used by screenwriters and novelists. It digs deep into the popular notion that a story must have a beginning, middle, and end, and goes even further, defining specific plot events that must take place at each stage.

Story Structure Story is made out of series of events. The sequence of all the events is called a Plot. Event is a meaningful change in character’s life, the thing that happens during a story that transforms the world from one state into another. Cevdet Gokhan Palas/Vetta/Getty Images Plot structure is the sequence of events in a story. It includes the setting, characters, conflict, action and resolution of the story. Setting: The setting is when and where the story takes place. Plot is the series of events that make up your story, including the order in which they occur and how they relate to each other. Structure (also known as narrative structure), is the overall design or layout of your story.

1. Which element of plot structure is described as being the 'spark' that gets the story started.when the problem is revealed?
2. The plot diagram from the original translation of Freytag’s Pyramid of the 1863 version of Freytag’s Technique of the Drama. I think many of us have a kind of vague sense of this story structure, even if we were never formally taught it.

In this post, we dissect the three acts and each of their plot points — using three-act structure examples from popular culture to illustrate each point.

Let’s begin! In three, two, one...

What is the three-act structure?

The traditional three-act structure includes the following parts:

• Act I - Setup: Exposition, Inciting Incident, Plot Point One
• Act II - Confrontation: Rising Action, Midpoint, Plot Point Two
• Act III - Resolution: Pre Climax, Climax, Denouement

Within each Act is a number of different “beats” — a plot event. According to Aristotle, who first analyzed storytelling through three parts, each act should be bridged by a beat that sends the narrative in a different direction. In Poetics, he posits that stories must be a chain of cause-and-effect beats: each scene must lead into what happens next and not be a standalone 'episode.'

Now that we know what the three-act structure is, let’s dive into how it works.

PRO-TIP: Have you ever wondered how long your novel should be? Take our short quiz below to find out!

✅

How long should your book be?

Find out what word count the industry expects for your genre — it takes 15 seconds!

How to use the three act structure

It’s clear that a lot of writers agree that “good things come in threes” when it comes to storytelling. In this section, we’ll dig deeper, breaking each act into three further “beats.” And just so we’re not talking in purely abstract terms, we’ll be using The Wizard of Oz and The Hungers Games as examples throughout (and we've also got a post with more in-depth analysis of trilogy structures).

Free course: Mastering the 3-Act Structure

Learn the essential elements of story structure with this online course. Get started now.

Act One: The Setup

Despite being one of three sections in a plot, Act One typically lasts for the first quarter of the story.

Exposition

Act One is all about setting the stage: readers should get an idea of who your protagonist is, what their everyday life is like, and what’s important to them. Of course, nobody’s life is perfect, and the exposition should give readers a sense of the current challenges facing the main character. Their desire to overcome these challenges will inform their overarching character goal.

Plotting your exposition will require you to already have a fairly firm grasp on your character. Prepare yourself with these resources:

Examples
In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy’s home life in Kansas forms the bulk of the exposition. We see that her family are hard-working farmers and that she has a dog she cares for called Toto. We learn that Dorothy feels misunderstood and under-appreciated.

In The Hunger Games, Katniss is introduced as a responsible, determined teenager who hunts illegally to feed her family, which suffers under the rule of the Capitol.

Inciting Incident

This is the catalyst that sets the protagonist’s adventure in motion. The inciting incident is a crucial beat in the three-act story structure: without it, the story in question wouldn’t exist. The inciting incident proposes a journey to the protagonist — one that could help them change their situation and achieve their goal.

Author and editor Kristen Kieffer suggests asking yourself the following questions to help you craft the inciting incident:

• How is my protagonist dissatisfied with their life?
• What would it take for my protagonist to find satisfaction? (This is their goal).
• What are my protagonist’s biggest fears and character flaws?
• How would the actions that my protagonist needs to take to find satisfaction force them to confront their fears and/or flaws?

The catalyst is referred to as the “call to adventure,” and asks your protagonist to push themselves out of their comfort zone. Does it make sense for your character to resist action after the inciting incident? If so, you may want to dedicate a scene (or sequence of scenes) between the plot points — in particular, Inciting Incident and Plot Point One — for your character to reflect on their motivations: how will their life change? How will their journey affect the lives of those around them? What’s at stake if they’re successful? What’s at stake if they fail? Depending on the character, and their core fears and flaws, you may need to raise the stakes so that the character has no choice but to accept.

Examples
Dorothy runs away from home when she feels like her family doesn’t take her concern over Mrs. Gulch’s dislike for Toto seriously. She encounters a Professor who encourages her to return home, where a twister causes Dorothy to be struck in the head by a window. When she wakes up, she’s in The Land of Oz.

Katniss’ beloved younger sister, Prim, is randomly chosen to participate in a televised fight to the death.

PRO-TIP: Did you know that the three-act structure is just one of many story structures that you can use? You can read more about the Hero's Journey and Dan Harmon's Story Circle here — or head here to find three additional models.

Plot Point One

It’s full speed ahead now! No more hemming and hawing for your character: the First Plot Point represents the protagonist’s decision to engage with whatever action the inciting incident has sent their way.

In some novels, the Inciting Incident and Plot Point One happen in the same scene. For instance, in The Hunger Games, Prim’s selection as a tribute is the catalyst. Immediately after, Katniss volunteers herself in her sister’s place, representing her reluctant acceptance of the call to adventure.

Think of the First Plot Point as the springboard that launches your character into Act Two. Speaking of which…

Examples
Frightened and confused, Dorothy wants to go home and is told by Glinda the Good Witch that the only way is to follow the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City where The Wizard lives. Dorothy decides to follow the Road, and it’s established the Wicked Witch will try to stop Dorothy on her journey.

Katniss volunteers to take her sister’s place in the Games — thus pulling her into the heart of the story.

Act Two: Confrontation

Typically the longest of all three sections: Act Two usually comprises the second and third quarters of the story.

Rising Action

Here’s the part where Dorothy waltzes down the Yellow Brick Road to meet Oz who sends her home without a hitch, right?

Nope. This is the part where the protagonist’s journey — or the pursuit of their goal — begins to take form and where they also first encounter roadblocks. The protagonist gets to know their new surroundings and starts to understand the challenges that lay before them. This is the part of the story where you should better acquaint readers with the rest of the cast (both friends and foes) and the primary antagonist. You will also elaborate on the story’s overarching conflict (whether it’s a person or a thing).

As the protagonist starts to learn more about the road ahead, they’ll change and adapt in order to have a better chance of achieving their goal. In this way, the main character is usually more reactionary than proactive in the Rising Action phase.

Examples
Dorothy meets the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and Lion. They travel down the Yellow Brick Road, where they encounter obstacles such as apple-throwing trees and sleep-inducing poppies.

Katniss trains to survive the Games. After the Games start, she gathers supplies and runs for her life. Thereupon, she faces many physical dangers before a fearsome group of Tributes discovers and begins to hunt her.

Midpoint

It’s no big surprise that the Midpoint takes place at… drumroll, please… the middle of the story! A significant event should take place here, usually involving something going horribly wrong.

Return to the protagonist’s main goal to establish what this Midpoint event should be. What would have to happen for them to feel that their goal is being directly threatened? What could make the character even more acutely aware of the stakes at hand?

Examples
Dorothy finally reaches the Emerald City and meets with The Wizard — who turns out to be a big disappointment. He initially refuses to meet with them, and when he eventually does, he declines to help them until they bring him the Wicked Witch’s broomstick.

Katniss — having been hunted and trapped by her fellow Tributes — has to take violent action to escape their clutches. This is the event that convinces her to stop running and start fighting to win the Games.

Free Download: Three-Act Structure Template

Effortlessly plot your story with our customizable template. Enter your email and we'll send it to you right away.

Plot Point Two

Our poor protagonist has fallen on hard times. They thought they were making headway on their goal and then the Midpoint came and threw them off their rhythm.

Give them some time to reflect on the story’s conflict here. The aftermath of the Midpoint crisis will force the protagonist to pivot from being a “passenger” to a more proactive force to be reckoned with. You might want to plan a sequence here in which the main character’s resolve is bolstered through productive progress on their journey’s goal. Think of Plot Point Two as the pep talk your character needs in order to stand up straight and get ready to meet their antagonist head on. They’ll need this confidence to handle what comes next…

Examples
Dorothy must decide whether to take the risk of heading to the Wicked Witch’s castle or to give up on her chance of going home. She and her companions decide to confront the witch.

Katniss works to destroy the Tribute’s supply cache and kills a Tribute in an effort to protect Rue. She later tracks down Peeta, fights another Tribute for medicine that will heal his injured leg, and makes sacrifices to keep them both alive.

Act Three: Resolution

The final act typically takes up a quarter of the story — sometimes less.

Pre-Climax

Even the strongest knight has weak spots in their armor: their deep-rooted fears and flaws. As the protagonist has been gearing up to meet the antagonist head-on, their main foe has also been getting stronger and is now ready for battle.

Also called “The Dark Night of the Soul,” Act Three starts with the final clash between the protagonist and the antagonist. We’ve experienced the entire journey with the main character — but this is where we get our first glimpse of the antagonist’s true strength, and it usually catches the main character off guard. Even though most readers are aware that the protagonist typically wins the day, we should have some doubt here about how the last act will play out, and if the main character will be okay.

Examples
While on the way to the Wicked Witch’s castle, Dorothy is captured. The Witch finds out that the ruby slippers can’t be taken against Dorothy’s will while she’s alive, so she sets an hourglass and threatens that Dorothy will die when it runs out.

Katniss realizes that the mutated hounds chasing her bear striking resemblances to deceased Tributes, including those she killed, dredging up trauma Katniss had suppressed to survive.

Climax

The climax signifies the final moments of the story’s overarching conflict. Since the antagonist has just hit the protagonist where it hurts in the previous beat, the protagonist has to lick their wounds. Then they face-off one more time and the main character lays the conflict to rest.

The climax itself is normally contained to a single scene, while the pre-climax typically lasts longer and might stretch over a sequence of events.

Examples
Dorothy throws a bucket of water on the Scarecrow who is on fire. She ends up accidentally dousing the Witch who melts into a puddle. The guards hand the Witch’s broom to Dorothy.

Katniss saves Peeta from Cato, the final tribute whom she later kills as an act of mercy when he is mauled by mutts. When the Gamemakers try to force Katniss and Peeta to fight to the death, they move to commit suicide instead, maintaining their integrity despite the Capitol’s demands.

Denouement

Finally, the dust settles. If the protagonist’s goal is not immediately obtained during the Climax, the denouement is where this should be achieved (or redefined, if their goal changed during Act Three). Along with this, the denouement should also:

• Fulfill any promises made to the reader. Check out our post on Chekhov’s Gun to learn more about this,
• Tie up significant loose ends,
• Underscore the theme, and
• Release the tension built up during the climactic sequences of events.

If you want to learn more about nailing your story’s resolution, check out our post on how to end a story.

Examples
The Scarecrow receives a diploma, the Tin Man receives a “heart,” and the Lion receives a medal of valor. The Good Witch explains that Dorothy has always had the power to go home; she just didn’t tell her earlier because she wouldn’t have believed it. Dorothy taps her ruby slippers and heads back to Kansas to lovingly greet her family.

The Gamemakers cut the game short after realizing Katniss and Peeta’s intent to commit suicide. They are taken to the hospital and later home, where they must put on a show as the winners of the Games, but are ultimately safe — for now.

The three-act structure is just one way to think about a story, so writers shouldn’t feel limited. The benefit of using the three-act structure is that it will help ensure that every scene starts and end with a clear purpose and direction. Even if you don't start outlining your novel with it, if you find yourself struck by pacing issues, it's often useful to fit your story into the three-act structure to see why that might be.

Have you written a novel using the three-act structure? Leave any questions or thoughts on this popular plotting method in the comments below!

By Glen C. Strathy

Continuing our discussion of The Seven Basic Plots by Christopher Booker, this page presents a brief outline of the plots themselves. (For more detailed discussion and examples, you should probably read the book.)

In the previous article, we noted that Booker actually discusses nine archetypal plots, but only really approves of the first seven. We're going to look at all of them here briefly, partly because we think they have all been successful and partly because its good for writers to be familiar with all of them.

Also, we noted that, although Booker argues that the basic plots all follow a five-stage structure, it is easier to reconcile his theories with those of others by presenting them in terms of a four-act structure, with the terminals of each act marked by an event called a driver or turning point. Of the five drivers found in a four-act structure, Booker only pays attention to two of them: The Call (which is either the first or second driver) and the Final Driver (which Booker gives various names to, depending on the archetypal plot. We'll omit the others too, for simplicity's sake.

So, without further ado, here are the nine basic plots...

1. Overcoming the Monster

Overcoming the Monster stories involve a hero whomust destroy a monster (or villain) that is threatening thecommunity. Usually the decisive fight occurs in the monster's lair,and usually the hero has some magic weapon at his disposal. Sometimesthe monster is guarding a treasure or holding a Princess captive,which the hero escapes with in the end.

Examples: James Bond films, The Magnificent Seven, The Day of the Triffids,

2. Rags to Riches

The Rags to Riches plot involves a hero who seemsquite commonplace, poor, downtrodden, and miserable but has thepotential for greatness. The story shows how he manages to fulfillhis potential and become someone of wealth, importance, success andhappiness.

Examples: King Arthur, Cinderella, Aladdin.

As with many of the basic plots, there are variations on Rags to Riches that are less upbeat.

Variation 1: Failure

What Booker calls the “dark” version of this story is when the hero fails to win in the end, usually because he sought wealth and status for selfish reasons. Dramatica (and most other theorists) would call this a tragedy.

Variation 2: Hollow Victory

Booker's second variation are stories where the hero “may actually achieve [his] goals, but only in a way which is hollow and brings frustration, because he again has sought them only in an outward and egocentric fashion.” Another way to describe this would be a comi-tragic ending or personal failure. In Dramatica terms, it's an outcome of success, but a judgment of failure since the hero fails to satisfactorily resolve his inner conflict.

3. Quest

Quest stories involve a hero who embarks on a journey to obtain a great prize that is located far away.

E.g. Odyssey, Watership Down, Lord of the Rings (though here the goal is losing rather than gaining the treasure), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

Other variations on this basic plot include stories where the object being sought does not bring happiness. For example, Moby Dick, Raiders of the Lost Ark.

4. Voyage and Return

Voyage and Return stories feature a hero who journeysto a strange world that at first seems strange but enchanting.Eventually, the hero comes to feel threatened and trapped in thisworld and must he must make a thrilling escape back to the safety ofhis home world. In some cases, the hero learns and grows as a resultof his adventure (Dramatica would call this a judgment of good). Inothers he does not, and consequently leaves behind in the other worldhis true love, or other opportunity for happiness. (Dramatica wouldcall this a judgment of bad)

Examples include: The Wizard of Oz, Coraline, Robinson Crusoe, Gulliver's Travels, Lord of the Flies.

5. Comedy

Here's where things get confusing.

Traditionally, comedy has been defined in several ways.

1. As any story that ends happily. In Dramatica terms this means that the story goal is obtained (outcome=success) and the main character has satisfactorily resolved his inner conflict (judgment=good).
2. As a story which is humourous or satirical.
3. With New Comedy or Romantic Comedy: as a drama about finding true love (usually young love). Traditionally these stories have ended in marriage.

The Plot Structure Of Oedipus Rex

Booker makes a valiant attempt at a better definition of comedy, but finds he cannot apply the same plot structure to it as with the other basic plots. Instead, he loosely defines Comedy in terms of three stages:

1. The story takes place in a community where the relationships between people (and by implication true love and understanding) are under the shadow of confusion, uncertainty, and frustration. Sometimes this is caused by an oppressive or self-centred person, sometimes by the hero acting in such a way, or sometimes through no one's fault.
2. The confusion worsens until it reaches a crisis.
3. The truth comes out, perceptions are changed, and the relationships are healed in love and understanding (and typically marriage for the hero).

6. Tragedy

Tragedy, along with Comedy, is usually defined by its ending, which makes these two unlike the other basic plots. In Dramatica terms, a tragedy is a story in which the Story Goal is not achieved (outcome=failure) and the hero does not resolve his inner conflict happily (judgement=bad).

Booker's description of this plot is close to that of the classic tragedies (Greek, Roman, or Shakespearean).

Examples: Macbeth, Othello, Dr. Faustus

7. Rebirth

Rebirth stories show a hero (often a heroine) who is trapped in a living death by a dark power or villain until she is freed by another character's loving act. As with Comedy, Booker's outline of this plot is sketchy.

One of the big problems with this plot is that the hero does not solve his own problem but must be rescued by someone else, and therefore can avoid resolving his inner conflict. This is why many women hate fairy tales: the heroines are so passive.

The Disney version of Beauty and the Beast solves the problem by making Belle the main character (she rescues Beast). Though Marley intervenes to rescue Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, Scrooge ultimately chooses to change and therefore saves himself. (Hint: any new version of Sleeping Beauty should make the Prince the main character.)

Examples include Sleeping Beauty, A Christmas Carol, Beauty and the Beast, The Secret Garden

Basic Plots Booker Dislikes...

The last two basic plots are ones which Booker clearly sees as inferior, because they are less about the main character embracing his feminine side.

8. Mystery

First, he defines Mystery as a story in which an outsider to some horrendous event or drama (such as a murder) tries to discover the truth of what happened. Often what is being investigated in a Mystery is a story based on one of the other plots.

Booker dislikes Mysteries because the detective or investigator has no personal connection to the characters he's interviewing or the crime he's investigating. Therefore, Booker argues, the detective has no inner conflict to resolve.

This may be true many of Mysteries, including some by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle or Agatha Christie. However, in other Mystery stories the detective does have a personal stake in the plot, which gives rise to inner conflict – often a moral dilemma. Chinatown, is one example that springs to mind. So is Murder on the Orient Express and The Maltese Falcon (just to name some classics).

Nonetheless, it is true that Mysteries often do not leave one with the sense that the world has been totally healed (after all, innocent victims are still dead). This sets it apart from most of the basic stories - with the exception perhaps of Tragedy.

9. Rebellion Against 'The One'

The last of Booker's basic plots, Rebellion Against 'The One' concerns a hero who rebels against the all-powerful entity that controls the world until he is forced to surrender to that power.

The hero is a solitary figure who initially feels the One is at fault and that he must preserve his independence or refusal to submit. Eventually, he is faced with the One's awesome power and submits, becoming part of the rest of the world again.

Plot Structure Diagram

In some versions, the One is portrayed as benevolent, as in the story of Job, while in others the reader is left convinced it is malevolent, as in 1984 or Brazil. These darker versions seem to be what make Booker less than keen on this basic plot.

A Plot Structure Diagram

Though Booker doesn't mention it, a common variation is to have the hero refuse to submit and essentially win against the power of the One. In The Prisoner, the hero eventually earns the right to discover that the One is a twisted version of himself, after which he is set free. In The Matrix, Neo's resistance eventually leads to a better world. Another example is The Hunger Games series, where Katniss's continued rebellion eventually leads to the downfall of both the original tyrant and his potential successor, resulting in a freer world.

See the previous article for more discussion of Booker's The Seven Basic Plots.

Parts Of A Plot Structure

› ›

Elements Of A Plot Structure